Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Map & History
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy that sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty.
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The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy that sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The Heavenly Kingdom, or Heavenly Dynasty, was led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka man from Guangzhou. The kingdom's capital was established in Tianjing, present-day Nanjing. The unsuccessful 14-year war the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom waged against the Qing is known as the Taiping Rebellion.
Modern Countries Once Part of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
At its mapped extent, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Depth
History
The Jintian Uprising began in 1850 in Guangxi. On 11 January 1851 (the 11th day of the first lunar month), incidentally Hong Xiuquan's birthday, Hong declared himself "Heavenly King" of a new dynasty, the "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace". After minor clashes, the violence escalated into the uprising in February 1851, in which a 10,000-strong rebel army routed and defeated a smaller Qing force. Feng Yushan was to be the strategist of the rebellion and the administrator of the kingdom during its early days, until his death in 1852.
In 1853, the Taiping forces captured Nanjing, making it their capital and renaming it Tianjing ('heavenly capital'). Hong converted the office of the Viceroy of Liangjiang into his Palace of Heavenly King.
Background
As a utopian idea, the concept of Great Peace (taiping) dates to Han dynasty Confucian scholars who framed the concept in relation to wise rulers, the satisfaction of the people, the natural order, and cosmic harmony. The concept was further developed in the second century Scripture of the Great Peace which inspired a rebellious Daoist movement. It was also used to designate reigns of prominent emperors and imperial commission-compiled literary collections.
During the 19th century, the Qing territories experienced a series of famines, natural disasters, economic problems and defeats at the hands of foreign powers; these events have come to be collectively known as China's century of humiliation.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Key Facts
| Capital | Nanjing |
|---|---|
| Official language | Chinese |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Dissolved | 1864 |
Succeeded by
- Qing dynasty
Facts from Wikidata Q3486676 (CC0).
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 347,846 km² in 1861 CE.
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom exist?
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is dated to 1853 CE – 1864 CE, in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?
The capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was Tianjing (now Nanjing).
How large was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at its peak?
At its peak in 1861 the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom covered about 347,846 km².
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