ANCIENT CHINA Taiping Christian Rebellion Tai Ping Tian Guo - Sheng Bao, 50 cash Coin Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - Holy Treasure Faint characters, seven stroke bei
Hengyang Mint, in Southern Hunan, 1856-60 Authenticity guaranteed for all items!
Reference: Hartill 23.17 Faint characters, seven stroke bei Hengyang Mint, in Southern Hunan 1856-60 Weight: 22 grams; Size: 41 mm; Copper Alloy Obv: Tai Ping Tian Guo, -Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Rev: Sheng Bao, - Holy Treasure The Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) was a serious attempt to oust the weakening Qing dynasty. The leader of the rebellion, Hong Xiuquan (1814-64), had dreamt that he was the second son of God, and the younger brother of Jesus Christ. In his mission to save China, Hong led his troops to the city of Nanjing and installed himself as the Heavenly King of a new Heavenly Kingdom and began to issue coins such as this one. Issuing these official coins was a way of legitimizing his rule.
The inscription on the front of this coin reads 'Tai ping Tian guo' ('Taiping Heavenly Kingdom'). The inscription on the back of the coin reads 'sheng bao' ('sacred treasure').
This Heavenly Kingdom on earth was to be short-lived. The Taiping rebels were defeated by combined Chinese and European forces in 1861. Tai Ping Heavenly Kingdom Currency In its first year, the Heavenly Kingdom minted coins that were 23 mm to 26 mm in diameter, weighing around 4 grams. The kingdoms name was inscribed on the obverse and Holy Treasure on the reverse. The kingdom also issued paper notes, at least one of which is on the internet (dated 1861).
The Taiping Rebellion was a massive civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, against the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty. It was a millenarian movement led by Hong Xiuquan, who announced that he had received visions, in which he learned that he was the younger brother of Jesus. At least 20 million people died, mainly civilians, in one of the deadliest military conflicts in history.
Hong established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with its capital at Nanjing. The Kingdom's army controlled large parts of southern China, at its height ruling about 30 million people. The rebel agenda included social reforms such as shared property in common, equality for women, and the replacement of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion with their form of Christianity. Because of their refusal to wear the queue, Taiping combatants were nicknamed Longhairs by the Qing government, which besieged the Taiping armies throughout the rebellion. The Qing government eventually crushed the rebellion with the aid of French and British forces.
In the 20th century, Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, looked on the rebellion as an inspiration, and Chinese leader Mao Zedong glorified the Taiping rebels as early heroic revolutionaries against a corrupt feudal system.
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