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Article: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- December 22, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire. By Thomas H. Reilly. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2004. Pp. xi, 235. $45.00.)
In this insightful and easily accessible monograph, the author examines the ideological basis of the Taiping Uprising [1851-1864]. The Taiping rebels proclaimed that the Christian God known as Shangdi (the Supreme God of ancient China) had anointed Hong Xiuquan to overthrow the Qing dynasty and establish a "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace" (Taiping Tianguo). By connecting Taiping Christianity with the culture of ancient China, Hong was determined to restore a political system that honored Shangdi.
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