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Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
A gripping account of China’s nineteenth-century Taiping Rebellion, one of the largest civil wars in history. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom brims with unforgettable characters and vivid re-creations of massive and often gruesome battles—a sweeping yet intimate portrait of the conflict that shaped the fate of modern China.
The story begins in the early 1850s, the waning years of the Qing dynasty, when word spread of a major revolution brewing in the provinces, led by a failed civil servant who claimed to be the son of God and brother of Jesus. The Taiping rebels drew their power from the poor and the disenfranchised, unleashing the ethnic rage of millions of Chinese against their Manchu rulers. This homegrown movement seemed all but unstoppable until Britain and the United States stepped in and threw their support behind the Manchus: after years of massive carnage, all opposition to Qing rule was effectively snuffed out for generations. Stephen R. Platt recounts these events in spellbinding detail, building his story on two fascinating characters with opposing visions for China’s future: the conservative Confucian scholar Zeng Guofan, an accidental general who emerged as the most influential military strategist in China’s modern history; and Hong Rengan, a brilliant Taiping leader whose grand vision of building a modern, industrial, and pro-Western Chinese state ended in tragic failure.
This is an essential and enthralling history of the rise and fall of the movement that, a century and a half ago, might have launched China on an entirely different path into the modern world.
The story begins in the early 1850s, the waning years of the Qing dynasty, when word spread of a major revolution brewing in the provinces, led by a failed civil servant who claimed to be the son of God and brother of Jesus. The Taiping rebels drew their power from the poor and the disenfranchised, unleashing the ethnic rage of millions of Chinese against their Manchu rulers. This homegrown movement seemed all but unstoppable until Britain and the United States stepped in and threw their support behind the Manchus: after years of massive carnage, all opposition to Qing rule was effectively snuffed out for generations. Stephen R. Platt recounts these events in spellbinding detail, building his story on two fascinating characters with opposing visions for China’s future: the conservative Confucian scholar Zeng Guofan, an accidental general who emerged as the most influential military strategist in China’s modern history; and Hong Rengan, a brilliant Taiping leader whose grand vision of building a modern, industrial, and pro-Western Chinese state ended in tragic failure.
This is an essential and enthralling history of the rise and fall of the movement that, a century and a half ago, might have launched China on an entirely different path into the modern world.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published February 7, 2012
About the author
Stephen R. Platt
4 books148 followersStephen R. Platt is a professor of Chinese history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 269 reviews
June 4, 2015
Why read "Game of Thrones" when you could be reading "Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom"?
Who is on the cast list?
A failed civil servant re-invents himself as the younger brother of Jesus Christ, dressing in yellow silk robes and ruling his Heavenly Kingdom from the old imperial palace at Nanjing, promoting equality for women, renouncing opium and promising a Christian peace with the west.
A gentle scholar who is so full of self doubt that he twice attempts suicide after failure in battle before becoming the most powerful warlord in China.
A lowly missionary's assistant who becomes the polygamous "Shield King", prime-minister ruling the richest provinces in China while dreaming of it becoming a modern industrial country and friend of the west. Disillusionment and failure set in.
An American chancer who drills his own private mercenary army on the mudflats outside Shanghai and commands the "Ever Victorious Army" which loses practically every engagement they fight in.
A British Lord who reflects deeply over the evil wrought by his countrymen's colonial greed while at the same time burning down the Manchus' Summer Palace and looting Beijing.
A British "Vampire Fleet" that sails half way round the world, only to disappear into nothingness when it arrives at its Chinese destination and meets the harsh light of reality.
My ignorance of the Taiping Rebellion was quite profound. In terms of casualties the Taiping rebellion was the second worst war in human history, handily beating WWI. The Taipings are not the Boxers - yes, there was more than one crazy religious cult doing their thing in China in the 19th century. The Manchus who headed the Imperial Qing dynasty where not Chinese - they had they own language and culture and seemed often to live quite separate lives from the Chinese they ruled.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lasted for more than a decade, at its height extending over some of the richest, most densely populated provinces in China. Their strategy was good and their intentions seemed honest - to befriend the foreigners, control the south and starve out the failing Qing dynasty in the north
But they were to be undone by the steadfast determination of the complex scholar-warlord, Zeng Guofan, whose vision was ultimately more successful than theirs.
Zeng Guofan was helped by the seemingly random intervention of foreign powers, mainly the British, who are quite incapable of maintaining a consistent moral position towards either the Taiping or the Qing dynasty for longer than it took a letter to make the round trip to Britain and back.
A fascinating story. And while the lessons of this distant and exotic history are often the same as those of the more recent history of our age, those lessons are still ignored.
Take this case: Charles Gordon, a British soldier, is given a commission in the Qing Imperial army to fight the Taiping so he can direct British forces while, through some twisted logic, still maintaining British neutrality.
He personally guarantees the safety of Taiping generals who surrender the city of Suzhou to him, but his Qing army commanding officer betrays Gordon's promise of safe passage by beheading and mutilating the corpses of the Taiping.
If only the neo-conservatives who encouraged our own era's imperial adventures around the world - and in Iraq in particular - were not completely ignorant of history.
Just like Charles Gordon and his supporters they expected their allegedly civilized views to be welcomed without question.
Just like Charles Gordon their intervention has ended with broken promises, confusion, unintended consequences and above all suffering for the innocent not able to avoid the outcome of their grand but amoral ideas.
This is a fascinating history book brilliantly written, I could not recommend it more highly.
Who is on the cast list?
A failed civil servant re-invents himself as the younger brother of Jesus Christ, dressing in yellow silk robes and ruling his Heavenly Kingdom from the old imperial palace at Nanjing, promoting equality for women, renouncing opium and promising a Christian peace with the west.
A gentle scholar who is so full of self doubt that he twice attempts suicide after failure in battle before becoming the most powerful warlord in China.
A lowly missionary's assistant who becomes the polygamous "Shield King", prime-minister ruling the richest provinces in China while dreaming of it becoming a modern industrial country and friend of the west. Disillusionment and failure set in.
An American chancer who drills his own private mercenary army on the mudflats outside Shanghai and commands the "Ever Victorious Army" which loses practically every engagement they fight in.
A British Lord who reflects deeply over the evil wrought by his countrymen's colonial greed while at the same time burning down the Manchus' Summer Palace and looting Beijing.
A British "Vampire Fleet" that sails half way round the world, only to disappear into nothingness when it arrives at its Chinese destination and meets the harsh light of reality.
My ignorance of the Taiping Rebellion was quite profound. In terms of casualties the Taiping rebellion was the second worst war in human history, handily beating WWI. The Taipings are not the Boxers - yes, there was more than one crazy religious cult doing their thing in China in the 19th century. The Manchus who headed the Imperial Qing dynasty where not Chinese - they had they own language and culture and seemed often to live quite separate lives from the Chinese they ruled.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lasted for more than a decade, at its height extending over some of the richest, most densely populated provinces in China. Their strategy was good and their intentions seemed honest - to befriend the foreigners, control the south and starve out the failing Qing dynasty in the north
But they were to be undone by the steadfast determination of the complex scholar-warlord, Zeng Guofan, whose vision was ultimately more successful than theirs.
Zeng Guofan was helped by the seemingly random intervention of foreign powers, mainly the British, who are quite incapable of maintaining a consistent moral position towards either the Taiping or the Qing dynasty for longer than it took a letter to make the round trip to Britain and back.
A fascinating story. And while the lessons of this distant and exotic history are often the same as those of the more recent history of our age, those lessons are still ignored.
Take this case: Charles Gordon, a British soldier, is given a commission in the Qing Imperial army to fight the Taiping so he can direct British forces while, through some twisted logic, still maintaining British neutrality.
He personally guarantees the safety of Taiping generals who surrender the city of Suzhou to him, but his Qing army commanding officer betrays Gordon's promise of safe passage by beheading and mutilating the corpses of the Taiping.
"…It showed that the British supporters of the mission had been wrong - indeed, painfully naïve - to imagine that "Chinese" Gordon was actually in charge of anything in the campaign against the Chinese rebels.
They were wrong to congratulate themselves that Britain was showing the Qing government how to fight its own kind of war, to imagine that their gentleman officers were some kind of beacon to the imperial military, setting a model for them to follow.
What the events at Suzhou finally made clear, in short, was that for all of their many protestations to the contrary, the proud British agents in China in fact were, and had been along, nothing more than mercenaries…".
If only the neo-conservatives who encouraged our own era's imperial adventures around the world - and in Iraq in particular - were not completely ignorant of history.
Just like Charles Gordon and his supporters they expected their allegedly civilized views to be welcomed without question.
Just like Charles Gordon their intervention has ended with broken promises, confusion, unintended consequences and above all suffering for the innocent not able to avoid the outcome of their grand but amoral ideas.
This is a fascinating history book brilliantly written, I could not recommend it more highly.
March 1, 2022
I have a hard time knowing exactly how to review this book. I enjoyed it a great deal -- the writing is solid and Platt tells the story of the latter portion of the Taiping civil war/rebellion quite well. He makes a strong case that the Taiping were close to toppling the Qing Dynasty and that the western powers' sporadic interventions favoring the Qing may have made a critical difference.
That said, I've also read J. Spence’s account of the conflict, God's Chinese Son, and with that backdrop, it's hard not to feel that Platt shaded his emphasis to favor the rebels. Reading Autumn, it's quite easy to come away with some degree of sympathy for their cause. But that has a lot to do with the time period Platt chooses to focus upon. He skips over the infighting that led to the slaughter of thousands within the movement. And he begins the narrative by focusing on one particular Taiping leader who was less dogmatic and more broad minded. Doing so allows Platt to avoid confronting earlier encounters between the Taiping and the western powers that put the rebels on bad footing and avoid describing in any detail the extremely conservative elements of the Taiping creed (no mixing of the sexes and harsh punishments for minor infractions).
By the end, the Taiping were effectively multiple fighting forces led by charismatic leaders, and had the Qing fallen, it seems likely that additional years of bloodshed would have followed as each maneuvered for control. While the western powers' efforts during the conflict do appear to have been poorly coordinated and ill-thought out in Platt's narrative, the decision to support the Qing seems more rational given the potentially greater instability of the Taiping. That is not to defend the conduct of the other countries -- only to say it made sense based on their naked self-interest.
Platt tells a fascinating story, but I think it needs to be read as a companion piece to other books on the Taiping to get a full picture.
That said, I've also read J. Spence’s account of the conflict, God's Chinese Son, and with that backdrop, it's hard not to feel that Platt shaded his emphasis to favor the rebels. Reading Autumn, it's quite easy to come away with some degree of sympathy for their cause. But that has a lot to do with the time period Platt chooses to focus upon. He skips over the infighting that led to the slaughter of thousands within the movement. And he begins the narrative by focusing on one particular Taiping leader who was less dogmatic and more broad minded. Doing so allows Platt to avoid confronting earlier encounters between the Taiping and the western powers that put the rebels on bad footing and avoid describing in any detail the extremely conservative elements of the Taiping creed (no mixing of the sexes and harsh punishments for minor infractions).
By the end, the Taiping were effectively multiple fighting forces led by charismatic leaders, and had the Qing fallen, it seems likely that additional years of bloodshed would have followed as each maneuvered for control. While the western powers' efforts during the conflict do appear to have been poorly coordinated and ill-thought out in Platt's narrative, the decision to support the Qing seems more rational given the potentially greater instability of the Taiping. That is not to defend the conduct of the other countries -- only to say it made sense based on their naked self-interest.
Platt tells a fascinating story, but I think it needs to be read as a companion piece to other books on the Taiping to get a full picture.
December 10, 2020
History is written by the victors, or so it's said. Thus the conventional narrative of the Taiping Rebellion is that it was a provincial uprising of peasants led by a deranged Confucian scholar named Hong Xiuquan who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ who had tasked him to found the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In truth, as the title suggests, this event was no insignificant historical blip. It was not merely a rebellion. It was a civil war that lasted from 1851 to 1864. Conservative estimates put the death toll between 20 and 30 million people. Starvation, cannibalism, a cholera epidemic that swept through the country, a norm of looting and brutal murder of all captives, and routine atrocities contributed to that death toll. The fighting was by no means limited to some obscure hinterland. It was heaviest in the Yangtze River Valley and along the coast to the north and south of Shanghai. The Taiping capital at Nanjing symbolized more than the base of an eccentric millenarian religion. It was the old capital of the Ming Dynasty, suggesting that this was a war to oust the alien Manchus.
Yet, one might still ask why the Taiping Civil War is worth re-examining. Platt suggests that the war was a tipping point, that subsequent events were an inevitability. Had the Taiping succeeded, the 1911 upheaval might never have occurred: “'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,'” is an opinion by Ito Hirobumi, former prime minister of Japan during the Meiji Era. That quote was taken from a 1909 interview with a newspaper reporter.
As the 1850's unfolded, the British had many options, none of them palateable, but all of them resting on the two pillars of greed and arrogance. The sizeable missionary colony envisioned a Christian China based on the deep connections that had developed with Hong Rengan, cousin of the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor. Still, not even Hong Rengan was willing to embrace monogamy, and there were those heretical claims of the Heavenly Kingdom emperor, claims which many were unwilling to ignore.
On the other hand, the government could heed the elitist instincts of its representatives, Frederick Bruce their top official in Shanghai and Harry Parkes an experienced negotiator who had for a time been held captive by the Qing. Their opinions drowned out contradicting reports from men who had seen central China first hand and found much to admire about the Taiping.
Overthrowing the xenophobic Qing rulers would open up more trade avenues but risked repercussions from Russia and France. It would be seen as a grab for trade monopoly with a vast market. Moreover, if the Qing government fell, Britain would be forced to expand an empire that was already proving a burden. The Crimean War, concluded in 1856 had been a drain on manpower and money and the Sepoy Mutiny would erupt in 1857.
Officially, England was neutral. In reality, a second Opium War had been fought over a trivial incident and Lord Elgin was dispatched with a naval fleet to force China to ratify yet another humiliating treaty. That event culminated in an embarrassing situation. While British forces surrounded Beijing and looted and set fire to the Summer Palace in October 1860, Shanghai artillery was firing on the Taiping forces.
Neutrality and the protection of British interests were ambiguous concepts. It was left to Lord Elgin and his successor Adm. James Hope to interpret and execute specific actions. Admiral Hope attempted to enforce a thirty mile rebel free radius around Shanghai, a directive that would impede Taiping provisioning as well as invite unnecessary confrontation.
Official neutrality turned into covert intervention when the American Civil War began. Britain's textile industry was based on cheap Southern cotton and 2/3 of the exported Chinese green tea was consumed by Americans. Prime Minister Palmerston's government became increasingly complicit in aiding the Qing. Gunboats destined for Shanghai were being built. Charles “Chinese” Gordon was appointed head of a mercenary army originally assemble in 1860 by the American Frederick Townsend Ward. Both Gordon and British officialdom assumed Gordon's appointment as a subordinate of the Qing commander Li Hongzhang was merely a formality. It wasn't. Gordon, in conjunction with his Chinese counterpart, negotiated the peaceful handover of Suzhou in December 1863. He promised the surrendering leaders safety. The next day he discovered the scattered body parts of these same men. Li Hongzhang would do whatever he pleased, and Gordon resigned his commission and returned to England to vent his outrage.
This book is filled with intriguing characters such as Hong Rengan, the progressive cousin of the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor; Li Xiucheng, the impoverished charcoal maker who rose to command the Taiping forces; and Zeng Guofan, the provincial governor and Qing commander who viewed the world through a lens of Confucian morality. Surprisingly invisible are the titular heads of the time. The Xianfeng Emperor had retreated to the northern territories before the Summer Palace was razed, and died on August 22, 1861. The son who succeeded him, the Tongzhi Emperor, was five years old. His mother, the former concubine and now Empress Dowager Cixi would seize the regency but played no role in the decisions made during the Civil War. Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor, sequestered himself in Nanjing, devoted himself to the study of scripture and died shortly before the capital fell to the Qing army.
Platt views the events he chronicles as a cautionary tale of confirmation bias: “...when we congratulate ourselves on seeing through the darkened window that separates us from another civilization, heartened to discover the familiar forms that lie hidden among the shadows on the other side, sometimes we do so without ever realizing that we are only gazing at our own reflection.” (p.364)
NOTES:'
Platt provides a helpful chronology and list of characters. They are essential for keeping track of the events. However, he only provides a couple of maps. Readers will want to have a map detailing the provinces and cities along the Yangtze and coastal Shanghai in order to make sense of the troop movements and strategies he details in the book.
This review provides greater detail and clarifies the ideas I have tried to convey here.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
Interview with the author: https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/int...
In truth, as the title suggests, this event was no insignificant historical blip. It was not merely a rebellion. It was a civil war that lasted from 1851 to 1864. Conservative estimates put the death toll between 20 and 30 million people. Starvation, cannibalism, a cholera epidemic that swept through the country, a norm of looting and brutal murder of all captives, and routine atrocities contributed to that death toll. The fighting was by no means limited to some obscure hinterland. It was heaviest in the Yangtze River Valley and along the coast to the north and south of Shanghai. The Taiping capital at Nanjing symbolized more than the base of an eccentric millenarian religion. It was the old capital of the Ming Dynasty, suggesting that this was a war to oust the alien Manchus.
Yet, one might still ask why the Taiping Civil War is worth re-examining. Platt suggests that the war was a tipping point, that subsequent events were an inevitability. Had the Taiping succeeded, the 1911 upheaval might never have occurred: “'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,'” is an opinion by Ito Hirobumi, former prime minister of Japan during the Meiji Era. That quote was taken from a 1909 interview with a newspaper reporter.
As the 1850's unfolded, the British had many options, none of them palateable, but all of them resting on the two pillars of greed and arrogance. The sizeable missionary colony envisioned a Christian China based on the deep connections that had developed with Hong Rengan, cousin of the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor. Still, not even Hong Rengan was willing to embrace monogamy, and there were those heretical claims of the Heavenly Kingdom emperor, claims which many were unwilling to ignore.
On the other hand, the government could heed the elitist instincts of its representatives, Frederick Bruce their top official in Shanghai and Harry Parkes an experienced negotiator who had for a time been held captive by the Qing. Their opinions drowned out contradicting reports from men who had seen central China first hand and found much to admire about the Taiping.
Overthrowing the xenophobic Qing rulers would open up more trade avenues but risked repercussions from Russia and France. It would be seen as a grab for trade monopoly with a vast market. Moreover, if the Qing government fell, Britain would be forced to expand an empire that was already proving a burden. The Crimean War, concluded in 1856 had been a drain on manpower and money and the Sepoy Mutiny would erupt in 1857.
Officially, England was neutral. In reality, a second Opium War had been fought over a trivial incident and Lord Elgin was dispatched with a naval fleet to force China to ratify yet another humiliating treaty. That event culminated in an embarrassing situation. While British forces surrounded Beijing and looted and set fire to the Summer Palace in October 1860, Shanghai artillery was firing on the Taiping forces.
Neutrality and the protection of British interests were ambiguous concepts. It was left to Lord Elgin and his successor Adm. James Hope to interpret and execute specific actions. Admiral Hope attempted to enforce a thirty mile rebel free radius around Shanghai, a directive that would impede Taiping provisioning as well as invite unnecessary confrontation.
Official neutrality turned into covert intervention when the American Civil War began. Britain's textile industry was based on cheap Southern cotton and 2/3 of the exported Chinese green tea was consumed by Americans. Prime Minister Palmerston's government became increasingly complicit in aiding the Qing. Gunboats destined for Shanghai were being built. Charles “Chinese” Gordon was appointed head of a mercenary army originally assemble in 1860 by the American Frederick Townsend Ward. Both Gordon and British officialdom assumed Gordon's appointment as a subordinate of the Qing commander Li Hongzhang was merely a formality. It wasn't. Gordon, in conjunction with his Chinese counterpart, negotiated the peaceful handover of Suzhou in December 1863. He promised the surrendering leaders safety. The next day he discovered the scattered body parts of these same men. Li Hongzhang would do whatever he pleased, and Gordon resigned his commission and returned to England to vent his outrage.
This book is filled with intriguing characters such as Hong Rengan, the progressive cousin of the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor; Li Xiucheng, the impoverished charcoal maker who rose to command the Taiping forces; and Zeng Guofan, the provincial governor and Qing commander who viewed the world through a lens of Confucian morality. Surprisingly invisible are the titular heads of the time. The Xianfeng Emperor had retreated to the northern territories before the Summer Palace was razed, and died on August 22, 1861. The son who succeeded him, the Tongzhi Emperor, was five years old. His mother, the former concubine and now Empress Dowager Cixi would seize the regency but played no role in the decisions made during the Civil War. Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly Kingdom Emperor, sequestered himself in Nanjing, devoted himself to the study of scripture and died shortly before the capital fell to the Qing army.
Platt views the events he chronicles as a cautionary tale of confirmation bias: “...when we congratulate ourselves on seeing through the darkened window that separates us from another civilization, heartened to discover the familiar forms that lie hidden among the shadows on the other side, sometimes we do so without ever realizing that we are only gazing at our own reflection.” (p.364)
NOTES:'
Platt provides a helpful chronology and list of characters. They are essential for keeping track of the events. However, he only provides a couple of maps. Readers will want to have a map detailing the provinces and cities along the Yangtze and coastal Shanghai in order to make sense of the troop movements and strategies he details in the book.
This review provides greater detail and clarifies the ideas I have tried to convey here.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
Interview with the author: https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/int...
September 26, 2014
A few months ago, I visited China, staying in Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou -- all foci during the long, devastating Taiping Civil War that took place between 1850 and 1864. When Westerners think of Nanjing, of course, it is the brutal Japanese occupation before and during WWII that springs to mind, but I soon became aware as I visited the city that there are successive layers of history, each of which affected later developments.
The Taiping era fascinates me, and since Nanjing was the seat of the Heavenly King and the last major city to be held by the rebels, it is perhaps the best place to learn of the rebellion. Among other places in Nanjing, I visited the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Museum, the site of what was once the palace of the Heavenly King, and walked parts of the impressive city walls to view ancient fortifications. The Taiping Museum was of particular interest and very detailed, but I quickly realized I was poorly prepared to understand the artifacts and displays, most of which had at least some English text to explain them.
The mere facts of the rebellion -- that a poor, failed scholar who had visions that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and had been given, according to his visions, the task of wiping the foreign Manchus from power and establishing a heavenly kingdom in its stead -- almost seem too fantastic to believe. And yet this is what happened. Millions of Chinese peasants left their homes and followed him, some hewing to his quasi-Christian beliefs and others sensing that the time had come, at last, to rout out the corrupt Manchu overlords. The subsequent upheaval dwarfed anything we might compare it to. The best estimates are that anywhere between 20 to 50 million people died during this civil war that, somehow, very few of us in the West have even heard of.
Obviously, this all made a strong impression on me, and I resolved to read more about the Taiping so that I could reach a better understanding of what happened.
I don't think most of us in the West fully understand the resentment and mistrust the Chinese, even today, feel toward us. Of course, the Opium Wars and the various vulture-like entities that sprang up in response to the enfeebled Qing dynasty have much to do with that, but there was also the experience, during this struggle as well as at many other times, of Western representatives continuously changing tack or seeming to work in unpredictable ways. For example, during the Taiping campaigns, Western military leaders would capriciously change sides, not to mention that some Western envoys insisted on protocols that were opaque or contradictory. It was not the East that seemed inscrutable in these exchanges so much as the West. (The Taiping rebels were fairly consistent up until the end in dealing with Westerners, and the representatives of the Qing also clung to a fairly consistent policy, which centered on keeping barbarian influences as far as possible from Beijing and the emperor.)
The events the author describes and analyzes are complex, but he helps us by focusing on two major players, the reluctant scholar-general Zeng Guofan and the Taiping leader Hong Rengan, cousin and most influential advisor to the Heavenly King. Both of these men were unlikely leaders, yet they each had a strong vision that guided their actions and policies. Although he was fighting "on the wrong side" from the Western perspective, I confess that I developed a real fondness for Zeng, who improbably emerged from his Confucian fastness to become a brilliant strategist. His tale is a tragic one, for at the end of the war, when he had finally defeated the Taiping, he only wished to withdraw back into his scholarly cocoon but instead faced ridicule, suspicion, and opprobrium up until the time of his death.
Another striking and indeed exasperating aspect of this era is the West's consistently cack-handed and wrongheaded approach. There was endless vacillation over which side to back, the Qing or the Taiping. Indeed, the third course, neutrality, while it seemed the safest, invariably backfired, and the British policy of "neutrality" was no such thing. But all the major foreign powers -- British, French, and American -- failed to understand what the Taiping were and weren't, and the author recounts a litany of their diplomatic missteps and miscalculations. Ultimately, Hong Rengan's Taiping vision was very much in accordance to what the West wanted: open trade, modernization, and a pro-Western government in power. Yet a few Western representatives who wrote dispatches back to governments halfway across the globe managed to critically misrepresent Taiping intentions.
I couldn't help but think, as I read this book, of how often our foreign policy goes awry because we don't know what the "real" nature of rebel factions or emergent movements is. A brief glance at Syria provides a rich example of this. Who will be our friends after the dust settles? Which group's policies will align most closely with our own interests? The role of the media and of particular influential people who may or may not have a clear appraisal of the situation has at times an outsize influence over foreign policy, not to mention what I will call the "appetites" for foreign intervention at home at any given time.
In short, it is instructive to see how dramatically the West got it wrong during the Taiping rebellion, and it would be foolish, in the final analysis, to assume that we have made much progress in assessing friends and enemies since then. It is also striking that the Taiping provided a template for revolutionary "leaps forward" under communist leaders and, indeed, still provides a crude template for changes China is undergoing today.
The Taiping era fascinates me, and since Nanjing was the seat of the Heavenly King and the last major city to be held by the rebels, it is perhaps the best place to learn of the rebellion. Among other places in Nanjing, I visited the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Museum, the site of what was once the palace of the Heavenly King, and walked parts of the impressive city walls to view ancient fortifications. The Taiping Museum was of particular interest and very detailed, but I quickly realized I was poorly prepared to understand the artifacts and displays, most of which had at least some English text to explain them.
The mere facts of the rebellion -- that a poor, failed scholar who had visions that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and had been given, according to his visions, the task of wiping the foreign Manchus from power and establishing a heavenly kingdom in its stead -- almost seem too fantastic to believe. And yet this is what happened. Millions of Chinese peasants left their homes and followed him, some hewing to his quasi-Christian beliefs and others sensing that the time had come, at last, to rout out the corrupt Manchu overlords. The subsequent upheaval dwarfed anything we might compare it to. The best estimates are that anywhere between 20 to 50 million people died during this civil war that, somehow, very few of us in the West have even heard of.
Obviously, this all made a strong impression on me, and I resolved to read more about the Taiping so that I could reach a better understanding of what happened.
I don't think most of us in the West fully understand the resentment and mistrust the Chinese, even today, feel toward us. Of course, the Opium Wars and the various vulture-like entities that sprang up in response to the enfeebled Qing dynasty have much to do with that, but there was also the experience, during this struggle as well as at many other times, of Western representatives continuously changing tack or seeming to work in unpredictable ways. For example, during the Taiping campaigns, Western military leaders would capriciously change sides, not to mention that some Western envoys insisted on protocols that were opaque or contradictory. It was not the East that seemed inscrutable in these exchanges so much as the West. (The Taiping rebels were fairly consistent up until the end in dealing with Westerners, and the representatives of the Qing also clung to a fairly consistent policy, which centered on keeping barbarian influences as far as possible from Beijing and the emperor.)
The events the author describes and analyzes are complex, but he helps us by focusing on two major players, the reluctant scholar-general Zeng Guofan and the Taiping leader Hong Rengan, cousin and most influential advisor to the Heavenly King. Both of these men were unlikely leaders, yet they each had a strong vision that guided their actions and policies. Although he was fighting "on the wrong side" from the Western perspective, I confess that I developed a real fondness for Zeng, who improbably emerged from his Confucian fastness to become a brilliant strategist. His tale is a tragic one, for at the end of the war, when he had finally defeated the Taiping, he only wished to withdraw back into his scholarly cocoon but instead faced ridicule, suspicion, and opprobrium up until the time of his death.
Another striking and indeed exasperating aspect of this era is the West's consistently cack-handed and wrongheaded approach. There was endless vacillation over which side to back, the Qing or the Taiping. Indeed, the third course, neutrality, while it seemed the safest, invariably backfired, and the British policy of "neutrality" was no such thing. But all the major foreign powers -- British, French, and American -- failed to understand what the Taiping were and weren't, and the author recounts a litany of their diplomatic missteps and miscalculations. Ultimately, Hong Rengan's Taiping vision was very much in accordance to what the West wanted: open trade, modernization, and a pro-Western government in power. Yet a few Western representatives who wrote dispatches back to governments halfway across the globe managed to critically misrepresent Taiping intentions.
I couldn't help but think, as I read this book, of how often our foreign policy goes awry because we don't know what the "real" nature of rebel factions or emergent movements is. A brief glance at Syria provides a rich example of this. Who will be our friends after the dust settles? Which group's policies will align most closely with our own interests? The role of the media and of particular influential people who may or may not have a clear appraisal of the situation has at times an outsize influence over foreign policy, not to mention what I will call the "appetites" for foreign intervention at home at any given time.
In short, it is instructive to see how dramatically the West got it wrong during the Taiping rebellion, and it would be foolish, in the final analysis, to assume that we have made much progress in assessing friends and enemies since then. It is also striking that the Taiping provided a template for revolutionary "leaps forward" under communist leaders and, indeed, still provides a crude template for changes China is undergoing today.
July 23, 2019
This is a narrative history about the Chinese civil war that left 20 million or more people dead. I had one huge problem with the book and you can see it easily by checking out the huge endorsement on the back cover. The back of the book reads:
“Stephen Platt brings to vivid life a pivotal chapter in China’s history...The Taiping Rebellion in the mid-nineteenth century, which cost one of the greatest losses of life of any war in history...”
-Henry A. Kissinger
I was taken aback here because is Henry Kissinger really a person you would seek approval from in this or any context? Keep in mind this book is about the horror of a civil war in China that was in part prolonged by the intervention of powers like the UK and the USA. Kissinger’s quote here is ironic considering his famously cavalier attitude with bombings in Asia. Transcripts have been released of Kissinger’s conversations as the national security advisor in the Nixon administration. One 1969 transcript has Kissinger order: ''A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves.''
It is now a widely accepted fact that Kissinger ordered and condoned the carpet bombing of Cambodia. These bombings directly proceeded the rise of the Khmer Rouge and are very likely the cause of this insurgent groups sudden power. The Khmer Rouge went on to commit a horrific genocide in Cambodia.
It seems like Platt/his colleagues were pretty happy with Kissinger’s sage approval because his university website has an article that gushes about Kissinger’s blurb:
“Henry Kissinger - that''s right, the Henry Kissinger, architect of U.S. foreign policy in China and Southeast Asia in at least the latter 30 years of the recently-ended century - says "Stephen Platt brings to vivid life a pivotal chapter in China''s history that has been all but forgotten . . .''
I’d be interested in reading about why Platt isn’t bothered by Kissinger’s record in Asia (if that is the case).
I also had some questions about Platt’s main takeaway. He ends the book with:
“...So in the end, perhaps the tale of the foreign intervention and fall of the Taiping is a tale of trust misplaced. It is a tale of how sometimes the connections we perceive across cultures and distances our hopes for an underlying unity of human virtue, our belief that underneath it all we are somehow the same can turn out to be nothing more than the fiction of our own imagination...”
My issue is I just don’t think Platt spent enough time actually building this argument before making this pronouncement in the last paragraph. Obviously the book is about civil war so it’s not exactly about the best of human nature. But the idea that trust, in various forms, caused this conflict is a pretty cynical take
I gave this book a good rating because it is really well written and engaging. Platt does a great job of making each of the historical figures interesting characters. I found myself really invested in the power struggle and intrigue
“Stephen Platt brings to vivid life a pivotal chapter in China’s history...The Taiping Rebellion in the mid-nineteenth century, which cost one of the greatest losses of life of any war in history...”
-Henry A. Kissinger
I was taken aback here because is Henry Kissinger really a person you would seek approval from in this or any context? Keep in mind this book is about the horror of a civil war in China that was in part prolonged by the intervention of powers like the UK and the USA. Kissinger’s quote here is ironic considering his famously cavalier attitude with bombings in Asia. Transcripts have been released of Kissinger’s conversations as the national security advisor in the Nixon administration. One 1969 transcript has Kissinger order: ''A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves.''
It is now a widely accepted fact that Kissinger ordered and condoned the carpet bombing of Cambodia. These bombings directly proceeded the rise of the Khmer Rouge and are very likely the cause of this insurgent groups sudden power. The Khmer Rouge went on to commit a horrific genocide in Cambodia.
It seems like Platt/his colleagues were pretty happy with Kissinger’s sage approval because his university website has an article that gushes about Kissinger’s blurb:
“Henry Kissinger - that''s right, the Henry Kissinger, architect of U.S. foreign policy in China and Southeast Asia in at least the latter 30 years of the recently-ended century - says "Stephen Platt brings to vivid life a pivotal chapter in China''s history that has been all but forgotten . . .''
I’d be interested in reading about why Platt isn’t bothered by Kissinger’s record in Asia (if that is the case).
I also had some questions about Platt’s main takeaway. He ends the book with:
“...So in the end, perhaps the tale of the foreign intervention and fall of the Taiping is a tale of trust misplaced. It is a tale of how sometimes the connections we perceive across cultures and distances our hopes for an underlying unity of human virtue, our belief that underneath it all we are somehow the same can turn out to be nothing more than the fiction of our own imagination...”
My issue is I just don’t think Platt spent enough time actually building this argument before making this pronouncement in the last paragraph. Obviously the book is about civil war so it’s not exactly about the best of human nature. But the idea that trust, in various forms, caused this conflict is a pretty cynical take
I gave this book a good rating because it is really well written and engaging. Platt does a great job of making each of the historical figures interesting characters. I found myself really invested in the power struggle and intrigue
May 4, 2022
裴士锋老师这部作品，算是经典重读。2014年第一版第一刷面世时，就收入囊中了，这么多年下来，也算是读了两遍。
这次重读的机缘，是因为刚读完梅尔清老师那本《躁动的亡魂：太平天国战争的暴力，失序和死亡》，又勾起了对这段往事的兴趣，于是又从书架上取下这本书，重新再读一遍。
重读完全没有令我失望，不仅是温故知新，更重要的是，愈加发现裴士锋的叙事魅力和笔力雄健，用更大的视角，把太平天国的历史讲得根据完整。一般国内的历史，只会讲太平天国有对垒双方：清廷和太平天国，曾国藩和洪秀全。然而，太平天国发生的时间是清朝被迫打开国门，在西方列强的炮舰下签订不平等条约的时代，租界都已经存在，国内的战争如何能够缺少西方的参与？所以太平天国运动是一场三方的博弈：清廷，太平天国，和以英国为首的西方列强。
从这个角度出发，对太平天国的理解才会完整。
这次重读的机缘，是因为刚读完梅尔清老师那本《躁动的亡魂：太平天国战争的暴力，失序和死亡》，又勾起了对这段往事的兴趣，于是又从书架上取下这本书，重新再读一遍。
重读完全没有令我失望，不仅是温故知新，更重要的是，愈加发现裴士锋的叙事魅力和笔力雄健，用更大的视角，把太平天国的历史讲得根据完整。一般国内的历史，只会讲太平天国有对垒双方：清廷和太平天国，曾国藩和洪秀全。然而，太平天国发生的时间是清朝被迫打开国门，在西方列强的炮舰下签订不平等条约的时代，租界都已经存在，国内的战争如何能够缺少西方的参与？所以太平天国运动是一场三方的博弈：清廷，太平天国，和以英国为首的西方列强。
从这个角度出发，对太平天国的理解才会完整。
February 24, 2021
Interesting and readable history of a period I didn’t know much about: China’s civil war of the 1850s and 60s, in which the Taiping, a rebel group with a new religion based on Christianity, rose up against the now-ineffective Qing dynasty and carved their own kingdom out of southeastern China. The civil war, and resulting famine and epidemics, was arguably the deadliest event in world history, with an estimated 30 million people dead.
So, quite a grim topic and there are certainly atrocities in the book, but the author keeps it on a human scale by largely following the stories of a few key players, including the powerful general Zeng Guofan (for the Qing), Hong Rengan (a government minister for the Taiping, and cousin of the Heavenly King), and a few foreigners, mostly British officials. Platt is particularly interested in the extent to which British intervention made a difference in the war, which makes the book seem a little western-centric for a history of China; his ultimate judgment is that, although limited in scope, the British involvement was crucial in its impact. In that sense, although the war did not end with the British colonizing China (apparently the Brits saw this as a “last resort” because it would be such a burden on them), it reads a lot like histories of colonization, which are always a bit maddening—I always want the colonizers to be soundly defeated, and instead they run amok other people’s countries breaking everything for their own economic self-interest. Platt spends some time with arguments made in the British government and press about the war in China, including such gems as “this dragon who interferes between us and our golden apples should be killed by somebody.” That said, it’s important to note that issues around the war were fiercely argued.
But for a book by an American author and one bearing a resemblance to histories of colonization, this one does actually spend a good amount of time with the Chinese leaders, giving what felt like as much personal information about them as the Europeans and Americans, and possibly more. It helps that Platt cites a lot of sources in Chinese, including Zeng Guofan’s diary and family letters. Paternalistic, arrogant and self-absorbed as the British were, Platt clearly doesn’t share their views.
The book is fact-filled and somewhat slow going (not helped by the deckle edge pages in hardcover, which ugh, I hate so much), but Platt’s writing is clear and engaging enough that it works for a popular audience. There are also helpful maps and pictures. Making this enormous war into a narrative of reasonable length clearly leaves out a lot—the focus is on the later years of the war, on the time the British presence was most relevant, and around the key players Platt has chosen—but it’s also a successful way for the non-academic reader who comes to the book without much background in Chinese history to engage with it. I learned from this and would recommend it.
So, quite a grim topic and there are certainly atrocities in the book, but the author keeps it on a human scale by largely following the stories of a few key players, including the powerful general Zeng Guofan (for the Qing), Hong Rengan (a government minister for the Taiping, and cousin of the Heavenly King), and a few foreigners, mostly British officials. Platt is particularly interested in the extent to which British intervention made a difference in the war, which makes the book seem a little western-centric for a history of China; his ultimate judgment is that, although limited in scope, the British involvement was crucial in its impact. In that sense, although the war did not end with the British colonizing China (apparently the Brits saw this as a “last resort” because it would be such a burden on them), it reads a lot like histories of colonization, which are always a bit maddening—I always want the colonizers to be soundly defeated, and instead they run amok other people’s countries breaking everything for their own economic self-interest. Platt spends some time with arguments made in the British government and press about the war in China, including such gems as “this dragon who interferes between us and our golden apples should be killed by somebody.” That said, it’s important to note that issues around the war were fiercely argued.
But for a book by an American author and one bearing a resemblance to histories of colonization, this one does actually spend a good amount of time with the Chinese leaders, giving what felt like as much personal information about them as the Europeans and Americans, and possibly more. It helps that Platt cites a lot of sources in Chinese, including Zeng Guofan’s diary and family letters. Paternalistic, arrogant and self-absorbed as the British were, Platt clearly doesn’t share their views.
The book is fact-filled and somewhat slow going (not helped by the deckle edge pages in hardcover, which ugh, I hate so much), but Platt’s writing is clear and engaging enough that it works for a popular audience. There are also helpful maps and pictures. Making this enormous war into a narrative of reasonable length clearly leaves out a lot—the focus is on the later years of the war, on the time the British presence was most relevant, and around the key players Platt has chosen—but it’s also a successful way for the non-academic reader who comes to the book without much background in Chinese history to engage with it. I learned from this and would recommend it.
May 18, 2013
Brilliant account of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), China's catastrophic civil war that fatally crippled the Qing Dynasty, cemented Western dominance in the Orient and killed over 20,000,000 people. Platt keeps western figures like Lord Elgin and Frederick Bruce on the sidelines. Frederick Townsend Ward and Charles Gordon, often lionized as gallant adventurers, come off as unprincipled freebooters. Platt's mainly interested in the Chinese protagonists: Zeng Guofan, the scholar-turned-general who restructured the Imperial Army from scratch; Dowager Empress Cixi, a concubine accumulating power in the fractious Manchu court; and Hong Xiuquan, the Taiping messiah who considered himself Jesus's brother. Platt blends these personalities with a commendable account of the war's complicated political, religious and military strands. The Taiping's religious crusade morphed into a populist rising against Manchu tyranny, while their leadership devolved into savage in-fighting. Taiping Christianity attracted myriad supporters in the West, even as pragmatism drove the British and French governments into Manchu arms. He also argues the desultory Anglo-French interventions forestalled European involvement in America's Civil War. Thought-provoking and lucid account of an epochal conflict, little-known in the west.
July 17, 2013
The Taiping civil war in China caused more than twenty million deaths, and featured larger than life figures warring over the fate of the most populous country on earth. It's an inherently dramatic story that is almost unknown here in America (I took a few East Asian history classes in college and I only know the basic narrative), and AUTUMN IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM is Stephen R. Platt's attempt to create a clear, compelling popular history of the conflict for American readers.
Platt's focus is primarily on the latter half of the war, from 1858 until the eventual suppression of the rebellion in 1864. So the story starts in earnest when Hong Rengan returns from exile in Hong Kong to become second in command of the Taiping forces. Hong Xiuquan's idiosyncratic version of Christianity (he believed that he was the younger brother of Jesus, specially tasked to fight demons and the Manchus) was considered a positive sign to some Western observers. The Heavenly Kingdom (as the Taiping regime styled itself) could also claim to be a Han Chinese regime, while the Qing dynasty was dominated by a Manchu ruling class. This appeal to Chinese nationalism proved to be a potent rallying cry (although the imperial claim to traditional Confucian values was also very potent).
Even more promising, the British navy was about to launch a war against the emperor in order to secure more advantageous trade terms; it would lead two humiliating invasions of the imperial north, weakening the loyalists in their battle against the rebels and causing the emperor to flee Beijing in disgrace. Hong Rengan gained his position on the premise that he could win European support, and he consistently promised things that the imperial forces were reluctant to offer: freedom for (Christian) missionaries, advantageous trade terms, and an end to humiliating ceremonial requirements in which foreigners were deemed to be 'vassals' of the emperor. Hong also supported modernization which to my amateur eye looked a lot like what Japan would pursue shortly thereafter; this was something that British elites supported as well. And on a more cynical note, the British commander Lord Elgin noted that the Taiping capital of Nanjing was closer to the shore, making it easier for British gunboats to arrive in force and impose their will on the population.
Of course, the Taiping rebellion would be brutally suppressed by the empire, and the downfall of the Heavenly Kingdom proves to be a very compelling story. Platt tells this story in two ways. The first focuses on the rise of Zeng Guofan, an anxiety-prone scholar who received military command almost by default, and who evolved from a fairly inept commander (twice attempting suicide after disastrous losses) to the most powerful general in the kingdom, a ruthless leader who commanded hundreds of thousands of loyal soldiers, a man who might well have become Emperor himself if he had the inclination.
The second focuses on European interference in the civil war, and in the peculiar way in which the British--while claiming neutrality--made war first on the imperial forces and then on the Taiping. While the British Empire was relatively scrupulous about neutrality in the American Civil War, they did not think quite so highly of the Chinese. Most local officials, including ambassador Frederick Bruce, considered the Chinese to be inherently treacherous; so concessions freely given from the Taiping were inherently untrustworthy, while concessions extracted by force from the imperial forces were more reliable. (Bruce would even reject communication from the rebels as a violation of neutrality, although he would later conclude that selling gunships to the imperial forces was consistent with neutrality.) And most British residents of China lived in cities that were held by the Qing forces (particularly Shanghai), so that they received regular propaganda reports on atrocities committed by the rebels. At times the policy became truly confused; British and French forces were invading the imperial north at the same time that other British forces were organizing a defense of Shanghai on behalf of the empire.
(So that I'm not just slagging the British here, the French were also involved in much of this monkey business, and were responsible for a couple of human rights atrocities, including the massacre of a rebel-held village in revenge for the death of the French commander. And while Americans were not quite so involved for various Civil-War-related reasons, the American mercenary Frederick T. Ward comes off as quite the opportunist.)
Platt's sympathies are plainly with the Taiping rebels, or more specifically with Hong Rengan's plans for modernizing China. He argues that British intervention was a crucial aid to the Qing regime, which emerged strong enough to totter along for another half century while falling further and further behind the West (which soon included Japan, which learned from China's example). I'm not entirely sure if this is the case. The Heavenly King himself seems like quite the megalomaniac, and rebel armies were known to massacre the entire Manchu population of cities it took over (although this wasn't always the case, particularly when the rebels were trying to attract European support). It's easy for me to imagine a Taiping future which is much darker than what Platt suggests.
Regardless, I think that this is a very compelling, very dramatic account of an under-served subject. Figures like Lord Elgin, Hong Rengan, and Zeng Guofan become indelible thanks to Platt's storytelling ability. I found AUTUMN IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM to be not just interesting but occasionally funny and more emotionally involving than I was expecting. (And quotable too; I have several dozen quotes highlighted on my Kindle copy, way more than I posted here.) I want to learn more about Chinese history, and I also very much want to read what Platt writes next.
Platt's focus is primarily on the latter half of the war, from 1858 until the eventual suppression of the rebellion in 1864. So the story starts in earnest when Hong Rengan returns from exile in Hong Kong to become second in command of the Taiping forces. Hong Xiuquan's idiosyncratic version of Christianity (he believed that he was the younger brother of Jesus, specially tasked to fight demons and the Manchus) was considered a positive sign to some Western observers. The Heavenly Kingdom (as the Taiping regime styled itself) could also claim to be a Han Chinese regime, while the Qing dynasty was dominated by a Manchu ruling class. This appeal to Chinese nationalism proved to be a potent rallying cry (although the imperial claim to traditional Confucian values was also very potent).
Even more promising, the British navy was about to launch a war against the emperor in order to secure more advantageous trade terms; it would lead two humiliating invasions of the imperial north, weakening the loyalists in their battle against the rebels and causing the emperor to flee Beijing in disgrace. Hong Rengan gained his position on the premise that he could win European support, and he consistently promised things that the imperial forces were reluctant to offer: freedom for (Christian) missionaries, advantageous trade terms, and an end to humiliating ceremonial requirements in which foreigners were deemed to be 'vassals' of the emperor. Hong also supported modernization which to my amateur eye looked a lot like what Japan would pursue shortly thereafter; this was something that British elites supported as well. And on a more cynical note, the British commander Lord Elgin noted that the Taiping capital of Nanjing was closer to the shore, making it easier for British gunboats to arrive in force and impose their will on the population.
Of course, the Taiping rebellion would be brutally suppressed by the empire, and the downfall of the Heavenly Kingdom proves to be a very compelling story. Platt tells this story in two ways. The first focuses on the rise of Zeng Guofan, an anxiety-prone scholar who received military command almost by default, and who evolved from a fairly inept commander (twice attempting suicide after disastrous losses) to the most powerful general in the kingdom, a ruthless leader who commanded hundreds of thousands of loyal soldiers, a man who might well have become Emperor himself if he had the inclination.
The second focuses on European interference in the civil war, and in the peculiar way in which the British--while claiming neutrality--made war first on the imperial forces and then on the Taiping. While the British Empire was relatively scrupulous about neutrality in the American Civil War, they did not think quite so highly of the Chinese. Most local officials, including ambassador Frederick Bruce, considered the Chinese to be inherently treacherous; so concessions freely given from the Taiping were inherently untrustworthy, while concessions extracted by force from the imperial forces were more reliable. (Bruce would even reject communication from the rebels as a violation of neutrality, although he would later conclude that selling gunships to the imperial forces was consistent with neutrality.) And most British residents of China lived in cities that were held by the Qing forces (particularly Shanghai), so that they received regular propaganda reports on atrocities committed by the rebels. At times the policy became truly confused; British and French forces were invading the imperial north at the same time that other British forces were organizing a defense of Shanghai on behalf of the empire.
(So that I'm not just slagging the British here, the French were also involved in much of this monkey business, and were responsible for a couple of human rights atrocities, including the massacre of a rebel-held village in revenge for the death of the French commander. And while Americans were not quite so involved for various Civil-War-related reasons, the American mercenary Frederick T. Ward comes off as quite the opportunist.)
Platt's sympathies are plainly with the Taiping rebels, or more specifically with Hong Rengan's plans for modernizing China. He argues that British intervention was a crucial aid to the Qing regime, which emerged strong enough to totter along for another half century while falling further and further behind the West (which soon included Japan, which learned from China's example). I'm not entirely sure if this is the case. The Heavenly King himself seems like quite the megalomaniac, and rebel armies were known to massacre the entire Manchu population of cities it took over (although this wasn't always the case, particularly when the rebels were trying to attract European support). It's easy for me to imagine a Taiping future which is much darker than what Platt suggests.
Regardless, I think that this is a very compelling, very dramatic account of an under-served subject. Figures like Lord Elgin, Hong Rengan, and Zeng Guofan become indelible thanks to Platt's storytelling ability. I found AUTUMN IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM to be not just interesting but occasionally funny and more emotionally involving than I was expecting. (And quotable too; I have several dozen quotes highlighted on my Kindle copy, way more than I posted here.) I want to learn more about Chinese history, and I also very much want to read what Platt writes next.
October 3, 2020
A fascinating story on a piece of previously unknown history to me.
The first time I heard of the Taiping Civil War (or Rebellion, depending on your pov) was when I saw this book nominated as a BR in a group. I read the description and found it to be interesting, especially because I had not known of the subject of this book before. Fortunately, this book definitely satisfied my curiousity of what was the Taiping Civil War. Mr. Platt wrote an epic, comprehensive yet quite brief history of the Taiping Civil War from its supernatural beginning through its ups and downs until its disheartening and disappointing ending. And what an epic tale it was. This had everything you'd love to see in an epic fantasy series : a regular guy who failed civil service entrance exams multiple times who founded a movement based an otherworldly vision from Big Brother Jesus; a pure-hearted religious younger cousin who was determined to assist his visionary elder brother; a self-centered and powerless King who had no appetite other than enjoying life at his secluded palace; an ambitious set of advisers, generals, as well as Empress Dowager; a muddled group of foreigners, each with various ambitions, biases and dispositions toward the Chinese; as well as a bunch of politicans who had the power to determine the fates of millions of people thousands of miles away.
In this book, Mr. Platt posited that the failure of the Taiping Civil War was due to two interrelated factors. Internally, the Taiping Court was beseted with some pretty toxic internal politics, which led to some unsound policies and war strategies. Additionally, there was also an important external element : the British, which, despite adamantly insisting on being neutral on paper, but through the actions of some of its principal agents in China turned the balance of power toward the Imperial Qing Dynasty. Although, it was pretty clear on where the author's sympathy lies, I thought he did a thorough job of painting an accurate picture of the events. I also thought he successfully proved his main thesis.
Overall, it was an engaging comprehensive review of the Taiping Civil War.
The first time I heard of the Taiping Civil War (or Rebellion, depending on your pov) was when I saw this book nominated as a BR in a group. I read the description and found it to be interesting, especially because I had not known of the subject of this book before. Fortunately, this book definitely satisfied my curiousity of what was the Taiping Civil War. Mr. Platt wrote an epic, comprehensive yet quite brief history of the Taiping Civil War from its supernatural beginning through its ups and downs until its disheartening and disappointing ending. And what an epic tale it was. This had everything you'd love to see in an epic fantasy series : a regular guy who failed civil service entrance exams multiple times who founded a movement based an otherworldly vision from Big Brother Jesus; a pure-hearted religious younger cousin who was determined to assist his visionary elder brother; a self-centered and powerless King who had no appetite other than enjoying life at his secluded palace; an ambitious set of advisers, generals, as well as Empress Dowager; a muddled group of foreigners, each with various ambitions, biases and dispositions toward the Chinese; as well as a bunch of politicans who had the power to determine the fates of millions of people thousands of miles away.
In this book, Mr. Platt posited that the failure of the Taiping Civil War was due to two interrelated factors. Internally, the Taiping Court was beseted with some pretty toxic internal politics, which led to some unsound policies and war strategies. Additionally, there was also an important external element : the British, which, despite adamantly insisting on being neutral on paper, but through the actions of some of its principal agents in China turned the balance of power toward the Imperial Qing Dynasty. Although, it was pretty clear on where the author's sympathy lies, I thought he did a thorough job of painting an accurate picture of the events. I also thought he successfully proved his main thesis.
Overall, it was an engaging comprehensive review of the Taiping Civil War.
July 22, 2016
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War, by Stephen Platt, is a interesting narrative history of the Taiping Rebellion in China during the closing 50 years or so of the Qing Empire (1850's/60's). The narrative in this book is split. On the one hand, it focuses on Hong Rengan, the Taiping "Shield King" and right hand man of the Heavenly Brother, who was instrumental in the Taiping's near victory in its foreign relations with Western nations. On the other, is Zeng Guofan, the scholar-General that helped deal the death blow to the Taiping movement for the Qing. On the other hand, Platt focuses on Western intervention in the time. Admiral Hope and the British are the main focus, with lesser time going to the French and Americans, who also participated in the Chinese interventions at the time.
This narrative history perceived the conflict from both Hong and Zeng's points of view, with a good chunk going toward characters such as Fredrick Bruce, the British envoy in Shanghai, Admiral Elgin of the British in their early war against the Qing government, and Admiral Hope, who went to war against the Taiping. The Brit's had the inglorious honour of fighting both the Qing and Taiping at the same time, and with little centralized oversight. Hong and Zeng, however, shared similar characteristics with each other, and fought for opposite sides. Both were interested in greater Chinese influence in the "foreign" Manchu dynasty, with Hong fighting for it and Zeng influencing and taking it through political clout. Both men were learned scholars, and had little experience on the battlefield. Both suffered from defeat on the battlefield multiple times, from political machinations from their respective governments and from international pressure.
This book was an interesting narrative look at the conflict from the actors portrayed within. As Platt says himself, however, this is not a book to read for an overview of the conflict. Great battles and political unrest are glossed over quickly, or not mentioned. Many other actors, such as the emergent Empress Dowager Cixi, the final de facto ruler of the Qing in some ways, are only briefly mentioned. The French and Americans are not well represented in the foreign camp.
Platt also claims to try and compare the Taiping rebellion to the American Civil War, which was being fought at the same time. He believes their are parallels, and that both conflicts were interrelated in the effects they had on British interventionist policies in China. This was an interesting argument, and globalizes the conflict in some respects. Although British subjects were active in both Taiping and Qing camps, and missionaries, diplomats, mercenaries and merchants plied their trade for both sides, the real objective of British politics was the security of their newly won treaty ports in Shanghai, Ningbo and other cities in the region. This forced the British hand to intervene and abandon their bafflingly opportunistic "neutrality" and side firmly with the Qing government. Therefore, when the American Civil War threatened the British cotton industry from a supply side, the Brit's had to undercut their Chinese textile competitors, who were steadily gaining market share and threatened to eventually oust British textile exporters, whose largest market was in China.
However, Platt's account of the Taiping Rebellion is more narrative than history, in some respects. Tantalizing detail is left out for narrative. The great battles and changes are glossed over. And some baffling additions to the book, including its comparison to the US Civil War, for example, make the entire book a bit of an enigma. Platt writes a highly engaging narrative history, but one which may disappoint the hard core history readers out there. This is a great read as a brief, shallow look at the world's second biggest conflict in terms of human lives, but offers less than acceptable detail for those who want a bit more information. Platt himself says that there are much better blow-by-blow accounts of the war and its internal political machinations. Even so, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom is an interesting read that will surely entertain any fans of Chinese history or Western colonial adventurism. Just do not expect a high level of historical detail.
This narrative history perceived the conflict from both Hong and Zeng's points of view, with a good chunk going toward characters such as Fredrick Bruce, the British envoy in Shanghai, Admiral Elgin of the British in their early war against the Qing government, and Admiral Hope, who went to war against the Taiping. The Brit's had the inglorious honour of fighting both the Qing and Taiping at the same time, and with little centralized oversight. Hong and Zeng, however, shared similar characteristics with each other, and fought for opposite sides. Both were interested in greater Chinese influence in the "foreign" Manchu dynasty, with Hong fighting for it and Zeng influencing and taking it through political clout. Both men were learned scholars, and had little experience on the battlefield. Both suffered from defeat on the battlefield multiple times, from political machinations from their respective governments and from international pressure.
This book was an interesting narrative look at the conflict from the actors portrayed within. As Platt says himself, however, this is not a book to read for an overview of the conflict. Great battles and political unrest are glossed over quickly, or not mentioned. Many other actors, such as the emergent Empress Dowager Cixi, the final de facto ruler of the Qing in some ways, are only briefly mentioned. The French and Americans are not well represented in the foreign camp.
Platt also claims to try and compare the Taiping rebellion to the American Civil War, which was being fought at the same time. He believes their are parallels, and that both conflicts were interrelated in the effects they had on British interventionist policies in China. This was an interesting argument, and globalizes the conflict in some respects. Although British subjects were active in both Taiping and Qing camps, and missionaries, diplomats, mercenaries and merchants plied their trade for both sides, the real objective of British politics was the security of their newly won treaty ports in Shanghai, Ningbo and other cities in the region. This forced the British hand to intervene and abandon their bafflingly opportunistic "neutrality" and side firmly with the Qing government. Therefore, when the American Civil War threatened the British cotton industry from a supply side, the Brit's had to undercut their Chinese textile competitors, who were steadily gaining market share and threatened to eventually oust British textile exporters, whose largest market was in China.
However, Platt's account of the Taiping Rebellion is more narrative than history, in some respects. Tantalizing detail is left out for narrative. The great battles and changes are glossed over. And some baffling additions to the book, including its comparison to the US Civil War, for example, make the entire book a bit of an enigma. Platt writes a highly engaging narrative history, but one which may disappoint the hard core history readers out there. This is a great read as a brief, shallow look at the world's second biggest conflict in terms of human lives, but offers less than acceptable detail for those who want a bit more information. Platt himself says that there are much better blow-by-blow accounts of the war and its internal political machinations. Even so, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom is an interesting read that will surely entertain any fans of Chinese history or Western colonial adventurism. Just do not expect a high level of historical detail.
February 13, 2022
The story of Hong Xiuquan, when you read it, defies belief. A frustrated student who had tried many times to pass the civil service examination and secure himself a government job, he experienced a nervous breakdown, and became convinced he was the brother of Jesus Christ. Within a decade, he had produced a syncretic version of Christianity, established a Heavenly Kingdom, and sought to overthrow the ruling Qing Dynasty.
The historical approaches to the Taiping Rebellion have varied. In English, there are biographical approaches such as Jonathan Spence's God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan, or explanations of Taiping belief, such as The Taiping Ideology: Its Sources, Interpretations, and Influences. Additionally, Chinese trends in historiography have also changed over the last decades. In the Maoist era, the Taiping were lauded as proto-revolutionaries. In more recent years, anti-Taiping generals such as Zeng Guofan, were re-examined, and modern scholarship describes them as patriotic heroes who presided over necessary reforms.
Platt's account focuses on three perspectives of the war: there is the Taiping Kingdom, with a special focus on Hong Rengan, a distant cousin of Hong Xiuquan and who actively communicated with Western powers. On the side of the Qing Dynasty, the scholar-general Zeng Guofan is emphasized; and for the Western powers, Platt spends most of his time on the British. The moves between these personalities are an exercise in contrasts, and also ties into Platt's argument about the global nature of the conflict.
In particular, Platt notes that the British were not so swayed by the Taiping's professed Christian beliefs; economic matters drove decision-making. The United States Civil War, which occurred simultaneously, also impacted British cotton and tea markets, and this impacted British policy towards the Qing - moving from ambivalence to treaty-signing; but reports of Qing atrocities also horrified the British public.
Additionally, the portrayal of Zeng Guofan drawn from Zeng's papers and letters is intriguing, almost humanizing. He feels he is completely unqualified for the job, and is plagued with an astonishing level of self-doubt. Really the only certainty he has is his loyalty to the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty, which he views as preservers and protectors of traditional Chinese civilization. The personal modesty is a striking contrast with his own decisive and brutal campaigning.
And speaking of brutality, Platt does not shy away from those descriptions - by the Taiping, by the Qing, and by foreign intervention, particularly the British. Mass slaughter of entire urban populations was the norm. And for all of this, Platt is not so simplistic enough as to suggest a single "story" - the war was the result of so many contingent factors, causes, and faulty decisions that it could have gone a completely different way. I personally doubt that the Taiping would have been able to enact that much 'change' in China except for slaughter - millennarian groups tend to splinter or purge each other before they can do much of that. I end a quote from the last chapter:
The historical approaches to the Taiping Rebellion have varied. In English, there are biographical approaches such as Jonathan Spence's God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan, or explanations of Taiping belief, such as The Taiping Ideology: Its Sources, Interpretations, and Influences. Additionally, Chinese trends in historiography have also changed over the last decades. In the Maoist era, the Taiping were lauded as proto-revolutionaries. In more recent years, anti-Taiping generals such as Zeng Guofan, were re-examined, and modern scholarship describes them as patriotic heroes who presided over necessary reforms.
Platt's account focuses on three perspectives of the war: there is the Taiping Kingdom, with a special focus on Hong Rengan, a distant cousin of Hong Xiuquan and who actively communicated with Western powers. On the side of the Qing Dynasty, the scholar-general Zeng Guofan is emphasized; and for the Western powers, Platt spends most of his time on the British. The moves between these personalities are an exercise in contrasts, and also ties into Platt's argument about the global nature of the conflict.
In particular, Platt notes that the British were not so swayed by the Taiping's professed Christian beliefs; economic matters drove decision-making. The United States Civil War, which occurred simultaneously, also impacted British cotton and tea markets, and this impacted British policy towards the Qing - moving from ambivalence to treaty-signing; but reports of Qing atrocities also horrified the British public.
Additionally, the portrayal of Zeng Guofan drawn from Zeng's papers and letters is intriguing, almost humanizing. He feels he is completely unqualified for the job, and is plagued with an astonishing level of self-doubt. Really the only certainty he has is his loyalty to the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty, which he views as preservers and protectors of traditional Chinese civilization. The personal modesty is a striking contrast with his own decisive and brutal campaigning.
And speaking of brutality, Platt does not shy away from those descriptions - by the Taiping, by the Qing, and by foreign intervention, particularly the British. Mass slaughter of entire urban populations was the norm. And for all of this, Platt is not so simplistic enough as to suggest a single "story" - the war was the result of so many contingent factors, causes, and faulty decisions that it could have gone a completely different way. I personally doubt that the Taiping would have been able to enact that much 'change' in China except for slaughter - millennarian groups tend to splinter or purge each other before they can do much of that. I end a quote from the last chapter:
If there is any moral at all to be gleaned from the outcome of this war, which brought so little of lasting benefit to either its victors or the country in which it was waged, it is not likely to be of the encouraging sort. [...] It is a tale of how sometimes the connections we perceive across cultures and distances—our hopes for an underlying unity of human virtue, our belief that underneath it all we are somehow the same—can turn out to be nothing more than the fictions of our own imagination. And when we congratulate ourselves on seeing through the darkened window that separates us from another civilization, heartened to discover the familiar forms that lie hidden among the shadows on the other side, sometimes we do so without ever realizing that we are only gazing at our own reflection.
February 8, 2024
It was interesting enough for those who may have an interest in Chinese history, particularly the Taiping Civil War.
Platt's style puts a lot of emphasis on the personalities who were involved in historical events. It can be confusing at times unless you carefully map out in your mind who supports which cause, and take notes of any changes in their stances as events progress.
Platt did a good job documenting the confusing and seemingly contradicting British foreign policy throughout the entire debacle. A small sideline note, I chuckled at all the references to the New York Times exaggerating and misrepresenting events in China. Some things aren't affected by time apparently.
Platt's style puts a lot of emphasis on the personalities who were involved in historical events. It can be confusing at times unless you carefully map out in your mind who supports which cause, and take notes of any changes in their stances as events progress.
Platt did a good job documenting the confusing and seemingly contradicting British foreign policy throughout the entire debacle. A small sideline note, I chuckled at all the references to the New York Times exaggerating and misrepresenting events in China. Some things aren't affected by time apparently.
April 25, 2016
I love it when a history book is entertaining, almost fiction like. This has it all: characters that run the gamut of archetypes, from meddling foreigners to wise Chinese leaders; a racing plot with so many twists you'll never see coming; and there is much action to hold attention, including an EXPLOSIVE climax.
The Taiping Uprising/Revolution/Rebellion is a little known part of history that played out concurrently with the civil unrest that Europe was suffering during the 19th century, and was a precursor to the eventual overthrow of the Qing before the Chinese path to communism. Indeed, the book suggests that were it not for British intervention the failing Qing dynasty may well have been abolished earlier, leading to a Christian, technologically minded China.
I just loved the way this was written, accessible and bursting with anecdotes, but also considered and bipartisan. I definitely recommend it for everyone. There are also parallels to draw here with the unrest in the Arab world (Syria).
The Taiping Uprising/Revolution/Rebellion is a little known part of history that played out concurrently with the civil unrest that Europe was suffering during the 19th century, and was a precursor to the eventual overthrow of the Qing before the Chinese path to communism. Indeed, the book suggests that were it not for British intervention the failing Qing dynasty may well have been abolished earlier, leading to a Christian, technologically minded China.
I just loved the way this was written, accessible and bursting with anecdotes, but also considered and bipartisan. I definitely recommend it for everyone. There are also parallels to draw here with the unrest in the Arab world (Syria).
February 22, 2022
An exemplary work of historical non-fiction.
Platt blends numerous first hand accounts, records, correspondence and reporting into a cohesive, rich and highly readable narrative of the most destructive civil war in human history. The internal lives of key actors are rendered in intimate detail, giving a ground floor view into the monumental suffering and brutality. Platt goes beyond China's borders to explore how public and government opinion in Britain was shaped by a few key accounts from China, and how the response changed the course of history.
Platt blends numerous first hand accounts, records, correspondence and reporting into a cohesive, rich and highly readable narrative of the most destructive civil war in human history. The internal lives of key actors are rendered in intimate detail, giving a ground floor view into the monumental suffering and brutality. Platt goes beyond China's borders to explore how public and government opinion in Britain was shaped by a few key accounts from China, and how the response changed the course of history.
January 22, 2016
The Taiping Rebellion must be one of the most underrated wars/historical happenings of the past two centuries. I don't know how it is remembered in China, but I know it's virtually unknown in the US, despite the fact that around 20-30 million people died in the war (upper estimates put the death toll as high as 85 million) and it almost saw the installment of a Christian dynasty in China.
It's too bad because the war, as this book makes clear, was really fascinating. There are two main 'protagonists' in the book. Hong Rengan is the cousin of Hong Xiuquan (the Heavenly Emperor). He worked as a preacher's assistant in Hong Kong before traveling back to Nanjing to become the Shield King, aka the Heavenly Emperor's righthand man. Unfortunately, Hong, who is often described as pretty average throughout the book, doesn't really seem to be up to the task of being the prime minister of a rebel kingdom. But he does represent the "China that might have been," since he had been exposed to Western ideas in Hong Kong and dreamed of modernizing China.
The other 'protagonist' is Zeng Guofan, who turns out to be another tragic hero. Before the war he was a high ranking scholar in Beijing. His involvement in the civil war starts with tragedy - it is the death of his mother that brings him back to his home village in Hunan, very close to the theater of war. Since he happens to be the highest ranking official in Hunan at the time, the imperial government orders him to raise an army to fight the rebels. In the course of the war, his father will also die (of old age or something related), and several of his brothers will die (because of the war). Zeng himself tries to commit suicide twice after disastrous defeats. Throughout almost the whole war he is wracked by feelings of doubt and incompetence. But his amazing persistence and meticulous planning slowly chip away at the rebel defenses until in a final flurry of successes he is able to defeat them completely. (Victory over the rebels doesn't end his suffering, though, as the Manchus in Beijing view him with suspicion and never let him retire).
The other main thread in the book (besides the rebel/imperial viewpoints) is the way foreigners contributed to the war. Mainly Great Britain. There are lessons to be learned from England's involvement in the war. Reading the book, it felt like the author was trying to be dispassionate about the events that happened, but he can't help but let some of his disgust for Britain's decisions slip into the text. I can't help but also feel disgust towards Britain's actions. It was painful reading about how selfish and blindly self-righteous the British were. Britain was supposedly 'neutral' throughout the war. What this meant in practice was that Britain used its 'neutral' position to gain advantage with the rebels - for example, it told them to not attack the treaty port of Hankow (and the nearby city of Wuchang), turning the rebels instead to a failed effort to relieve the siege on Anqing, the failure of which eventually led to the fall of Nanjing. Britain eventually semi-abandoned neutrality and offered direct aid to the imperial forces by shipping an army (the Anhui Army I think) from Anqing to Shanghai. This allowed the imperial forces to open a second front on the Taiping kingdom which also led to the fall of Nanjing. The most aggravating part of Britain's involvement is that the rebels were actually well-disposed towards foreigners (unlike the Manchu government) and were actually Christian (unlike the Manchus). The second most aggravating thing was reading correspondence from British officials at the time. Many of the most important British officials in China were biased against the Taiping to the point that they happily disobeyed orders or sent lies/propaganda back to England. When you consider that the Taipings may very well have won the war without Britain's involvement, it's painful to think about the ignorance of the people who were making Britain's decisions. Anyway, the lesson to be learned is that you shouldn't meddle in other people's business because you are hopelessly ignorant and delusional and will almost certainly make things worse.
Overall, nobody won this war. The Taiping rebels mostly died, often in horrible ways. The British saw a decline in trade revenue once the war ended. Zeng Guofan was never able to see a happy retirement. The only people who 'won' were probably the Manchus in Beijing, but that was only temporary because they would be overthrown anyway 50 years later. So overall this war was a tragedy; the main benefits of reading about it were to learn about the remarkable human characters involved and to learn some historical lessons.
It's too bad because the war, as this book makes clear, was really fascinating. There are two main 'protagonists' in the book. Hong Rengan is the cousin of Hong Xiuquan (the Heavenly Emperor). He worked as a preacher's assistant in Hong Kong before traveling back to Nanjing to become the Shield King, aka the Heavenly Emperor's righthand man. Unfortunately, Hong, who is often described as pretty average throughout the book, doesn't really seem to be up to the task of being the prime minister of a rebel kingdom. But he does represent the "China that might have been," since he had been exposed to Western ideas in Hong Kong and dreamed of modernizing China.
The other 'protagonist' is Zeng Guofan, who turns out to be another tragic hero. Before the war he was a high ranking scholar in Beijing. His involvement in the civil war starts with tragedy - it is the death of his mother that brings him back to his home village in Hunan, very close to the theater of war. Since he happens to be the highest ranking official in Hunan at the time, the imperial government orders him to raise an army to fight the rebels. In the course of the war, his father will also die (of old age or something related), and several of his brothers will die (because of the war). Zeng himself tries to commit suicide twice after disastrous defeats. Throughout almost the whole war he is wracked by feelings of doubt and incompetence. But his amazing persistence and meticulous planning slowly chip away at the rebel defenses until in a final flurry of successes he is able to defeat them completely. (Victory over the rebels doesn't end his suffering, though, as the Manchus in Beijing view him with suspicion and never let him retire).
The other main thread in the book (besides the rebel/imperial viewpoints) is the way foreigners contributed to the war. Mainly Great Britain. There are lessons to be learned from England's involvement in the war. Reading the book, it felt like the author was trying to be dispassionate about the events that happened, but he can't help but let some of his disgust for Britain's decisions slip into the text. I can't help but also feel disgust towards Britain's actions. It was painful reading about how selfish and blindly self-righteous the British were. Britain was supposedly 'neutral' throughout the war. What this meant in practice was that Britain used its 'neutral' position to gain advantage with the rebels - for example, it told them to not attack the treaty port of Hankow (and the nearby city of Wuchang), turning the rebels instead to a failed effort to relieve the siege on Anqing, the failure of which eventually led to the fall of Nanjing. Britain eventually semi-abandoned neutrality and offered direct aid to the imperial forces by shipping an army (the Anhui Army I think) from Anqing to Shanghai. This allowed the imperial forces to open a second front on the Taiping kingdom which also led to the fall of Nanjing. The most aggravating part of Britain's involvement is that the rebels were actually well-disposed towards foreigners (unlike the Manchu government) and were actually Christian (unlike the Manchus). The second most aggravating thing was reading correspondence from British officials at the time. Many of the most important British officials in China were biased against the Taiping to the point that they happily disobeyed orders or sent lies/propaganda back to England. When you consider that the Taipings may very well have won the war without Britain's involvement, it's painful to think about the ignorance of the people who were making Britain's decisions. Anyway, the lesson to be learned is that you shouldn't meddle in other people's business because you are hopelessly ignorant and delusional and will almost certainly make things worse.
Overall, nobody won this war. The Taiping rebels mostly died, often in horrible ways. The British saw a decline in trade revenue once the war ended. Zeng Guofan was never able to see a happy retirement. The only people who 'won' were probably the Manchus in Beijing, but that was only temporary because they would be overthrown anyway 50 years later. So overall this war was a tragedy; the main benefits of reading about it were to learn about the remarkable human characters involved and to learn some historical lessons.
December 15, 2022
A failed rebellion, revolution, or religious movement does not get discussed as much as those that don’t. Obviously! But given the likely extent of human life lost in the Taiping rebellion, it needs more attention than it gets.
The book fills the void somewhat with its version of events based on the available information. The information availability, unfortunately, is such that the viewpoints are mainly of the Western colonialists, missionaries, and mercenaries based in China at the time than of the more relevant leaders of the Qing dynasty or of the heavenly kingdom.
That such a massive internal war had such little lasting impact on China’s subsequent history is another external factor reducing the narrative appeal of details discussed in the book. So while it is a rare popular book on one of the biggest global historic events, it is also a book that fails to connect what it describes with anything that came after.
The book fills the void somewhat with its version of events based on the available information. The information availability, unfortunately, is such that the viewpoints are mainly of the Western colonialists, missionaries, and mercenaries based in China at the time than of the more relevant leaders of the Qing dynasty or of the heavenly kingdom.
That such a massive internal war had such little lasting impact on China’s subsequent history is another external factor reducing the narrative appeal of details discussed in the book. So while it is a rare popular book on one of the biggest global historic events, it is also a book that fails to connect what it describes with anything that came after.
January 18, 2015
Stephen Platt strikes the precise pace needed for the scope of this book. On one hand, he clips along from siege to negotiation to media response, using an array of sources but mindful that most of us can't absorb 400 pages of meticulous detail. He doesn't belabor any points, which is why this book remains gripping until the end.
The points, however, are thoughtfully and deliberately made, and herein must lie the other reason Autumn has gotten so much attention. Even at his pace, Platt never compromises an opportunity for historical insight for the sake of the story; he never presumes to turn the Taiping Rebellion into a rollicking yarn.
The translated accounts of all the military parties addressed are given more or less equal weight in the book, and the final conclusions are globally-minded. The last two chapters and epilogue are particularly arresting for anyone interested in colonization and the history of western powers' intervention in eastern regions.
A solid five stars for great history and great writing.
The points, however, are thoughtfully and deliberately made, and herein must lie the other reason Autumn has gotten so much attention. Even at his pace, Platt never compromises an opportunity for historical insight for the sake of the story; he never presumes to turn the Taiping Rebellion into a rollicking yarn.
The translated accounts of all the military parties addressed are given more or less equal weight in the book, and the final conclusions are globally-minded. The last two chapters and epilogue are particularly arresting for anyone interested in colonization and the history of western powers' intervention in eastern regions.
A solid five stars for great history and great writing.
November 16, 2020
Wow. Just wow. I barely knew any of this history. So fascinating and horrifying.
June 16, 2023
One of the most interesting historical books I have ever read (atually listened to).
April 14, 2013
The title does not disappoint: the book really is epic in scope. I really didn't know anything about the topic prior to beginning the text, and after finishing it, I feel that I know a great deal. My previous experience with the Taiping Rebellion derives from a visit to a museum for the rebellion in Nanjing, the Taiping Kingdom History Museum. I visited in 2006 and was bewildered by the museum's focus on military formations. Being a novice to military history, I found the exhibits exhausting. What did pique my interest was the framing of the rebellion as a pre-cursor to the Communist Revolution. Both were anti-imperialist struggles.
Platt does a great job bringing the conflict to life. He starts out telling the story of Hong Rengan and Hong Xiuquan's childhoods. Here we learn of their acquaintance with Christianity and the Xiuquan's struggle with the Imperial testing system. I found the thread of the book that dealt with the character and motivations of these two characters very curious, and I wished there was more about them. As the book goes on, there is less and less about them, to the point that by the final section of the book, they only show up for vignette's in brief parts of chapters. This may be because there is little available on them, however, it is also a matter of focus, despite the lofty framing of the book's introduction, what we really get is a prolonged and dramatized military history. The most compelling aspects of the Taiping: their motivations, sources of power, and their geographical roots (that is, why in this part of China?), are left only partially explained.
The most bothersome aspects of the book are its circular military descriptions and its over-engagement, in my opinion, with minor Western figures. Platt knows the ins and outs of all of the Taiping and Imperial campaigns, and illustrates most of them. While some were very interesting: the Taku forts, the first attack on Shanghai, Anqing, Ningbo, and, finally, Nanjing, other relatively minor skirmishes become tiring to read about. The author is always attempting to invoke the excitement of turn in the tide of war. This becomes, however, quite tiring towards the end of the book, when it feels that Platt is must prolonging what is clearly inevitable. Often these battles include minor Western figures. Being intrigued by the Taiping kings at the beginning of the book, I began to lose my patience at the end of the book as a series of British and American military men appear and disappear from the scene. Platt even acknowledges that some of them, for instance "Chinese" Gordon, have had historiographically embellished roles in the conflict. So then why take such time to explain them? I admit that this may be a matter of personal preference, the title of the book makes clear Platt's interest in Western involvement, which is certainly interesting and well argued in the book, but these accounts remain distractions. This complaint could also be extended to the brief foray in the rise of the Empress Dowager.
Platt's central arguments are that the Rebellion was really much more of a civil war than history has described it, that the Rebellion was really an aspiring and even functional state, that the war had racial (Han vs. Manchu) overtones, that British and foreign involvement strongly influenced the outcome of the war, and that the psychology of hubris continuously clouded the better judgement of elites and led to frequent of miscommunication and misunderstanding. The second thesis, which helped pull me into the book, as Platt stresses it in the introduction, I feel was poorly developed. While it was clearly used to frame discussions of the Taiping abroad, I was unsure how much power the discourse had in China itself. For instance, one of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Zeng Guofan's obsession with the will of Heaven, as established from his personal letters. He appears so firmly lodged within the Confucian code of conduct and the Imperial system, that a consideration of defecting along ethnic lines is out of the question. For personal and professional reasons, he supports the Manchu. The book also provides endless examples of Han-on-Han violence, as Zeng's Hunan armies exterminate the Taiping rebels. Clearly, racial ideology was low, or perhaps non-existent, at lower levels. By the end of the book, the racial thesis appears unsatisfactorily proven. On the other points, perhaps excepting the final psychological one, which reads more as a poetic coda, Platt does an excellent job convincing. It becomes increasingly clear through the book just how misguided, self-serving, and duplicitous foreign dealings with the Chinese, from any camp, were; this book provides another example of how empty appeals to "human nature" and "civilization" are based more in the demands of rhetoric rather than honesty. All in all I recommend the book. While I now have many new questions, this text does a wonderful job balancing the roles of the Qing, the Taiping, and various Western interests.
Platt does a great job bringing the conflict to life. He starts out telling the story of Hong Rengan and Hong Xiuquan's childhoods. Here we learn of their acquaintance with Christianity and the Xiuquan's struggle with the Imperial testing system. I found the thread of the book that dealt with the character and motivations of these two characters very curious, and I wished there was more about them. As the book goes on, there is less and less about them, to the point that by the final section of the book, they only show up for vignette's in brief parts of chapters. This may be because there is little available on them, however, it is also a matter of focus, despite the lofty framing of the book's introduction, what we really get is a prolonged and dramatized military history. The most compelling aspects of the Taiping: their motivations, sources of power, and their geographical roots (that is, why in this part of China?), are left only partially explained.
The most bothersome aspects of the book are its circular military descriptions and its over-engagement, in my opinion, with minor Western figures. Platt knows the ins and outs of all of the Taiping and Imperial campaigns, and illustrates most of them. While some were very interesting: the Taku forts, the first attack on Shanghai, Anqing, Ningbo, and, finally, Nanjing, other relatively minor skirmishes become tiring to read about. The author is always attempting to invoke the excitement of turn in the tide of war. This becomes, however, quite tiring towards the end of the book, when it feels that Platt is must prolonging what is clearly inevitable. Often these battles include minor Western figures. Being intrigued by the Taiping kings at the beginning of the book, I began to lose my patience at the end of the book as a series of British and American military men appear and disappear from the scene. Platt even acknowledges that some of them, for instance "Chinese" Gordon, have had historiographically embellished roles in the conflict. So then why take such time to explain them? I admit that this may be a matter of personal preference, the title of the book makes clear Platt's interest in Western involvement, which is certainly interesting and well argued in the book, but these accounts remain distractions. This complaint could also be extended to the brief foray in the rise of the Empress Dowager.
Platt's central arguments are that the Rebellion was really much more of a civil war than history has described it, that the Rebellion was really an aspiring and even functional state, that the war had racial (Han vs. Manchu) overtones, that British and foreign involvement strongly influenced the outcome of the war, and that the psychology of hubris continuously clouded the better judgement of elites and led to frequent of miscommunication and misunderstanding. The second thesis, which helped pull me into the book, as Platt stresses it in the introduction, I feel was poorly developed. While it was clearly used to frame discussions of the Taiping abroad, I was unsure how much power the discourse had in China itself. For instance, one of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Zeng Guofan's obsession with the will of Heaven, as established from his personal letters. He appears so firmly lodged within the Confucian code of conduct and the Imperial system, that a consideration of defecting along ethnic lines is out of the question. For personal and professional reasons, he supports the Manchu. The book also provides endless examples of Han-on-Han violence, as Zeng's Hunan armies exterminate the Taiping rebels. Clearly, racial ideology was low, or perhaps non-existent, at lower levels. By the end of the book, the racial thesis appears unsatisfactorily proven. On the other points, perhaps excepting the final psychological one, which reads more as a poetic coda, Platt does an excellent job convincing. It becomes increasingly clear through the book just how misguided, self-serving, and duplicitous foreign dealings with the Chinese, from any camp, were; this book provides another example of how empty appeals to "human nature" and "civilization" are based more in the demands of rhetoric rather than honesty. All in all I recommend the book. While I now have many new questions, this text does a wonderful job balancing the roles of the Qing, the Taiping, and various Western interests.
February 16, 2023
Britain’s definition of neutrality needs some serious review.
January 24, 2014
Rather than a full history of the Taiping Civil War, a decade-and-a-half long conflict in the middle of the 19th century that killed tens of millions of people, this was a bit different to what I expected. Instead, Platt wants to place this incredibly bloody war in a global context, and show how the fighting was not just a matter of Chinese history but had far reaching effects in Europe and the United States. The narrative follows three main courses; 1)the rise to power of Hong Regan, a western influenced convert to Christianity and cousin to the Taiping leader who rose to become prime minister of the rebel state and constantly urged his compatriots towards greater ties with foreign powers, a stark contrast to the cold and xenophobic policies of the imperial dynasty they were fighting against 2) the parallel rise of Zeng Guofan, a scholar turned soldier by necessity whose leadership built the army that would eventually defeat the rebels and make him, briefly, the most powerful figure in China 3) the interference and policies of the various foreign powers, primarily the United Kingdom, and how they were drawn from a stance of firm neutrality into open collaboration with an imperial regime that despised and deceived them against a popular movement that practically begged for their friendship and aid.
It wasn't what I expected, but that's largely my own fault, and it's still very well told. Though I did think it was a little accidentally problematic in parts (I hate that word but I cant think of a better one) - namely in that, by seeking to interest foreigners, westerners in particular, in this bloody era of chinese history by linking it to our own history, Platt sometimes comes across like he's trying to say "look this is important, white guys thought so!" But that really isn't his intent, and overall I found it to be very interesting. It definitely got me very interested in the subject, and now I'm searching for more books on the Taipins, and 19th century Chinese history in general.
It wasn't what I expected, but that's largely my own fault, and it's still very well told. Though I did think it was a little accidentally problematic in parts (I hate that word but I cant think of a better one) - namely in that, by seeking to interest foreigners, westerners in particular, in this bloody era of chinese history by linking it to our own history, Platt sometimes comes across like he's trying to say "look this is important, white guys thought so!" But that really isn't his intent, and overall I found it to be very interesting. It definitely got me very interested in the subject, and now I'm searching for more books on the Taipins, and 19th century Chinese history in general.
July 12, 2019
Do you know what was the world’s bloodiest civil war? Most people wouldn’t guess it correctly. Did you also know that this civil war involved a heretical version of Christianity in which the leader claimed to be the spiritual younger brother of Jesus? In this book Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom author Stephen R. Platt looks at the Taiping Rebellion that took place in China during the mid-1800s. The account in this book is simply fascinating!
Anyone reading this book will learn about how from 1850 to 1864 there was a Hakka Chinese name Hong Xiuquan who began as a self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ leading a religious cult that snowballed into a full rebellion against his contemporary Ching dynasty. Hong Xiuquan would declare himself as emperor and his armies would conquer large portions of China. At certain point it even seem inevitable that the “Taipings” would be victorious against the Manchurian Dynasty, and that a new Dynasty would begin. But it didn’t turn out that way.
What prompted me to read this book was seeing a lecture by the author on this very topic of the Taiping Rebellion. He was compelling and led me to look up this book. Also I noticed the book was recommended by Jonathan Spence. I have previously read Jonathan D. Spence's God’s Chinese Son which was also a very well done historical book on the Taiping Rebellion. As the author Stephen Platt noted in the acknowledgements in the end of the book Spence encouraged Platt to write this book and also to set the bar high in terms of scholarship. The result of that is this book that has new information and new angle in looking at this tragedy in history.
This book was incredibly well researched. While secondary sources were cited what I thought was quite unique with this work was Platt’s look at the conflict from a bigger picture from both Western and Chinese primary sources. The book was very illuminating in how it looked at the West’s involvement with China and how it shaped the internal civil war. The sources Platt considered shows the changes and development of opinions by important policy makers and military and diplomatic Western officials in China. Yet this book isn’t just a history of Western involvement with the conflict; the author has done a good job researching the Chinese archive concerning Zeng Guofan. Although the book doesn’t right away dive into discussion about this individual, yet as the book unfolds we see how important Zeng Guofan was in defeating the Taipings. A man who was originally a student of Confucius and government official who wanted to just be involved with scholarship he nevertheless was tapped for the important role of raising a local militia to check the threat of the Taipings invading his home province of Hunan. He was picked not so much for his military skill as more for his skill of managing people and knowing their strength and weaknesses. It turned out Zeng Guofan did his job well, and his organization of his militia eventually grew into a “Hunan Army” and eventually imperial officials made him in charge of several armies from different provinces. I’ve not heard of Zeng Guofan before and the book’s discussion about this man was a juxtaposition and contrast with some of the other characters in the book both in terms of outlook and worldview. Zeng Guofan was deeply suspicious of foreigners and stood for Confucian value in contrast to what he believed was Christianity, as expressed by the Taipings and also Westerners.
The book was fascinating in its discussion of internal politics within China, foreign relations between China, England, France and America, and also within the Taipings leadership themselves. What made this book stand out from other works is also the discussion of the economic dimension of the conflict. Here’s where the book’s big picture was quite unique: Platt makes the argument that England at that time needed both China and the US economically: China for tea, the US for cotton. But at one point both China and the US was engaged in its own Civil War and put England in a tough spot that led them to become desperate and adopt a strong stance against the Taipings in order for them to secure what they perceived was their economic advantage by helping the Manchurian dynasty to continue so normalcy of trade could continue into the future. It didn’t turn out that it was to their advantage economically; rather the war itself was the best time for the British. The book was honest at the selfish interests of not just only the British but also the Americans, French, Russian and even the Manchurian and Taipings themselves.
I also thought it was illuminating to see the missionaries involved in this conflict and the sides they were supporting or not supporting. Certainly there was a spectrum of missionaries and Christians who supported the Taiping and not supported them. Yet over time the Taipings’ heretical beliefs of being an unorthodox faith led even the strongest supporters to reject the Taipings and we see the complexity of how another dimensions of life played a role in the outcome of this conflict.
The book was also sad for me to read to think about how Christianity was misrepresented, maligned and used as a tool for propaganda, etc. It was also sad for me to read of the incredible violence during this time ranging from rapes, pillaging, outright murder and even cannibalism and slaughtering of forces that agreed to surrender. I was sadden to read of the one general from the Manchurian side that was captured by the rebels but the general’s faithful loyalty to his cause despite being tortured moved the leader of the Taipings to release him to go back to his side along with some money only for the Manchurian side to question this general’s very loyalty since he’s been released. So the Manchurians then had him beheaded. Such is the cruelty of the conflict. Yet before readers think the Chinese and Manchurians are all bad the book also recorded how Western forces looted and even slaughtered people wholesale in areas that they were supposed to protect. Also the book’s discussions about Western mercenaries further show that there’s enough sins to point to for all sides.
I recommend this book for its well done research and insight into East and West relationship along with a critical reflection of how bad and false Christian theology negatively impact the world.
Anyone reading this book will learn about how from 1850 to 1864 there was a Hakka Chinese name Hong Xiuquan who began as a self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ leading a religious cult that snowballed into a full rebellion against his contemporary Ching dynasty. Hong Xiuquan would declare himself as emperor and his armies would conquer large portions of China. At certain point it even seem inevitable that the “Taipings” would be victorious against the Manchurian Dynasty, and that a new Dynasty would begin. But it didn’t turn out that way.
What prompted me to read this book was seeing a lecture by the author on this very topic of the Taiping Rebellion. He was compelling and led me to look up this book. Also I noticed the book was recommended by Jonathan Spence. I have previously read Jonathan D. Spence's God’s Chinese Son which was also a very well done historical book on the Taiping Rebellion. As the author Stephen Platt noted in the acknowledgements in the end of the book Spence encouraged Platt to write this book and also to set the bar high in terms of scholarship. The result of that is this book that has new information and new angle in looking at this tragedy in history.
This book was incredibly well researched. While secondary sources were cited what I thought was quite unique with this work was Platt’s look at the conflict from a bigger picture from both Western and Chinese primary sources. The book was very illuminating in how it looked at the West’s involvement with China and how it shaped the internal civil war. The sources Platt considered shows the changes and development of opinions by important policy makers and military and diplomatic Western officials in China. Yet this book isn’t just a history of Western involvement with the conflict; the author has done a good job researching the Chinese archive concerning Zeng Guofan. Although the book doesn’t right away dive into discussion about this individual, yet as the book unfolds we see how important Zeng Guofan was in defeating the Taipings. A man who was originally a student of Confucius and government official who wanted to just be involved with scholarship he nevertheless was tapped for the important role of raising a local militia to check the threat of the Taipings invading his home province of Hunan. He was picked not so much for his military skill as more for his skill of managing people and knowing their strength and weaknesses. It turned out Zeng Guofan did his job well, and his organization of his militia eventually grew into a “Hunan Army” and eventually imperial officials made him in charge of several armies from different provinces. I’ve not heard of Zeng Guofan before and the book’s discussion about this man was a juxtaposition and contrast with some of the other characters in the book both in terms of outlook and worldview. Zeng Guofan was deeply suspicious of foreigners and stood for Confucian value in contrast to what he believed was Christianity, as expressed by the Taipings and also Westerners.
The book was fascinating in its discussion of internal politics within China, foreign relations between China, England, France and America, and also within the Taipings leadership themselves. What made this book stand out from other works is also the discussion of the economic dimension of the conflict. Here’s where the book’s big picture was quite unique: Platt makes the argument that England at that time needed both China and the US economically: China for tea, the US for cotton. But at one point both China and the US was engaged in its own Civil War and put England in a tough spot that led them to become desperate and adopt a strong stance against the Taipings in order for them to secure what they perceived was their economic advantage by helping the Manchurian dynasty to continue so normalcy of trade could continue into the future. It didn’t turn out that it was to their advantage economically; rather the war itself was the best time for the British. The book was honest at the selfish interests of not just only the British but also the Americans, French, Russian and even the Manchurian and Taipings themselves.
I also thought it was illuminating to see the missionaries involved in this conflict and the sides they were supporting or not supporting. Certainly there was a spectrum of missionaries and Christians who supported the Taiping and not supported them. Yet over time the Taipings’ heretical beliefs of being an unorthodox faith led even the strongest supporters to reject the Taipings and we see the complexity of how another dimensions of life played a role in the outcome of this conflict.
The book was also sad for me to read to think about how Christianity was misrepresented, maligned and used as a tool for propaganda, etc. It was also sad for me to read of the incredible violence during this time ranging from rapes, pillaging, outright murder and even cannibalism and slaughtering of forces that agreed to surrender. I was sadden to read of the one general from the Manchurian side that was captured by the rebels but the general’s faithful loyalty to his cause despite being tortured moved the leader of the Taipings to release him to go back to his side along with some money only for the Manchurian side to question this general’s very loyalty since he’s been released. So the Manchurians then had him beheaded. Such is the cruelty of the conflict. Yet before readers think the Chinese and Manchurians are all bad the book also recorded how Western forces looted and even slaughtered people wholesale in areas that they were supposed to protect. Also the book’s discussions about Western mercenaries further show that there’s enough sins to point to for all sides.
I recommend this book for its well done research and insight into East and West relationship along with a critical reflection of how bad and false Christian theology negatively impact the world.
March 8, 2019
Very well written. The author does an amazing job taking what had to be an enormous amount of research and turning it into a one volume novel-like summary of the deadliest civil war in human history. This Chinese civil war took place at the exact time of the American civil war but was far more brutal- with casualties 100x worse than its American counterpart.
I knew nothing of this era of Chinese history. And was shocked to hear how China almost became a Christian (if just a wee bit heretical!) nation - a heavenly kingdom based in Nanjing. The roots of that Christian uprising are so bizarre they’re hard to believe.
I just don’t love battle-focused history books so I got bored with all the war and battle scenes. Thus 3 stars. Definitely felt like I was slogging through.
I knew nothing of this era of Chinese history. And was shocked to hear how China almost became a Christian (if just a wee bit heretical!) nation - a heavenly kingdom based in Nanjing. The roots of that Christian uprising are so bizarre they’re hard to believe.
I just don’t love battle-focused history books so I got bored with all the war and battle scenes. Thus 3 stars. Definitely felt like I was slogging through.
June 12, 2020
This book is an extraordinary history of the end of the 19th century Taipings in China, and how the British Empire came to a decision to get involved in a Chinese civil war. It is a book about flawed great men, ambitious men who are ruthless, yet idealistic about the future of China. Coming into this book, I knew little about the Taiping Rebellion (the author makes the case for calling it the Taiping Civil War), and I had a basic understanding of British-Chinese relations in the 19th century a la Opium Wars and treaty ports. This book did a fantastic job of introducing the Taipings in a palatable way with excellent storytelling, a can't-wait-what-happens-next kind of reading, and an analysis into the beginnings of a tumultuous relationship between China and the West.
The first part of the book introduces the rulers of the Taipings and of the Qing empire, the British missionaries, officials, and generals. We are introduced to Hong Rengan, the cousin of Hong Xiuquan, the king of the Taipings, who are ruling various cities in southern China. Hong Rengan is educated by Western missionaries in Hong Kong, and he hopes to bring his learnings about Western governments to Taiping China. Subsequently, the British missionaries have a great hope of turning China into a Christian nation through the Taipings. One major problem though: Hong Rengan's cousin Hong Xiuquan, calls himself the Heavenly King and also believes himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ. So although the Taipings appear friendly with the West, their beliefs are just divergent enough from Western Christianity that a growing divide amongst the British began on whether they should support the Taipings. Hong Rengan returns to his cousin, becoming the Shield King and is promoted immediately to prime minister of the Taipings.
Meanwhile, Lord Elgin leads the British Navy on an expedition in northern China to open up more trade to the West. The Manchu Qing Dynasty are in power in China, and they capture some British negotiators, torturing and killing some of them. In retaliation, Elgin advances into Beijing, and finding that the Manchu Emperor had fled, orders the burning of the Summer Palace, further aggravating the Chinese humiliation by the West on the eve of the Opium Wars. The British and French were able to open trade and extract concessions out of the imperial Chinese. All the while, a Chinese civil war with the Taipings breaks out in the south.
The second part starts with an introduction to Zeng Guofan, the former scholar and current reluctant general of the Hunan Army, who fight in the south for the Manchus. We meet various Manchu generals and their Taiping counterparts -- more kings, such as the Brave King and the Loyal King. Here, there are epic, brutal battles -- Zeng Guofan wins some, and loses some. Of highlight is the Hunan Army's siege of Taiping-ruled Anqing, cutting off the British from supplying the city, leading Anqing civilians to starve and to a brutal end to the inhabitants of the city.
As Hong Xiuquan's theology diverged more and more from Western Christianity (he claimed to be the third of the Trinity, and that there was no Holy Spirit), Hong Rengan's friendly relations with Western missionaries led him to fall out of favor with the Heavenly King. Eventually, Hong Rengan lost his responsibility in charge of foreign relations for the Taipings. Other forces also increasingly damage the British support for the Taipings. Frederick Bruce, ranking British official in Shanghai, was against British neutrality, believing all Chinese to be duplicitous, especially the Taipings. With Admiral James Hope, he reports back to British Parliament that a policy of nonintervention would mean the death of British trade in China. And in light of the threat to its economy from the US civil war (Britain depended on the Confederate South for cotton in trade), Britain felt it could not forgo Chinese trade lightly.
In the third part of the book, escalations increase, and Zeng Guofan's power as the imperial general grows. He raises up a new Anhui Army to be led by Li Hongzhang, and he further fortifies his own Hunan Army. Rumors of Hong Rengan's turn to madness increasingly lead the once-hopeful Western missionaries to turn against the Taipings. The tipping point of the falling out of the British from the Taipings comes at Ningbo, when they fire a salute and accidentally kill a couple Chinese residents. The British in China took this as an opportunity to raise aggression at the Taipings ruling Ningbo, escalating to a bombardment of the city.
Intense debates in British Parliament and the British media continue, but the tide ultimately fully turns towards British support of the incumbent imperials, the very same empire which the British had just torched the Summer Palace. As the US civil war erupts, there is an ever-increasing belief that trade in China would be Britain's salvation. So the British start teaming up with American mercenaries to fight for the Qing, even selling ships to the imperial fleet. They aid Zeng Guofan's armies to fight towards the Taiping capital Nanjing. Six Taiping kings are captured in Suzhou and are ruthlessly beheaded by the captain of the Anhui Army, which the British could not get behind. Suddenly the British had to pull out their direct support for the Qing Dynasty, because of anger back in Britain at the unjust killings and moral anguish. But that was enough for Zeng Guofan's growing armies, as they are able to capture Nanjing in one final epic battle to end the book.
There are a lot of events in this book, and it truly is an epic, page-turning story. The focus on the characters of Hong Rengan and Zeng Guofan are fascinating looks at tragic figures. This book is much more about the international politics and the military history of the Taiping civil war, less so on the Taiping religion and on the emperors in the book (for example, the infamous Empress Dowager Cixi rises to power in Beijing during the Taiping rebellion, but is only briefly mentioned). The author looks inside the British Empire's decisions, presenting a brilliant thesis on how one civil war on one side of the world affected the decisions to intervene in another civil war on the other side of the world. The author does a grand job of telling the story in the moment, pulling for quotes from various British and Chinese officials, diaries, newspaper clippings, etc. For a war that had anywhere between 20 million and 30 million deaths, this is a history that is not often told in the West, and this was an outstanding book to tell that story.
The first part of the book introduces the rulers of the Taipings and of the Qing empire, the British missionaries, officials, and generals. We are introduced to Hong Rengan, the cousin of Hong Xiuquan, the king of the Taipings, who are ruling various cities in southern China. Hong Rengan is educated by Western missionaries in Hong Kong, and he hopes to bring his learnings about Western governments to Taiping China. Subsequently, the British missionaries have a great hope of turning China into a Christian nation through the Taipings. One major problem though: Hong Rengan's cousin Hong Xiuquan, calls himself the Heavenly King and also believes himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ. So although the Taipings appear friendly with the West, their beliefs are just divergent enough from Western Christianity that a growing divide amongst the British began on whether they should support the Taipings. Hong Rengan returns to his cousin, becoming the Shield King and is promoted immediately to prime minister of the Taipings.
Meanwhile, Lord Elgin leads the British Navy on an expedition in northern China to open up more trade to the West. The Manchu Qing Dynasty are in power in China, and they capture some British negotiators, torturing and killing some of them. In retaliation, Elgin advances into Beijing, and finding that the Manchu Emperor had fled, orders the burning of the Summer Palace, further aggravating the Chinese humiliation by the West on the eve of the Opium Wars. The British and French were able to open trade and extract concessions out of the imperial Chinese. All the while, a Chinese civil war with the Taipings breaks out in the south.
The second part starts with an introduction to Zeng Guofan, the former scholar and current reluctant general of the Hunan Army, who fight in the south for the Manchus. We meet various Manchu generals and their Taiping counterparts -- more kings, such as the Brave King and the Loyal King. Here, there are epic, brutal battles -- Zeng Guofan wins some, and loses some. Of highlight is the Hunan Army's siege of Taiping-ruled Anqing, cutting off the British from supplying the city, leading Anqing civilians to starve and to a brutal end to the inhabitants of the city.
As Hong Xiuquan's theology diverged more and more from Western Christianity (he claimed to be the third of the Trinity, and that there was no Holy Spirit), Hong Rengan's friendly relations with Western missionaries led him to fall out of favor with the Heavenly King. Eventually, Hong Rengan lost his responsibility in charge of foreign relations for the Taipings. Other forces also increasingly damage the British support for the Taipings. Frederick Bruce, ranking British official in Shanghai, was against British neutrality, believing all Chinese to be duplicitous, especially the Taipings. With Admiral James Hope, he reports back to British Parliament that a policy of nonintervention would mean the death of British trade in China. And in light of the threat to its economy from the US civil war (Britain depended on the Confederate South for cotton in trade), Britain felt it could not forgo Chinese trade lightly.
In the third part of the book, escalations increase, and Zeng Guofan's power as the imperial general grows. He raises up a new Anhui Army to be led by Li Hongzhang, and he further fortifies his own Hunan Army. Rumors of Hong Rengan's turn to madness increasingly lead the once-hopeful Western missionaries to turn against the Taipings. The tipping point of the falling out of the British from the Taipings comes at Ningbo, when they fire a salute and accidentally kill a couple Chinese residents. The British in China took this as an opportunity to raise aggression at the Taipings ruling Ningbo, escalating to a bombardment of the city.
Intense debates in British Parliament and the British media continue, but the tide ultimately fully turns towards British support of the incumbent imperials, the very same empire which the British had just torched the Summer Palace. As the US civil war erupts, there is an ever-increasing belief that trade in China would be Britain's salvation. So the British start teaming up with American mercenaries to fight for the Qing, even selling ships to the imperial fleet. They aid Zeng Guofan's armies to fight towards the Taiping capital Nanjing. Six Taiping kings are captured in Suzhou and are ruthlessly beheaded by the captain of the Anhui Army, which the British could not get behind. Suddenly the British had to pull out their direct support for the Qing Dynasty, because of anger back in Britain at the unjust killings and moral anguish. But that was enough for Zeng Guofan's growing armies, as they are able to capture Nanjing in one final epic battle to end the book.
There are a lot of events in this book, and it truly is an epic, page-turning story. The focus on the characters of Hong Rengan and Zeng Guofan are fascinating looks at tragic figures. This book is much more about the international politics and the military history of the Taiping civil war, less so on the Taiping religion and on the emperors in the book (for example, the infamous Empress Dowager Cixi rises to power in Beijing during the Taiping rebellion, but is only briefly mentioned). The author looks inside the British Empire's decisions, presenting a brilliant thesis on how one civil war on one side of the world affected the decisions to intervene in another civil war on the other side of the world. The author does a grand job of telling the story in the moment, pulling for quotes from various British and Chinese officials, diaries, newspaper clippings, etc. For a war that had anywhere between 20 million and 30 million deaths, this is a history that is not often told in the West, and this was an outstanding book to tell that story.
June 25, 2020
I struggled with this book.
I majored in Chinese history in college, but that was 30 years ago. I wrote my junior thesis (senior?) In the Taiping.
So it was a subject I knew.
The book was told from a point of view that I had less familiarity with and the end of the war--- which want my focus. So a lot of new materials.
But it didn't grab me. I was going to be brought back into the world of Chinese history that I do loved in my youth, but I wasn't.
In other words, this review is for me. Probably not much help for others.
I majored in Chinese history in college, but that was 30 years ago. I wrote my junior thesis (senior?) In the Taiping.
So it was a subject I knew.
The book was told from a point of view that I had less familiarity with and the end of the war--- which want my focus. So a lot of new materials.
But it didn't grab me. I was going to be brought back into the world of Chinese history that I do loved in my youth, but I wasn't.
In other words, this review is for me. Probably not much help for others.
March 26, 2022
I still don't like chapters with roman numerals, but the author managed to endear this to me by calling out western, and especially british, historians for exxaggerating their influence in China. I still see that so often, just the day before reading this, I came across someone online who claimed there was no rape in chinese societies prior to the Opium wars.
And I finally found an answer as to what "Manchu garrisons" was supposed to mean. Apparently it means the Manchu only cities within the larger cities of the empire.
What was surprising to me, was that even Karl Marx wrote on the Taiping and considered China some way of bringing global revolution. And some Near Orleans newspaper saw it as a race-war and China being a slave state in upheaval caused by the ""Primitive" people of south China". There was something in it for everyone apparently.
During those times the Qing government set up suicide stations for Taiping supporters that they didn't immediately capture. Was that only in Canton under its Qing governor-general or in other parts of the empire as well? And apparently tens of thousands were executed in the Canton execution ground and the teams were so efficient they once managed to execute 63 men in just 4 minutes. And even back then an oppresive and brutal regime was basically pushing people into Hong Kong and Hong Kong benefited greatly for it. The Brits should thank the Qing and later the CCP for it. And speaking of Brits, it took only some foreign ships, some minor battles and a treaty was signed. Wow, the Taiping and other rebellions really must have weakened the position of the emperor or else he probably wouldn't have signed it.
Advisor Guo Singtao was probably right, had the Qing not turned this into a military conflict, they would have had their hands free to deal with the way more important internal turmoils. And the author is right, in the history of the region, closed off borders are rather a sign of weakness. Not strength and certainly not purity or anything. In connection to the Qing, a prototype of ethnic nationalism had simmered since the Manchus conquered the Ming empire. I wonder, did something like that happen when the Mongols conguered the area as well? And Hong Rengan of the Taiping used that for his advantage. And he was probably right in stating that in the past foreign powers had been nice because they were forced to, not because their fondness was genuine. Furthermore, Hong Rengan referenced Japan and Siam in his pledge for why "China" must modernize. He stated that Siam "learned how to build steamships and thereby made itself into "a country of wealth and civilization"" and that since the Japanese opened themselves up to trade, they surely will become skillfull in the future. He was right about the latter. And I wonder how Siam looked back then.
The actual Taiping Heavenly Kingdom basically sounds like it would have eradicated some chinese ills and create others. And that, sadly, influential Frederick Bruce sounds like a principal Dunning Kruger effect, knows nothing about the Qing empire and yet believes he knows everything about it. Since Bruce was so arrogant not to open the letter from the Taiping assuring the safety of the foreign concessions at their attack on Shanghai and him attacking them, it actually lead to more foreign sympathy for the Taiping. And another guy called Elgin seemed to have a real booner for war, maybe they should have sent him as an envoy to the Taiping instead of attacking the Qing in this "2nd Opium War", in fact, can this really be called a war? And the emperor, a large retinue of servants, palace women and manchu advisors fled the capitol, the city's officials fled in a panic when the word leaked out and the city basically emptied itself of all its wealthiest inhabitants. In the end the British reigned in the looters of the Summer Palace, while the French gave them free reign, Elgin was disgusted by it, the prisoners of the Qing had been freely tortured and humiliated, denied food and water, tied up by their wrists in cords so tight their hnds turned black and swelled until, in some cases, they burst. 15 of the 26 prisoners had died and the Summer Palace was destroyed as punishment and to avoid further destruction. But in fact, they were just a sideshow during this time.
The more important person was, among others, Zeng Guofan, who went all out in his statements. He claimed the Taiping were a threat to confucian civilization itself, all to justify support for the Qing dynasty. And the Qing empire didn´t just had many internal problems with rebellions and civil war, but apparently they had technologically stagnated for such a long time that the Taiping forces were delighted to have unearthed a huge stash of rusty firearms from a war in 1681, the development of military technology had been THAT stagnant. And whem you look at the time from this perspective the 2nd Opium War looks rather like a further nail in the coffin instead of the death strike that so many others I saw portrayed it as. It was another sign of the dynasty failing. It was was now trapped between two enemies. And due to the stagnation, of course Hong Rengan would agree with Yung Wing's modernization and industrialization recommendations, he basically wanted to do the same anyway. However, why did the Taiping generals let these vangabound troops run around? Could they not control these? They had strict control over their immediate troops, so why so lax there? They surely must have realized that they were giving them a bad name.
Naturally Hong Rengan wouldn't abandon the imperial examination system. However, he did seem to have made it more open and so get more people to pass it. Considered that the Qing failed to do so, this might have been a necessity to run the Taiping kingdom and its huge population.
But back to the Brits, apparently, the Parliament relied on the BlueBooks printed by the Foreign Office and in those the voice of Frederic Bruce dominated, so no wonder Parliament mosty didn't consider the Taiping a valid alternative to the Manchus. Maybe, if they had known, that Zeng Guofan's forces killed everyone still left in Anqing, pthey would have. The reports only differ as to whether or not the officers first seperated out the women before they killed everyone who was left.
And make no mistake, it is not as if in the Qing empire, voices were always pro-Qing simply because they were anti-Taiping. You see, there was a comet in the sky in Jul1861, the sun and moon rose together on september 5 and five known planets were in alignment. That alone would make many ask what it means, consider that Xianfeng (the emperor) died at age 30 with only one 5 year old son as an hair and it is not surprising that many considered the end of the dynasty.
Lucky for the dynasty, Hong Rengan had fallen deeply within the Taiping, and look at that, the civil war was often a boon for british trade as chinese traders had no other revenue to go to. And it truly sounds way more likely that Issachar Roberts lost his mind than Hon Rengan (despite what he claims), that guy was crazy even before. Who knows what was going on in his head. Just bad for Hong Rengan since then there was no connection to foreigners anymore, at least none of use. Mercenaries don't count for much in this regard.
Good for Zeng Guofan that the empress dowager and Prince Gong needed his army against the Taiping, or otherwise they would have gotten rid of him like his backer Sushu. And the foreigners don't really seem to factor here, funny when you consider how their role is overblown today.
Not that they made no difference, the winds had shifted on the Taiping, now the british parliament basically went with "we have to intervene against the Taiping to save our trade", which is just ironic since the Taiping were much more open to trade from the beginning than the imperial rulers were. And at first the British stance was that the Manchu's were bloodthirsty and then suddenly they act like it's their moral duty to save them.
And it was finally clear to the supporters of the british pro-Qing intervention that Charles Gordon wasn't in charge of anything and that the "proud British agents in China in fact were, and had been all along, nothing more than mercenaries.
In the end, the Qing dynasty, was rather saved by a combination of Zeng Guofan's provincial military, on the one hand, and the haphazard foreign intervention of the British. Those two independent force were both deeply suspicious of the other, though their separate campaigns against the rebels appear in historical hindsight, to have played out as if they were somehow coordinated.
I don't get why the author chose the end of his book with a reflection on Hong Rengan and Frederick Bruce and their misplaced trust. But apart from that, this was a very good book and definitely to be recommended.
PS. Seriously!? Those Ningbo letters in Chinese had to call the Sikhs among the troops coming for their rescue "black devils?"
And I finally found an answer as to what "Manchu garrisons" was supposed to mean. Apparently it means the Manchu only cities within the larger cities of the empire.
What was surprising to me, was that even Karl Marx wrote on the Taiping and considered China some way of bringing global revolution. And some Near Orleans newspaper saw it as a race-war and China being a slave state in upheaval caused by the ""Primitive" people of south China". There was something in it for everyone apparently.
During those times the Qing government set up suicide stations for Taiping supporters that they didn't immediately capture. Was that only in Canton under its Qing governor-general or in other parts of the empire as well? And apparently tens of thousands were executed in the Canton execution ground and the teams were so efficient they once managed to execute 63 men in just 4 minutes. And even back then an oppresive and brutal regime was basically pushing people into Hong Kong and Hong Kong benefited greatly for it. The Brits should thank the Qing and later the CCP for it. And speaking of Brits, it took only some foreign ships, some minor battles and a treaty was signed. Wow, the Taiping and other rebellions really must have weakened the position of the emperor or else he probably wouldn't have signed it.
Advisor Guo Singtao was probably right, had the Qing not turned this into a military conflict, they would have had their hands free to deal with the way more important internal turmoils. And the author is right, in the history of the region, closed off borders are rather a sign of weakness. Not strength and certainly not purity or anything. In connection to the Qing, a prototype of ethnic nationalism had simmered since the Manchus conquered the Ming empire. I wonder, did something like that happen when the Mongols conguered the area as well? And Hong Rengan of the Taiping used that for his advantage. And he was probably right in stating that in the past foreign powers had been nice because they were forced to, not because their fondness was genuine. Furthermore, Hong Rengan referenced Japan and Siam in his pledge for why "China" must modernize. He stated that Siam "learned how to build steamships and thereby made itself into "a country of wealth and civilization"" and that since the Japanese opened themselves up to trade, they surely will become skillfull in the future. He was right about the latter. And I wonder how Siam looked back then.
The actual Taiping Heavenly Kingdom basically sounds like it would have eradicated some chinese ills and create others. And that, sadly, influential Frederick Bruce sounds like a principal Dunning Kruger effect, knows nothing about the Qing empire and yet believes he knows everything about it. Since Bruce was so arrogant not to open the letter from the Taiping assuring the safety of the foreign concessions at their attack on Shanghai and him attacking them, it actually lead to more foreign sympathy for the Taiping. And another guy called Elgin seemed to have a real booner for war, maybe they should have sent him as an envoy to the Taiping instead of attacking the Qing in this "2nd Opium War", in fact, can this really be called a war? And the emperor, a large retinue of servants, palace women and manchu advisors fled the capitol, the city's officials fled in a panic when the word leaked out and the city basically emptied itself of all its wealthiest inhabitants. In the end the British reigned in the looters of the Summer Palace, while the French gave them free reign, Elgin was disgusted by it, the prisoners of the Qing had been freely tortured and humiliated, denied food and water, tied up by their wrists in cords so tight their hnds turned black and swelled until, in some cases, they burst. 15 of the 26 prisoners had died and the Summer Palace was destroyed as punishment and to avoid further destruction. But in fact, they were just a sideshow during this time.
The more important person was, among others, Zeng Guofan, who went all out in his statements. He claimed the Taiping were a threat to confucian civilization itself, all to justify support for the Qing dynasty. And the Qing empire didn´t just had many internal problems with rebellions and civil war, but apparently they had technologically stagnated for such a long time that the Taiping forces were delighted to have unearthed a huge stash of rusty firearms from a war in 1681, the development of military technology had been THAT stagnant. And whem you look at the time from this perspective the 2nd Opium War looks rather like a further nail in the coffin instead of the death strike that so many others I saw portrayed it as. It was another sign of the dynasty failing. It was was now trapped between two enemies. And due to the stagnation, of course Hong Rengan would agree with Yung Wing's modernization and industrialization recommendations, he basically wanted to do the same anyway. However, why did the Taiping generals let these vangabound troops run around? Could they not control these? They had strict control over their immediate troops, so why so lax there? They surely must have realized that they were giving them a bad name.
Naturally Hong Rengan wouldn't abandon the imperial examination system. However, he did seem to have made it more open and so get more people to pass it. Considered that the Qing failed to do so, this might have been a necessity to run the Taiping kingdom and its huge population.
But back to the Brits, apparently, the Parliament relied on the BlueBooks printed by the Foreign Office and in those the voice of Frederic Bruce dominated, so no wonder Parliament mosty didn't consider the Taiping a valid alternative to the Manchus. Maybe, if they had known, that Zeng Guofan's forces killed everyone still left in Anqing, pthey would have. The reports only differ as to whether or not the officers first seperated out the women before they killed everyone who was left.
And make no mistake, it is not as if in the Qing empire, voices were always pro-Qing simply because they were anti-Taiping. You see, there was a comet in the sky in Jul1861, the sun and moon rose together on september 5 and five known planets were in alignment. That alone would make many ask what it means, consider that Xianfeng (the emperor) died at age 30 with only one 5 year old son as an hair and it is not surprising that many considered the end of the dynasty.
Lucky for the dynasty, Hong Rengan had fallen deeply within the Taiping, and look at that, the civil war was often a boon for british trade as chinese traders had no other revenue to go to. And it truly sounds way more likely that Issachar Roberts lost his mind than Hon Rengan (despite what he claims), that guy was crazy even before. Who knows what was going on in his head. Just bad for Hong Rengan since then there was no connection to foreigners anymore, at least none of use. Mercenaries don't count for much in this regard.
Good for Zeng Guofan that the empress dowager and Prince Gong needed his army against the Taiping, or otherwise they would have gotten rid of him like his backer Sushu. And the foreigners don't really seem to factor here, funny when you consider how their role is overblown today.
Not that they made no difference, the winds had shifted on the Taiping, now the british parliament basically went with "we have to intervene against the Taiping to save our trade", which is just ironic since the Taiping were much more open to trade from the beginning than the imperial rulers were. And at first the British stance was that the Manchu's were bloodthirsty and then suddenly they act like it's their moral duty to save them.
And it was finally clear to the supporters of the british pro-Qing intervention that Charles Gordon wasn't in charge of anything and that the "proud British agents in China in fact were, and had been all along, nothing more than mercenaries.
In the end, the Qing dynasty, was rather saved by a combination of Zeng Guofan's provincial military, on the one hand, and the haphazard foreign intervention of the British. Those two independent force were both deeply suspicious of the other, though their separate campaigns against the rebels appear in historical hindsight, to have played out as if they were somehow coordinated.
I don't get why the author chose the end of his book with a reflection on Hong Rengan and Frederick Bruce and their misplaced trust. But apart from that, this was a very good book and definitely to be recommended.
PS. Seriously!? Those Ningbo letters in Chinese had to call the Sikhs among the troops coming for their rescue "black devils?"
April 15, 2022
Stephen Platt does an extraordinary job bringing to life the brutal tragedy of the Taiping War, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history that is still criminally understudied and ignored in modern history. Even for someone with only cursory knowledge of nineteenth century China, I found the Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom’s focus on a handful of important characters very effective in quickly immersing the reader into the multifaceted conflict, and Platt was masterful in his ability to provide proper context for the various locations, events, and characters.
Platt admits early on in his book that his story is not a direct narrative of the conflict from start to finish and mainly focuses on the actions and positions of the European and American players in the drama. While this focus could have led historians of the past to give too much credit to the outside influence of the West on the internal Chinese conflict, Platt’s work presents a fascinating look at how haphazard, poorly thought out, and sometimes overtly random Britain and France’s actions were during the conflict. More importantly, Platt draws a valuable connection between the Taiping War and the other civil war breaking out in the United States at the same time, and how Britain’s economic paranoia about the two conflicts drove it to become obsessed with the outcome of the Taiping War.
The two main protagonists of the book, however, are the towering figures of the conflict: Hong Rengan, the Shield Prince of the Taiping, and Zeng Guofan, whose Hunan Army deserves the lion share of the credit for saving the Qing dynasty. The real strength of Platt’s work is the depth he provides these two characters. Using their personal correspondence (and subsequent depictions in the Chinese and Western press), Platt provides vivid pictures of both men. Hong’s initial charisma bursts through the opening pages, eventually giving way to bottled frustration, and eventual despondency and simmering rage. While Guofan’s successes make him one of the most successful generals of the decade, Platt brilliantly depicts him as a scholarly bureaucrat riddled with anxiety and severe imposter syndrome.
Platt’s work has one major shortcoming, however: the glaring absence of any significant female character in the narrative. Admittedly, the Taiping conflict and the Western diplomatic corps were dominated by male generals and officials, and Platt does from time to time recount the experiences of Chinese women caught up in the violence and sometimes quotes the many diplomatic wives residing in Shanghai. These references, however, are almost entirely limited to the suffering of these women, or in the case of the diplomatic wives, used for humor that unfortunately comes across as rather dismissive. The admission is made worse by the fact that the two countries mentioned the most in this work, Britain and China, were led by two women: Victoria and the Empress Dowager Cixi (at least for the latter years of the conflict). Platt’s treatment of Cixi is perhaps the most regrettable. Jung Chang’s biography of Cixi rightfully corrects many of the dismissive attitudes Western authors have had to the Empress Dowager’s role in governing, which unfortunately Platt adds to with only passing references to ruling “behind a silk curtain,” while giving Cixi’s deputy Prince Gong most of the attention.
Ultimately, Platt’s book is a worthwhile read and provides valuable insights into a transformative conflict, which marked not only the dawn of modern China, but also the opening spark in the dynamic and often troubled relationship between the West and China.
Platt admits early on in his book that his story is not a direct narrative of the conflict from start to finish and mainly focuses on the actions and positions of the European and American players in the drama. While this focus could have led historians of the past to give too much credit to the outside influence of the West on the internal Chinese conflict, Platt’s work presents a fascinating look at how haphazard, poorly thought out, and sometimes overtly random Britain and France’s actions were during the conflict. More importantly, Platt draws a valuable connection between the Taiping War and the other civil war breaking out in the United States at the same time, and how Britain’s economic paranoia about the two conflicts drove it to become obsessed with the outcome of the Taiping War.
The two main protagonists of the book, however, are the towering figures of the conflict: Hong Rengan, the Shield Prince of the Taiping, and Zeng Guofan, whose Hunan Army deserves the lion share of the credit for saving the Qing dynasty. The real strength of Platt’s work is the depth he provides these two characters. Using their personal correspondence (and subsequent depictions in the Chinese and Western press), Platt provides vivid pictures of both men. Hong’s initial charisma bursts through the opening pages, eventually giving way to bottled frustration, and eventual despondency and simmering rage. While Guofan’s successes make him one of the most successful generals of the decade, Platt brilliantly depicts him as a scholarly bureaucrat riddled with anxiety and severe imposter syndrome.
Platt’s work has one major shortcoming, however: the glaring absence of any significant female character in the narrative. Admittedly, the Taiping conflict and the Western diplomatic corps were dominated by male generals and officials, and Platt does from time to time recount the experiences of Chinese women caught up in the violence and sometimes quotes the many diplomatic wives residing in Shanghai. These references, however, are almost entirely limited to the suffering of these women, or in the case of the diplomatic wives, used for humor that unfortunately comes across as rather dismissive. The admission is made worse by the fact that the two countries mentioned the most in this work, Britain and China, were led by two women: Victoria and the Empress Dowager Cixi (at least for the latter years of the conflict). Platt’s treatment of Cixi is perhaps the most regrettable. Jung Chang’s biography of Cixi rightfully corrects many of the dismissive attitudes Western authors have had to the Empress Dowager’s role in governing, which unfortunately Platt adds to with only passing references to ruling “behind a silk curtain,” while giving Cixi’s deputy Prince Gong most of the attention.
Ultimately, Platt’s book is a worthwhile read and provides valuable insights into a transformative conflict, which marked not only the dawn of modern China, but also the opening spark in the dynamic and often troubled relationship between the West and China.
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January 14, 2023A rich cast of characters animates this story of the latter years of the Taiping. The rebels' genesis and early successes are covered only quickly. Famine, titanic warfare, and disease wrack the thickly populated land. One province is said to have contained the entire contemporaneous population of the US in an area the size of Kentucky. This is a drama that plays out on an epic scale—but Platt focuses on but few dramatis personae as foci for the action.
Platt's main Taiping subject is not the younger brother of Jesus Christ himself, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, but his cousin, Hong Rengan. This younger cousin spent years in Hong Kong among western missionaries, including as a personal assistant to James Legge, who would become Oxford's first Professor of Chinese. In the process, he seems to have absorbed and refined a modernizing & developmentalist ideology, which he later attempted to implement when he returned to the Heavenly King's side as his prime minister. Hong Rengan's strategy for winning the war, however, depended on securing Western backing that never materialized.
Various western missionaries, like the eclectic Tennesseean Baptist Issachar Roberts, propagandized on behalf of the quasi-Christian Taiping, and indeed temporarily secured some measure of support among the British public and some parliamentarians. But the European plenipotentiaries in China, like the envoy extraordinary, Frederick Bruce, were ill-disposed towards the Taiping, and their dispatches ultimately set the policy of the metropolitan government. With the delay in communications and the scarcity of information, Bruce and the bellicose Admiral James "Fighting Jimmy" Hope were afforded broad latitude, stretching the limits of their instructions to pursue their chosen policies.
On the Imperial side, Hong Rengan's narrative counterpart was Hunan-born Zeng Guofan. A knack for test-taking and competent civil service found him on filial mourning leave from the civilian administrative bureaucracy when the rebellion broke out. Because of his links to Hunan, however, and the desperation of the palace, he was appointed to raise a volunteer army. The bookish, scholarly Zeng's diaries and letters constantly express feelings of inadequacy for the enormous task before him. A terrible battlefield commander, he excelled at organizing armies, bureaucracies, and directing large-scale logistics & strategy—an Eisenhower figure of sorts. Zeng held a low opinion of foreigners, intuiting that they could not be trusted, but begrudgingly admitted the great value of Western steamships for riverine warfare; his solution was to convene a Chinese brain-trust to reverse-engineer them, to restore a future autarky. Certain lineages of the developmental state in East Asia, then, surface as threads in this narrative.
Finally: explicit comparison is made by our characters to the American Civil War. The Taiping revolt had been ongoing for 10 years by the time of the Confederate secession, but this dual shock to both of Britain's largest export markets forced the hand of Lord Palmerston, who could not economically afford protracted warfare in both. Marx writes columns about the political economy of both of these distant conflicts, though his Taiping writings are in retrospect much less well-founded than his astute commentary on Union strategic imperatives.
Platt's main Taiping subject is not the younger brother of Jesus Christ himself, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, but his cousin, Hong Rengan. This younger cousin spent years in Hong Kong among western missionaries, including as a personal assistant to James Legge, who would become Oxford's first Professor of Chinese. In the process, he seems to have absorbed and refined a modernizing & developmentalist ideology, which he later attempted to implement when he returned to the Heavenly King's side as his prime minister. Hong Rengan's strategy for winning the war, however, depended on securing Western backing that never materialized.
Various western missionaries, like the eclectic Tennesseean Baptist Issachar Roberts, propagandized on behalf of the quasi-Christian Taiping, and indeed temporarily secured some measure of support among the British public and some parliamentarians. But the European plenipotentiaries in China, like the envoy extraordinary, Frederick Bruce, were ill-disposed towards the Taiping, and their dispatches ultimately set the policy of the metropolitan government. With the delay in communications and the scarcity of information, Bruce and the bellicose Admiral James "Fighting Jimmy" Hope were afforded broad latitude, stretching the limits of their instructions to pursue their chosen policies.
On the Imperial side, Hong Rengan's narrative counterpart was Hunan-born Zeng Guofan. A knack for test-taking and competent civil service found him on filial mourning leave from the civilian administrative bureaucracy when the rebellion broke out. Because of his links to Hunan, however, and the desperation of the palace, he was appointed to raise a volunteer army. The bookish, scholarly Zeng's diaries and letters constantly express feelings of inadequacy for the enormous task before him. A terrible battlefield commander, he excelled at organizing armies, bureaucracies, and directing large-scale logistics & strategy—an Eisenhower figure of sorts. Zeng held a low opinion of foreigners, intuiting that they could not be trusted, but begrudgingly admitted the great value of Western steamships for riverine warfare; his solution was to convene a Chinese brain-trust to reverse-engineer them, to restore a future autarky. Certain lineages of the developmental state in East Asia, then, surface as threads in this narrative.
Finally: explicit comparison is made by our characters to the American Civil War. The Taiping revolt had been ongoing for 10 years by the time of the Confederate secession, but this dual shock to both of Britain's largest export markets forced the hand of Lord Palmerston, who could not economically afford protracted warfare in both. Marx writes columns about the political economy of both of these distant conflicts, though his Taiping writings are in retrospect much less well-founded than his astute commentary on Union strategic imperatives.
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