History Of The Taiping Civil War - Book Report/Review Example

History Of The Taiping Civil War Introduction Ancient societies were divided into two, those elite who in most cases represented authorities. The other group represented those with less say in matters administration. The second group performed the majority of the work in a given kingdom. The proceeds from any harvest or given economic activity were channeled straight to the elite group of the society. The monarchical rule provided privileges to those ranked highly in the societal hierarchy with those ranked lowly deprived of privileges. This was not different in the “kingdom of heaven’. The Manchu authorities, who in our case are the elite in society, enjoy the resources more than the peasant in the same society does. These peasants later on formed a rebellion to fight for their rights in society. Taiping civil war was the result of the rebellion. On focusing on issues surrounding catalyst of the uprising, need to be identified. A conflict exists only when dialogue fails. The essay will focus on the civil war will determine whether the Manchu authorities were justified in their war against the British and the taiping rebels. Conflict of interest A conflict is resolved once two parties agree to on terms. In most cases, a third part takes the place of a mediator. In this, case the British only catalysed the war rather resolving the outstanding issues between the newly formed. At some point, “Bruce warned Edkins against encouraging British support for the Taiping” (Platt, 2012, chapter 1). The external forces strengthen the war perhaps for their own personal interests or the sympathetic nature of the British towards the Taiping peasants. Conflict exists between people and war escalates when the needed environment becomes hostile. On the taiping scenario, the war was based on supremacy battle. In most cases, the authorities act on the best interest of the subjects. Dialogue is given a chance but most people ignore the possibilities and engage in violent means to quest their beliefs on justice. Change in Traditions The conversion of Hong Xiuquan into Christianity provided a new ideological thinking of the leader, different from the ancient religious beliefs. The contrasting beliefs gave room for the taiping to revolt against the authority. This indicates the misconception of the Taiping rebels towards the authority. The negative perception of the leader towards the ancient religious believes has played part in marshalling troops to fight the Manchu on grounds that they are fighting against evil believes. “Taiping wanted equal diplomacy and a Christian society” (chapter 1). The war can be described as a revolution aiming at changing the religious positions of the dynasty. The argument would be how long the Buddhist had dominated the dynasty. If at all the beliefs where evil how comes it existed way before the newly acquired religion? A rebellion leader who was not only interested with power but one who was aiming at changing the traditional practices was what the dynasty was facing. The successive leaders followed the same philosophy. This proved to be a war of believers and nonbelievers. The dynasty is faced with a rebellion whose ideology is based on a religious mind. The cohesion of the historical dynasty is faced with disintegration. The only option the Manchu authorities have is to quell the rebellion at its initial stages. The fear lies on the perception put across by Hong Xiuquan on the nature of evils the previous religious beliefs possesses. Branding the beliefs as evil and hence redemption needed. The rebellion fought with the belief that the war is all about cleansing the ancient beliefs off their demonic nature. The authorities then are faced with the dilemma of convincing the subjects on the viability of their beliefs and the rebels are kept at bay. The persuasive nature of Hong Xiuquan is such that he convinces the Hakkas to join in the rebellion this is evident when “Hakkas turned to the Society of God Worshippers for protection and support” (chapter 1). The first uprising of the summer of 1850 is an indicator of how the rebellion was beyond the control of the Qing dynasty. The success of the rebellion triggers the Taiping rebellion. The Manchu authority has a task to convince the subjects to continue being loyal. The proximate cause of the rebellion is nothing to do with the government but the moves by Hong Xiuquan to counter the authority’s methods. Culture a Model of cohesion The cultural setting of the Qing dynasty is such that no one questions the authorities. Protocols are followed when seeking for interventions on matters conflicts. The cultural practice involved divine intervention. The Manchu authority hence was following a culture that has been in practice for decades. All procedures where based on a cultural believe that had made the dynasty a strong and compact unit difficult to be disintegrated. The efforts by the rebellion to destabilize the government are faced by a fierce resistance. The authority at this time is aiming at responding to the rebellion with an aim of ensuring the unity of the dynasty is protected. The changing cultural believe among the some section of the dynasty is what limits the authority from engaging and counting the whole dynasty. The British influence The Qing dynasty survived due to its organized. War and civil unrest were in previous ways not witnessed among the Dynasty members. The introduction of the foreign culture becomes an issue, which over time it escalated into war. The evidence lies on the heavenly king’s cousin who spoke English and propagated his ideas on grounds that the British culture was more civilized than the ancient Chinese practices. On these grounds, the heaven king and his cousins where got encouragement from the fact that “Taiping would bring precisely the kind of China the British forces were fighting for” (Chapter 1). The Manchu authority on the other hand was mandated in ensuring the dynasty is united under one leadership. The collaborative nature of the Taiping leaders with the British was clear on how Hong designed his attacks against the Manchu authorities. The interest of his people was not visible in his arguments. The nature in which the leader converts into Christianity shows how he was influenced by culture that was passed to him by the British. The opium war shows the nature in which the British had old scores to settle with the Manchu authorities. The perception of the British that the authority was taking more time to implement treaties signed. Thus it was evident that the British were interested in a change of regime with believe that the change will ensure they pursue their quests for control in routes along the long stretched Qing dynasty. Focusing on this, the dynasty was then faced by a battle to ensure sovereignty and control over their ancestral boundaries. The dynasty had no choice but to stand their ground after experiencing “weapons and skills of foreign soldiers that dated back to the British victories in the Opium War” (chapter 1).The British found an effective mean to ensure that their interests are taken care of in the heavenly king. The cause of the problem hence can be defined as a battle between the Manchu philosophy and the Heavenly king argument on civilization. The sovereignty of the dynasty was at stake and hence the authority had no choice but to engage the uprising in an effort of safeguarding their interest on using the dynasty under one rule, this was effected by the “most adamantly militant of his Manchu cabinet” taking charge (Platt, chapter 3). The British on realizing that the Qing dynasty was destined to win, chose reversed its decision to support the rebels and chose to support the dynasty. This indicates the nature at which the rebels where perceived in the outside world. The supports by the British towards the Qing administration come at a time where the British felt affected by the existing conflict between the rebels and the administration. This shows that the future of the dynasty fell solemnly on the Manchu authorities rather than the rebels who were led by Hong whose frustrations where based on his own failures. The change in perception by the foreign element paints the Taiping rebellion with hate and baseless accusations. The heavenly king effect Hong xiuquan actions are based on frustration and battle for supremacy. The frustrations of the heaven king are based on his failure to secure an administration post in the dynasty. The requirements of this post are clear in that one could take a test to ascertain an individual’s worthiness. Hong takes the test but fails. The only way he could prove his worth was to contest the outcome through unscrupulous means. Thus, the revolution by Hong is aimed at challenging the long lived rules and moral codes that governed the dynasty. The heavenly king only engages with the authority due to his failures. His attitude towards defeat is what drives him to marshal a sizeable army to revolt against the Manchu authorities (Platt, 2012). On Manchu’s side, they did no wrong in scrutinizing Hong through a reasonable and democratic process. Hong Xiuquan is to blame for his predicaments. The nature in which he reacts to his failures describes a leader who is self-centered and one who describes his failures as an attempt of eternal factors to derail his credibility. The reasons that led to him waging war against the authority may be termed as baseless and triggered by frustrations towards the given administration. The uprising was strengthened by the collaboration of the heaven king and external allies. The strength in which the war affected the stability of the Qing dynasty, forced the government to react with brutal force. This was a measure to cool the rising tempers among the subjects. The nature in which the authority responded to this war was expected. The stability of any rule is essential to its existence. The eternal forces that are aimed at destabilizing the rule are dealt with using various means. The heavenly king at this moment had threaten the stability of the Manchu leadership hence various means could be deployed. The hostile nature of Hong gave dialogue no chance. Thus, the authority no choice but to counter the uprising with the force needed to calm them down. In most cases, this approach only strengthens the opposing forces. This was evident in the uprising as the Taiping recruited more people on the assumption that the Manchu authority was overstepping its mandate and executing members (Platt, 2012). The impact of the war War carries with it several casualties. The casualties come from both ends of the conflicting parties. The war claimed over 20 million casualties. The majority of these casualties were soldiers from both end of this conflict. The British had a fair number of casualties who were killed by the administration. The Taiping claimed more lives, which included the army from the Authority and those who were perceived allies of the demonic dynasty by the Manchu reign. This shows the impact of the war to both the attackers and those on the offensive side of the war. Casualties were drawn from all genders ands age groups. The casualties could be avoided if at all Hong Xiuquan could accepted his status in society. His quest to gain leadership through violence proved futile. The leader was subjected to the same procedures that the Manchu leaders underwent but failed. The civil war lasted long enough to impact negatively on both sides. The role played by the leader is what resulted to this bloodshed. If at all, the leader could deal with his frustration in more democratic manner then the casualties would be minimized. The leader would have revised the procedures and taken a fifth test. The ignorant nature of Xiuquan is evident at the end when he losses the battle and the Qing dynasty rules china for more than five decades and change in perceptions in that “Scarth argued that the British had apparently aligned themselves with the Tartars” (Platt, chapter 3). The failure by Xiuquan to complete what he started proves that he is responsible for the entire conflict. The role of the Manchu towards the war The Manchu also played part towards in the war. The authority, which was under the Manchu leadership, was subjected to attacks from both the eternal forces and the Taiping revolting leaders. The authority also carries its share of blame. This includes the manhunt against the rebels. Although the aim was to quell the uprisings at its initial stages, the war resulted to deaths of a high number of those from the Taiping kingdom. This only provoked the leaders who later on retaliated. The authority hence united the rebels under one leadership and common agenda. The authority decision to place explosives under the city’s wall and “planting underground explosives to blast them open” showed the negative sides of the Manchu authorities towards containing the uprising (Platt, Chapter 3). The impact of the explosion was a high number of casualties, which included children and women. The act although uncompromising was fueled by the ever-growing size of the rebels, which was endangering existence of the monarchy. Conclusion It is evident on what provoked the rebellion. The conflict is between those who feel oppressed by administration and those who are satisfied by the authority. The cultural differences and beliefs introduced by the British give alternative avenues, which the Taiping and its leaders would use to achieve its goals. The Manchu authority on the other hand is a dilemma to safeguard the future of the kingdom. The uniting factors of the dynasty are threatened by the new ideological concepts created by the rebels. The ancient practices labeled demonic by those leaders who failed to pass test set by the ancient dynasty. Rules are meant to be followed and those who fail to abide by them needs to be punished. This philosophy drives the authority to counter the rising civil war. The Taiping leader rejects the society as they failed to pass tests set by the authority in that “in 1836 and on that occasion he failed for a second time” (Platt, chapter 1). This indicates the selfishness the rebels formulates their grievances. The British on the other hand are interested in their own welfare hence the change of heart. The Taiping leaders are to blame and are the sole reason as to why the uprising took place. Work Cited Platt, Stephen. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York: Vintage Books, 2012. Print Read More