Jesus’ Brother and the Chinese Periphery: Robert Weller traces Hong Xiuquan’s rise to power referencing the economic, cultural, and political background of Guangxi and China as a whole. The guiding figure of the world’s deadliest pre-WWI conflict, this self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ directed his millenarian Christian-derived cult to seize vast expanses of territory before his defeat, setting the precedent for the Qing’s eventual downfall. Furthermore, Weller argues the Xiuquan’s radical defiance of tradition can be tied to events in the following century, such as the GMD’s anti-foot binding campaigns and the CCP’s use of female soldiers. The Qing Empire was a de facto failed state in areas of Guangxi like Xunzhou, which were full