I read Spence's book a few years ago. It's a fascinating account of a terrifying and somewhat inexplicable period in Chinese history. Spence sums it up this way: "Some intersection of Hong’s own mind and the pulse of the times led him to a literal understanding of elements of this newly encountered religion, so that the Christian texts he read convinced him that he was the younger brother of Jesus, imbued by his father God with a special destiny to rid China of the conquering Manchu demon race, and to lead his chosen people to their own Earthly Paradise."
Read that book; the guy was clearly a nut, although Mao is correct. He was a precursor to a certain kind of ideological organization dedicated to demanding self-sacrifice.
elm
self-sacrifice of the individual is a recurring theme in a dying empire
I read Spence's book a few years ago. It's a fascinating account of a terrifying and somewhat inexplicable period in Chinese history. Spence sums it up this way: "Some intersection of Hong’s own mind and the pulse of the times led him to a literal understanding of elements of this newly encountered religion, so that the Christian texts he read convinced him that he was the younger brother of Jesus, imbued by his father God with a special destiny to rid China of the conquering Manchu demon race, and to lead his chosen people to their own Earthly Paradise."
Astounding that this war is so little known in America. Thanks for highlighting it.
i come to kill and conquer you in the name of jesus christ, prince of peace ;)
Read that book; the guy was clearly a nut, although Mao is correct. He was a precursor to a certain kind of ideological organization dedicated to demanding self-sacrifice.
elm
self-sacrifice of the individual is a recurring theme in a dying empire
Ahh, In Our Time, one of my favourite podcasts. Award winning author Melvyn Bragg gets grumpy with 3 academic specialists for an hour.