Among the various rebellions that happened in China during the mid-19th century, the Taiping Rebellion caused the most devastation and the greatest danger to the Qing dynasty. The rebellion had many causes, the most serious being the population explosion,the rising popularity of christianity, and the want for power. By the 19th century, the land could no longer handle the population, and there were no industries to able to absorb the surplus labor force. Natural disasters in the 1840s Yangzi River further devastated the economy. Politically, the Qing dynasty was in declining at a fast rate, evident from the corruption among the bureaucracy. The Taiping Rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan, whose ambition to pass the state examinations and join …show more content…
The reforms, its distribution to men and women, a new calendar, equality between the sexes, revamping of the examination system to let more people to succeed, and various modernization measures. However, most of the promised reforms were false because the Taiping leaders showed a lack of ability to govern and had a interest in giving themselves privileges. Both Hong and Yang claimed to receive messages from God, and their rivalry turned into a conflict in which Yang was killed. Hong trusted no one except his relatives and retired to a life of hedonism with his many women. Finding the Qing government easier to deal with, they then proclaimed their neutrality in the conflict. The Qing government also found in Zeng Guofan, a committed Confucian scholar-official of great ability and integrity. Zeng organized a military among men of his home town. They first cleared Hong’s men from Hunan and then expanded the anti-Taiping forces with the aid of Zeng’s colleagues, including Westerners and their modern arms. They reformed the administration in areas that they conquered and gave the people a better alternative to the failed Taiping model. Nanjing was captured in July 1864; Hong died; and the rebellion