Re: Hakka Involvement in the Taiping Rebellion

[edchan@vossnet.co.uk (Ted)]

On Dec 16, 1996 09:37:39, 'teoh@cs.utk.edu' wrote: 
 
 
>>From PITTOLIM@aol.com Sat Dec 14 08:17:04 1996 
>Subject: Re: Hakka Involvement in the Taiping Rebellion  
>Status: RO 
>[moderator: Chhiang ki yit fun to fhakka@asiawind.com  Tou chhia!] 
> 
>Hi, 
> 
>The whole Taiping Rebellion Saga was basically due to a doomsday cult led
by 
>a deluded failed Hakka scholar who thought he was the brother of Jesus.
The 
>disaster was of a grand scale but there are many modern parallels such as 
>Shoko Ashara in Japan and David Koreshi in US. It just reflected how 
>guillible and naive Hakka peasants were in those days. 
> 
>Pitt. 
 
This is too simplistic an explaination although it is a position held by 
the limited perspective of some Western historians.  If the Hakka are  
to survive as a people, they should try to understand 'their' history. 
 
The Taiping revolution has its roots with the ethnic conflict between  
Hakka and non Hakka and the fact that China was being ruled by a  
non-Chinese (Manchu) government.  The Hakka did not get along with the  
southern 'natives'.  In this era, the Hakka were proud of their Northen  
'true-Chinese' origins and viewed the natives (Cantonese) as less  
'Chinese' while the natives viewed the Hakka as displaced peasants who were
 
taking 'their' land. 
 
There was also deep resentment at the non-Chinese Manchu 
'oppressors' as well.  One point of contention was the stilted examination 

process to join the government which the Hakka, whose values strongly 
emphasised education, viewed as discrimatory/racist.  It was biased against
 
Chinese in the south and was a sore point for the Hakka. 
 
It was inevitable that in this environment, one of many mini-conflicts
between  
the natives and Hakka became a full uprising.  And this one was led by 
a disgrunted scholar who initially used Christianity to motivate.  But it
was 
an 'ethnic' struggle.  But this quickly became a pro-Han
Chinese/anti-Manchu  
uprising as the Hakka begun attracting many non-Hakka Chinese peasants.   
The Hakka, being a displaced people were poorer, and many poorer 
people were attracted by its ideology of equality as well as its pro-Han  
stance.  Thus it became a class stuggle as landlords (non-Hakka, ethnic  
Chinese warlords) reacted with alarm and begun raising troops. 
 
A couple of Taiping armies, led by Hakka generals, marched onto Peking 
to overthrow the Manchu government.  Facing them was a coalition of  
Chinese (non-Hakka) landlords and merceneries, foreign (ie.British)  
troops*, and government (Manchu) led troops (the British and landlords
wanted 
to preserve the status-quo).  The invading Taiping armies were defeated and
 
massacred to the man.   
*Note that some British citizens did side with the Hakka side providing  
logistical support. 
 
Although the Hakka led coalition had lost the main war, the various
conflicts  
dragged on for many more years often degenerating back to simple ethnic  
conflicts.  Millions perished during this civil war and many Hakka were
(again)  
displaced.  The Taiping revolution proved to be a severe blow to the Hakka 

people as a whole.