1. The Taiping Rebellion (Taiping means great peace), the largest peasant rebellion in Qing history (1644-1911), was led by a foreign religion--Christianity. From Emperor Chien Lung's remarks about the world in the 1790s, to Hong Xiuquan, China had changed tremendously. Another peasant rebellion in the 19th century, called the Boxer Rebellion, directed mainly at foreigners in China, was built around heterodox beliefs such as supernatural forces that would render one invulnerable to guns and knives. The Taipings and Boxers helped foster broad trends away from mainstream Confucian learning. This was a great affront to those who argued that Confucian learning should be upheld as the essence (ti) of Chinese culture.
   • A historical background to the ti/yong (essence/application) argument:
     • Historically, the teachings of Confucius (551-479 BC) were upheld as the state ethic around 100 BC. This situation lasted into 1911, with the overthrow of the last Chinese imperial dynasty and the establishment of a republic.
     • Just like love is central to Christianity, so ren (translated variously as benevolence or humaneness) was central to Confucian learning. It was the benchmark for a human being, hence its translation into "humaneness."
       Ren referred to a system of proper behavior toward different people.
     • The Confucian definition of human social practices were treated as ti (essence) in the face of Western intrusions in the 19th century, versus the Western knowledge introduced into China, which were erroneously defined as derivations of the Confucian knowledge, hence the term for it: yong (applications).
     • The ti/yong dichotomy relegated Western learning to a level subordinate to Chinese learning. But 19th century rebellions veered significantly away from Confucian teachings. What was more, the Qing government, wanting to use the Boxers to fight against the foreigners, also made many of the Boxer beliefs, derived from another source of Chinese tradition, Daoism, with no orthodoxy status, legal status in Chinese society. All this prepared the way for changing mainstream Chinese thinking and further introduction of Western learning.
   • Taiping forces' reliance on women's combat units (Spence, 137, 150) provided more equality to women than historically permitted in China.
   • That the Taipings could deal such a heavy blow to the Qing government also showed the weakness of the latter, primarily because it had been dealing with confrontations with the foreign forces (1856-1860 Second Opium War ) (Taiping progress: capture of Yongan, Oct.1851, Quanzhou. May 1852, Wuchang, Jan.1853, and March 1853, Nanjing)

2. Taiping organizational strategies reflected a synthesis of Confucian and Christian practices that signified the mix and synthesis of Chinese and Western ideas since the 19th century.

• Leadershp:
  • Rules and stipulations from the Bible.
  • Direct instructions from God via Xiao Chaogui.
  • Strict hierarchy within the Taiping leadership: the various kings under Hong; strict separation between men and women except for the top leadership, where Hong, like the emperors, could keep concubines.
• Military approaches:
  • Mass mobilization: reliance on the locals for scouts and spies.
  • Flexible military tactics that were improved over time.