Jintian Uprising The Jintian Uprising was an armed revolt formally declared by Hong Xiuquan on 11 February 1851 during the late Qing Dynasty . The uprising was named after Jintian ( present - day Guiping , Guangxi ) , the place where it took place . It was the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion . Background . In 1843 Hong Xiuquan , Feng Yunshan and Hong Rengan founded the God Worshipping Society ( 拜上帝教 ) , a heterodox Christian sect , in Hua County ( 花縣 ; present - day Huadu District , Guangdong ) . The following year they traveled to Guangxi to spread their teachings to the peasant population . After that , Hong Xiuquan returned to Guangdong to write about his beliefs , while Feng Yunshan remained in the Mount Zijing ( 紫荊山 ) area to rally people like Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui to join their sect . Preparations . Around 1849 , a famine broke out in Guangxi and the Tiandihui ( Heaven and Earth Society ) rose in rebellion against the ruling Qing Dynasty . By the 7th lunar month of 1850 , Hong Xiuquan had amassed over 20 , 000 followers , who were all gathered at Jintian Village , Guiping County , Guangxi . In preparation for an uprising , Hong organized these men into military formations , each led by commanders with military ranks : a marshal ( 軍帥 ) commanded five divisional marshals ( 師帥 ) ; each divisional marshal commanded five brigade marshals ( 旅帥 ) ; each brigade marshal commanded five infantry chiefs ( 卒長 ) ; each infantry chief commanded four majors ( 兩司馬 ) ; each major commanded five company leaders ( 伍長 ) ; each company leader had four soldiers under him . The total number of officers and enlisted personnel reached 13 , 155 by the end of that month , and civilian ranks were also created to govern the remaining civilian population . As the Qing imperial army in Guangxi was lacking in strength , with only about 30 , 000 troops , and was occupied with suppressing the Tiandihui ' s rebellion , Hong Xiuquan and his followers were able to build their forces without being noticed by the government . Opening moves . In the 12th lunar month of 1850 , Li Dianyuan ( 李殿元 ) , the Qing army commander at Xunzhou ( 潯州 ) , led his troops to surround one of Hong Xiuquan ' s residences in Huazhoushanren Village ( 花洲山人村 ) , Pingnan County ( 平南縣 ) in an attempt to eradicate the rebels . However , Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan were saved by reinforcements sent by Yang Xiuqing , and they returned to Jintian . On the 1st day of the 1st lunar month of 1851 , an imperial force commanded by Zhou Fengqi ( 周鳳歧 ) and his deputies Li Dianyuan and Yiketanbu ( 伊克坦布 ) launched an offensive on Jintian . However , the rebels anticipated the attack and had set up an ambush near Siwang Dyke ( 思旺圩 ) and Caijiang Village ( 蔡江村 ) , five kilometers away from Jintian . The government troops were defeated by the rebels and Yiketanbu was killed . The uprising . On the 11th day of the first lunar month of 1851 , which was also Hong Xiuquan ' s birthday , the God Worshipping Society proclaimed the uprising at Jintian , declaring the formation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom . Five rules for its military were stated : The rebels changed their garments , kept their hair long ( the men previously had to wear their hair in a queue in accordance with Qing law ) , and tied a red cloth around their heads . On the 13th day , they headed to Dahuangjiangkou ( 大湟江口 ) . Subsequent clashes . As the rebels moved southeastward , Tiandihui rebels totaling more than 2 , 000 led by Luo Dagang ( 羅大綱 ) and Su Sanniang ( 蘇三娘 ) joined Hong Xiuquan . In the meantime , Qing official Li Xingyuan ( 李星沅 ) ordered Xiang Rong to lead 2 , 000 men to attack the rebels with an additional support force of 1 , 000 from Guizhou . On the 18th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1851 , Xiang Rong was joined by other imperial armies led by Li Nengchen ( 李能臣 ) and Zhou Fengqi and they attacked Dahuangjiangkou simultaneously from east to west . However they entered minefields set up by the rebels and fell into an ambush , sustaining several hundred casualties . The government forces were forced to stop their offensive and adopt a siege tactic instead . The rebels withdrew under the cover of darkness on the night of the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1851 to East Village ( 東鄉 ) , Wuxuan County . The imperial troops gave chase but fell into an ambush again . Both sides reached a stalemate near Sanli Dyke ( 三里圩 ) . On the 23rd day , Hong Xiuquan declared himself the " Heavenly King " ( 天王 ) in East Village . On the 3rd day of the 4th lunar month of 1851 , Guangxi governor Zhou Tianjue ( 周天爵 ) and Xiang Rong rallied over 6 , 000 troops to attack East Village but were driven back by the rebels . After suffering continual defeats , Li Xingyuan died on the 12th day of the 5th lunar month . Four days later , the rebels broke out of the siege and advanced towards Xiangzhou ( 象州 ) . Qing forces pursued them while the newly deployed 1 , 000 strong imperial army from Guangzhou led by General Wulantai ( 烏蘭泰 ) was stationed at Liangshan Village ( 梁山村 ) . Xiang Rong ' s force was deployed to Jie Ridge ( 界嶺 ) to block the rebels ' route to the north . At the battle of Du ' ao Ridge ( 獨鰲嶺 ; located north of Liangshan Village ) , Wulantai ' s army was badly mauled by rebel forces . However , as the government forces possessed a geographical advantage , they were able to deflect attempts by the rebels to break out of the encirclement . By the seventh lunar month of 1851 , the rebels were forced to withdraw from Xiangzhou to their original base at Mount Zijing ( 紫荊山 ) , Guiping . Although the rebels ' northward expedition plan failed to materialize , they did succeed in attracting huge numbers of the lower class to join them and obtained a large amount of supplies . This marked the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion .