Carr, C. (1992). The devil soldier. Random House, Inc.
This book is about Frederic Townsend Ward, a key American figure in the Western intervention in the Taiping Rebellion. It is not only a great work on the man himself, but also the role of Western powers in the conflict and how he impacted Chinese opinion of Americans in the 19th century. This source was chosen for several reasons; its breadth of knowledge of course, but also its accessibility for an undergrad researcher. Without wading through dense academic articles and primary sources, this is a great way to learn about Ward.
Chappell, J. (2016). The Limits of the Shanghai Bridgehead: Understanding British intervention in the Taiping Rebellion 1860-62. Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 44(4), 533–550. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2016.1210251
This article sheds light on the rationale behind British intervention in the conflict and their seemingly bipolar attitudes towards both sides. Chappell argues that the decision to intervene was not made out of coldly calculated imperial interests, but more sclerotic short term trade potentials. Since Western intervention in the war was the deciding factor for the conflict, it was important to have sources explaining the decision. This article explains the minutiae of British trade and imperial policy without being too dense. It also discusses some other imperial conflicts of this period if students are interested in those topics as well.
Chinese Gordon's war. (1894, Aug 13). The Washington Post (1877-1922). https://libproxy.albany.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/chinese-gordons-war/docview/139131543/se-2
This is a newspaper article written during the Boxer Rebellion in the 1890’s about Charles “Chinese” Gordon who oversaw British forces at the end of the Taiping Rebellion. Charles Gordon was the typical imperial tip of the spear in British colonial wars. Students will find this primary source to be a fascinating look at imperial attitudes towards colonial subjects. This article is rife with vicious and bloodthirsty language about righteous Western military men vanquishing the “half civilized men.” My research began to pivot towards exploring how the war impacted hearts and minds not only at the time, but in the years since. Juxtaposed to Chinese reactions to the “century of humiliation,” this article demonstrates the depravity of the colonial forces imposing the humiliation on colonial subjects.
Darwin, J. (1997). Imperialism and the Victorians: The dynamics of territorial expansion. The English Historical Review, 112(447), 614–642. http://www.jstor.org/stable/576347
This article explores the interplay between what the author describes as “formal” and “informal” imperialism in the Victorian era. Where formal imperialism is the military conquest that expands the empire’s power and borders, its informal counterpart is the private trade interests that expand the empire into new markets. A lot of the books in this bibliography tell the story of British military intervention and skim over the ideological and economic motivations behind their actions. Students will find this article useful in giving a materialist perspective of imperial policy. This article is not specifically about this war, but it summarizes Victorian colonial conflicts as a whole.
Gregory, J. S. (1959). British intervention against the Taiping rebellion. The Journal of Asian Studies, 19(1), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2943446
The author of this article aims for a less cynical perspective on why the British chose to intervene on behalf of the Manchu rulers in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion. He explains why the Qing Dynasty was a more ideal trade partner than the Taiping. While I disagree with a lot of the material conclusions, the substance of this article is valuable and informative.
Guo, Y. & He, B. (1999). Reimagining the Chinese nation: The “Zeng Guofan phenomenon.” Modern China, 25(2), 142–170. http://www.jstor.org/stable/189452
This article is about Zeng Guofan who was the Qing bureaucrat who created the army that defeated the Taiping at their capital at Nanjing. The author explores popular Chinese opinion of Zeng in the years since the war. One of the threads I want students to explore with this guide is how history and cultural memory impacts contemporary politics. This article shows how figures on both sides of this bloody war have been rehabilitated and reexamined to fit the political moment. In addition to learning about Zeng in his own moment, it is my hope that students will consider their own national history, its heroes, and their political function.
Kuhn, P. A. (1977). Origins of the Taiping vision: Cross-cultural dimensions of a Chinese rebellion. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 19(3), 350–366. http://www.jstor.org/stable/177996
This article explores the origins of the Taiping Christian religion through the specific Christian text Hong Xiuquan read before his revelation. The author close reads the pamphlet titled Good Words to Admonish the Age and its ideological relevance to the Hakka ethnic group. The religion of the Taiping is one of the most fascinating aspects of the story and its historical quirk may draw students into the story as it did for me. The article also explores the ethnic and racial aspect of the war. Students may also be encouraged to explore the Good Words itself.
Li, J. (1998). Geopolitical dynamics of state change: A comparative analysis of the U.S. civil war and the Chinese Taiping rebellion. Michigan Sociological Review, 12, 24–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40969021
This article explores the parallel American and Chinese civil wars and how conflicts fragment and then reunite nations. And while the Taiping rebellion set the Qing dynasty on track to its demise, the United States emerged from its civil conflict ready to assume the role of global hegemon. Since the two wars occurred during the same period and concluded at roughly the same time, I think students may find it interesting to compare them. Students will take away from this article and this story the idea that history is propelled by social processes. Comparing these civil wars will give students the opportunity to compare parallel conflicts.
Meyer-Fong, T. (2018). To know the enemy: The Zei Qing Huizuan, military Intelligence, and the Taiping Civil War. T’oung Pao, 104(3–4), 384–423.
This article explores Zei qing huizuan, an important military text to the Hunan army created by Zeng Guofan. This is a piece of military “intelligence” on the nature of the Taiping culture and military operations. I have not purposefully avoided sources about the actual procedures of the war, but it is not what I am interested in. This article provides students with some information about the creation and operations of the Hunan army and how they fought the Taiping. This article also combines the ideological motivations of the Qing fighting force with the actual prosecution of war. Students may find it interesting to compare the different organizational structures of the Hunan and Taiping armies.
Modongal, S. (2016). Development of nationalism in China. Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1), 1235749-. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2016.1235749
This article examines how the Chinese cultural memory of the “century of humiliation” informs their national identity since the Communist revolution. Specifically, the author examines how the nation’s relationships with Western imperial powers impacts Chinese nationalism. While not specifically about the Taiping Rebellion, it is vital to understand its part in the century of humiliation. Students will learn how despite being a civil war, the intervention by the west is of utmost importance to its cultural memory. If students are interested in contemporary Chinese politics and culture, this is a good source for understanding the cultural memory of the Taiping Rebellion.
Platt, S. R. (2012). Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the epic story of the Taiping Civil War (1st ed.). Alfred A. Knopf.
Platt chooses not to center Hong Xiuquan as his central character, but instead focuses on Hong Rengan, the Taiping “Shield king,” and Zeng Guofan, the architect of the Hunan army. The book tells the story of the long road to British intervention, the Taiping attempts to win their favor, and the Qing’s counterintuitive reluctance to Western aid. This is one of the principal sources of the guide; a very accessible book that students will find entertaining and readable. Platt cites a lot of very interesting primary sources some students may want to continue researching. He also makes the case that the Taiping Rebellion had a role to play in America’s civil war; Britain consciously chose to intervene in the Chinese conflict instead of backing the Confederate war effort in America.
Rowe, W. T. (2009). China’s last empire: the great Qing. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
This book is a broader history of the Qing dynasty, of which the Taiping Rebellion was a pivotal moment. This book was useful in charting how, despite efforts to reform after the war, the rebellion struck the death blow to China’s final dynasty. This source is very broad, covering the Taiping Rebellion in only ten pages, but it does a good job explaining how the Qing attempted and then failed to reform after the war. A perspective I want to highlight in this guide is how an older social order riddled with contradictions was crippled by a war effort it nevertheless ultimately prevailed in.
Shields, S. L. (2015). Hong Xiuquan and Joseph Smith Jr.: Prophets, kings, and land reformers. The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, 35(1), 149–162. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26317096
This is a fascinating article comparing the parallel stories of Hong Xiuquan, our story’s central figure, and Josph Smith, the prophet of America’s own millennial movement. Of particular interest is the similar class makeup of the two men’s families; both are from small-holding rural farming families. Students familiar with the Church of Latter-day Saints, known colloquially as the Mormons, will find a lot of value in this framing of Taiping religion. I am interested in, and hope students will also enjoy studying, how the class structure of the Hakka peasants influenced the course of the war. Maybe this perspective will also color the history of the Mormon movement.
Spence, J. D. (1996). God’s Chinese son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. W.W. Norton & Company.
This book is one of the best sources for a broad overview of the entire conflict. It serves as a biography for Hong Xiuquan, the movement’s prophet, as well as a summary of the entire conflict. For someone just starting to learn about this piece of history, this is the single best source to start with. It is an easy read and will provide a perfectly serviceable summary of the course of the war.
Spence, J. D. (2013). The search for modern China (Third edition.). W.W. Norton & Company.
This is a very broad book covering China from the establishment of the Qing dynasty in the 1640’s up to the 21st century. This source was chosen for its first chapter which charts the rise of the Manchu who overthrew the Ming and established the Qing dynasty. As with other books in this bibliography, this is a very broad source but provides an excellent and accessible introduction to the era. The book concludes with contemporary China and keeps this goal in mind throughout. Students will find a lot of value in how this book places the Qing and the Taiping in the perspective of modern China.
Teng, Y. C. (1968). The failure of Hung Jen-k’an’s foreign policy. The Journal of Asian Studies, 28(1), 125–138. https://doi.org/10.2307/2942843
This article is about how the Taiping failed to recruit aid from Western powers. Specifically, it is about Hong Rengan (here spelled Hung Jen-k’an) who recognized the value in allying with Western powers but failed to convert this vision to reality. An important part of the story I want to emphasize is the role of Western powers in steering the outcome of the war. This article will show students that one of the failings of the Taiping was their inability to recognize Western power. Interestingly, this article shows that Hong Rengan was uniquely able to recognize this due to his relationships and travels with Western missionaries and merchants.
Wakeman Jr., F. (1997). Strangers at the gate: Social disorder in South China, 1839-1861. University of California Press.
This book is more specifically about the Opium Wars in China, of which the Taiping Rebellion plays an important role. This book examines the foundations of Chinese resistance to foreign intervention and how that history has been absorbed in Chinese culture and national identity. The first chapter of the book tells the story of a strategically unimportant minor victory of the Chinese in a battle against the British colonial forces in the first opium war. Wakeman tells this story because it is remembered in Chinese culture as one of the few times in that century China earned a victory over the imperial forces that dominated it. This small victory in the century of humiliation upheld in cultural memory shows how important this period is in contemporary Chinese politics and culture.
Weller, R. P. (1987). Historians and consciousness: The modern politics of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Social Research, 54(4), 731–755. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40970481
The memory of the Taiping rebellion has been reinterpreted and revived for political purposes during China’s revolutions in the first half of the 20th century. Often by drawing comparisons between the Taiping revolutionaries and Sun Yat-Sen in the 1910’s and Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in the 1940’s and 50’s. This article draws out the political motivations behind competing dialectical and base/superstructural scholarship on the war. This source was chosen for its analysis of how scholarship can be a political act. It also supports the idea I want to draw out around the political memory of the war in contemporary China.
Woo, X. L. (2002). Empress Dowager Cixi: China’s last dynasty and the long reign of a formidable concubine: Legends and lives during the declining days of the Qing Dynasty. Algora Pub.
This book is a biography of the Empress Dowager Cixi who rose to power after the death of the Xianfeng Emperor in 1861. While mostly about the period of her life after the war when her court attempted to reform and modernize the government, there is a lot of valuable information on her tumultuous rise to power and the various coups and consolidations that took place to secure her rule. In my opinion, the most important figure on the Qing side of the war is Zeng Guofan who organized the victorious Hunanese Xiang army, but the empress dowager is a fascinating character in her own right. As one of only two female imperial rulers in Chinese history, students will get a lot of value out of this less academic, more accessible source.
Yangwen, Z. (2008). Hunan: Laboratory of reform and land of revolution: Hunanese in the making of modern China. Modern Asian Studies, 42(6), 1113–1136. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20488058
This article is about the many revolutionary, political, and military figures who are from Hunan province. The article notes that revolutionaries, important Qing officials (like Zeng Guofan), and military leaders of all political orientations have come from Hunan and as a result, the province is overly represented in Chinese history and politics. This source is valuable for its discussion of the material conditions in the regions most affected by the war. The author draws out the relationship between the regions vast natural resources and its large laboring population. This will give students a sense of the genetic, political, and economic makeup of the land most viciously fought over and the people that made up the two opposing armies.