US involvement in the Chinese Taiping Rebellion
I hope at some point to write a significantly longer piece on this topic, comparing the US and Chinese civil wars of the 19th century, for now here is a brief synopsis.
The 150th anniversary of the US Civil War is here, and over the next few years there will be plenty of celebrating to go around. Gettysburg is coming up, July of 2013, but so is the battle of Shanghai. This decisive battle was fought by expats living in Shanghai against the Taiping rebels, lead by an American mercenary- Francis Townsend Ward. In the end those expat soldiers, who numbered about 200, were pretty inept at fighting rebels, and Ward recruited an army of Chinese. Those western trained soldiers, equipped with British modern arms and funded by Shanghai bankers, were responsible for a slew of victories that helped crush the Taipings. Ward was even made an honorary Chinese citizen, and given the highest honors the Qing government could bestow on military leaders. He’s a pretty fascinating character, and I would recommend reading his biography if you have the chance (Devil Soldier by Caleb Carr).
I would safely wager that many Americans are not aware that while we fought our bloodiest war from 1861-65, China was in a midst of her own bloodletting, the Taiping Rebellion. A cursory glance at these histories would say they are nothing alike. China is China and America is America. These are vastly different societies with different ways of thinking. The sheer scale of the Taiping rebellion in fact dwarfs that of the US Civil War, simply look at the casualty figures: Taiping Rebellion had upwards of 20 million deaths, compared to six hundred thousand in the US. However, one of China’s unique traits has always been a vast population (ask any Chinese person what the #1 problem is in their country and they will usually say “too many people”). So, when put into perspective, proportionally these conflicts are relatively equal. (As a note, I believe the exact census figures are available before and after the Civil Wars in China and the US, when I find that info I'll post it and double check...)
Perhaps the single biggest difference lies in the fact that the US fought a war of modernity, whereas in China’s case swords were still common on the battlefield. Let that sink in. Swords were used to kill 20 million people.
Another crazy difference is that in China’s case, there were multiple rebellions the Manchus fought at the same time, including a combined European force that fought their way into the forbidden city.
Despite the fundamental differences in scale and type of warfare, I would argue the similarities are more manifold.
RESASONS FOR WAR
The build up to war in the US has been documented by numerous sources, and can be boiled down to the fact that political parties, whose differences revolved around the right to own slaves, were centered in North Vs South geopolitics. Southerners were fighting for their independence and the right to own slaves, while Northerners fought to preserve the Union and abolish slavery.
As for China, the Taipings essentially went to war against the corrupt and hated Manchu government while also making war on Confucius ideology. The last point is by far the most significant. Few ethnic Han Chinese enjoyed the Manchu rule, yet Confucism was fundamental to society and legitimacy of rule. When analyzing the US and Chinese civil wars, Confuscism and slavery were the flashpoints that brokered no compromise; either you agreed slavery was socially reprehensible or not, while in China you either supported Confuscism as the basis for society or not. One was anathema to the other, enough so that in China’s case soldiers and generals fought for their Manchu rulers not out of patriotism for the government, rather out of their desire to preserve legitimacy and order.
LEADERSHIP
Crucially missing on the Southern side of the US Civil War was a dynamic civilian leader. A history professor once asked a piercing question: name a single great speech or important document that came from the south? Isn’t gonna happen. Lincoln was the political star and is lovingly remembered as the man who ended slavery. He also issued the Gettysburg address, and his inaugural speech is written on the prominent Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C., arguably the most visited attraction in the US capital.
The sheer personality of the Taiping leader, Tian Wang, was the driving force behind the Rebellion. Brace yourselves if you don’t already know this, but Tian Wang convinced millions of Chinese that he was the brother of Jesus Christ. Consequently, if he was the younger brother of Christ, there was no need for confuciaism; it was wrong and needed to be destroyed in iconoclastic glory.
The Taiping Rebellion also saw the rise of Cixi, who crushed her enemies at court and would rule to the end of the Qing dynasty.
SOLIDIFICATION OF RULING PARTIES
Abraham Lincoln has been criticized for his handling of elections during the civil war. Those elections, however, were tantamount to deciding factor on continue to war or settle with the south. The results of the 1964 campaign secured Lincoln’s right to rule and prosecute war to the end. About the same time, in 1863 the Manchus were driven from their court by warring Europeans. Within the Manchu government were coalitions that desired continued prosecution of the war against France and England, and those who favored peace terms and a refocus on the Taipings. In a kind of “election with Chinese Characteristics” Cixi, the Emperess Dowager, had the war coalition assassinated before they had time to execute her. Peace was made with the European powers, and war was continued against the Taipings under Cixi’s strengthened position.
AREA OF CONFLICT
With the exception of Gettysburg, most of the fighting in the US Civil War was waged in the South. This was also the case in the Taiping Rebellion. Shelby Foote maintained that the North essentially fought with one hand behind it’s back, this can also be said of the Qing government, which was fighting multiple uprisings as well as Europeans. Once these wars were resolved, the full might of the Qing ruling faction was deployed against the Nanjing government.
SCORCHED EARTH
To end the war Generals Sherman and Sheridan scorched the Confederacy, pillaging and decimating the countryside and cities of the south to break the will of Confederate soldiers. Starvation was real in besieged cities during both conflicts. During the siege of Vicksburg the local populace was reduced to eating horsemeat. Even in Nanjong, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, people eat grass.
REBELLIOUS DECADENCE
High society in Richmond has been documented as surreal to the extreme. Even when Union forces were at the gates of Richmond there were balls held and debauchery to be had. However, this was not at all to the degree present in Nanjing, capital of Tian Wang’s Heavenly Taiping Kingdom. Tian Wang instituted a puritanical grip over his dominion, forbidding sex even to married couples, while he personally enjoyed the high life of harems, gourmet feasts and fortified wine.
FOREIGN INTERVENTION
Cotton and Opium
If trade was the lifeblood of the CSA, King Cotton being what it was back in the 19th century, and if British commercial interests were seriously threatened, there would have been a distinct possibility of foreign intervention in the US Civil War. As it turned out for the Confederacy, after years of trade there was a glut in cotton and this was not a critical national priority for England. Brittan, however, had previosly fought trade wars against China, twice over opium, and their commercial interests were at stake regarding the Taiping rebels. For years the Taipings allowed foreigners to trade into the heartland of the middle kingdom, yet when those trade interests were perceived to be threatened, the foreign powers backed the ruling Manchus and engaged the Taipings around Shanghai.
On a side note, what’s up with that? I personally find it outrageous foreign powers would wage a crushing war against the Qing government one year, and the next year side with that very government.
DECISIVE BATTLES
The battle of Gettysburrg and the battle of Shanghai occurred at roughly the same time. They each altered the course of their prospective conflicts in decisive ways. While the Battle of Shanghai was being fought by Francis Townsend Ward and his Every Victorious Army, numbering two thousand at it’s peak yet successfully defeated Taiping armies of 20,000 or more, the point is that rebels lost both of these conflicts.
Conclusion: More similar than not
I would very much appreciate any thoughts, comments or suggestions you have about this posting. I do maintain that these two conflicts were more similar than not. It’s a fascinating history and I do encourage everyone to read more about it. As Americans begin remembering the 150th anniversaries of the Civil War, I would be very interested in seeing China's response to it's own historic war.
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