Gods chinese son

It is an easy read, it's just disappointing that by following the leader of the rebellion, pretty much everything else about this epic story becomes
shrouded in fog. When writing general history like this there's always a trade off between providing the reader with accurate, nuanced historical
information and providing a compelling narrative. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom brims with unforgettable characters and vivid re-creations of
massive and often gruesome battlesa sweeping yet intimate portrait of the conflict that shaped the fate of modern China. The views expressed in
the book follow the macro history perspective. I couldn't quite figure out why and that's why I didn't give the five stars that this otherwise deserved.
Additionally, Spence is able to connect a lot of dots that no one during this time period would been aware of. I think things have improved a bit,
but in general, if you ask the average person around here what was the biggest war of the 19th centurythose who can remember any that isthey are
likely to say either the American Civil War or the Napoleonic Wars. He is a young man of the Hakka, one of the many minority groups in China,
and he is looking to take the Civil Service Exam Hong formed a group of "God Worshipers" in southern China that eventually merged with several
secret societies. Did the messages come mid-trance, or as a summary afterward? As much a nationalist rebellion as a religious movement the
Taiping movement very nearly toppled the Manchurian Qing dynasty. Written by a Yale professor, a little more complicated to follow along,
VERY detailed, which can be detrimental to your understanding if you can't stand being mired in details. The first result, therefore, of the hiatus
was undoubtedly to produce a class of young Chinese, both men and women, but chiefly men, who frankly did not know how to live in their own
country or in the age in which their country still was. Spence's book is a great, heavily-footnoted take on a captivating event. This book is not a
scholarly work, it's written in a narrative style that draws the reader in. I do not concentrate in Chinese history, but Spence's truly beautiful book
made me rather wish I did. The Ming Dynasty in Decline Chinese: No real familiarity with Chinese history is required, but it absolutely does help to
brush up on the period before starting as you'll get much more out of the book than otherwise. She follows its development from the rise of
Confucianism, Buddhism, and the great imperial dynasties to the Mongol, Manchu, and Western intrusions and the modern communist state. This is
not so much a book on the Taiping Rebellion as it is on Hong Xiuquan and his theology, with snapshots of the rebellion interspersed to help frame
his actions. Some of the major players of the war Zeng Goufan, Frederick Townsend Ward, and even Hong Rengan receive minor
attention, whereas whole chapters deal exclusively with Hong Xiuquan trying to come to terms with the infallibility of the Bible and the incest
between Lot and his daughters. My problem with the book is that a little too much attention is paid to the theological ins and outs of Hong's version
of Christianity; I realize that being in God's family is complicated, but I would rather have had a greater emphasis on the rebellion itself, how it was
viewed from the perspective of the government in Beijing, and the social and economic conditions in China at the time that allowed such an
earthquake to take place. When Hong fails the all-important state exam that determines his ability to serve in government, his despair turns into
delusion. When at long last this handsome volume was liberated from its Old Dominion incarceration, I greeted it as a long-lost. Nobody at all
would say the Taiping Rebellion in China which took place from to and had some echoes after that too. In this sumptuously illustrated single-
volume history, noted historian Patricia Ebrey traces the origins of Chinese culture from prehistoric times to the present. In steps Hong Xiuquan.
Oct 16, Bob Newman rated it really liked it. Xiuquan and his followers wage a holy across southern China, smashing Qing Armies, storming cities
and trying to upset the social order. But, as the movement progressed, I was having a more and more difficult time figuring out how he garnered so
many followers. In addition to Cohn above , see Backlands: I'm really fascinated by religions that see deity as something so immediate a basic tenet
of the Taiping was that God was corporeal. A senior scholar of this epoch, F. Open Preview See a Problem? May 03, Max rated it really liked it.
Ultimately difficult to follow along, b Written by a Yale professor, a little more complicated to follow along, VERY detailed, which can be
detrimental to your understanding if you can't stand being mired in details. As I read, I kept thinking of parallels with the Communist revolution that
took off only 72 years later, parallels of the long marches of the Taipings looking for a secure center and Mao's Long March to Yenan, parallels of
the Taiping promise to divide the land equally and Communist land reform promises.

God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan

Available Our Retail Price: Norton's privacy policy and terms of use. I highly recommend it for a work of nonfiction edification. This book also
includes a detailed history of the original five kings East, Yang; West, Xiao Chaogui; South, Feng Yunshan; North, Wei Changhui; and Wing,
Shi Dakai including the dark details of Yang's insubordination, execution and the massacre of several thousand of his followers. Highly
successful as a work of narrative and psycho-history yes, that is a real term. In steps Hong Xiuquan. I'd like to see it more through the eyes of the
common peasant in China. I have only a few gripes. It's a narrative biography of Hong Xiuquan, the central figure in the Taiping Rebellion. It
remains a masterwork without parallel. He also discovers that he is Jesus' younger brother, and has been sent to the earth to destroy the demons
who are God's enemies. The authorial style is a bit eccentric, but it's not wholly inappropriate for an eccentric historical episode. Want to Read
Currently Reading Read. Not all of the "Believed", some just didn't like the current government. H Village teacher and failed imperial examination
candidate Hong Xiuquan has a vision, he's the younger brother of Jesus Christ and youngest son of God, and as such, he was sent to Earth to
spread the word, slay the foreign demons manchus and establish his own Heavenly Kingdom. Regardless with this being only one of two books
that I can think of in English on the subject it is a worthy addition to anyone's historical library. The Ming Dynasty in Decline Chinese: Li vividly
reconstructs his extraordinary time with Chairman Mao. So, after a dream that he had ascended to heaven to meet his father God and his big
brother Jesus, he set out on a new career as a messianic leader, "God's Chinese Son. What were the consequences of the war? The rulers were
doing a lot of things, as well as the British that deserved to be fought against. This style also breaks up the story, making it feel choppy and
challenging a readers ability to stay engaged. I will say that I would have liked to see more of the results of the aftermath of the Taipings. The book
for me really begins with the excellent overview of the pantheistic religious traditions prevalent in Hong Xiuquan's home district of Hua, about forty
 miles north of Canton. Their decline and fall, wrought by internal division and the unrelenting military pressures of the Manchus and the Western
powers, carry them to a hell on earth. Ultimately difficult to follow along, but if you're along for the ride, it wraps up very well as a first hand
account essentially of the Taiping rebellion. The Taiping Rebellion is considered history's deadliest uprising, a messianic Christian rebellion that left
million dead in just 14 years. The book includes the minutes of the crucial meetings at which the Elders decided to cashier the pro-reform Party
secretary Zhao Ziyang and to replace him with Jiang Zemin, to declare martial law, and finally to send the troops to drive the students from the
Square. To ask other readers questions about God's Chinese Son , please sign up. The author fails to put the history into a final context. Isolated
by his eminence, he lived like a feudal emperor for much of his reign after blood purge and agricultural failures took more lives than those killed by
either Stalin or Hitler. He is a young man of the Hakka, one of the many minority groups in China, and he is looking to take the Civil Service Exam
Perhaps this would've led to a book that was twice as long and outside the author's intended scope, but it seems like a relevant component. This
fascinating account of the Taping Rebellion seems uncannily familiar in today's political climate. When writing general history like this there's always
a trade off between providing the reader with accurate, nuanced historical information and providing a compelling narrative. The omission was too
great. But, as the movement progressed, I was having a more and more difficult time figuring out how he garnered so many followers. The
movement eventually collapsed as it was unable to seize a port or establish relations with his supposed brother European Christians, and Xiuquan
slipped further into madness. Two things this book could have used were a dramatis personae and an epilogue. This acclaimed account of the
Boxer Rebellion, by an Oxford-trained historian, is an important new addition to every shelf of high-quality, highly accessible history. In addition to
Cohn above , see Backlands: This is not so much a book on the Taiping Rebellion as it is on Hong Xiuquan and his theology, with snapshots of the
rebellion interspersed to help frame his actions. Aug 26, Randol Hooper rated it really liked it. Trivia About God's Chinese Son Instead of realizing
that China was in her own way making her own steps, slowly, it is true, and somewhatponderously, toward modernity, it was easy hue and cry to
say that if it had not been for foreigners she would have been already on an equality, in material terms, with other nations. It is an easy read, it's just
disappointing that by following the leader of the rebellion, pretty much everything else about this epic story becomes shrouded in fog.

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Jan 10, Joseph Ott rated it it was amazing. Hong came to beleive that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and went about setting up his
gods chinese son kingdom, gods chinese son. After his fourth and final attempt, Hong had a fever induced vision while he was bed ridden for
gods chinese son days with an illness. If you like informative books that try to compact as many details as possible godz their covers, you'll
probably like this book. His most famous book is The Search for Modern China, which has become one of the standard texts on the last several
hundred years of Chinese history. The book for me really begins with the goxs overview of the pantheistic religious traditions gods chinese son in
Hong Xiuquan's home district of Gods chinese son, about forty miles north of Canton. This is about the Taiping Rebellion - how one man
encountered Christianity, through a series of sickbed visions determined he was the son of God, and gained thousands of followers and eventually
controlled a large region of China. As far as the latter, it's hard to recommend, except for those keenly interested in some of history's more obscure
currents. The book has a little of everything and every perspective. Just a moment while we sign you in to chinesf Goodreads account. Published
December 17th by W. Having failed my fair share of exams in my lifetime I can fully understand his frustration In short, this book is very detailed,
and xhinese informative, but it probably works best in tandem with Platt's book. The Taiping rebellion was a massive millennial movement that, in
its violent rise and fall between andcost at least 20 million Chinese their lives. This is the story of Hong Xiuquan, one of the important but most
bizarre historical figures of the 19th Gods chinese son. His success carries him and his followers to the heavenly capital at Nanjing, where they
rule a large part of south China soon more than a decade. View sson 5 comments. This helps the reader to have a cchinese good understandi This
was an interesting book, and although it is not particularly long, getting through it was a slog. The omission was too great. The conclusion to the
book is very abrupt, and, apart from gods chinese son brief goes to the destructiveness of the Taiping in the Foreword, little is done to show the
significance of the rebellion. Gods chinese son Spence tells the story of the man, his religious concepts and the course of the horrific conflict that
probably fatally weakened Manchu-ruled China in the nineteenth century. He returns to earth charged to eradicate the "demon-devils," the alien
Manchu rulers of China. Norton respects your privacy. What were the consequences of the war? The narrative stops dead when the main
characters die. She also provides hcinese epilogue discussing the changes in contemporary China that will shape the xon in the years to come. I
cannot explain to you how bizarre their doctrines are to me. The book is packed with facts gods chinese son and small.