Hong Xiuquan and Religious Ideology of the Taiping Rebellion in 1850-1864

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Abstract

The Taiping Rebellion in China in the middle of the nineteenth century was not only the largest social revolutionary movement of its time, but a movement inspired in to a large extent by Christianity. The article highlights the important place of the Bible in Hong Xiuquan’s life, its radical reinterpretation by the Taiping leader, and the role that his religious ideology played in the actions of the Taiping and the existence of the Taiping Tianguo. The purpose of the study is to determine the role of religious ideology in the Taiping rebellion, as well as to analyze the views of the leader of their movement. The relevance of the research topic is due to the need to study religious ideologies related to the period of the history of the Qing Empire (1644-1911), as well as the markedly increased scientific interest in the history of China during the reign of the Manchu dynasty. During the study, it was found that under the influence of Western missionaries in southern China, a modified version of Christianity arose, turned by Hong Xiuquan into the ideology of the Taiping movement: the goal was to recreate the kingdom of heaven in this world.

About the authors

Baatr Uchaevich Kitinov

Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: kitinov@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4031-5667

doctor Habilitatus, associates Professor, Senior research fellow

12, Rozhdestvenka St, Moscow, 107031

Elizaveta A. Kodunova

RUDN University

Email: kodunova.liza@yandex.ru
student 6, Miklukho-Maklay St, Moscow, 117198, russian Federation

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Copyright (c) 2024 Kitinov B.U., Kodunova E.A.

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