Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom

By Stephen R. Platt,

Book cover of Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War

Book description

In the early 1850s, during the twilight of the Qing dynasty, word spread of a major revolution brewing in the provinces. The leader of this movement - who called themselves the Taiping - was Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil servant who claimed to be the son of God and the…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

If the Opium War represents the greatest threat to China’s global stature, the Taiping Rebellion certainly posed the greatest domestic challenge to the ruling dynasty. On the surface, the bare facts of the rebellion defy belief. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, after failing the imperial civil service examination, came to believe that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and embarks on establishing a kingdom that upends thousands of years of beliefs by instituting a wide array of socially progressive ideas. Using both Chinese and Western sources, Chinese historian Stephen Platt breathes new life into both the extraordinary rise of…

If you love Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom...

Ad

Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink by Ethan Chorin,

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…

Want books like Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Browse books like Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom

Book cover of The White Lotus War: Rebellion and Suppression in Late Imperial China
Book cover of The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of Modern China
Book cover of What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,840

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, you might also like...

Book cover of American Flygirl

American Flygirl by Susan Tate Ankeny,

The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.

This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United States…

Book cover of Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France

Doctors at War by Ellen Hampton,

Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France takes readers into the moral labyrinth of the Occupation years, 1940-45, to examine how the medical community dealt with the evil authority imposed on them. Anti-Jewish laws prevented many doctors from practicing, inspiring many to form secret medical…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in China, the Taiping Rebellion, and war?

China 663 books
War 2,093 books