Hong Xiuquan and the God Worshipping Society formally declared an armed uprising at Jintian (Guiping, Guangxi), an event widely treated as the start of the Taiping Rebellion.
At Jintian, Hong declared himself the Heavenly King and announced the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (Heavenly Kingdom of Peace), transforming a sectarian movement into a rival state project.
After breaking out from encirclement in Guangxi, Taiping forces captured Yongan (Yong'an), a key early stronghold that helped consolidate leadership and sustain the movement’s expansion.
Taiping armies took Wuchang (in modern Wuhan) after a campaign along the river system, marking the rebellion’s transition from regional uprising to major war for control of central China.
After establishing Tianjing as capital, the Taiping issued the Land System of the Heavenly Dynasty, outlining an egalitarian land-allocation and social program central to their state ideology.
Taiping forces took Nanjing and renamed it Tianjing (“Heavenly Capital”), establishing the rebellion’s principal seat of power and a base for further campaigns.
Soon after securing Tianjing, Taiping leaders launched a major northern campaign aimed at capturing Beijing; it ultimately failed but consumed resources and shaped Qing counterstrategy.
The Taiping initiated a western campaign intended to expand control upriver and coordinate with the Northern Expedition; it achieved substantial gains in parts of Anhui and Jiangxi.
A leadership crisis in Tianjing led to assassinations and mass killings among Taiping elites and followers, severely weakening command cohesion and undermining the rebellion’s momentum.
Imperial forces under Zeng Guoquan took Anqing, a strategic Yangtze strongpoint that tightened the noose around the Taiping heartland and made sustained defense of Tianjing far harder.
A Western-trained, Qing-aligned force associated with Frederick Townsend Ward was formally named the Ever Victorious Army, reflecting the increasing role of modern weapons, training, and foreign-linked units in the suppression effort.
With Tianjing under severe siege conditions and famine, Hong Xiuquan died in the rebel capital; succession passed to his son Hong Tianguifu amid military collapse.
Qing forces breached the city defenses and stormed Tianjing (Nanjing), initiating widespread destruction and effectively ending the Taiping state as an organized regime.
Hong Tianguifu, the last Taiping Heavenly King, was captured after the fall of Tianjing and executed, symbolizing the definitive termination of the Taiping dynastic project.
Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864)
