37 The Failure of Taiping Rebellion

 

 

 

 

List of contents

Why the Taiping Rebellion Failed.- Taiping Rebellion.- Administrative Failure.

About the author

One of the best sinologists of modern times, Guy Alitto is an American academic in the History and East Asian Languages and Civilization Departments at the University of Chicago. He is known in China for revitalizing the scholarship on Chinese Confucian scholar Liang Shuming. He is best known in America for his scholarship and for his role as translator for the first official Chinese delegations to the United States after Richard Nixon’s first visits to China.

Summary

This lecture examines the reasons behind the failure of the Taiping Rebellion, shedding light on three key factors. First, it examines the administrative failure of the Taiping state, emphasizing the lack of a regularized relationship between the state and rural areas, leading to an inability to establish a bureaucracy and secure an economic base. Second, it explores the strategic failure of the Taipings, who were surrounded by the countryside in the Yangtze Valley but could not achieve control over it, resulting in a precarious position that made them vulnerable to being choked off. Lastly, it discusses the limited popular support for the Taipings, as the old order in the countryside remained strong and was supported by regional armies like the Hunan and Huai armies, ultimately putting down revolutionary attempts.

Product details

• Authors: Guy S. Alitto
• Publisher: Springer EN
• Languages: English
• Product format: Mixed media product
• Release: 13.06.2026
• EAN: 9789819566648
• ISBN: 978-981-9566-64-8
• Illustrations: Approx. 20 p. Book + Online Course.
• Series: The Uniqueness of Chinese Civilization in World History
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > Eastern philosophy; China, Kulturwissenschaften, Asiatische Geschichte, Cultural Studies, History of China, Chinese philosophy, Qing dynasty, strategic failure, Taiping Rebellion, Administrative Failure, Limited Popular Support