God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan

The Taiping rebellion in mid-nineteenth century China, led by Hong Xiuquan, was one of the strangest and most violent events in human history, costing at least twenty million lives. From his capital in Nanjing, Hong ruled over his 'Heavenly Kingdom' for eleven years, establishing absolute power over a vast area of northern China. Historian Spence recalls some of the historical epics of the nineteenth century here, adding insight into the minds of the participants, Hong himself in particular, in a book that is both intimately detailed and epic in scope--From publisher description.