About the book

Prior studies of the rebellion have failed to appreciate how Hong Xiuquan's interpretation of Christianity connected the Taiping faith to an imperial Chinese cultural and religious context. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom shows how the Bible-in particular, a Chinese translation of the Old Testament-profoundly influenced Hong and his followers, leading them to understand the first three of the Ten Commandments as an indictment of the imperial order. The rebels thus sought to destroy imperial culture along with its institutions and Confucian underpinnings, all of which they regarded as blasphemous. Strongly iconoclastic, the Taiping followers smashed religious statues and imperially approved icons throughout the lands they conquered. By such actions the Taiping Rebellion transformed-at least for its followers but to some extent for all Chinese-how Chinese people thought about religion, the imperial title and office, and the entire traditional imperial and Confucian order.

This book makes a major contribution to the study of the Taiping Rebellion and to our understanding of the ideology of both the rebels and the traditional imperial order they opposed. It will appeal to scholars in the fields of Chinese history, religion, and culture and of Christian theology and church history.

About the author

Thomas H. Reilly is assistant professor of Chinese history and Asian studies at Pepperdine University.

click the following link to download the book (PDF, 1.2MB): http://ifile.it/rg2eix5