"As for the great ethical code of father and son, husband and wife, the bandits rebel against Heaven, and they turn their backs on reason; they do not acknowledge the order of older and younger, of noble and mean; they only know brother and sister."
—Zhang Dejian
太
拜 平 帝
天
囯
天下
"All Under Heaven"
Full Nation Name : Heavenly Kingdom | Heaven — (天囯, Tiēnkuo)Majority/Official Culture : Taiping | Taipings (平)
In contrast, all things outside of the Tienkuo, particularly those associated with the enemies of the Taiping, such as the Manchus and the Qing dynasty, are likewise referred to using demonic — (妖) terms such as "demonic paraphernalia" for dynastic clothes and headgear, "demon scholars" for Neo—Confucian scholars, "demon soldiers, and demon messengers" for Manchu troops, envoys, and so forth, sparing not even the common people under the yoke of the Tatars from demonization, who are known only as "demon maggots."
Among the Southern Han, the formerly marginalized Hakka have primacy over the rest as the progenitors of the Taiping, and by extension, the Heavenly Kingdom, which derives its norms, customs, values, and institutions from the Hakka leaders comprising much, if not all of its founding stock. Subsequently, the homogenizing influence of Mandarin has been blunted in favor of Hakkafan as the national lingua franca, though other regional dialects and local customs remain vibrant, with exception to northern strains often associated with Beijing, and by extension, the Manchus, which have fallen by the wayside in favor of indigenous fashions that have blended into a diverse and colorful mosaic of Southern China.
A notable example involves the replacement of the classical hanfu and the Manchu cheongsam by the Hakka shanku as the traditional female dress, though more radical changes include other southron styles that range from tunics with open necks and short sleeves to blouses that expose the legs and midriff, such as the sbai or tube—top worn by the Tai—speaking Zhuang and the miniskirts of the Duan Qun Miao or "short skirt Miao" — (短裙苗), which have risen to new prominence as modern casual wear under the countercultural influence of the Taipings, whose Hakka—inspired values and egalitarian roots historically encouraged transgressive forms feminine expression that ran contrary to Confucian morality.
Despite the intense hostility directed at their former overlords, the Taiping notably retain some old customs such as the queue hairstyle previously mandated by the Qing, though not as a matter of respect, but rather as an extension of the rebellion, symbolized by refusing to shave the hair on the front, which the Manchus formerly viewed as the primary sign of loyalty rather than adopting the braid. That sentiment also extends to the fairer sex, some of whom have chosen to braid their hair in a fashion not too dissimilar from the queue as a means of co—opting an ancient symbol of Manchurian male identity for subversive ends. While growing the hair long continues to symbolize revolutionary ideals into the modern day for this reason, there are also a growing number of men that have adopted clean shaven looks and cut the hair short in Western styles for similar reasons stemming from a shared rebel tradition.
Territorial Core : Heaven — China proper and Taiwan less the provinces of Shanxi and Zhili.
Territorial Claim :Thy Kingdom Come — Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Manchuria, with further aspirational claims towards the Amur region, and the Ili River Delta and South Lake Balkhash.
Capital City : Tienjing, the Heavenly Capital — (天京). Formerly known as Nanjing — (南京市), but later christened "New Jerusalem" after the Taiping captured the city in 1853.
Population : ~364,000,000
"The Taiping Rebellion, with all its inconsistencies, showed that the Chinese mind was capable of freeing itself from its old fetters, and of adopting new and progressive ideas in harmony with the highest form of civilization."
—The Radical Review, Vol. 1&2 by Karl Dannenberg and Alexander Jaunwiksna
Government Type : Celestial Empire — de jure heterodox theocratic monarchy under revolutionary vanguard that functions as a de facto totalitarian theocracy under military dictatorship.
Government Ideology/Policies : Puritanism, militarism, feminism, abolitionism, cosmopolitanism, and totalitarianism with a notable rejection of Sinocentrism by the Shield King, who discouraged the use of the word "barbarian" to describe Westerners and other foreigners. There is also a strong emphasis on social progressivism, particularly on women's rights and equality that separate the Taiping from other millenarian and salvationist congregations such as the White Lotus, which translated historically into state policies banning foot—binding, concubinage, arranged marriage, wife purchase, widow suicide, and prostitution, among other reforms that also introduced equal access to education, government, and military service for the fairer sex, paving the way for Fu Shanxiang to become the first woman in Chinese history to pass the civil service exam and distinguish herself as the first ranked scholar or zhuangyuan (状元), while others such as Su Sanniang, Qiu Ersao, and Hong Xuanjiao, notably led other women into battle to fight alongside the men during the Taiping Rebellion.
Government Focus : "To rid the world of demon worship and establish paradise on earth" in the words of Hong Xiuquan, which in practice involves the destruction of an old order that had lasted three thousand years for the purposes of creating a utopian society through dynastic and cultural revolution, in which the faith is used as the primary vehicle for revolutionary change, social transformation, and industrial development through a mix of various socio—economic reforms and experiments along Hakka lines, wherein the Chinese classics are replaced by Western ethical systems rooted in the Bible, scientific training, and Western education.
Head of State : Heavenly King — (太平天王)
Head of Government : Shield King — (仲裁者)
Government Description : In matters of church and state, the Heavenly Kingdom or Tienkuo is one and the same, lacking the notion of the secular through its conflation of religious fundamentalism and revolutionary ideology with monotheism and an absolutist form of government. Unlike traditional dynasties, if not monarchies in general, the state is staunchly anti—reactionary and revolutionary in character due to its heterodox interpretation of Christianity, from which a curious amalgam of seemingly incompatible elements such as authoritarianism and egalitarianism, as well as monarchy and a form of proto—socialism emerged under various government dictums that enforced wealth redistribution, land reform, and equality between men and women among other policies spawned originally from the visions of Hong Xiuquan.
Notably, there is a uniform consensus around the notion of equality under God on earth as it is in Heaven, with the original Taipings going as far as to promote a classless and feminist society as the official state ideology despite the apparent asymmetry with the concept of hierarchical dynastic authority, if not for the clarity that comes with the emphasis on the under God portion as the rationalization behind the contradiction. In practice, this translates into a society comprised only of the commons and royalty with no gentry or aristocracy in between, whereby the citizenry represent the chosen faithful residing in an utopian afterlife of peace and equality in Heaven, notably NOT a democracy according to Scripture, while the Heavenly King is likewise symbolic of the Shangdi or Jehovah, lording over the rest of the flock.
Based on the understanding that Kingdom of Heaven is a celestial reflection of the night sky, and the Tienkuo likewise as a mirror of the night sky on earth, the state is subsequently organized to reflect its Biblical counterpart in combination with elements borrowed from traditional Chinese theology and astronomy, which treats the Heavenly King or Tienwang as the Pole Star surrounded by circumpolar stars that represent the Palace of the Heavenly King — (天王府) or Tienwang Fu, from which a celestial bureaucracy comprised of numerous staff and civil servants spread across the various departments and ministries handle the daily operations of the administration in the fashion of the hierarchy of angels.
Below the Heavenly King, the Tienkuo is divided between chosen deputies comprised of regional kings and princes — (王) or wangs that administer his reign as provincial governors, typically chosen from the ranks of the proven faithful through a combination of heredity and appointment within a complicated peerage system organized along various grades of rank and responsibility. At the top are the regional kings, formerly comprised of the Kings of the Four Cardinal Directions and the Flank King, and later expanding to include the Shield King, adding up to a total of six wangs of the highest grade charged with administering the corresponding kingdoms or feudatories, while at the local level, the primary administrative divisions are further atomized into smaller denominations such as provinces and counties arranged in descending order down to the city level, each ruled by lesser princes of inferior grade.
While most ranks are hereditary, they are considered an extension of the royal dynasty rather than as a distinct class of gentry. With the inclusion of an additional six titles of apparent nobility that cannot be passed down, there are eleven distinct categories of peers in total, but in reality they can all be revoked by the central government, from the highest to the lowest grade, based on numerous criteria such as poor performance and corruption among others. Though not purely meritocratic due to the inborn advantages afforded to the children of men and women of rank, the institutions of the Tienkuo comes very close with the notable lack of restrictions barring civil service on the basis of race, sex, and social class save for religion."Highest Lord and God, Heavenly Father, we your unworthy children who kneel here remember that you, our Heavenly Father, created heaven and earth, mountains and seas, sun and moon, humans and all things in six days. We ask you, that you may bless the brothers and sisters of all nations. Bless us brothers and sisters; give us our daily bread and garments, turn away accident and disadvantage from us, so that we have peace in this world."
—Lord's Prayer; Taiping Rendition
Majority/State Religion : God—Worshipping — (拜上帝教)
Religious Description : As a religious movement, the God-Worshippers or Bai Shangdi Hui centered their worship around the views of its founder, Hong Xiuquan, whose unique interpretation of Christianity combined Chinese folk religion and other religious traditions with faith in Shangdi (上帝, God | Jehovah). They believe in central tenets and scriptural concepts shared in the established Christian canon such as Divine filiation, which is the redemption of all Christians (and only Christians in their view), Trinitarianism, and Canonization of Saints, but differ widely when it comes to the belief that their founder Hong Xiuquan was "the son of God the Father and the younger brother of Jesus Christ, who had been directed to rid the world of demon worship.""If the French or English attempt to resist us when we attack Shanghai, we will cut off the heads of all foreigners we get hold of, and stop all the tea and silk trade. Though if the French and English do not interfere, all white men might go over all the country and trade."
— Taiping Loyal King Li Xiucheng to Joseph Lambert, 1862
Economic Ideologies : Christian socialism with Chinese characteristics under a mixed market economy functionally indistinguishable from state capitalism, defined by a stark departure from the past introspection of conservative Neo—Confucianists in favor of extraversion in matters relating to trade.
Major Production : Though somewhat hyperbolic to claim that the Heavenly Kingdom "possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders" in the words of the Qianlong Emperor, that sentiment is not entirely too far removed from the truth in that China proper is among the most resource—rich regions in the world, whether in terms traditional luxury goods such as silk, tea, porcelain, salt, sugar, saffron, and spice or bulk staple goods such as cotton, grain, beans, vegetable oils, rubber, animal products, fertilizer and others too many to name. There is also copper, gold, coal, platinum, zinc, lead and other precious metals that are used for the production of newer manufacturing goods such as steel, motors, railways, textiles, synthetic dyes, photographic films, agricultural chemicals, and other consumer goods. On the other hand, military procurement involves the import, reverse engineering, and mass assembly of rifles, ammunition, artillery, bayonets, rockets, and warships.
Economic Description : A war time economy during a time of relative peace, where profitable civilian industries fall behind a booming military industrial complex comprised of state—run arms, munitions, and shipbuilding corporations such as such as the Hanyang Arsenal, Foochow Arsenal, and Jiangnan Shipyard as part of government efforts produce, mobilize, and allocate resources to sustain the violence against its many enemies both real and imagined within and without the country.
Currency : Holy Treasure (聖寶, Shèngbao)
Development: Modern/Semi—Industrial
Development Description : Despite the tremendous progress so far, the Heavenly Kingdom is only scratching the surface in terms of its overall potential. As a nation still mostly comprised of peasant farms, heavy industry is mainly found in major urban centers and coastal cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, which were among the first to modernize, while more inland settlements and rural environs still range from developing to primitive. The sheer size of the land is also a major contributing factor towards the uneven and very staggered rate of industrialization, though the lingering scars of internecine war dating back to the Taiping Rebellion and other related conflicts remain the largest hurdle towards greater uniformity, due in no small part to the widespread devastation that befell seventeen provinces and more than six hundred cities and towns. While derelict ruins continue to dot the landscape in some of the worst—hit parts of the country, the intervening decades have since been kind to the local economies of several great cities, some of which individually are comparable to that of small countries, if not moderately sized Western states based on sheer size and scale.
Some standouts include Guangzhou and the surrounding Pearl River Delta, notable not only for being the first—mover in the industrial revolution, but also for its leading role as the production center of China from which the toil of tens of millions contribute towards a strong manufacturing base of unprecedent growth and output. Likewise, Shanghai is the seat of maritime empire teeming with multitudes of enterprising workers and consumers, where the city lights dazzle the world and trade flows from the banks of the Yellow River, and more importantly the entrance of the Grand Canal, which leads into the vast wealth of the interior. There is also the Heavenly Capital of New Jerusalem, which acts as the central hub connecting the sprawling rail system that weaves across vast tracts of remote wilderness and dense urban centers alike across the country. In short, the Heavenly Kingdom is greater than the sum of its parts when put together, forming one of the largest economies in the Orient, if not the foremost in terms of population, resources, and industrial capacity."Forced slowly down through the many levels of Heaven, at last the demons are driven down to earth itself, and there Hong and his heavenly army behead them in great numbers."
— God's Chinese Son by Jonathan Spence
Army Description :The Heavenly Army — (天军) is the regular army of the Kingdom of God, encompassing the ground forces of the Heavenly Host. It is the oldest institution of the Taipings, notable for founding the government it currently serves, predating both church and state, as well as the Taiping Rebellion itself. As a product of divine inspiration, it was conceived from the prophetic dreams of the Heavenly King, whose visions promised the destruction of the demons infesting heaven at the hands of a Heavenly Army led by both himself and his celestial older brother, Jesus Christ.
Unlike other postcolonial armies that borrow from Western military models and innovations, the Heavenly Army has not entirely abandoned its roots, instead combining old and new doctrines to compensate for the shortcomings in Chinese methodology, resulting in a syncretic approach that involves adopting an indigenously—built bolt—action rifle based on stolen Qing designs from 1864, and more recently, the Hanyang 88, which took similar inspiration from its German counterpart, all the while retaining components of traditional Chinese dress for its uniform, such as the blood—red or apricot blouses and blue trousers dating back to the revolution, as well as the practice of growing the hair long, which had earned the original rebels the nickname of "long hairs" that remains in use today. Likewise, it also actively borrows the terminology and symbols of incorporated rebel groups, such as the practice of sworn brotherhood between officers, five—color banners and flags with eight trigrams, as well as honorary titles such as the "Bright General of the Great Han" among other addresses that harken back to traditional leadership positions of the Nian and Tiendihui.
In the same grain, the Heavenly Army also blends the professionalism of its modern incarnation with other peculiar elements unique to its rebel tradition, the most notable of which involves the widespread usage of warrior women as a cultural touchstone derived from the amazonian customs of the Hakka, which have long normalized full female—participation in war, dating back centuries before the Taiping Rebellion when generational land disputes pitted the Hakka women militias and their male equivalents against their much larger neighbors. While the army initially kept the sexes apart in separate units in the spirit of those selfsame Hakka guerilla fighters, the practice took on new ideological rather quickly with the rise of the new order, leading to more extensive reforms by Hong Xuanjiao that did away with gender—based segregation entirely by introducing fully—integrated units of men and women at arms based on past precedent set by the Heavenly King in 1855.
Under the Taiping household registration system — (户籍) or hukou, a single able—bodied adult between the ages of fifteen to twenty—five from each family is to be conscripted into the army to serve for a period of three years before entering the reserves for another four. While men are preferred over the fairer sex, the latter of which take up arms only in the absence of sons, there have always been a large number of female troops serving in the ranks from the onset since the Taiping Rebellion, distinguishing the rebels from other contemporary and peer armies. There is considerable enthusiasm from the Hakka in particular, who view military service as a point of pride, contributing more recruits per capita than any other ethnic group, much like with other state and public institutions of the Heavenly Kingdom where they are typically overrepresented.
Though formerly comprised of triad gangsters, highway bandits, and disgruntled peasants among other assorted dregs that initially took up the cross for the rebel cause, the army has come a long way from the dross that once filled the ranks, transforming into a massive organization split into many component parts across a vast jurisdiction, which relies on a mix of local and national reviews based on the annual imperial hunt at Mulan to ensure a suitable level of quality control during the intervening peace. The largest among them takes place at the Thistle Mountains, the ancestral seat and former base of operations for the Taiping, where grand parades, inspections, public reviews, and various wargames are conducted yearly as the primary means of screening the quality of the fighting men and women, once more illustrating the willingness of the former rebels to replicate successful methods found elsewhere, even from their former overlords.
Despite doctrinal reforms in the Church, the army firmly keeps to the tenets of original God Worshippers, placing little emphasis on the God of the New Testament and the corresponding values of forgiveness and redemption in favor of a draconian interpretation of Jehovah from the Old Testament as a warrior judge demanding worship and obedience, and in whose name summary execution creates disciplined and fanatical soldiers. Subsequently, there are strict rules of engagement mainly based on the modified Ten Commandments of Hong Xiuquan that governs troop behavior at camp and on the march, though in keeping with the syncretic character of the faith, other sources of inspiration include the military organization of the Qin dynasty and the Book of Zhou, as an idealized blueprint for a militarized society in the spirit of the corresponding Zhou dynasty, both of which notably predate Confucian school of thought, with the former infamously carrying out a purge of Confucian scholars and books.
Whereas its Manchu predecessor was bound to the cultural framework of the four occupations that purposely excluded soldiers from the social hierarchy due to an emphasis of the civil (文) over the military (武) by the Neo—Confucian elite, the Taiping army likewise reflects a society that values religious fundamentalism and militarism among other things antithetical to the old order, from which newfound legitimacy, prestige, and religious purpose are afforded to martial professions centered chiefly around violence and war, leading to the present circumstance whereby the act of enlisting is commonly referred to as "taking the cross" in the spirit of medieval kings and knights on crusade.
While only a fraction of its former size compared to the cumulative land forces during the Taiping Rebellion and other related conflicts, it remains the largest, if not the largest standing army and peace—keeping force in the world with almost 3 million in active service across myriad divisions of horse, foot, and artillery with distribution roughly split between 2.4 million in the mainland and another 400 thousand in Taiwan. Full mobilization can bring the number up to 10 million in the short term, comprising mostly of fervent, yet untested recruits.
Army Weakness : While the total reserve force can run into the tens of millions on paper, the arms, equipment, and munitions required to fully outfit such a massive quantity are currently beyond the capacity of homegrown industries. Logistics notwithstanding, obedience is encouraged above critical thinking or independent action across the ranks, where faith and zealotry make up the shortcomings in discipline and restraint, reflected through an unsophisticated military doctrine of mass human waves and total war on civilian populations. There are also unique drawbacks that come with the inclusion of women in the military that are otherwise absent with an entirely male force, such a not insignificant rate of attrition and turnover due to high rates of fraternization and unplanned pregnancies in the ranks, as well as the shortcomings of the female sex from a biological standpoint, resulting in the model Taiping soldier being physically weaker on average even if she is almost certainly more fanatical than her foe.
Naval Description :The Heavenly Fleet — (天海军), also referred to as the Sea Dragon — (海龙) or Leviathan — (鲲), is the naval branch of the Heavenly Host, and the maritime arm of the Kingdom of Heaven. Inheriting a proud naval tradition dating back two thousand years since the establishment of the Tower Ship Navy by the Han dynasty, the contemporary navy of the Taipings can trace its origins to an ad—hoc formation of captured American—built gunboats and steamers crewed by pirates and other criminal elements during the Taiping Rebellion, later expanding operations over ocean and coast far beyond its original mission of disrupting Qing logistics and merchant shipping after the capture of the Lay—Osborn flotilla or "Vampire Fleet" and the former Fujian Marine Fleet — (福建水师) from their former Manchu overlords following the end of the revolution.
Much like the army, the Heavenly Fleet predates the formation of the state owing to its rebel origins, but unlike its terrestrial counterpart, the navy is an all—volunteer force that draws heavily from coastal communities with strong maritime traditions along the Pearl, Yangtze, and Yellow River Deltas and its various tributaries. Though the navy retains considerable numbers of Hakkas and Zhuangs among its ranks, there is greater representation from other traditionally marginalized minority groups such as the Hokkien, Punti, and Yue, who feature prominently as valued sailors and marines. In particular, the Tanka or "boat people", historically neglected and scorned as "sea gypsies" before the rise of the new order, now enjoy a favored status for their nearly unparalleled skills as voyagers and seafarers.
Notably, the average sailor is afforded a higher salary and improved benefits over their counterparts in the army. A bulk of the officer corps passes through one of two competing naval academies at the former Gaochang Temple—turned—Cathedral in Shanghai and in the nearby island of Dinghai, which had formerly served as the ancient admiralty headquarters of the Song dynasty, where they are introduced to a number of esoteric rituals and occult practices distinct from the army.
It is split into two components — the River Fleet (河舰队) and the Sea Fleet (沧海舰队), each suited for greenwater and bluewater operations respectively. Much like its Qing predecessor, the latter is further split into four regional navies, organized along a four-zone sea defense system inspired by the reforms of the Kangxi Emperor and his successors, with each zone corresponding to the four cardinal directions, consisting of the Taiwan Strait — (East) the Guangdong coast — (South), the former Jiangsu—Zhejiang turned Jiangnan—Sufu coast — (West), and the Yellow Sea — (North) near Weihaiwei.
Likewise, the former riverine half is organized similarly into four smaller fleets operating along the great rivers of the Tienkuo, comprising the Pearl, Yangtze, Huaihe, and Yellow Rivers, whereby every regional fleet is supported by a chain of coastal artillery batteries and naval bases known as "water castles" in every port and strongpoint of strategic import. Unlike the Imperial Chinese Navy of old, the Heavenly Fleet is under the command of a single admiralty in charge of all the regional navies in a maritime reflection of the Heavenly Kingdom comprising of regional kings under one Heavenly King ruling over one nation under one God.
The most current incarnation of the Heavenly Fleet is synonymous with the massive military buildup that came to define the reign of the Hong Xuanjiao, the Heavenly Queen. As the product of reorganization efforts to consolidate the disparate rebel fleets into a modernized blue water navy, few of the ships dating back to the Taiping Rebellion remain in active service, instead replaced by hulking vessels of iron and steel comprising of destroyers, cruisers, and battleships produced from the Jiangnan Shipyards with respectable numbers capable of defending shores of the Heavenly Kingdom.
It is comprised of nine battleships, twelve armored cruisers, twenty—four protected and unprotected cruisers, eighty—four torpedo boats, fifteen coastal defense ships, and nine monitors. Riverine fleets are comprised of two—hundred and four gunboats in active service and hundreds of wooden ships of various sizes, such combat junks, carracks, and galleons among others.
Naval Weakness : While the Taipings attach great importance to the construction and maintenance of a strong navy, if only due to the necessity that arises from its surrounding, hostile neighbors, the Heavenly Fleet is ultimately of secondary importance compared to the army, both in terms of funding and prestige, which likewise reduces the number of available recruits. Since the focus is not to dominate the open seas, nor project its power across great distances unlike the major colonial powers however, the navy need only focus on defending, by means of patrols, the inner sea space of the Heavenly Kingdom, which is demarcated and treated as an extension of overland territory, allowing for a more stringent screening process to ensure an elite, but smaller force capable enough to do just that, but not much more, especially against global naval powers.
Further Military Description : Based on the angelic army of the same name from Scripture, the Heavenly Host — (天主办) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Heaven, comprising of the Heavenly Army and the Heavenly Fleet as two coequal branches, at least on paper. While the Office of the Inquisition (审讯) or Guoanbu often recruit from the ranks and attach themselves to existing field units, if not deploy their own combat troops in certain situations, they operate independently from the Host despite being considered to be an unofficial "third branch" by some. Much like its biblical counterpart, there is but one supreme commander in the form of the Shangdi or Jehovah, which in practice involves the Heavenly King acting as the principal organ by which military decisions are carried out.
National Goals : Reunify the country and make China whole once more by whatever necessary means — by peace if possible or by force if necessary. Try to secure for itself a place in the sun by obtaining an overseas colony if possible. Wipe out remaining dissent and acquire new trading partners.
National Issues : Antagonistic relationship with (most) of the Orient.
National Figures of Interest :National Ambition/Aspirations : The empire, long divided, must unite.
History :"The greatest mistake which you Western people, and more especially you English people, made in all your dealings with China was to help the Manchus in putting down the Taiping Rebellion."
—Ito Hirobumi
- 1836
- Jan
- Edwin Stevens preaches to a young Hong Huoxiu about Christianity, providing a set of pamphlets comprised of a crude, rough translation of the Bible in Chinese known as the Good Words to Admonish the Age.
- 1843
- March
- Hong fails the imperial examinations in his fourth and final attempt, causing him to become deathly ill after a mental breakdown, during which he drops in and out of a hallucinatory, if not miraculous state that allows him to gain entry into heaven, and commune with God, Jesus, and others.
- He declares himself the second son of the Heavenly Father and the younger brother of Jesus Christ upon awakening from his visions, winning over his family after they initially fear for his sanity. There is a particularly notable change that has Hong become considerably more charismatic, friendly, and open, his pace suddenly imposing and firm as if turning into an entirely different person with greater height and stature overnight.
- Hong adopts the name Xiuquan or "Quan" for short after revealing that his given of "Huoxiu" violated certain taboos according to Jehovah.
- Two giant swords known as the demon-slaying swords (斬妖劍) are forged to aid Hong Xiuquan in his quest to rid China of idols.
- 1844
- June
- Hong leaves his teaching job to travel the countryside with his cousin, Feng Yunshan, and spread his message. Thanks to his knowledge of the classical forms and local religious traditions, he can expresses his views in ways that speak directly to the Southern Chinese by dealing with local potentates, arguing in legalistic terms and language in accordance with recent international treaties for freedom.
- Nov
- After five months of proselytizing across Guangxi, Hong returns home without Feng to resume work as a village teacher and continue his writings.
- 1847
- Jan
- Hong accepts an invitation to study at the chapel of French missionary Isaac Jaceaux Roberts and travels to Guangzhou with his cousin, Hong Rengan.
- March
- Quan thwarts a sabotage attempt by his fellow students with the help of Rengan. He is subsequently baptized by Roberts, whose sermons of fire and brimstone, judgement and eternal damnation leave a lasting impression, though Hong keeps his own unique interpretation of the faith to himself for now.
- Feng Yunshan founds the Society of God Worshippers, comprised of a growing number of converts to Quan's brand of Christianity.
- Quan assumes leadership of the growing sect and begins his translation and adaption of Gospel into what would become the Taiping Bible.
- 1850
- Dec
- Alarmed Qing officials to send imperial troops to disperse the God Worshippers, which have grown to a size of 30,000 converts. However, the battle ends poorly for the former, with the Manchu deputy magistrate slain.
- 1851
- Jan
- A full scale attack is launched by the Green Standard Army against the sect's headquarters in Jintian, but once again are repelled. The victorious zealots behead the Qing commander, sparking the Jintian Uprising, which later expands into the Taiping Rebellion.
- July
- Yongan falls to the rebels, leading to a groundswell of new converts and receives support from large portions of the working poor and peasant populations, who are drawn by promises of land reform and wealth redistribution.
- Hong Xuanjiao or "Jiao" arrives with an army of women to join her brother, earning herself a promotion by a grateful Quan.
- A navy for the fledgling Taiping state is formed, comprised of captured Manchu vessels that operate along the Yangtze and its tributaries.
- Oct
- Yang Xiuqing, the East King, is shot by a Qing gunner in place of Feng Yunshan as he sat in his sedan chair during the march past Quanzhou in Guangxi. In retaliation, the rebels decide not to bypass the city as originally planned and instead lay siege to it, breaching the walls after two days and killing everyone inside.
- Dec
- Yang survives his injuries, but is incapacitated for some time afterwards.
- 1853
- March
- Nanjing, the former capital of the Ming dynasty, falls to the Taipings.
- Quan reveals himself to be the reincarnated Melchizedek, the messianic priest—king who anticipated David in the Old Testament and Christ in the New before renaming Nanjing to "New Jerusalem," declares it the capital of the newly established Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, which now controls a population base of 30 million people.
- Jiao marries Xiao Chaogui, the North King in a political marriage meant to secure her brother's position, though she genuinely falls in love wit her new spouse later that year.
- May
- The Northern Expedition — (太平天國北伐) is launched concurrently with the Western Expedition — (太平天國西征) as part of a broad pincer movement that would envelop all of Northern and Western China through the conquest of Beijing and the upper Yangtze respectively with the end goal of linking up at Sichuan.
- Hong invites his old teacher, Roberts, to come to New Jerusalem and aid in the administration of the fledgling state.
- Aug
- With the Manchu capital facing the prospect of a direct attack three years into the war and within one year of the Taiping capturing Nanjing, the almost unstoppable momentum of the rebels at this early juncture has the Manchu court, who are so sure that the city would fall to the incoming rebels that they order all tax revenues sent to Manchuria instead, while calling in reinforcements to fortify the capital.
- Oct
- In a tactical blunder, the Northern Expedition forgoes directly attacking Beijing instead of Tientsin, despite the inadequate defenses of the former.
- 1855
- Jan
- After a series of bad, sever weather, and supply shortages, the Northern Expedition ends short of a complete disaster with the intervention of Hong Xuanjiao, who manages to extract the army after the deaths of its commanders, Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang.
- Conversely, the Western Expedition makes several breakthroughs in Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hunan.
- Aug
- Punti–Hakka Clan Wars erupts in Guangdong, leading to fierce spreading along the Pearl River Delta.
- Nov
- Jiao leads the remainder of the expeditionary forces towards Zhenjiang, which the Nian rebels have besieged. After a brief standoff, the Taipings agree to join forces with the Nian, allowing the attackers to take the city in short order.
- Zhang Lexing is slain by Xuanjiao during a short, but bloody power struggle with the help of another female rebel named Su Sanniang, allowing the former to consolidate the Nian under her command.
- 1856
- March
- Zhenjiang becomes a bastion for the Taiping in the north, attracting subsequent Manchu attacks like a lightning rod, diverting resources away from the spring offensive launched by the Qing against the Heavenly Capital.
- July
- Yang Xiuqing recovers from his injuries and jockeys to regain lost influence in court, quickly turning into a source of discord and infighting. He tries to moderate the Taiping stance towards Confucius, but Hong does not relent, firm in the belief that Confucianism was the work of Satan that ought to be eradicated.
- Oct
- The Southern Expedition — (太平天國南征) is launched with the goal of linking up with the remaining Red Turbans to capture Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta, where the war between the Hakka and Punti rages on. Yang is charged to lead the offensive by Hong, who sees it as a way to get rid of his rival by dispatching him far away from the capital.
- 1858
- March
- Hong Rengan is given the second most important position in the Taiping ranks after joining his cousin at the Heavenly Capital. He proposes a series of reforms that have mixed results, some being more successful than others such the construction of railroads and banks in the areas controlled by the Tienkuo, while attempts to gain the support of Western governments waxed and waned as Taiping troops actively inched closer towards Shanghai and enforced a ban of opium in their territory. For the most part however, he dedicates much of his efforts towards centralizing the administration and capitalizing on military successes on the field.
- May
- After laundering most of his responsibilities to his cousin, the Heavenly King spends most of his time carousing and enjoying the company of his wives. Rather than taking a more active role in ruling his realm, Hong Xiuquan neglects his duties in favor of interpreting scripture and obsessing over visions and prophecy, resulting in increasingly frequent episodes of extreme paranoia, which leads him to further seclude himself from the public and hide away his harem.
- Sept
- Rengan becomes the de facto ruler after his cousin abstains from leaving his chambers entirely, consulting the former in only rare occassions.
- 1860
- Feb
- Roberts arrives at Tienjing and meets with Rengan, but is barred from meeting with his old student. Though dismayed to find that the doctrines of the Taipings differs widely from his own, he accepts the position of director of foreign affairs.
- Hu Yiguang reaches the Upper Yangtze with his army, while other components of the Western Expedition led by Lai Hanying and Zeng Tienyang link up with the Miao and then the Panthay rebels in Guizhou and Yunnan respectively.
- July
- All three army groups of the Western Expedition begin converging on Sichuan.
- Nov
- Guangzhou falls to the combined assault of the Taipings and Red Turbans under the Southern Expedition led by Yang, who barely reigns in his troops from utterly obliterating the city, though a relatively less destructive sack, by Taiping standards at least, still occurs that bears down hard on the Yue community in particular.
- Dec
- A war cry — "Down with the Tatars, down with the Idols!" spreads along the Pearl River as the victorious Hakka rebels use Canton as a staging ground to launch attacks in the countryside, often in support of the beleaguered Hakka communities at war with the Punti.
- 1861
- Jan
- Shi Dakai is assigned to lead another Northern Expedition.
- April
Dakai breaks yet another siege of Zhenjiang, his army swelling with the inclusion of Xuanjiao and her forces. After a brief respite, the Northern Expedition pushes towards Shanghai.
- June
- Shanghai is surrounded by the Taiping, who dig in for a long siege after several failed attempts at storming the heavily defended city.
- 1862
- Nov
- Shanghai falls after a protracted siege, culminating in an apocalyptic slaughter of unprecedented proportions. While efforts are made by Dakai to spare the foreigners, many are still slain in the chaos.
- 1864
- March
- Sichuan at last falls to the three combined prongs of the Western Expedition following the storming of Chengdu, rendering the Qing war effort untenable with the fall of its last great stronghold.
- May
- Xi'an defects to the Taiping after negotiations between the Dungan rebels and portions of the Western and Northern expeditions that link up outside of the city.
- Aug
- Despite the setback of a failed Northern Expedition, the Qing remain too weakened from the war with the Koreans to capitalize on their on their victory and slow down the rebels, though they manage to drag out the war up to this point with outside support from foreign powers such as the French, but not enough to reverse course following the fall of Sichuan.
- A treaty is signed between Tienjing and Beijing, officially ending hostilities.
- 1865
- Jan
- Mandatory indoctrination, propaganda and reeducation programs are launched that also prove quite effective with the youth, much more so than the old, comprising the Heavenly Kingdom's most zealous base of support.
- Countless precious texts are burned and rampant vandalism of Buddhist and Confucian icons is encouraged. Mobs of angry zealots in particular flush the cities clear of demonic influence and maleficarum with such hate and ferocity that centuries of ancient Chinese cultural icons and scripture considered "demonic" in origin is destroyed in less than a decade.
- March
- April
- Hong Xiuquan comes out of hiding, emerging from his study for the first time in seven years to address the public.
- In what is later known as the Blood Betrayal, the East King stages a coup against Hong, ending the death of the latter. Though, Hong Tienguifu is set to succeed the throne, he disappears in the chaos that unfolds in during apocalyptic slaughter that followed in streets of the Heavenly Capital.
- July
- Guangzhou is besieged by a half a million loyalist forces led by Hong Xuanjiao, Shi Dakai, Feng Yunshan, and Wei Changui among others.
- Oct
- Yang is slain in his palace by an angry mob after the gates of the Southern capital are breached, but Several hundred thousand continue the fight across the east and south in his name, with more than a quarter million holding out in the borderlands near Jiangxi and Fujian alone.
- 1871
- Aug
- Remaining armies loyal to Yang are completely wiped out by loyalist forces in the border regions of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi at the cost of several important loyalist commanders, including Wei and Feng, the North and South Kings respectively. Aside from losing her husband and close cousin, Xuanjiao in particular also she loses her only son in the fighting.
- Hong Rengan recalls all royalist forces back to the capital in the aftermath of the battle to settle the matter of royal succession.
- Sept
- Hong Xuanjiao and Rengan compete as the top contenders to inherit the throne, whereby the latter prevails the backing of the Heavenly Church and the other civil organs of the administration,.
- Jiao lays siege to the Celestial Palace with the backing of much of the army to press her claim more forcefully. While Rengan vows to fight back, most of his supporters are persuaded by the convincing arguments made by his cousin instead.
- 1873
- Jan
- Xuanjiao establishes Dibao Castle (地保城) atop the Purple Mountain as the seat of her new government, while the Celestial Palace remains under siege.
- The Heavenly Restoration (太平恢复) begins under the Heavenly Queen, who launches a national industrialization program accompanied by various social and political reforms that would later define her reign as a period of economic growth and expansion.
- Over sixty million are dead as a result of rebellion, draught, and famine since the outbreak of the revolution.
- 1874
- Oct
- Rengan emerges from the Celestial Palace, capitulating after a three year siege. Though he is pardoned by Jiao, he is subsequently assigned to govern Taiwan in what amounts to a political exile.
- 1877
- May
- Council of Guangzhou is held to clarify official Heavenly Church doctrine. Various foreign missionaries from the major denominations are present, but most prominent are from Protestant persuasions. A mix of elements are borrowed from Catholic and Orthodox dogma, but the bulk of doctrinal differences are hashed out along Protestant lines wherever possible, with exceptions made for central tenets to Taiping such as the divinity of the Heavenly King and others descended from the original founders.
- 1881
- Aug
- The White Lotus break with official Taiping policy and make a public stand against the persecution of religious minorities. They are subsequently excommunicated by the Heavenly Church and declared anathema, granting official sanction for the faithful masses to hunt down and destroy members the dissident sect, leading a series of mass killings and pogroms by both the army and armed mobs alike, driving the survivors into hiding.
- Queen Jiao decrees all mentions of the White Lotus stricken from the record in retaliation for their betrayal, resulting in widespread historical revisionism that names exclude them from the rebel coalition that won the revolution.
- 1888
- June
- Xuanjiao ascends to a higher plane to rejoin her brother after overseeing the longest period of peace since the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion and the subsequent founding of the Heavenly Kingdom almost two decades ago, leading to considerable optimism that properly contextualizes the freedom from the Tatar dynasty and the end to civil strife into a widely held belief that the darkness and wrongdoing of the past has given way to the hope for renewal and ultimately, salvation.
- August
- Hong Tienguifu or at least someone claiming to be the lost son of Xiuquan emerges out of hiding while matters of royal succession are hotly debated due to the lack of suitable heirs from the late queen. He inherits the throne after an extended investigation eventually finds his lineage to be genuine, much to the shock of many.
- Another crisis is averted when the lost prince—turned—king marries a daughter of Rengan as a compromise that both reconciles the estranged branches of the Hong dynasty and ensures the continuation of the royal bloodline, appeasing even the harshest of skeptics.
- 1901
- Jan
- A Heavenly Procession (天堂游行) is sent to Constantinople with a number of imperial princes and princesses in tow as wards to Emperor Andronikos for a period of four years, marking the largest diplomatic mission sent to the City of the World's Desire to date.
- 1904
- May
- Rumors swirl of a potential holy war on the horizon as the army swells to a size larger than all that came before with numbers surpassed only by a buildup of arms and equipment that has alarmed international observers. Whether such movements indicate another episode of saber rattling from the Celestial Palace against its neighbors or the heralding of something much more ominous, it remains to be seen.
RP Sample: susan took the kids
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