The Second Opium War and the End of the Taiping Civil War
07/03/19 • 31 min
The episode wraps up the events of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864) and also deals with the events and outcome of the Second Opium War (1856-1860). The Qing Dynasty is weakened and the British, French, American and Russian powers extract new unequal treaties. Then the British help the Qing to put down a peasant-based revolution.
The episode wraps up the events of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864) and also deals with the events and outcome of the Second Opium War (1856-1860). The Qing Dynasty is weakened and the British, French, American and Russian powers extract new unequal treaties. Then the British help the Qing to put down a peasant-based revolution.
Previous Episode
The Taiping Revolution
The strange story of Christian peasant revolutionaries in 19th century China. This episode is about the origins and early years of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864). Both the early Nationalist revolutionaries, like Sun Yat-sen, and later Communists, like Mao Zedong, were inspired by the peasant war led by Hong Xiuquan. But the Taipings were more than just a very large peasant rebellion, as their leader, Hong, thought he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ.
Good resources for more information:
Jonathan Spence, God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan (https://wwnorton.com/books/Gods-Chinese-Son/)
Stephen Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/131825/autumn-in-the-heavenly-kingdom-by-stephen-r-platt/9780307472212/)
Next Episode
The Self-Strengthening Movement: Too Little Too Late?
This episode focuses on the 1862-1895 period, when the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled and reformers tried to make China strong enough to stand up to foreign powers by modernizing the military and promoting 'new learning.' Also, a few words on the surge in overseas Chinese migration during this time, and its relationship to revolutionary nationalist movements to overthrow the Qing Empire.
The books that I quote from in the episode are:
Zheng Yangwen, Ten Lessons in Modern Chinese History (https://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719097737/)
Stephen Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/131825/autumn-in-the-heavenly-kingdom-by-stephen-r-platt/9780307472212/)
People's History of Ideas Podcast - The Second Opium War and the End of the Taiping Civil War
Transcript
Welcome to the People’s History of Ideas Podcast, episode 4. In this episode we’ll conclude the story of the Taiping Revolution, and also discuss the Second Opium War.
We left off our last episode talking about the tension between traditional Chinese ideas of governance and ideas that represented more of a radical break, either reflecting the Christian ideology of the Taiping or the peasant revolutionary and Chinese nationalist nature of the insurgency.
When we left the Taiping
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