The Taiping revolt and the promise of paradise on earth4 reading minutes

Hong Xiuquan, a failed scholar who failed his exams four times, met God through Christian missionaries after an existential crisis. He then sparked off the Taiping revolt, marking one of the deadliest armed conflicts in history.

This is the story of the Taiping revolt that brought fire and blood to Qing dynasty China between 1851 and 1864. Difficult to put a figure on, the losses caused by fighting, famine and disease are said to have been at least twenty million, according to historian Stephen Platt, in his 2012 book Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Hong Xiuquan's destiny, both tragic and pathetic, is worthy of history's greatest characters. Born into a poor family belonging to a community of former migrants from northern China, Hong nonetheless received a brilliant education.