God's Chinese Son
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan
Jonathan D. Spence
Explore the largest uprising in human history and the foreshadowing of China's terrible convulsions in God's Chinese Son. This powerful historical account follows the Taiping rebellion of 1845-64, with the failed Confucian student Hong Xiuquan at its center. After ascending to heaven in a dream and meeting his heavenly family, including God and Jesus, he returns to earth with a mission to eradicate the "demon-devils," the alien Manchu rulers of China. His success leads him and his followers to rule a large part of south China for over a decade, until their decline and fall results in the death of over 20 million Chinese. Witness the narrative power of a great historian at his best in this must-read book.
Publish Date
1996-12-17T00:00:00.000Z
1996-12-17T00:00:00.000Z
Goodreads Rating
3.93
ISBN
9780393315561
Categories
Recommendations
1
Recommendations
2021-12-28T13:48:37.000Z
Another of Jonathan Spence's extraordinary books was God's Chinese Son, his history of the Taiping Rebellion - no one can really claim they know the 19th century unless they have understood this epic upheaval that took millions of lives. – source