The God-Worshippers of Thistle Mountain, under the dual leadership of Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan, had gone from being a quirky, backwater oddity... to, by 1847, a real local headache. When they get bold enough to deface a local temple, the law finally takes action to end their machinations. Yet they emerge from this early crucible unbroken... harder, better, faster, stronger... and even weirder than they went in.

Time Period Covered:
1847–1849

Major Historical Figures:
Hong Xiuquan, prophet and Heavenly King [1814–1864]
Feng Yunshan, chief evangelist and architect of the God-Worshipping Society [1815–1852]
Wang Zuoxin, local licentiate and militia leader [fl. 1847]
Lu Liu, God-Worshipper [d. 1848]
Yang Xiuqing, Eastern King, Voice of God the Father [d. 1856]
Xiao Chaogui, Western King, Voice of Jesus Christ [d. 1852]
Qiying, Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi [1787–1858]

Major Sources Cited:
Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen and the Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection
Kuhn, Philip A. "Ch. 6, The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10
Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan

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