HUNG HSIU-CH'AN (1812-1864):
influenced by CHRISTIANITY he joined the Society of God
and in 1836 announced that he was a younger brother of JESUS CHRIST. In 1850 he began the
T'ai P'ing rebellion to establish a theocratic State and destroy the opium trade. He
denounced the IDOLATRY of BUDDHISM and TAOISM and replaced the CONFUCIAN classics with
CHRISTIAN Gospels. Despite his sweeping social REFORMS and desire to co-operate
with Western powers, his movement was eventually destroyed with appalling loss of life by
Western armies.
