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The Taiping's greatest summer curdles into its bloodiest autumn. Two months after the East King demands to be crowned Hong Xiuquan's equal, three of his brother-kings converge on Nanjing with an army he never sees coming.
By dawn, the man who once spoke with the voice of God is a head on a pole in the street. Yet the purge doesn't end there: it swallows thousands, devours the men who ordered it, and costs the Heavenly Kingdom its foothold on the Yangtze before the year is out – all without a single Qing soldier's help.
Time Period Covered:
Dec. 1853–Sep. 1856 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:
Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Yang Xiuqing, East King [c. 1821–1856]
Wei Changhui, North King [d. 1856]
Qin Rigang, Yan King [1821–1856]
Shi Dakai, Wing King [1831–1863]
Xiao Chaogui, West King [d. 1852]
Feng Yunshan, South King [d. 1852]
Hu Yihuang, Yu King (deposed)
Qing Dynasty:
Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang/Hunan Army [1811–1872]
Xiang Rong, Nanjing S. siege camp commander Nanjing [d. 1856]
Tuoming'a, Yangzhou commander
Major Sources Cited:
Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I.
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.
Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.
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