Megan Yang
History-Dr. K
When Hong Xiuquan converted to Christianity in 1843 and began preaching from village to village in southern China, little did he know that he had started a religious movement that, by 1850, would have more than thirty-thousand members.1 These members, who called themselves the “Society of God Worshippers,” consisted primarily of poor and disenfranchised Chinese peasants who suffered greatly from the oppression of the Manchu dynasty.2 It was their discontent with the Manchu, paired with a desire for better treatment through a new ruling class, that turned their originally religious movement into a political one. Led by Hong Xiuquan, who declared that the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty had wrongfully usurped China, tens of thousands of Society members grouped together in December 1850 in an attack against Qing forces.3 Easily outnumbering the imperial soldiers, the God Worshippers took their first military victory and captured a small town, one of many territories to be rendered to their army.4 Their military prowess led Hong Xiuquan to, in 1851, found the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and declare himself its “Heavenly King.”5 From 1850 to 1860, it seemed as if the Taiping army was unstoppable: they claimed province after province in some of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. However, in July 1862, the Taipings were defeated at the Battle of Shanghai by Qing forces, who were assisted by the French and British. The Battle of Shanghai was a turning point in the Taiping rebellion and marked the beginning of the decline of the Heavenly Kingdom. It was also Hong’s first major defeat, and he did not take it well, spiraling into a state of hopelessness and depression that only was exacerbated in the years th...
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...next stage of his movement, calling for all the God Worshippers from across the districts in Guangxi Province to come together.
Over the next few days, tens of thousands of men and women assembled. All were eager to join Hong’s army, and many had even sold their houses and possessions in preparation. 18 On January 11, 1851, Hong led his army in an armed revolt against the Qing dynasty known as the Jintian uprising. Once again, the God Worshippers outnumbered the Qings and, with little effort, captured the town of Jintian (present-day Guiping). Relishing in his army’s first military victory, Hong established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Although he was not yet sure how his newfound kingdom was going to run, at the moment it did not matter: a “political regime had at last emerged from Hong’s messianic vision, a regime that claimed dominion over all the empire.”19
(2050)An Analysis of the Religious Xenophobia, the Regionalism of Chinese Taoism, and the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in the Tang Dynasty Writings of Han Yu
Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.
The first segment, Winter, archives the earliest years of the Ming dynasty between 1368 and 1450. The social hierarchy of early Ming was based upon the ownership of land (Brook, p. 79). One way to describe the increasing power ...
The period that followed the Han dynasty was known as the Warring States Period, during which China suffered frequent invasions by nomads from Central Asia. The documents of “The Four Noble Truths” (Doc1) and Zhi Dun (Doc2) demonstrate the initial compatibility of Buddhism with the time period. The Buddhist sermon in the Four Noble Truths outlines the many steps in the path of stopping all misery, and the Zhi Dun document demonstrates the Chinese peoples’ embracing this form of salvation as a response to putting control in their own hands. If they could not control the nomadic invaders, at least they could follow many rituals with the promise of release from the material world through Nirvana. However, the sermon preached by Buddha was for a large audience, meaning it had to have a mass appeal toward the lower castes in order to reconcile them with their suffering (Doc1). Zhi Dun expressed a political statement, which served a purpose of conveying to the people a sense of sanctuary (Doc2). Being from the point of view of an upper class scholar who was wealthier than those of lower classes, documen...
... emerge. After he died, his group of disciples spread to various states finding employment in either government or education. They became instrumental in the new government and their ideas would remain in China, and Chinese policies until this day.30
During the late 1860s the Red River Settlement was rapidly changing and along with these changes came multiple causes and conflicts that would subsequently to a resistance called the Red River Rebellion. Many profound changes occurred in the Red River Settlement that had caused problems and hostility among the inhabitants to emerge such as:the arrival of Canadians to the settlement, the economic problems and the decline of the Hudson Bay Company. However, the Red River Rebellion was sparked by the Hudson Bay Company selling Rupert’s Land to the new Dominion of Canada without consulting with the inhabitants nor paying any regards to their interests.The colonists of the Red River Settlement, many of whom were Metis, feared for their culture and land rights under the dominion’s control. In order to ascertain that their rights would be protected, the Metis set up a provisional government under the leadership of Louis Riel to negotiate an agreement with the new Dominion of Canada that the Red River Settlement and the lands surrounding it, could enter Confederation as the province of Manitoba under their own terms.
Religion is an interesting aspect in the Chinese context because of the part it played in history. Christianity did not spread as successfully in the East as it did in Europe and the isolated thoughts of the Chinese at the time. The fundamentals of Confucianism include and encourage humanities pursuit of knowledge and understanding of their self and...
Chinese people might find naming their religion challenging as it is a mixture of “traditional religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism” (Corduan, 2012, p.388). The Chinese Popular Religion continues to evolve and change as the world around it changes and outside influences enter the Chinese culture (Corduan, 2012). Investigation of the Chinese Popular Religion includes its key features, practices, and influences, along with tis role in contemporary China, and how Christians can enhance their interactions.
The Tang Dynasty’s rise is similar to the rise of the Han Dynasty, which began over 800 years earlier. The first emperor of the tang, Kao-tsu (618-626 C.E.), implemented many of the practices and ideas established during the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Kao-tsu carried on the tradition of local government rule, and also awarded each adult male in China equal amounts of land, in exchange for taxes. Emperor Taizong, who began rule in 626 C.E., was the son of Kao-tsu, also played an important role in the economic expansion of China and ruled during the beginning decades of the Tang. Emperor Taizong’s reign beg...
Xuanzang was a highly educated Buddhist monk from China, who in 629 C.E. made the long and treacherous journey along the Silk Road to India. His main objectives in his sixteen years away from home were fundamentally religious; he only wanted to study more complete scriptures to answer questions he had, which he deemed unsolvable in his own country. It is important to understand Xuanzang’s own position within the Chinese society and the type of situation it was in: Chinese Buddhists had many disagreements
As it’s known around the world, Chinese political system is Communism. Some may say that communism is good and bad. Well it all began when Mao Zedong came into power, his ideas influenced Chinese people and how the true way of living is. The introduction of communism into China changed how people perceived each other. One of his first ideas was “The Great Leap Forward,” which a lot of historians considered as a failure because its initial goals were never met. The Chinese society was losing faith in Mao, and not loyal to him. In desperate needs, Mao came up with the “Cultural Revolution” or also known was “The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”. Mao main goal was to turn all people to follow the idea of communism, but not in the way like Russia did. Even though a huge amount of people died and harmed the future image of China. Mao did whatever it took to make people to follow his ideas, he didn’t matter what the consequences were, and he was willing to kill anybody who was a “counter revolutionary.” Well, was his idea successful? it mostly depends on your point of view. According to Dictionary.com, successful mean achieving or having success. This revolution has impacted everybody, with witnessed accounts during the Mao’s rule. At last, did it work? In the following essay, Mao’s ideas how people view communism as a form of a government than the abuse of power.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, beginning as a campaign targeted at removing Chairman Mao Zedong's political opponents, was a time when practically every aspect of Chinese society was in pandemonium. From 1966 through 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees, including the red guards, to take power from the Chinese Communist party authorities of the state. The Red Guards, the majority being young adults, rose up against their teachers, parents, and neighbors. Following Mao and his ideas, The Red Guard's main goal was to eliminate all remnants of the old culture in China. They were the 'frontline implementers' who produced havoc, used bloody force, punished supposed 'counter revolutionists', and overthrew government officials, all in order to support their 'beloved leader'.
The early nineteenth century was the beginning of the Qing Dynasty’s downfall. During this century multiple issues, including economic pressures, corruption, domestic rebellions and foreign wars, challenged ...
He Lian Bo Bo Da Wang (Mei Yi), Yi Jiu Yi Yi, Ge Ming Yu Su Ming (Hong Kong, Hong Kong Open Page Publishing Co, Ltd., pp.1-35, 138-157. Hsueh, Chun- tu, The Chinese Revolution of 1911: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint _____Publishing Co., 1986), pp.1-15, 119-131, 139-171. Lin Jiayou, Xin Hai Ge, Ming Yu, Zhong Hua Min, Zu De Jue Xing (Guangzhou, Guangdong _____Ren Min Chu Ban She, 2011), pp.
rules and laws that applied only to those who were peasants. The laws sort of boosted their lives; he kept the land tax low, and the granaries stocked to guard against famine. During his reign he also attempted and succeeded in building up the class of those of the peasant and working class. Hongwu’s new government did not cause any change for those in other social classes.