In 1837, Hong Xiuquan failed the notoriously difficult exam to gain entry to the Chinese Civil Service and suffered a nervous breakdown. In a weakened state, he had visions which he later interpreted to be messages from God, telling him that he is the younger brother of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the second son of God. By 1850, Hong had built an army, challenged an empire, and plunged China into the bloodiest civil war in human history, one that lasted fourteen years and cost more lives than the First World War.
This is the story of Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping Rebellion, of his “Heavenly Kingdom,” and the death and destruction that came with it.
