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The Taiping Revolutionary Movement
we may still speak of subverting the Tsing
616 pages, Hardcover
First published November 23, 1973
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About the author
Youwen Jian
2 booksJian Youwen (sometimes transliterated Jen Yu-wen or Kan Yau-man in older documents) was a Chinese historian, public official, and sometime Methodist pastor, known in particular for his writings on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He taught at Yenching University, the University of Hong Kong, and Yale University.
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April 30, 2013
The Taiping Rebellion, the tale of puritanical Protestant messianic uprising in China that left 30 million dead, is probably my favourite period to study. I've read the Western popular press books already – Spence's “God's Chinese Son”[1], Platt's “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom[2] and Carr's biography of Ward, “The Devil Soldier”[3] – and all of them make some comment to the effect that their books don't cover the main history of the war, because other books already do that; this is that book.
Professor Jen Yu-wen's book is considered the Bible (no pun intended) of the Taiping, which covers everything from the initial rise of the movement to the ascendency of Hong Rengan to the fierce theocratic rule of the Taiping. Unfortunately, with so much material to cover, in many cases Platt and Spence had more detail in their coverage of portions of the war. This book covers everything, but it does so in bite sized portions. Each chapter is divided into sub-chapters, and these barely scratch the surface of the topic at hand.
In this regard, Professor Jen's book is better used as an encyclopedia of the Taiping. It's thoroughly researched (Indeed, Spence, Platt and Carr probably base much of their books on this one), and topics are easily found. That is not to say, of course, that these other authors always are more thorough. Indeed, here's one tidbit of information absent from other books: Li Xiucheng (Li Hsiu-ch'eng), in his confession, states that to proselytize in the beginning, the Taipings claimed those that worship God “would not have calamities and sufferings, and those that refused to worship Him would be hurt by snakes and tigers.” (Pg. 36) I love the specificness of that propaganda. Professor Jen here also details some of the more barbaric forms of capital punishment, including “death by beheading, burning, or tearing apart the body by five horses.” (Pg. 48) Granted, the invidiousness of these execution techniques was commonplace in China at the time, but I take some comfort in knowing the Taipings weren't enlightened above such viciousness.
Which brings me to my next point. In the limited community of those in the know on the Taiping, there exists the debate between the pro-Taiping and the pro-Qing. Well, perhaps this is an unfair assessment. There exists the debate between the anti-Taiping and the anti-Qing; which side one is more disposed to denouncing with more vim. I am more fervently anti-Taiping than I am anti-Qing. Professor Jen makes no bones about the fact that he's more anti-Qing than anti-Taiping. However, that doesn't mean he neglects the atrocities of the Taipings. Indeed, as I've already mentioned, he details the cruel practice of ripping apart a man's body by five horses. He also includes the utter massacre of the town they vengefully attacked following the death of Feng Yunshan (Feng Yün-shan). In his Preface, Professor Jen also details (by inference) how he's not a communist lapdog writing propaganda for the Mao Regime (Mao lionized the Taipings for standing up against the corrupt Qing), by showing how he fled the communists to Hong Kong. I find this book more trustworthy knowing it was written while the author was living in free Hong Kong and the West.
The next point I feel I should detail is the transliteration. This book uses the older system of Wade-Giles. Myself being 26-years-old and only recently getting into Chinese history, I'm much more used to the newer pinyin system. Wades-Giles, although more phonetic, is difficult to read and hold in your head. Here's an example of what I mean:
pinyin:
Hong Xiuquan
Feng Yunshan
Li Xiucheng
Yang Xiuqing
And the same names in Wade-Giles:
Hung Hsiu-ch'üan
Feng Yün'shan
Li Hsiu-ch'eng
Yang Hsiu-ch'ing
Those are the simple ones. When you're used to pinyin, the Wade-Giles can really mess you up when a doesn't smaller Qing official names are thrown at you in quick succession.
This is a very thorough book, but alas, it does come off quite dry. There's no real central focus of the book, but merely a broad scope. It's a forest, not a trees book. In that sense, if you have a serious interest in the Taiping Rebellion, I'd recommend it, but I'm glad it's not the first one I read.
[1] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
[2] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
[3] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Professor Jen Yu-wen's book is considered the Bible (no pun intended) of the Taiping, which covers everything from the initial rise of the movement to the ascendency of Hong Rengan to the fierce theocratic rule of the Taiping. Unfortunately, with so much material to cover, in many cases Platt and Spence had more detail in their coverage of portions of the war. This book covers everything, but it does so in bite sized portions. Each chapter is divided into sub-chapters, and these barely scratch the surface of the topic at hand.
In this regard, Professor Jen's book is better used as an encyclopedia of the Taiping. It's thoroughly researched (Indeed, Spence, Platt and Carr probably base much of their books on this one), and topics are easily found. That is not to say, of course, that these other authors always are more thorough. Indeed, here's one tidbit of information absent from other books: Li Xiucheng (Li Hsiu-ch'eng), in his confession, states that to proselytize in the beginning, the Taipings claimed those that worship God “would not have calamities and sufferings, and those that refused to worship Him would be hurt by snakes and tigers.” (Pg. 36) I love the specificness of that propaganda. Professor Jen here also details some of the more barbaric forms of capital punishment, including “death by beheading, burning, or tearing apart the body by five horses.” (Pg. 48) Granted, the invidiousness of these execution techniques was commonplace in China at the time, but I take some comfort in knowing the Taipings weren't enlightened above such viciousness.
Which brings me to my next point. In the limited community of those in the know on the Taiping, there exists the debate between the pro-Taiping and the pro-Qing. Well, perhaps this is an unfair assessment. There exists the debate between the anti-Taiping and the anti-Qing; which side one is more disposed to denouncing with more vim. I am more fervently anti-Taiping than I am anti-Qing. Professor Jen makes no bones about the fact that he's more anti-Qing than anti-Taiping. However, that doesn't mean he neglects the atrocities of the Taipings. Indeed, as I've already mentioned, he details the cruel practice of ripping apart a man's body by five horses. He also includes the utter massacre of the town they vengefully attacked following the death of Feng Yunshan (Feng Yün-shan). In his Preface, Professor Jen also details (by inference) how he's not a communist lapdog writing propaganda for the Mao Regime (Mao lionized the Taipings for standing up against the corrupt Qing), by showing how he fled the communists to Hong Kong. I find this book more trustworthy knowing it was written while the author was living in free Hong Kong and the West.
The next point I feel I should detail is the transliteration. This book uses the older system of Wade-Giles. Myself being 26-years-old and only recently getting into Chinese history, I'm much more used to the newer pinyin system. Wades-Giles, although more phonetic, is difficult to read and hold in your head. Here's an example of what I mean:
pinyin:
Hong Xiuquan
Feng Yunshan
Li Xiucheng
Yang Xiuqing
And the same names in Wade-Giles:
Hung Hsiu-ch'üan
Feng Yün'shan
Li Hsiu-ch'eng
Yang Hsiu-ch'ing
Those are the simple ones. When you're used to pinyin, the Wade-Giles can really mess you up when a doesn't smaller Qing official names are thrown at you in quick succession.
This is a very thorough book, but alas, it does come off quite dry. There's no real central focus of the book, but merely a broad scope. It's a forest, not a trees book. In that sense, if you have a serious interest in the Taiping Rebellion, I'd recommend it, but I'm glad it's not the first one I read.
[1] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
[2] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
[3] My review - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Displaying 1 of 1 review