Hong Xiuquan

Born into a peasant family in the county Huasyan Guangdong Province on Jan. 1, 1814, was a teacher and four failed in attempts to pass the exams at a lower degree syutsay, paving the way to a bureaucratic career. During one of his trips to the exam in the provincial capital, the port city of Guangzhou (Canton), he became acquainted with Christian missionaries, who drew him into his confidence, and after the visionary experiences began to call himself the brother of Jesus Christ. In 1843 he founded against the official ideology of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism 'Society of worship' (Bai Shandy hoi), which brought together his relatives and countrymen, bowed to the adoption of Christianity. One of the first to him, his cousin joined Hun Zhengan (1822-1864), who later also became a leader of the Taiping.
At the end of 1850 in Guangdong Province Society began to mobilize their supporters to the armed struggle against the ruling Manchu dynasty and the creation of 'sacred treasuries', ie. public repositories for their food and clothing on the basis of egalitarian norms. January 11, 1851 it was publicly announced in an uprising aimed at overthrowing the ruling dynasty of the Qing and the establishment of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great equilibrium (Tai ping tian th), who gave the name of the whole movement of the Taiping. March 23, 1851 Hong Xiuquan proclaimed himself its leader - the Heavenly Prince (Tian Wang). March 19, 1853 the rebels captured the largest city in the central part of the country, the southern capital of the preceding period (1368-1644) - Nanjing, which was announced as the center of the Heavenly States and renamed the capital of Heaven (Tianjin)

. At the end of May 1864, . when Nanjing was already surrounded by government troops, . Hong Xiuquan issued a manifesto notifying, . was going to ascend to heaven and sent out of heaven to counsel Taiping capital, . then suicide, . taking poison, . July 1, 1864,


. Its main religious-utopian ideas are expressed in numerous small works: Instructions on the treatment to the source of Ways and awakening the world (Tao Yuan Xing Shi Xun, . 1845), . Song of the treatment to the source of Ways and saving the world (Yuan Shi Tao jeou ga, . 1845), . Instructions on the treatment to the source of Ways and knowledge of the world (Tao Yuan Jue Shi Xun, . 1846), . Correction of the cycle and return the correct (Guy ce kuei cheng, . 1846) and other,
, . it is a lot of different states,
. And if you treat it as a whole, it represents a family. Almighty overlord - the father of all people on this sinful earth. He - Mr. and creator of all that is in our country and in foreign countries. He - the defender and the keeper of all life in foreign countries and in China. In the Middle Kingdom all the men - brothers, all women - sisters. How can exist between the boundaries of the private? How can emerge from their thoughts take [things] from each other? "

. Christian dogmas were in Hong Xiuquan very original interpretation, largely due to traditional beliefs, and historical concepts
. In accordance with the binary opposition of 'yin - yang' God, called the 'overlord' (shan zhu), and 'August the Supreme lord' (Huang Shang Di), endowed with wife. Confessing 'one root' (and Pen) the diversity of human souls, from which they arise and which are returned, he said, in accordance with generally accepted world-view, interpreted as the bearer of 'primordial pneuma' (and the yuan zhi chi, cm. Chi-PNEUMO). As in all of classical Chinese philosophy, in Hong Xiuquan 'heaven and man are united in Pneuma', and 'heavenly way' (tian zhi dao), ie. universal law, means 'compulsory treatment of things into its opposite, on reaching the limit' (y ji bi fan). This gyre phenomena, . requiring the replacement of the limit order of chaos, . man is a '[most] valuable between heaven and earth', . '[most] inspired in the darkness of things' and such a place it occupies primarily because of its creative activities,
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The idea of 'great balance' as the highest stage of triadic development of society, which is preceded by periods of 'falling into chaos' (Shuai Luan) and 'recovery to equilibrium' (sheng pin), in Confucianism formulated Ho Hsiu (129-182). Around the same time, it was the basis of the teachings contained in the classic Taoist treatise Tai ping jing (Canon of Great balance). Gave the name of this text, a social ideal for replicating the natural harmony in society, equal distribution of the products of labor and the balance of human interests. However, such prosperity was considered rooted in a strict social hierarchy, reproduces the hierarchy of natural and supernatural forces. This doctrine was the ideological basis of Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184.

Such egalitarian, utopian views were furthered in Hong Xiuquan published in 1853 policy document states Taiping Land System of the Heavenly Dynasty (Chao Tien Tien mu zhi du). Land system reads: 'The entire population of the Middle Kingdom - a big family of the Heavenly Father, Lord God'. However, the concretization of the ideal of equality and fraternity turned into petty rule-based system of patriarchal communities, totally covered by the military-democratic and teokratizirovannoy power. All residents of the Heavenly States were divided on pyatidvorki headed by commander. Five pyatidvorok, ie. 25 families, . formed a cell Taiping society with its own church, . headed the cell lyansyma - Head, . in terms of whose responsibility it is to reward the diligent and punish the lazy, . supervise the field work, . charge of the 'holy closet', . be in charge of taking into account the yield and other products, . grant funds for the wedding, . christenings and funerals, . serve as a judge and rural pastor, . to perform religious ceremonies, . read sermon, . educate children on the texts of the Old and New Testament, . sacred appeals and the decrees of Heaven Prince, . and lead the fight subordinate residents with enemy soldiers and to organize a raid on bandits,
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25 houses were platoon (liang), four platoons - a company, five companies - a brigade, five brigades - a division, five divisions - housing. At the head of all this military-state hierarchy was heavenly prince, who ruled on behalf of God. Obey him chief of the army - Eastern prince (Dong-wan) - headed by the executive (administrative) power. In heaven the State retained the hereditary rank (van, Hou and others). Nomination for bureaucratic posts 11 degrees was carried out annually. Raising and lowering expected to once every three years. Limit officer was a demotion to lower peasants, among whom the people traditionally distinguished servicemen, artisans and merchants. Other Taiping documents certified and the possibility of temporary treatment of perpetrators of slaves. Capital punishment was the death penalty.

Important positive innovation Taiping has equal rights with men, women, who had the opportunity to own land parcels, with exams for the degree and, accordingly, hold civil service jobs, serve in the army. At the same time were banned prostitution, marriages of convenience, the purchase and sale of brides and bandaging the legs in women. In heaven state was established open courts and abolished torture.

Essential theoretical constructs Hong Xiuquan that they formed the ideological basis of China's first large-scale attempts to practical implementation of basic Western values in the life of Chinese people. Such attempts, with an increasing scale occur in the 20., . forming a single line of development from the destruction of Hong Xiuquan family altar, and messages Confucius demon to antitraditsionalistskih pogroms 'cultural revolution' and 'campaign of criticism of Lin Piao and Confucius' with Mao Zedong (1893-1976).,