1850 – 1864
The Taiping Rebellion was among the deadliest civil wars in history, although estimates of its toll vary enormously. Hong Xiuquan, a repeatedly unsuccessful examination candidate who came to believe he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, led a millenarian movement that captured Nanjing in 1853 and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Taiping leaders proclaimed radical religious and social programs, but implementation was uneven and the regime was internally divided. The Qing survived by relying increasingly on regional armies led by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, while foreign-trained forces including the Ever Victorious Army defended Shanghai. The fall of Nanjing in 1864 ended the Taiping capital amid mass killing, displacement, famine, and epidemic disease across devastated provinces.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
The Taiping Rebellion was among the deadliest civil wars in history, although estimates of its toll vary enormously. Hong Xiuquan, a repeatedly unsuccessful examination candidate who came to believe he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, led a millenarian movement that captured Nanjing in 1853 and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Taiping leaders proclaimed radical religious and social programs, but implementation was uneven and the regime was internally divided. The Qing survived by relying increasingly on regional armies led by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, while foreign-trained forces including the Ever Victorious Army defended Shanghai. The fall of Nanjing in 1864 ended the Taiping capital amid mass killing, displacement, famine, and epidemic disease across devastated provinces.
The Taiping Rebellion was fought from 1850 to 1864.
The Taiping Rebellion was fought between Qing Dynasty and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
An estimated 25,000,000 people died in The Taiping Rebellion, including roughly 4,000,000 military and 21,000,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included Fall of Nanjing, The Northern Expedition, Fall of Nanjing, and Siege and Fall of Anqing.