The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-07-04
THE TAPPING REVOLT.
The Great Rebellion I'm China Que1led
by GEN. Gordon Nearly 40 Years Ago.


From the New YOfK Il IlDuuo.y
The present agitation in China has re-
vived interest in matters pertaining to
that country, and one of the subjects now
frequently alluded to is the Tai-Ping re-
beIlion, in which Charles Gordon a major
in the English army, advanced to the
rank of general, became mandarin, the
idol OF the empire, and known all over
the world as Chinese Gordon. The
Tai Ping rebellion was an internal revo-
tuition, an uprising on the part of the fol-
lowers of the ''peace dynasty against
the reiging Manchu, or Ta-tsing dynasty.
The term Tai-Ping was wholly of for
eign manufacture. AT Pel1in and every
where among those who were loyal to
the government the insurgents were
known as 'Chang mao-tsch, - or Long
haired rebels, F." and these rebels termed
the upholders of the government 'lmps.
The originator of the rebellion, the
chief agitator of ths uprising, was
man named Hung Sew Tseuen. He was
the son of an humble peasant, and was
born near Canton. AS boy he heard
Protestant missionary exhort in the
streets of Canton and heard the words OF
! the foreigner, interpreted he was inter-
/ ested, and took home with MN DOCK
! entitled 'tGOOd Words for ExhOrtlng bne
| Age, - which consisted of essays and SER
/ mons by q Chinese convert to ChrlS6lan~
/ itv He studied hard and went before bhe
board of examination for the purpose Oh
passing the literary examination, Du5
| failed
I'he disappointment caused mental de-
preston and physical infirmity, which
! lasted according to his historian, about
40 days During this time he had VS.
ions'' and received commands from heaY-
/ en- to destroy the idols. lie assumed q
! oraVer deIneanOr after his recovery, and
then, stalking as basis the tracts which
he had studied and from which he had
/ gained a snna6tering OF the Old ana the
! New tleStamentS, he preached new doc
trine and said that he had been ivinely
appointed to restore the world t hat IS
4 China, to the worship of thu true God.
All the converts made by hung re-
nOunced idolatry and gave up the Hor-
ship Of Confucius. They had queer ideas
on the subject of God and salvation, and
at frequent intervals Hung would fall IN
a trance, and after being restored would
tell of the Interviews he had with God,
On one of these occa siOns he related that
4 God had instructed him III celestial mat
ters and given him a seal and sword;
that GOd had given 30 him and elder
/ brother Jesus orders to subdue devils.
/ On that occasion he had seen his heaven
~ mother and heavenly sister, the wife OF
i Jesus, etc.
His writings and teachings were in
! keeping with what he had read in the
/ missionaries literature, but always with
/ himself as the central figure. lie pro-
claimed himself as a savior from sin and
disease. These doctrines and beliefs were
/ preached by him and his converts indus
j triOusly. One Of his chief aids was one
! Flung Yum San. Together they Travelled
/ through the country forming the society
of God worshippers.
Until 1850 the society was purely relig-
4 ious, but in that year it became n pOliUi-
/ cal factor and was brOugh into direct
4 collision with the civil magistrates. The
/ God WOrshipers were declared rebels, and
all the elements which were naturally
against the government enlisted under
the standard Of the fanatical leader. The
dreamer rebel proclaimed his political
/ mission in 1880 and nominated five
''Wangs,' or soldier sub-k1ngs, and in
January, 1881, began his march of con-
quest.
The band of ruilians, with Haunting
/ banners and clad in all kinds of uni
forms, swept like a destroy ing wave
across the rich and prosperous provinces.
The peaceful people fed before this
army which became larger at every set
1 Element, because all idlers, criminals and
Adventures followed it. The pirates
came from the COAST, the robbers from
the mountains, and the nondescript horde
grew like an avalanche as it rolled along.
The " Heavenly King" met with little
opposition, and as he marched through
4 the country a trail of muir Ter. cruelty
plumber and arson was left behind which
recalled the days of the fierce conquer OF
OF old.
All this was done in the name of re-
iigion, and as the news had gone fort b
/ that the leader had received his inspira-
ton fro n the Christian missionaries his
cause was looked upon by thousands of
good people in England and America as
a holy one. Prayers were offered for his
/ success by devOtees in Great Britain The
Ia1-Plng cause was lost in China before
1t was wholly aband oned by the fanatics
in England" says Q G. Chasney, and
their belief in its excellence 50 powerfully
reacted on our policy that it might have
! preserved us from active intervention
down to the present time had not certain
+ lmperialisb successes elsewhere brought
the Iai-Ping arms into direct collision
with us. And with the occasion there
was happily raised up the man whose
prowess was to scatter this blood-cement-
ed empire to pieces FAR more speedily than
it had been ''built up.''
The rebellion was of so barbarous a ma
ture that its suppression was demanded
+ by the civilized world. The Shanghai
merchants had for years supported "a
force to operate against the rebels. This
/ force was known as the lever victorious
army" and was commanded at first by
Ward an American, and on his death by
! BurgeYlne, also an American who was
unsuccessful. Holland, an English ma
rine officer, held the command for a short
time, and after his defeat at Tait-San in
February, 1868, Ii Hung Chang, who
was at that time ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Of the
Kiang provinces, applied to the British
commander-fn-chieff for the services of an
English officer, and Gordon was au-
thorized to accept the command
He arrived at Sung Kiong and entered
on his new duties in March, 1868 His
force was composed of about 1900 Chi
nese Differed by $50 Europeans from all
nations, and many OF doubtful character.
The European contingent was Of the adj
Venturer stamp, and the native troops
We're of such low order that if was
] difficult to distinguish them from the