The Role of Christianity as Propaganda Material in the Taiping Rebellion

Even towards its heyday, the Qing court has maintained its power even with the number of
warring factions just along its gates. However, these constant uprisings have been the primary
cause for their forces to have been stretched, loosening up for newer and hungrier rebel factions.
The Taiping rebellion, in particular, succeeded in overthrowing the center of Qing power because
it used a contextualized Christian belief in the Chinese culture, setting a new doctrine that will
legitimize their rule even with the use of traditional propaganda and oppressive mechanism.
As with past forms of regime takeovers, the Taiping rebellion has successfully vilified the
existing Qing court with the help of the good/evil polarity offered by Christian teachings and
marrying it with existing racial prejudices against the Manchu court. In their anti-Manchu
proclamation, they wrote off the Manchu as the demons, Manchu dogs, etc., while the rebels
appealed to the rest as Gods child or with China as land of spirits. They also weaved a myth
of oppression against the Chinese, and presented their leader as the Supreme King, the
Heavenly King, to reign, as ordered by a beneficent God. (Atwill and Atwill, 50)
Propaganda of this sort usually offers the people a simple explanation as to the rationale of their
rebellion. It simplifies to the people to understand the different acts of the power struggle that
will ensue following such a proclamation. In this case, the Christian concept of salvation from
the Evil by the Good through a messianic figure has been entirely contextualized for the Chinese
to understand. However, its more than just the message of Christian salvation that went through
with their uprising.
A constant in any Chinese rule must be a strict adherence to Confucian philosophy. The choice of
adapting the Jewish 10 Commandments reflect on the Confucian concept of conforming to civil
responsibilities, particularly on following legal codes to create order into society. It is an easy
choice because the 10 Commandments provide clear, distinct rules that are wide open for
interpretation. For instance, the Taipings second commandment You shall not worship false
gods (Atwill and Atwill, 54) is eventually interpreted to urge you valiant ones to awaken
yourselves and rid from all the remnants of the Qing rule. They also integrated local Chinese
myth such as the Youyu in their interpretation of the fifth commandment You shall honor your
mother and father to concretize the need for virtue as a quintessential part of a stable
community (Atwill and Atwill, 54).
While the use of Christianity largely impacts to their resistance, the credit to their success can
also be attributed to other factors. The Taiping rebels took advantage of the political climate that
time, where anti-Manchu sentiments have been brewing asides the waves of conflict from
outlying regions (Atwill and Atwill, 49). Also, occupied towns are immediately instituted with
military organization and draconian laws to check on any signs of emerging dissent from the
conquered populace (Atwill and Atwill, 52).
In using Christianity as a tool for the power struggle, the Taiping rebellion has succeeded in
taking over the heart of the Qing court. It sees its sustainability through indoctrination and an
established detailed bureaucracy. To balance the violent suppression of dissident forces, there are
rewards as necessary benevolence on conforming citizens (Atwill and Atwill, 57).