God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan, by Jonathan D. Spence, is a fascinating history of one of Chinese largest rebellions. Taking place from 1850 to 1864, tens of millions died. Hong Xiuquan created a type of Christian religion, where he was the younger son of Jesus. Elements of Confucianism and Chinese folk religions were added to this mix. In a time of social and political turbulence, his movement gained strength, threating to topple to regime in Beijing.
The Taiping Rebellion still lives on in the collective life of the Chinese. The CPC recognizes five official religions, Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism, which are monitored by the state. Other religious groups, no matter how benign, are illegal and often disbanded. The CPC knows full well that the Taiping Rebellion began as a splinter group from mainstream Christianity, and grew in political and miltary might. If infighting for power and religious prestige had not weakened them, the Taiping rebels may very well have taken power in China.
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