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while the US was having our Civil War, China was having their own called the Taiping Rebellion after a local had a dream he was the brother of Christ and (tempo

while the US was having our Civil War, China was having their own called the Taiping Rebellion after a local had a dream he was the brother of Christ and (temporarily) founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion Oh, and this 'rebellion' cost up to 1000x the lives (50m) as the much more talked about Opium Wars (<50k)

cdot2 5y ago
And Europe had the Thirty Years War but we dont crackdown on religion because of it
- malermeister 5y ago
  Maybe we should've?
  - cdot2 5y ago
    I think authoritarianism is generally bad
    - malermeister 5y ago
      I think religion is generally bad
Proven 5y ago
[dead]
retrac 5y ago
It's baffling how little known this is in the West. It influenced much of the modern world. * It's the worst war/unrest in human history up to the world wars. * It was the straw that broke Qing China's back. The empire never recovered. The loss of Manchu officials led to local Han authorities raising armies directly, permanently weakening imperial authority. * It really was led by a man who proclaimed himself the brother of Christ. Hong was probably schizophrenic. Unfortunately he was also charismatic and a gifted military commander. A fascinating person on his own. * The Heavenly Kingdom was a semi-functional theocratic state that lasted over a decade and ruled tens of millions at one point. They issued stamps, coins, and tried to establish foreign relations. * The rebels went full zealot. Millenialist. Communal property. Group castrations. * The rallying around ethnic Hakka identity by the rebels explains much of the modern insistence that the Han Chinese are one people with one language. * It was so disruptive Western forces got involved in the conflict on the Qing side. They stayed after. It accelerated the unequal treaties process. For comic relief: * General Zuo Zongtang, who finally put the rebellion down, is one of the most celebrated and remembered generals in world history; General Tso's Chicken is named after him.

cdot2 5y ago

And Europe had the Thirty Years War but we dont crackdown on religion because of it

malermeister 5y ago
Maybe we should've?
- cdot2 5y ago
  I think authoritarianism is generally bad
  - malermeister 5y ago
    I think religion is generally bad

Proven 5y ago

[dead]

retrac 5y ago

It's baffling how little known this is in the West. It influenced much of the modern world. * It's the worst war/unrest in human history up to the world wars. * It was the straw that broke Qing China's back. The empire never recovered. The loss of Manchu officials led to local Han authorities raising armies directly, permanently weakening imperial authority. * It really was led by a man who proclaimed himself the brother of Christ. Hong was probably schizophrenic. Unfortunately he was also charismatic and a gifted military commander. A fascinating person on his own. * The Heavenly Kingdom was a semi-functional theocratic state that lasted over a decade and ruled tens of millions at one point. They issued stamps, coins, and tried to establish foreign relations. * The rebels went full zealot. Millenialist. Communal property. Group castrations. * The rallying around ethnic Hakka identity by the rebels explains much of the modern insistence that the Han Chinese are one people with one language. * It was so disruptive Western forces got involved in the conflict on the Qing side. They stayed after. It accelerated the unequal treaties process. For comic relief: * General Zuo Zongtang, who finally put the rebellion down, is one of the most celebrated and remembered generals in world history; General Tso's Chicken is named after him.