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\R:\lS SERIES 275

THE TAIPING
REBELLION 1851-66
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EDITOR: LEE JOHNSON
'IE"-.\T--\R'IS SERIES 275
THE TAIPING
REBELLION 1851-66
Text by
IAN HEATH
Colour plates by
MICHAEL PERRY
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THE TAIPING REBELLION 1851-66
THE TAIPING
REBELLION
1851-66
1lle T.ip;ng Rebellion was only In. first, albeit (he
rro:o;l daog"""", of. spale of insurre<:tion, .gain>!
!hi: ailino; goyernmenl of China in In. mid [9Ib
"."tury. Bel",,,,," 1850 and 1877 tbe Moslems in (lie
ond oonbwesl of thoe COWlI/)', In. Triads and
Ire il!>original Mioou in Ibe sooth, .lId It>. Nicn and
Ire Taipings in the eaS! aJllM up arms .gain>! their
H"IlCkI oycrlonk in a ..,ies of ......"Its th.t nearly
brrughI: the eh'iog dynasty to an end. The <JwlySi
i:r su..-h widespreod rebellion " ... Olin.'s hmoi
livioo by BriI.in in In. Opium War of 1839-42,
wtlidl had highlighled II>< impolence of her ami
army. Howey."., the ineffkieocy "rIlle eh'ing
hod prepared In. ....;ry, lhroogh a comb;
mticrt of O'"en.xalion, corruplion. official discrimi_
rulim against minorily groups .rod In. adminim._
I","" failo... to m.tch China', mass;", populati"n
""fh;"'" (lfom 125 millioo in I B610 432 million by
18:52) wilh. proportionate iDcrea.. in amble land.
The Taiping movemem began "lbe Pai Shang.
Ii Hu; (11Y:: Socie1y of God_Worsllippers). foondod in
K",,,,l'Si pro,'illCe in 1&16 by l1ung Hsiu_chuan. A
sickly ioo;,,'idual of'l"'Sl;Onable sanity. Hung had
become subje<:110 ,'isiollS which. ha"ing read a small
amoonl of ChriSlian literature. he chose 10 interpret
as demonsllating lhal he ",as Jesus ChriSl's 'Divine
Younger Broll..r'. with God', mandau: 10 !'OHm
China.
HosliUties between I"" God_Worsh;ppers aOO
local mil;l;a units broke oot in October 1850, when
lhe forlll<1' I""" sides with lhe relatiYCly newly.
a.m'ed people of Kwanglung and Kwangsi
pro,';nces (Hung was him",lfa l1akka) in a laOO_war
w;lh the Pen_Ii populalion. arly SlocceSS<.'S ;n thi,
local war. combined with an nnsucoessfullmperialist
attempllo des1roy the God.Worshippers camp at
Chin-fien,.., a <:enl'" of local hoOOiny. led 10 l1uog',
prodamJlion in January 1851 of llis T'o'Rn-
KilO or Heawnly Kingdom of Greal Peace. Wilh
himself as ric.. Wang (HeJycnly King). His principal
lieutenanls we... iostalled in December as lhe T,mg
Wang (aSlern King). Si Wnng (Weslem King). Pei
Wang (Northern King). Nail Wang (Southern King)
and I (Assistant King).
The ensuing chil war's first phase. laSling until
March 1853. saw the ImperialiSl armies depeOOing
OIl the walls of their fonifiod dlies lOr safely from
,
theT.iping fon:es, who remained highly mobile .nd
thereby "'!ained the in;lialiye. They iI<h-.ncM do n
th. Hsiang ,-alley. capluring cily after cily bUl al ys
quickly al>andooing Iheir oonq""sts and fOO"ing on.
(No an.mpt "-as tn:ldor lO ocnpy captured lerritory
I"'nnanrmly unl11 mucb lal.... ) Despile some se\_
backs _ the Nan Wang and Si Wang were I>olb kilk-.,j
du.ing 1851 - the T.iping alYllY had grown fiom
some JO.lXXl lO I"',h.ps h.lf. mHlioo by the lime il
.rri""d at Lake Tung_1"ing on the Yangtze. There the
Taipings captured. mass;"-e Iml"'riaUSl fIoIiUa. and
....ilb tlUs they .....re able to iI<h-.""" rnpidly
do....""'-. c.pturing Wochang. Anking and Olhe.
cilies en route umll 00 10 March 1853 they tool;
Nanking. lhe old capilal of Ming China. Nanking
be.:ame lhe capital of the naseem Taiping slale.
The T.ipings' seizure of N.nking m.y na--e been
symbolic. bm it srems almoSl re'lain lhat ii, Slmlegic
impollallcc had .0;0 been .ecognised. since posses_
sion of Nankillg.nd Ihe debollChmem oflhe Grand
Canal imo the ,,,,aroy eflecIiYely blockaded
Peking by cuning il 011" from lhe fellile southe.n
pro'''iJ".re;; which led il. Neyellhelcss. establislling
themsel'"" here is genernlly regded to h.w be<:n

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"
Slml.gk erro. The consen",s is lllal if the T.ipings
had m.rched ag.inst I'<-king .t once. lhe eh'ing
dyn.sty would .Imost cell.inJy haw be<:n "''''_
thro.... n. InSlead. only. sm.lll comingem _ I"'lhaps
10.(0) men _"as sent 00 lO....ards lhe c.pit.1 in I>by.
E...n Ihis succeeded in coming wilhin tllret- miles of
TienlSin. refore inadequale supply-lines. lhe .. ....
cold of the oonbern wimer .nd the w.m of ca,"oUy
(Taiping armies in'-ari.bly consiSling .Imo.. entirely
of fOOl soldiers) obliged it 10 taU back. in FeblUary
1854.
The failure 10 send suflicient forces 10 the nonh
resulted from Ihe Taipings' IIoI.'ed to dofe,'" tl"cir
conquoSlS. in panicula. lhei. "",,"' capi1a1. This '"''
.n onerous burden..... hich cun.iled lheir earlier
mobiJiIy. Thereafte. their field armies had to be
rec.lled lO N.nking "I"'.tedly 10 flUStrate .neffiplS
at encirclemem moumed frem 1\0.-0 Iml"'.i.lisl head-
qu.rters Ihal had been est.blished 'IOnh and south of
the lale in 1&53. usually "fred lO .s dr
NOllhern o. Kiangpei. and Soulhern or Kiangn:ll1
Imperial BJrrncks. The Impe.ialist blockades """
broken in 1&56, 1858. 1859.nd twicc in 1860 (die
Northern camp was o'''e."," in Septembe. 1&58. nl
the Southern in 1856.nd ag.in. d.-..cis;"-ely. in
HO\\-'"ye. lhe T.ipings' f.ilure 10 break. ",rewed
blockade in 1861 was to .esult in Nanking's ",'COOI:I.l
faU.
1M meamime the ide.lism and diseipline of
the Taiping mOyeme"l'S early days n>ded in internal
strife. Recognised fiom the oolse1 as mililJry ern>-
mande._in-cbi.f. {he Tw,g Wang or EaSle." King.
Yang Hsiu_chi"g. steadily his l'O'itioo
by c1.iming "isions ak;" lO lhose of Hung Hsiu-
ch'u.n. EYemually. in the summer of 1856. it bocanle
.pparem th.l preparations br lhe lrnnsfe. of p:1M.T
in lhe capllal were afOOl. bUI Y.ngs riyal. Ih" Pa
Wang or Nonhern King. mowd f"'t. surp.ising n:l
killing Yang and 20.(0) of hi, s"ppoMers in bto.Jy
!\\-o-w""k I"'.ge. Alarmed allhi. recaUed
kinsm.n. lh,,1 Wang Shih T._k'.i. to the capital. Iu
lhe Pel Wang J11acked Shih's family. furdog him 10
fIe,e br IUs life. It was no! umil Noyembe. 1M
Hung's O\\-'n troops were .ble 10 reg.in control in '"
capital. defe.ting and killing Ih" Pel Wang .fter 11'0
day. of streel_fighting. Sbib T._k'.i SWsequenlly
Cniltll in ,'''' "'J_/9'. ce111"ry
re!IIIlled as heod of go'-em""'nI, bUI he was unable 10
!'l" along "'lh Hung and e"..nlUally Slmek olll on his
,.", inlo the Weslem prm-inces in 1857, laking as
nmy as !()-'XI,O)) Taiping sold",,., wilh him. After
ca"lXlignin2; wilh nrying success in eight prm'inces,
OCC3:lionaUy in Wilh regular Taiping Army
units, he ,,:IS e"entually Caplured .nd exocut"<l by
the ImperiaUSls in 1863.
The purges of I&S6 marked lhe beginning of lhe
mowmem's decline, effecli\,,1y eUminaling
is remaining c.pablo leaders as "elias a 0l"0d pan of
is mosl up<"ri.nced soIdie1y. Hung Hsiu_ch'u.n
homrclooh InlSled ooly members of his own family,
<nl he insl.lled lhem in Il>Osl orlbe key go"","m.n_
t:ll posilions. At lbe same lime, mililary ope",'io,,"
...,..,-..d moslly Mellii,,, dl.lrnerer, .fter 11>< re_
1eoIle:s:s ebb .nd lbw in Ihe fonulleS of oolh sides
""'" lhe preceding years, when somt cilies had
dn,.".:lll.lnds up to eighllimes. T.iping fonunes
",,,,"w. oowe"cr, wilh lhe promOlion in 18570fll'-u
talenled milil'ry comm.nders _Li Hsiu_ch'eng, who
in 1859 was m.de Chung Wang (Faithful or Loy.1
and Ch'en Yu_ch'eng,"oo recame ling Wang
(lk'lOic King) _ wllom s""cessi", famines p",,-ided
willi a inexhalli1ible supply of soldiers.
They opernt"<l ,-imIJUy independemly of lhe cor_
rupl Celesli.1 Coun in Nanking, the Chung Wnng
fighting to tile ""51 of the capital and Ille ring Wnng
to the wes1. II was by tlleir effuns alone that tile
blockade- ofNan\;:ing ""os repealedly bro-
ken in 1&58-60. The 'Gre.t Camp of Ki.ngn.n' "as
fUlJUy destroyed in M.y 1860, .nd the besieging
armies ""attered.
The momclllum was on.ce .g.in Wilh lhe
Ta"ings, and tbe Chung Wang sci 001 on an EaSlem
expc<!ilrn .imed 001 only a1 securing "",urol ofllle
V""""" delta, bUI .lso .1 the caplure of Cbanchufu
<nl SoocIKJw on tbe Grand Canal and lhe seapon of
Shanghai, with ilS European ''''ding_oouses. The
thai possession of Shanghai
"nOd gh" them IIoCress 10 much_needed Western
lirc-arms and leclmology. Chaochufu teli in May
ISlA Soochow in June, .nd in AuguSl lhe Chung
Wm,g a,h..oced low.rds Shanghai, wllere, bec.use of
the Taipings' quasi_CIlri51ian relig;oo and 11>< fuel
C<>n'em,-my Chi",,, prim <>/ Taipi.gs deslr"}'"g a
BuJdhm"",pie.
lha' Brilain and Fral",e were lhemsel",s a1 w.r wilh
Ihe Chinese Empire, be perhaps eXpe<:led 10 be
welcomed wilh open arms by lhe small Anglo-
Freoch garrison. 110we"..., Ihe T.ipings' repulalion
ftT perpelmling massacres wbere"... ll>ey weill h.d
aroused lhe rea,., ofille We51ern eommunity, and lhe
Ch""g Wa"g's lroops were dri"en off when II>ey
approaehed the suburbs, lea"ing T.iping hopes of
peaceful dialogue and lrade Wilh lbe Wesl shallered.
In 1861 lhe lide .g.in IlImed in r:.,oor of Ihe
Imperialisls, wilh lhe recaplllre of An!;jng. This
clte<:1i',,1y ru1 lbe HeaHnly K.ingdom in II'-'o.nd sel
lhe Slage b" a complele reco",ty of Anbwei pro,,_
inc<". The maslermind of Ch'ing opernlions was
Tseng Kuo-f!n, a member of 11>< gemry who, des_
pairing allhe inadequacies oflhe Manchu.nd Chi_
nese regulars, had begun 10 organise his own army,
lbe f/siang<hun, as far back as 1853. Tseng had been
",i,,-...:1 to owrnll comm.nd of ali goyemment fur"",
in lhe lower Yang<z<: lbealre following lbe deslrue_
tioo oflhe K.i.ngn.n barracks. II was his brolher, Ihe
equally_lalenled gene",1 Tseng Kuo_ch'u.n, wOO re_
,
tool; Anking in Seplcmber.
A """"'" Ta;ping thrust towards Shanghai in
January 1862 was repulsed bylM combined effons of
Imperialists .nd Anglo-French lroops. coupled with
a proloogcd foil ofSllOW. To guarantee the safety of
tM f.,...igo communily lhere.fter. Ihe British .nd
French amoor;lies leh obliged 10 oppose the
Ta;p;ng, wilhln .lO-mile radius of lhe dly. Toough
their 0\0011 regular lroops consequemly 1001< the l\ei.i
on numerous "",,"sions during 1862. OOlh countries
were reluctanl 10 becon", too direclly ItlYol",d In the
coofticl. and favoured SI",nglhenlng lhe Imperial;sts
by pro'liding them wilh mUitary instruclors .nd
""'estern .rms. The Brilish. Iherefore. openly sup
poned WCSlem-om""red mereenary fo"",. Fred
Mid Ward's her-ViClorioos Army. or EYA (wl>o:se
exislence they had p",viously opposed) and ;n 1863
they .,."n proYided 1I w;lh new comm.nd<-r.
Charles Gordon. The EVA fought moody wilhln the
.lO-nUle zone roond SlI:I.nghai .nd. while II ",.,
ren.lnly oot as SlIC<:CSsfui as ;lS IlJme might
;IS psnidp.tion prm"Cd decisi", In IllOS1 op
ernl;ons in which ;t ",., in"ol",d SeH,"1 ,im;lJr
contingents """' org.nised as. consequellCe.
Scan;' .. y ..... 1n
Chin. bv a BfOliJ.
R.. ... idoni (186()j,
W;lh the help oflile E\A the Imperi.l;slS were
obi<- to driyc the Chung Wnng's foroes graduaUy.
Soochow -considered by 1M Ta;pingslo be ph"t'lal
to the defence of besieged N.nking. was rel.ken in
December 186J. Ch.""hufu in M.y 1864 aOO
Hangcoow. In ncighbouring proYlnce. In
March. This left Nanking efl'ccliYely isolJloo >nl
with its muchreduced garrison woak from sum.,...
tion. 1I leU ,,'hen a nUnc bre.ched its walls in July. By
this lime Hung Hsiuch'uan was already dead. hO'-
ing .pp.rently comm;l1ed suicide three weel;s e.dier.
bm his eldest son escaped.Iong with the Chung
Wm,g. 801h were subsequently coplured and ,"m
marilyexccUled.
There were S1iU numerous Ta;ping .rmies seal
tered round the coonlry. The principal of thc.st.
holding Hoochow in was driycn out in
AuguSl 1864 and deSlrO}"Cd the following ,pring as it
relreatoo soUlhwards. In October 1864 some 10-
IUXXl Taiping, lII>dcrthe Shih Wang seized Chang.
cllO'" in Fukien pro"ince and remained III large umU
10 surrender ltle following summer. The !.lot
organised Ta;ping remnants were destroyed at Chia
yillj; In Kiangsi;n Febru.ry 1866. Though numerous
Taipings remained at lJrge among the Nien rebels
SlUi active Ilorlh of tile Yangtzr. the Taipillg Rebel
1;00 ",., oyer.

S101i.tics reblmg to tlUs COIlflicl .re tlllreHabl.,

bul ,here i, 00 qUi.'Stion tllJl tbe Taiping Rebellion
"as war on lhe large't ",ale the world Iud yCl =. A
100ai of abool 10 million lroop. had tun in",IY.d,
and as lllJJly as 600 eities IIJd <1IJnged lund, ti"",
and timo apin during 15 y.... of conflict. The
populJ!ions ofsome dimim we.. reduc"" by 40-80
per cenl, and "''''' by coosc"'aliY'" "'timJ!'" 10-30
million pc<Jjlle are beliowd 10 IIJ,,, died, a tOlal only
cx"""""d by lbe bloodiest conflict in hislory. tbe
Secood Wood War.
MILITARY
ORGANISATION
In the fCJfllli>I mHilary organisation lhey had adojlled
by mid 1&50. ba'ied on Chou and Ming amoceden",
lhe Taipings de,oonstrated sophiSlication in COlli
jl.lffioo with OIher rebels. Su"'iYing copies of tbeir
oil.:w military m.n""l. the T"ai-p 'ing Chan-mao lell
us that lheore1ically a Taiping eMin or anny corps
COOl"ised 13.156 "",n diYided imo f"" r.gimems
(shih) of 1.:!(Xl "",n, plus oflk:ers. Each shih "as
dhided in turn imo Ih" oonaliOllS {ieu) of:!(Xl men
:nl each oollalion into f,n companies (IS") of 100,
plus offtcer.'l. Each company comprised flw pla'OOllS
(liang) of 15 "",n and a sergeam, and a plaloon "as
,rode up of four squads (Wit) of four pri'"l''' and a
corporal An anny ,herefore oominally rompri'ied
10.0:0 prinl"" (ll'''-ISIt), 1,S(x) <oq><>raIs (wlt-.ehang),
sergealllS (liang-sslt-ma). 125 company com_
mander. (t.m-.ehang), 25 ballaHon commanders (ieu-
sh,mi). fly", regimenlal commanders (shih.shuaij and a
commanding g.neral In reaHry. how_
""". unit. were ollen """,rely under strength. and
a shih comprised ju,t 100 men, or ,orne
liIrcs only a lew doren.
E,,,,ry famity was eKf"'Ct.d to supply one sokl;"-
10 the T.ipmg Army. A' tbe number of Taiping
adherems or conquered subject' grew, roew anny
corps w.re e'lablisbcd, wilh a new squad in'liluted
i:r each additional liw families, a new plalOOn kJr
eoch 26, and so on. Onre 13.156 new families and
thus new soldiers becam" "'allaN<, ,he new corps
had its CMn conunand", appoim.d and was spill from
it' parenl COIp'. This elJslicity meam lhal it was
possible for roew annies 10 be crealed COOllinuously.
Atlhe heighl of T.iping po"'"r there w"re armies
(nine of tbem clas,.,.j as sh"i.)'ing or 'w.t'" regi.
m.ms', "''''ing on the inland wat.",...y,) as "ell as
"igh' ,imilarly organised bu' ooncombatam corps
ba'ied in Nankifl2;, composed of mine1'S, aniflcers
and ani..ns, which <onSlilnled the regi"",'s
comm;',arial.
Compo,ition
The majority of Taiping sokliers, and especially the
oflkers, were initially fh:rn lbe p""..inees of
Kwangtu"g and K"""8'i where the Rebellion began.
Lot"r m:lt.ly came fi'om Fuki.n, Kiangsi. Hupeh,
Hunan and Anhw.i. Th. nucleus of each T.iping
anny consiS1ed of long_l"rm .dherenl', of whom lbe
mos1 dedicated .....re from Kwangsi, pal1kula.ly the
pro'i"".', aborigillJl Mi.oo hilltribes"",n. New reo
cruits were scrupulously diSlinguished from lbe
original .dherenlS of tbe Sodely of God-Worship.
pers, ....ho w",.. considered lh. Taiping Army'. ",Iile.
All EngUshman .".,.".ing with ,he Taipings in lhe
186Os, AugltS1u, Lindley, Sla,e, thai tbe soldiers of
eoch corps were actually brigadod occording to expe
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.lffli'aryjacK<S ala
(lifii a.J
""'pom ,from T.i
p'inf Chun_m".
rience, e;tl>....,. as 'bona fide T.ipings wilb six or more
years' .."ire, 'ad,oowledged bre1bren' wilb Ihree 10
six years' ..."i"". or, mosl nun..""" of .11. 'lie'"
levies'. In 'Clion. IlIe... Ihre<: 'brigades' were funher
divided. Ihe 'be>! and bra,-..t' s.,,'-;og ... muskC1e<:rs
and ""-ally. lh. nexi bmyCS! as and
tlJlrerdiers.00 lhe leaS! experienced os spearmen.
who the from mrlks,
Many Taiping soldiers ...,,,,d less lllan emh",;
.,tically. Captured Im"",i.li'l' frequendy joined up
simply 10 .void exe<:U1ion and were, predkwbly.
unreliable in In. Held. while aficr 1&54 lher. are
in<reasingly nnmerom references 10 'conscripted
peasants' and 'impressed '-ill.gers' os con'1ilnting a
sizeable proponion of mosl T.iping for=. The
famil", of such pres"'" men we", often senl to
Nanking .lId de1air.;,d lb.", .... OCIsI'ges for tbe
fidelity ofll>eir male relolives in tbe fleld. ",rule tbe
men them""",,,. lallooed Wilh the no"", of ll>e
T.ip;n8 dynasly on their cheeks. were clooely
guarded by tlle .nny', regulars. 10 1860 L.urence
Olipllanl recoro..""<l th.t in .ction such conscripls.
pl.lced in the fronl ranks. ,wre repUle<!ly til to_
gether by lheir pigt.ils. As some indkalion of num_
be". 90 per cem of t!>e Taipin"" who .l1ackod
NinWO in 1861 ''':re "'Ulagers pressed inlo lheir
se"'ice', as "ere 95 per cent of lhose captured at
Kajol>' in 1862.
This app,U\'ol shonage of reli.ble manpower was
gradually rompensale<! b" during the 1860s by lhe
incorporation of large numbers of boys, some of

lhem as young.s six or seyen. H"'ing Dttn indoctri_

nate<! since infancy, lhe... we,.. fa""tical .dllereols of
lhe Taiping CilUse. Most had I>ten lakeo by foo:e in
conquerc"d 1errilories. Adopted and reared by anny
personnel. especially officers, they were 'imbued
wilh ferocity of disposition and callCJll5roeSS of feeling,
10 execute the behests of Ihclr maSle,,'. Seyeml
WOSlem 00..." ..", ooted Ihem being giYC'11 'pri,,;_
leges beyood lheir years' in exchange kT their fidel_
ity, and """" were "''''' commissioDed as officers.
Though T.iping regulations staled Ihal children
"ere nOllO engage in acliye ntilitary dUlles, iI soon
became conlm<>n practke j;x those ompl<>yed by
off"""" to accompany lhem into b.llie to reload lheir
f"""""" .lId by 1861 children were Ioeing fielded ill
",-or_iocreasing nllffibcrs. Undk--y, wOO cOllSidered
Ihat boys agod hetween 12 and 15 COllstilUled 'the
br.m'51 soldiers .1Id mosl daring spirils in the """'s
oflhe Taiping soldiory', reckonod lllat in the spring
of 1861 l:lrgo pall of the Taipinjl Anny coos iSle<! of
'more boys', while R.J. Forrest, "isiling Nanking in
Ma",h tllal year, wrole Illal 'w!>ere lhere is ooe
growo_up man there .re two or Ihree boys of liom 12
to 18 years of age'. adding th.t he 'ney"r saw. rcb<-I
sold;"'" who could be called old'. An account oflhe
fighling at ChJpu in Seplembcr 1861 Sl.tes Ihat 60
per cenl of the 5,lXXl T.ipin"" in\'OI\-I were 'lillie
boy,', while the enlire rearguard ora force lh.l sallied
oil! from Nanking in February 1862 consiS1ed ofboys
agod bctween seyen and 15.
Wome" .iso "","Cd in the field, moS1ly ill """oial
""'* n.:h ti d,,*"'Il: u..IKhr$ and COIlSINCI'O/!
nnl".'DIb. bul duno/! lboe nrly Rebotlion penod
d"Y blpll 0Il1boe batl<flC'ld. "'P"'SoCd In d-femde
undor llle.. _" llffinor!;. (Mm lI'Id "'umen
....., lItvo. "ll:dy ""l!t"CP.... 011 1ICl"'" le.,na,)
Ewlo. lae. 1&5lI., HI,OOO 'poctcd ",_' "'=RiD
'drili<d lI'Id !he nl>dtr II Iu
lhtfIo. 10 .."odmcc ()( fWWolW aIIcr 1&51.
C.n'n.... d urue'ur.
Thce.I,"-d1UJi rommallltirl!llJl army corps had mJy
admJni5lr.ll,,'" and 113mlng in ....m
1he Clll'JlS wu C<lI1\I1\IIIded boy I 5upcrmlende1ll and a
""'...n:>nlI."t. The C<lIJ'S rot,ulUnd.nl "'.. lhe mosl
...00 military off.,.,. in tho: TI,ping I\m,y. bUl "'"ell
ho: was oft.n obliged 10 l.ke s<<:<)I'Id Co a coon
oilichl, .ithe,- a ch 'ng-hsi"nl: (cb:ln<:<>llor). chin-
tln (llCIlior _reIIry) or one of tilt 72 chih-hui
(oonU11:U1dcrs)or IOOchlallg.o:-h"n (eoorll!C""""ls). In
addnlOlL befon: IlI56 and "&:...ll alief 18S8 "''m:
r.,,,, WIUDf 00Ir0TI3rIders caIlod dw-cIIiallg. dcocribcd
as h:n "'ll 'iClIeI3I <:ontroI mn ""'.uy .ff.,.... , ODe
oflhrm (lM T,.,g H'aIIg 1l!5I,5&. lhe I'II1g "'aIIg
lIld ,1M: Claog liang l86l-61) -.l as
"'..... oommandcl...-.dKfor rlrot ..$.JI.
....... ''UDI'i dc'gItt$ of not/lilly lIld ....
-...cl lIJIdc$ of l!ftICAl fU":lwnly, 1"""0'.
?\aslm)" lIld Holy'). Iu W 0Illy 11110 10 ........
...... TI'p"'ll uuly alf"ned "'31 lhal of
""""II' or 'tll'lll' 1tu1l311y only IU or ....."ftI
ofthne (Ihe rin H'aIIg bJm3dfand hIS pr111C1paJ
001 Ihc Ill" suboNp.IcQlly U:5Cd 115 I
......3Al IOl" monl<ll1OUS ...,.. and '"5 flIncry 10
SOlt<IY tho .mblll"" Bc!IO-em 1856 and Ibc
""......rof'tlllV ' 10 10ft. and by llIe...-.l ""
11161 In """"' I 100. n......ficr IhoI1 lurnbe'"
......--.:1 lIlmoM daily .. lillie 10 ....n!
or abIIly, Kllhal by , end of tho 2.700
..... hcnI.ppo,nlcd.
made "1Io'lp SImply 1O.mol lnC.unUIII llle pro--
IIKlOOft of othen...11I10 COIIIpetml coeutlOIIIdors -..
o!ft .....trloo/r;cd. The Oumg W""g. ..110 ..... tumsclf
ooly .rpoinIed b tear !hal ho m'ghl 0Ih0.....-....
defoct, stOlcd lhal lb.. probfel3hon. """",,iaUy
amonS$! flungs ....11 family and ,be de5jl'sN roun
offiCIals. "'''' pnr>cipal cou.. of disaff:"on
.nlOngs! T.iping orTkcrs towards tbe C'nd of ,be
Rehollion, r"wlling in a l:>ct of 00_
oporal;OOl at rommand 1e>'C1.
Lindley ob5cn'Cd lilac by the 180605 ""ungs h.>d
conlrol' o-a- the troop. lII>Ikr lhe" corn.
mand, cIcO"""ng Ihc""""'..... ,..,.,"abIe OIlly Co 11M:
l-b'nJy K'1lI h"moclf or 10 tho C<lIl'IIn>Ilder1IHiI1Cf
...m thoR' "''1$ one.. Ccn.amJy InOlI "" lllo6< openl.
IIIi' III .....1).." _ "''CIC xtlna: all bul ,ndcpcad-
..lyoflllC CIflIl<II by I"". F"lIUdly, ill 186l, HUlIg
.lCmflU<llo nJIb I... lR'nd by docbn"lllihal hence-
forth , ... Ta",.. AIWI) '35 In be rd'clftd 10. lhe
,""","tilly AlWly KIld.... '"5 'Ilo).., Troops'.
.......I<'h. tho Ollllg ,,"aIIg IIOICd. 'mode tllC1ll all ,nlo
JI'-'" &oo-. .. c__byJoM
n..--r.

his personal uoops.oo Slopped us liool calling lhem

Ollf own'. lndependem action lht ..by bec.me lheor
e1icalty a lreasooab'" otrence.
Wesl<rncrs in hipinl: ,cr,-Icc
Foreign .ympalhiS<"rs aoo adHnrnrers were 10 be
foooo se,,ing wilh lhe Taipings liool 1&53. mosl
ollen as anill..rislS. Th..ir nwnbers 1""'" "",'er large.
probably because lhe Taipings nad insutlici..m fWlds
lO pay lr.em regularly. bul a lC....' were _n. h....d.
killed or capillfCd in 'inually ""'1'1)' engagem..nt in
KiJng:su provi""", during 1&60--64. ond perhaps as
many as 2lXl panicip.red in lhe och-.nce ag.inS!
Shangh.i in January 1862. A uoop of abou1 100
based al N.nking - a mixlure of Englishm..n. h.l
ians, Irishmen. Americans .00 Oln.rs. cOllllll.lllded
by an English seam:lll IIJmed Sa'-.ge - ""iSled the
Ning Wang in s""""ssfully defendino; Tsingpu
ag.inS! Wards E"'l'1"-Viclorious Army in 1860. When
Sav.ge was k.illed .n.cking SungkJano; lhal AuguS!.
an American named Peacock s"",--....<led him.nain
ino; 'high ran\;' .mong Ihe T.ipings by 1861.
1>k.... 0I1] Jam..,,}' 1861.
Nol< ,(,. ,",,,,,,,,/Shape of
,!te" hats.
Uoo"y. In. beS!koown of lhe foreigners "00
foughl for In. T.iping cause. recorded Ihal some
even became ofliccrs in lhe regular Taiping Anny.
including. Corsican .00 Sardinian .nny officer
named Moreno. wOO anained Ihe rnnI:s of colooel
Ifroh,,,,i) and major ""P""tiwly in one of the Chl/ng
Wang's cOIps. An American. Henry Burge",ine. who
or In. end of 1862 had briefly commanded 1M EYer
Viclorious AJmy. was ",-en made. '",ng.
Burge'-ine.00 Lindl..y .lIer him. boIh at-
t..mpled 10 es1ablish foreign-offioered T.iping uruts
or tn. Chunlt Wang's he.dquarters or Soochow lhe
'A"..rico.Taiping Legion' .nd the 'Loyal and Failh
ful AUAmary Legion' re:spe<:li",ety. These units were
""uipped with Western firearms and artillery in
intit.lion of the E\A bill tbey mel wllh linle suxess
owing lO tn. reluct.""" of local comm.nders to
supply lhem Wilh """",gh men or suflkiem firearms
(lhe l.OCO men Burge'ine had drilled by October
1863. for insrance. had only 250 muskets be!w'""n
In.m). Each also SlO'" an ..med >:learner lOr lhe
T.iplngs (the Kajmv .lId lhe EVA's Firefly fe'pee
liycly). tl>oogh bolh we.. lOS! wililin i:\<-' months.
Burge"i",,'s K,lj"w beino; blown up in aclion Ihrough
lhe clumsiness of ils drunken crew.
..
THE
IMPERIALISTS
Chi",,', milil'ry esl.blislunem passive, parochial,
"...Jk and .00>" 011 OUtdated "'..., In. product oflh.
coonlly'-m;Utal)' cullUre. It comprised boIh '.gu_
WaM irregul>r troops, (he f""",",," con,i,ling oflhe
Eighl BJJUl.... Ipoch',}.lId lhe Army of 1M Green
SiJ.nd:ud III..yingj, aDd lhc I.ller oflhe milili. (I\"IM.
lien;, 'Bra",.' (ping) and. lale. 'Bra'-. Ballalion.'
(yllng-Jing). The in:ldeqU3Cy oflhe regular elemems
":IS confirmed early in lhe Rebellioo. and by (he lime
the Taiping. we... fimlly crushed il was J,mg-ying
b= ",nidi bore Inc bn"'l oflne figlUing.
The Eight Banners
Th. origin oflhe Eight Ba"ne.. daled to I60J. "hen
Nurhoehu. fOOr.dtf of 11K- Manchuri,n Ch';ng dy_
m;l;)" organised his troops imo tour un;l' under
bannolS coloured respecth"eiy yellow, while. red and
bU,. In 1615 ll>ese units were eoch Sjllil in 1'0>"0.
whence the ighl Banners. The flags of the four new
w1its had coloured borders. Each Batlre' ""IUJlly
comprised Ihre. kusai or di\-isions Ol>e .ach of
MJnchus. Mongols and Chinese. bUi IlK- Eighl Ban
ners ";IS essemially a Manchu army. siDee MallchU'S
oUlnumbered It><: Mongols and Chinese by some
lhree 10 one. Indeed. in the l!lIh cemury allli"ing
Manchus were oominally enrolled in lh. Banners. as
"ere descewhms of lOOse Mongol and Chinese
BanneffiWn "no had panicipoled in lhe MallChu
CO"'llleSl of Olina.
By lhe l!lIh cemu/)' Ihis lK-redilary sokliefy.
loough pro"iding 10"" mlmbers. 00 longer consli-
lUled an ell..... 1i'" mililary foroe. Whereas
Bannermen had originally been c.:walry. wilh all al
lowance suflkiem 10 maintain belweell tluu and six
00""" many 001" had 110 oorse al all. They receiYed
minimal p"yand often had 10 wort ill chilialljohs lOr
lheir helil.",,_1. mUSl.ring only occasooaUy fer pic_
luresque charades that masqueraded as drill.
Their Slrenglh appears 10 h.:"", been aboul a
quaM.. of. million lm"n. of wllOm some 50 or 60 per
cent were slationed Wilhill lhe province of Chihli,
eilher ill or near Peki"." and WlOlher 20 per cent in
lhe principal walled lowns of Olher province. The
,\filila,,, manda,in ''ili.ga gua,J_po'" PIr.orag,aph by
.hJr. 'T1ronu"",

- -
..
-
!

t
"
... m.iDder w.... distribm.d in Manchuri. .lId
TurkeSl.n. Banner g.rrisons omside Peking con_
sistM of: In. Chi-fu ChI< Fang, lhe galTisons ofllle 25
cilics ne.rest 10 Peking, tOia/ling some 4O,lXXl men,
lnoSily infanl!)"; the LJng.<:h 'In Ch" Fa/Ig or galTisons
of tile Imperi.1 Mausolea. comprising IZ() men:
.00 lhe Ko.,Mng Chll Fang, In. 25 provincial garri.
sons, three of wllich we... marine est.bJishmems.
The largest g.rrisons consisted of 4.5,lXXl Banner
men, tn. sm.lleSi of a lew' hundred.
Tileorelic.lly each kltsai comprised. fU-I'""g
(Iieutenant.g'lleral) conullanding lh" banalioll'S (or
1""0 in a Mongol kustJi) calledjllian or chn-ia. each of
~ men. Each oon.lion w,", comm:lllded by
Is 'an-ling (colollel).nd ,'..... organised inlo Ii,,, com-
panies. caliM niru in M.nchu or ISo-ling in Chinese.
fum company "'as comm.nded by a major (.Iso
caOed a Is<>-Ung). The Is<>-Ung Il>erefore oominally
comprised -"00 men. but was so often under>lrenglh
Ibal in 1851 ~ was genernJly considered 10 number
only 150, alld in reolily ofIe'll comprised 110 moo:
Iban 40 or so. Lower ranking company offICe'" were
thefang.y" or caplain, llle hsiao-dl'1 hslao or lieUlen
.nl.nd he Ung_ls'ul or corporals. Pri,-.tes were
generally called ma-chia, teclmically 0 term indic.t-
ing armoured canlrymen. lhougb In.re were 01,.,
).wg_)l1 ping. supernumeraries aw.iting appoimment
10 the ranks oflbe ma-<:hia as ncancies occurred.
This official slmclure had linle relennee 10 !he
""Y Bannermen were dimibuted in lhe field, sc.l_
lered in garrisons of\'arying sizes. Those of 3,lXXl or
more Ban"""""n were usll:llly commanded by
gelleml bearing tile lille chiang-chtln (rendered in
English SOW'CeS as 'Tanar General'), who in all
milita!)" maners ooHanked th. \'ireroy of wbkl>e\.....
province he "'as posled 10. Sm.ller garrisons of .lIOut
LOCO B:mnermen came under a depuly li""l.na01_
gelleml ifu fU-I'llng), .nd tbose Ihal "'"re smaller SlilJ
were led by. commandant (ch 'c"g_shQu}1tj.
Th Pcki"e IIH".crmtn
The nucleus of In. Balmer .III1Y "'" lbe six divisioos
based in the capilat. comprising Ihe Imperial BOO;-.
guard (Ch'in-chtin )'Ing), lhe Vanguard Di,ision
(Ch'icn_feng ying). llIe f1.nk Division (H,,-chpw
yi"g). the Light o;.'-;sion (Ch'",,,-jui)'ing), lbe Fire-
arms Di\'isioo (H"o-<:hl )'ing) arod tn. Paid Foo:e
IH,iao-ch'lying). The Imperi.1 Bodyguard - a "",._
.11)' fOn:e of nearly 3,OCO men -"''as more a ceremo-
nial unil than a fullClional one. The \-anguard or
t.eading Division, totalling 1.9D---1,CW infantl)', <nl
Ibe 1S-16,(O).srrong Flank Divisionlbal comprised
infanll)' .nd c,,'.-ally, we... bolh recmited atllOng the
Manchus aM Mongols of all Eight Banners. The
Light Dh'ision 100alled 3-4,lXXl OIinese infatllry aM
Mongol ca\alty, .... hU. lhe 8,lXXl-Slroog fire.ons
Division, again made up of Manchus .Dd Mongols
from "''''Y Banner, was organised imo Irmer <nl
Omer unit fer tile defence of Peking .Dd ""'ice in
In. fI.ld respecli\-.Iy.
Finally tt.>re ":t'S the Paid fot<:e, regarded by
W.Slerners as ~ h e only corps wllich "'" b"" my
d:l.im 10 be considered as .n army'. Made up of 500"'
66,lXXl men, tllis was a predominamly cavall)' fcro:
(its Cblnese name ac"",lIy me.ns C,,'3.Iry), of which
aboot an eighlh were Mongols .nd the reSl ","Ighly
Tmping' (righij in ac'ion against ,'uan_lion milil'a.
H,e A r , ~ of the Gre," Stnlldord
Unlike tile Eigh' B.otlets, tlli, .rmy (in 'ClUJlity 18
individual P'O"inci:ll armies lha' Yalied considerably
in size) consis1ed emirely of Cllinese 1r0000s. By tile
J9Ih <:emury it had become eqUJlly ineffectiYe, prin_
cipaUy tllrough a lad of regular training, in.<!equale
pay, widespread addietion lO opium (equally rife
.t1>OIII!- B.nnermen) 000 tile corruplion of tile YaS!
m.jority of il. off"""" In p.nicular, oft",.ts wen:
guilly of filching a considerable ponion of lbeir
soldiers' pay (. practice kool'TI ... 'squeezing'), 000 of
foiling to keep un;ls up 10 sl",nglb in order thol lhey
could pocke1lhe pay of abs.-."tees. hldeed, some "nits
"ere as much .s lwo--tllirds below lbeir offlci.1 .iu,
and by the J&lIs mosl were.l 1=1 40 or 50 I"'r cenl
"ndersltenglb, "ith an eS1imaled 20 per cent of the
men in many un;ls either too old or too feeble 10
fight When ,""""","'ry. number. were made up by
temporarily taking on Yag.boo<k and ",,"sams,
Chine... plus officers. drawn f,,,," all Eight Banners.
Desp;1. ilS name, Ihi. di,-isioll included m'lchJock
armed ,."aIry -tbe HSlm-puying (a mobile security
force), bUi 1M majorily were iooeed infamry. respon-
sible fer policing the capit.1 .00 guarding its wall,.
OIher units included the Ung.t.sin ying (the
Mausole. garrisoo forre).nd tile 5,SOO-suong Y,,,,n
Ming r,,,,n Di,-i,ion wllich prolocled the Summer
Patace. There wo, also p.:u1< of SOOlI: 550 .nillery
pieces, tlloogh less Ihan half of tile... were moomed
00 carriages.
, ~ ~ ~ . A funn.r Peking Banner di,'i5ion, establishi."<! in
'_ 1861. was the Sh""-.<:hiying. Usually referred 10 as
Ibe Peking Field Force. ilS name aC1ually meall'S
'Diyinc Mechanism DiyisiOll', an aUusion 10 In.
modern Weslem forearms Wilh which il Wa<l equip-
ped. This unil "''"' unique in lhat it "''''' 'drilled and
manoeu,-red aft... Ille European fashion', wilh
nucleus of Banne"",," Irained by the Brilish .1
Ti.nlsin. Initially .oout 3,()(X).stl\)ne<, it n:.d in_
creased to some 6,lXXl me1l by 1865.
Iulf and half Manchus and Chinese. h .lso il>Cluded
....orty 7.lXXl inf,nlry matchlock"",n. 100 sword_and
buckle",..," and 100 .nilleris!,.
In addition In lDese princip"1 di,isions ,e"era;
Olh;.", units ""'ere based in Peking. The mo:sl impor_
I,nl "a> rhot: PlI-.chun ying or FOOl Force. 100.lIing
scrne 15,lXXl Mooch",. 4.500 Mongols and 3.100
"
Green SlaOOJrd lmops comprised shall-ping
(prrison infamry), pll-ping (infant!)') and mil-ping
(c",-alry)' In n>OS1 places infant!)' oulnum_
bered lhe Olr.er 1\0.'0 pul Iogelber, and pl..ping 001_
numbered ma-ping almosl ",-erywr.ere. T.E Wade.
in 1&51. gi"'-'l 10lals kJr lhe Ihree cal"W'ries
(excluding "'''' 7,400 offICers) ... some 321 ,900 garri_
son infanlly, 194,800 infanlry and 87.100 ca,..Iry. Of
lhese, only 10 per cem III mosl were kepi regularly on
aclive sel'dce. These fogw-es pUI lhe ",,,,-a11 infantry
10 "",-airy ralio al nearly 6:1. close 10 tile offlciJl
figure of 5:1, lhough Ille p..-ping 10 rna_ping ralio
",lied belween 1:1 and 10:1. In sealxtard p"",inces
up to a Ihird of lhe men might be 'water soldiers' or
marines, lhough lhey were SlUi based .,hore, a,1d a
smaU number of lh<-m were oclllaily <:a,-aI!)'.
The ba>ic unit of Green Slandard oq::anisJlioo
was lhe)'ing or bal1aliol1, of which there were son..
1200. Banalions we... fonred imo brigades, <:ailed
piaa orchen-piaa, each commanded by a I"mg_ping
(coounon1y called. chen-I'aij. or (hsiehj
commanded by a colonel (ji;-.:hiang;. and lhe number
of banalions within these larp:er unils Yalied. The
ling ilself nominally cons iSle<! of 500 men pillS om_
cers, bm in praclice coold be as lew as 50 men or ilS
many It'> IiXXl. II was cOl11lnlnded by a)'ing.A1l11n or
banalion officer, l1SIlJUy a ls'an-.:hiang (lieulenam.
coloool) but SOIlk-'1imes ooly a major (IIHSUj or cap_
13in (sltaa-peij. The )'ing was subdivided inlo right
and left sltao or palrols, e.d, coolmlnded by. lieu--
lellJnl felt 'ien_t.s""gj. Theslta"comprised 1\0.'0 or foor
sub-unils (SSU) under ensigns (pa-ISIIngj, organised in
squad< (p 'engj of oominJlly len ,nen conunanded by
an NCO.
The licu1enam, ensigns and NCOs were u,...11y
commanders of lhe small deuchmenlS assigned to
hold OU1f1O'1S <:a1J<d Itslln (posls), IIIn or pall (walch.
lowers or lookOO1 sial ions), m:l.ny ballalions being
",anered in liny unils IlIat comprise no rn.:>re
llIan dozen ,nen. The widespreod dislribmion of
unils W'aS a'lOlher faclor in 1M <le<:line of ll1e G=n
S13ndard, since it was nOl only difflCUh fox a com.
mander 10 assemble .<!equale forces 10 cope "ilh an
unexpec1ed eme-rgency. but il also became '-inuaUy
impossible feo- him 10 comrol or uain his men. 0IIe
)'ing on Chusan in 1800 is recorded ilS nol il:Iving
been collecled for drill for lhe previoos eight years.
The o",raU command slmclure of lhe Green
S13ndard wilS buill around a syS1em of 'checks and
balances' design.ed 10 pre",nl lhe concel1lralion of
military POW'" with anyone individual. The "'mg.
ping, fox itlS1ance. Wa<l ""swerable 10 boIh Ihe pro'-in_
cial commander_in-chief (l'i_lUj and lhe c;..-man 8'7'-_
emor. and allhoogh boIh were his seniors, lhey hod
"0 direcl conl",1 of the bulk ofllle p",vince's foro:s
excepl Ihrough offtcerS web '" billl9>lf. I" addition.
lhe wmg-ping. I'i/II .00 W"'emor alike Iud pi""
IIDder lheir 0'<1' direct com",1, which 11.,>Ugh sm.1I
omits were Ileyenheless bigger tha" tOOse of any
Olbcr Green Standard comlll:ll><kr in tile provi""e.
The ine"itable oUlco"", of such fragmemalioo of
command was disuni,y .nd a l:lcl< of co""'!""alion.
l'he T'u.n_lien
These "ere "mage militias, con,isting of men armed
mainly wi'h SjlC.lf'S, polearms alld b o I ~ (.fter 1854
L'W .Iso had m:lIchlocks) who drill<>:l in their spare
'ime. They were raised purely fCO" lhe prolectioo of
In.ir 0\<11 collununnies, and were prc"ared to uK.. on
Imperi.lUSls as weU as Tnipings when the Ile<'d arose.
l1\eir main ",I"" was in k.."ing ""'''Y small bands of
marauders or bandits. The n",n!ien lISlIJlly com
prised 200-500 men nl moSl, organised in companies
of 100 and Stlb,ullilS of 25 and fiYC, Ihoogb ""'''ral
vUIagcs together sometime' mUS1ered a 'large IUiln'
Ibal coold flekl in excess of UXXl men. Towns had
simU", mUitia uni's, called Iholl-ping.
u n ~ .nd Yune-yine
Raised to compensale /'CO" lhe do.flciencies of provin.
cial Green Stand.rd unilS, Ibe "olunl""" knm'n as
)"mg or 'Bra""s'. who drilled d.ily .nd receiyed much
higher pay tball Green Standard lmopS. con'tituled a
l.1rge pan of most Imperialist armies by Ihe lale
1850:s. Financed and StlSl.lined either by lbe reo
sources of lhe local genlry or by offoci.lly.sal>ctioned
local taxes, they were raised Oil a temporal)' ba'is
whelle'"r tile need arose. />loSl )"ng units comprised
oniya 1eI" hundred men, lbough some 100alled ""II
oyer LtO:>. Organisalion IOltmed 'imilar lines to
that of Grc..n Standud units excepl Ih., ciyilian
oIfrills we... f""l""mly appointed 10 coounaoo
lhem.
The )'Iing-ying or 'Bra,,,, Ba".lions' con'titUled a
loEicai progression in lhe de\'elopmem of )"ng
forres, becoming coosiderably larger. mo... perm.
nen, and Stlbjeclto mo... rigorous ""lection processes
.nd higher 'tandard of training. From tbe C.lrly
JI.., An.... """I" ... ,.., """I n", " .."".J" " i.
,.., pol""..... ,._"... ,.., =,
"
18:!O< lhe Emperor had commiSlSiooed nu"""roos
pro"iDciJl offo:i:lIs lO 11I1se ,uch unl15. The "",n were
recroiled from the local populalion.nd ,upple_
"",med by delachmem, drawn from exlSllng lImn_
Ii..... y,mg and G"",n Slalldard unils. One of lhe
e.rliesl. and lhe moS1 Impon.nl. ,'..,.. lhe !/siang-
ehiin. org.nl ..d in Hunan by Tseng Koo_f.n in 1&53.
h pom-ed so sue<:essful lh.l ,Imil.1r annies were
raised .Iong IdemlcalllDes In Olhtr pro'..inces includ_
Ing Anh,,"'; (lhe !/utli,h,,". 1862), Chekiang (1M
Chlt--ch,m. 1860), Kiangsi (lbe Chiang_d"m. 1&55)
.lId Szrchewan (lhe Ch',,,,n_e",m. II ".,.. lht
!/siang-chlln. or Hun.n Army. lh.l "QfI1he Imperial-
im' firsl major "iclory ""..r lhe T.Iplngs in 1&54, alld
ill; .'ll.ICC>:Sses lhere.f1", "",.nt lhal from 1860, follow_
Ing lhe Taiplngs' decl';.... ovenhrow oflht Soulhern
Imperial Barrack, omside Nanking, },,,,g_ying
.rmies ecl;psed IIIe lrndiliooal Green Slalld.rd and
B.nner fOI= and were considered nol only p.n of
lhe regul.r mJliury esl.bllshmem, but il' mOS1 1m_
pollant pan. Tseng himself ....emu.Uy IJ"came 1>0"_
eroor_general and supreme commander on the Io\>.'er
Yongtze, respon,Ible for 001 only lhe Hunan Army_
which uhim'lely gn."W 10 owr 1.lO,COJ "",n _but also
for Li Hung_cban!",s celcbl1l1ed Hu.I Army (60_
LindJ<ryo'" depie';"" of Ii><
.o;,k"ifieJ !Mole of, 11.-
m. '" n-h,eh ,he To'p'"lts
f&mCd Q uries ofcircle.
brisll;.g n,-,h spears '0
pmrCCf ,h,;, ",wle'_s
Qgm..' Impenal",
rowllry.
7o.COJ men) .00 Tso Tsung_l'.ng', ehu Army
(40,OOJ"",n by mid
The b.,ic unit of .U such .rmies WllS ll1e)'ing of
500 men and six oft....rs. The ying consiSled of the
eh'in-ping or banalion comm.nder's gu.rds (72 men
organised in six pioIOOtl'i or wi of J2 men each, WiUl
lwo of llle plaloon, "'lulpped Wilh lighl gun,) and
four sh<lQ of 100 "",n (organised in eight plaloons, six
of 12 men .nd lwo _ equipped wllh jlngaJl, _ of 14:
lhe rem.Ining 18 "",n included. deputy commander,
five orderU.., and oook 10 each shaO). In a<\d;lion,
liJl coolies "ere altached 10 each )'ing. used 10
replace C"",.111es In lhe rank, ... lhey o<curred. The
ying was comm.nded by . nd lbe c0m-
panies by skao-klmn. Brigades of belw""n two ..Id
doren or moreying came under lhe cOlllJll.lJ'<l of a
r'.,,,g-Ung. woo.. n.me lhe brigade u,,,,,ily lOOk.
while lhe comm,nd of 1\0." or more r\arg./ing consli_
lU1ed chiln under. la-skl/ai.
The ;n;li,1 recmllS we", mostly formers, prefer_
ably from loc.l;ty In order lh.l lhey ,Ilould
011 know 0"'" allOlher. To ensu", loy.lly, shao-kum,
were responsible KJr enlisling lhelr O"TI men: ying_
bmn ,imil.rly <bose lheir o....n shao--k.,an. I'.,ng-Ung
lMIr mm)'ing-kuan. and lhe Ia_skl/ai hi, lung-ling.
Personal allaclunenl' ....ere so mons lhal when a ,mil
coounJnder died IUs men "ere lliually dls.banded,
and If he was lran,ferred lhey were lran,ferred Wilh
him. laler rec,rnilmem beeaolle less ",I..liyc: size_

S1<<<h b) ..
<""'PU>II# ,I>< h8;,..,., r..
ofT.;,.;,,,,. (I.r,) .,,01
"",,,,ri.,",.
Jails 'concealed bellOalh ,heir flowino; locks', so lhal
sbould lhe need arise lhey couk!, by. rapid lon",re,
resume lhe guise ofloy.llmperialis!s.
In Iheir dress lhey demonSlratc'd a marked pref.
erence fco' brighl coloors, u:sually in the form of
100Ied sill.:s and salins; 'heir hwdry harlequin garb'
repuledly Slmck 'error into lhose lhat it. Some
limes Kwallgsi and KwanglWlg Yelerans, by comraS!,
are recorded dressed emifely in sober black. om
claUy the Manchu cuSlom of bunoning gal1lloents at
lhe right .ide "''as .bandoned in fa"our of the Ming
i' ar 'mad. of paf"b<J.a,d,
gil', .."h a..bff broJs and
p<'aFl"'''JX'M<d, ""da
lilil. bied,.. ,he '''r''
adding ,ha' iI "'''' o.t.,
ar,.",<dOl>guOi
oxc",j"",',
Th
TIle Taiping, abandoned lhe charaelerislic Manchu
sh:r.'O<I head and piglail. .nd .110",'0<1 lheir hair 10
i'JU'" I""" 0'..... lhe whole head - lhe Imperialisls
reI'Mred 10 Ihem as ch',mg-man-rsei or 1ong.haired
bandils' (rendered by Weslern OOse""rs as 'Chang.
mow.'). II "''as worn eilhe-r Ic<>sc, lied in a kool on 101'
of lhe head or lwisled imo a braid lhal was
p1.iled wilh red or yellow .ilk .lId woond roo,1<I lhe-
lrad Wilh lhe end hanging dcmn like. l.ssel .1 lhe
left shoolder. (The especi.lly loog hair of lhe Miaou,
",In, ",om Ihis w.y, was said 10 h,,,,, bn lhick
enoogh 10 funn 'an innllnerable son of helme1 lhal
00 sword can penelr.le'.) Occasionally dispenSJlioo
"'''' gramed allowing cen.in groups .lOCh as lhe
sailors of Ihe reorg.nised riyerfIefl in 1853 and
elemenlS of lhe populo!ion of Soachow in 1860- 10
rela;" lheir piglails, bul ""yooe else daring 10 do so
"'as beheaded 001 of hand. Ne",nheless, "",-ernI
soon:e.'l slale lhal many Taipings relained their pig_
DRESS AND
WEAPONS
ab\;: numbers of brayes in lhe 18&l< were 'Clually ex
Taip;"gs woo had been c.ptured or wbose leaders
Ind defected.
W'le,ways aoo paddy.fiel"" made lhe coumry.
side in which lhe Rebellioo 1001< plxe largely unsuil
arc leo" ca,,,Iry, ,., y,mg-ying lroop. were predomi.
"",11y inf.nlly. The Hunan Army's flrsl ca\'alry
unis (org.nised in )'ing of250) were only eSiablislled
in 1858. and It>< HUJi Army" in 18M. Ho"'",,,,.,
""'.., ying were specifICally inlended lOr n",1lI ser
Yice. They w.... organised in len shan (eacb of one
armed jUllk and gunboat) plus lhe )'ing.Jamn's
lorgor ",sse!. Tseng', army before Nanking in Janu
lWY 18&1 inclllded 28 ",ch "'.-erying. while lhe- Huai
Anny had al leas! 12 by Augusl 1863.
"
apparemly limil.d mainly 10 Yel ....n unils. In lhe
early Sl.ge, of tile RebelliOfl mosl were .ill1er Y"'lbw,
edged in blue, green, red, bl.:I<;k or wllile. or red edged
in yellow, bUl as T.iping numlx-rs inc...ased Oilier
combin'lio", " ...... inlroduced (Ille Chung Wang's
men ""'" while uniform, edb",d in o...nge). On lhe
br.asl ..Id back were whil. palches (one sou"", sa)S
lhey " ...... Y"'11ow) - a +'in. square fCO" prh1lI" and
5_in. square for corpo... I" according to lhe rai-p'ing
Ch,mmu bUl according 10 piclori.1 sou",..." actuaily
aboo11"lke Ihal size. The bearer's 11l.l!l; alld unil " ......
inscribed on lile from I"'lch and 'ooly warrior' on lhe
back. Such P'lclle, were also some1inleS "om on lhe
'Yely<by dress of men wilOOUI uoifonm. Soldiers
wen: funller idemified by ,mall wooden or brass
dog.lag su,peoo..-..I from Ihe W.i'l. ,&,'ing llle bear
er's ""me, ...nk and unil.
Olh.r lhan for uoiforms, ollly offi""rs " ...... per
mined 10 wear )"1101>.'. The mosl SC1Iior "<>re a long,
often .okle-I.nglh, gown. a jaekel, and cape.lik.
1l00d.11 )"'Ilol>.'. Th. jackel and g<Mll w..... often
embroidered wilh d...gon, and ",I."lal embl.m,
while lh. bood frequently had pie", of jewellery
abO\'e lile forehead. Off"",rs n.xl down in ...nI<
'Ub'lilUled a coloured purpl. bille or almo"
.ny shade of red, plus. y.llowjackel and .illler red
borderrd )l'UOW hood or y.llow.bordered rrd one.
omc.rs belol>.' lhem had only lhe differen.ced hcOO
and lhe }'ellol>.' jachl of lheir inunedial. superiors.
nd junior grades had jU'1 lhe j.ackel (somelimes wilh
a broad scar1oe1 border). Senior off""", often dressed
<IO\o.'n in ocliOfl 10 "'''00 !>e'ing singled olll by Ihe
enemy. One is recorded as ha"ing SUbslilUled black
lurban b" hi, coo,pieuoo, }'<"11ow' ODe.nOlher as
Iw';ng 'dre,sed in wry common .. 101hes when going
oUllo figbl'. Eno III. Chung Wangcuslom.rily "<>re
only quilled scark'ljockel and a scarloe11urb.n.
Th. "",jorily of Taipings w.....rmed wilb no
more lhan an .ighl. 10 IS-ft 'pear .nod a knife or
somelimes a s,,<>ni Some subSl;Wled. I'Ole.rm, arod
a b' II:ld bow. Fire.rm, "ere .1 firsl uncommon
alld initi.lly comprised m'lcblock, .nod jing.II,. TIle
from.opeoing, and ouler jacl<e1s we... supposed 10 be
OfIly hip-Ienglh. bUl picmrrs from Ih.l lime 'lill io
exi"e""" demon'lrole 111.1 such regulation, w.re
only 'Y'I,modieaiiy obse,,'ed.
Only officials .nd soldie", w..... al\cM'ed 10 wear
red jackm, lhough mos1 T.ipin!!, wu>: red lUrn.n
or I>o-ad-sealf. considered 'lhe diSlinguishiog marl: of
a pri'-'l. in lheir army'. Yribw lUrn.nS w.", also
worn somdimes (by fmule Taiping soldiers, fCO"
inSl.nce.nd by Ihe S/")II Wallg's bodyguards). as,
wry oceasiornlly, " ...... lUrn."" in Olher colours.
Lindley considered lhe dress of lypieal T.iping
soldier II<; red l>ead-scalf, bla<k silk lroo",,,, (oIlier
accounts m.mion red, blue or while Ifoose",). sa.sII
round lhe wai'l, and a close.ftlling. gene...Uy red,
hip.l.nglh jacket SI>oes " ...... usually l.ken 0/1', and
Ihe 1..,.,,,,,,, w.... rolled up or lucked inlo lile waiSl
band when in 'CliOfl. In lile summer a " ...w coolie-
II:ll """ added.
Unifonm, compri,ing coloured lunic wilb a
comrasling edge "om "'..". Ih.ir e,"Cl)'wy cloll"",
wen: nOi common .mong Ihe T.ipings, alld w.....
..
D""'T.gofQ TQ'ping
"""'g Q.dSlQ.dacd_bro,",
Imm lite biltJiltg <>f
T;_Ping Tien
KwOO: 11< """'" M"""
MhQ/ FOIC<SICQ71s all
....d"ss,ycsi<>lt of ,h<
dmg",,_hal,
Ix",,,,,. "milr< andQ
WH. .IIedh..",
d<senlx. i, as r<d,
.h:oc"teJM,.,h """iQ.d
<mbmid",..
I mandarins and
,oMers.!mm ,iI<!
1lI...",,,<il loodon No,.....
.YQU II", T'il.'''''''''''' on Ihc
rigAI anin'din
stripedwi10M' coso,me.
TIIei.fwnc'ioII was ,,,
In'g."" ';'unmryby
',Ii",...jld"pp<'omntY,
sho"'s"ndgrs"", lali"",',
as wdI os Iiy """""'i!'l>
fi,.""'Orlcs "nil", Itisju'.
TiIJ"""'. oPfH!ar IQlom-.
bun Bam"""",,, and'N'-'
......., ""'" m"n" ofIltr..
(lAw,mu Olip/UJ", sta"d
1M' IN'-' ..,,, 001"01><>.'
10 in ead.<>{I"w, .
regim,n" IW' ,,,,,,i. /858).
lJller w,", Ibc English name lOr (b;, t'al.cli'/ang,
of """y. large.calibre "",.hlock wilh 1xI,_
"" up to len II I"ng lhal was erewed by 1wo lO r""
rrcn and fired fiom reS! _ usually. lripod or
1ll.lII's shoulders; lis shol weigbod beN'",," fuur
"'"""" and Woo pound<; and iI had range ofal leas!
1M yank. Wesler" firearms wen: ocquired fiom
:>boll 1853. and by tile 1800s "......, fooM in consider_
,.,.. numbers; some .uthor;ties specifICally .mibute
Taip;ng ,u;:cesses in 1&57 .lId 18({1to (heir aequisi.
tkol of sizo.bIe numbers of fureign arm,. 10 October
1861 a qu,n.. of llle defenders of Soo<bow pos_
foreign muskeTs and rifles, a. did nearly a lhird
oflhe foo:e Ihal anacted Tsingpu .00 Sungki."" in
"1:Jy 1862. On lbe olher h.nd, lhe T.iping .rmy
IIJllXO"Ching Shanghai in January 1861 had 001 more
!Jnl ooe muskel belween len men.
Th. Taipings' <:anlrymcn - often riding
",i!h lhdr rulher lMn lh.ir loes in ll>e stirrup-
Wele alTlled principally Wilh lances alld fire.l1lI'S, lbe
boer mixlur. of lighl matchlocks, Weslern mus
ke1s, piSIOls and "'''" re"oIYers wr..'1l lhey coukl gel
d..m (delighling esprciaUy ill 'huge doubleba.relled
piSlois', according 10 Lindley). How.,.",., in lheir
mosI celebrnled >Clion. when jusl 100 fOOled 11'
EVA regiment. at Waissoo in I8&!, lhey were armed
cny Wilh a .",oo,j in each hand.
IIll[l<'rl.llsb
Eyc.}wy Chinese <:IOIhe. were sober in colour -
mostly blue, whil', brown and grey. Like lhe
Taipings, Imperi.lisl sokliers oorm.lly wure dyiUan
.nire under lheir uniform jackels, loough somelimes
unil ",.. also proyi<\ed Wllh lrousers .ndlor shins.
mwlly blue or while. The uniform j.ckel, sleeyed or
.leeyeless, w"" mosl commooly blue edged in red or
red edged in while, lhough numerou. OIher combi",,
lioos were worn. (Green Slar.dard IfOOps ""'" in
1855 "ure blad: edged in red; brown edged in pink
,,;IS "urn by Bam..rn",n alll>e Taku Forts ill 1858;
H""i Army lroop. irt 1862 ""OIl> purple edged irt
yellow; and Peking Bannermcn .1 Pall.kao ill 1860
"'Ufe yellow edged in black.)
Adrculor <:IOIh paleh .00u1 10 ins acfOSS, us""l1y
while. w"" generally worn on lbe bre.SI and back of
lhe jackel, slaliding oOJ! so prominenlly lhat one
obse",,, hWlIouroo.ly 'uggeSled lhey were 'possibly
desigoed tor lhe enemy 10 .im .11'. Upon th= w....
inscribed deuils of Ibe wearer'. unit Some1ime.
lhese deuils we", PUI dire<:1ly 0010 lhe jackel (lhere
is one record of lhis from 1860 .nd il became .n
increa.ingly common praClke in lhe In com-
mon Wilh lbe T.ipings, the Imperi.lisl' wore
wooden dog-lag .1 lhe bell. It 00'" lhe soldier'

former wore predomil1JJuly yellow. dul< blue and

scarlel in 1861:'00 Imperiali'llroopS in Kw.ngmng
in 1854. Cbekiang in 1860 and fukien in 1861 all
wore while. Chinese piclures fi'orn lile lime often
ponmy Ilunan and l1uai Anny soldiers wearing lhe
rooOO ,ilk hal of regul.r lroops. so this may b"",,
come inlo use .longside lhe lurban as lile imponance
of)ung.ying lroop' 10 lhe conflic1 became acknowl_
edged in official circle,.
Otlkers wore a loose. generally purplish. gauze
jackel "'..". beJ\'ily-embroidered 'I'l"lhon robe' (of_
len replaced by plain ..... lIile one for evct)wy use).
On lhe front and back oflbe jacke1 was a fOOl_squ.re
silk JXlnel. embroidered ..... ilh different lype' of bird
lOr different grndes of civiUan malldarin. or animals
lOr mililary rnen. Funber dislinclion, of rank were
indicaled by lbe quality of lhe belt_clasp and lhe
colour oflhe decorali", bunon fixed 10 the crown of
lhe hal. S}mbol, of p:lJ1icular meril ...."'" }"Ilow
jackel. ""rmined 10 only 50 Of (JJ senior mandarins,
and belween one and ll1ree peacock fealhers wom on
lhe h.l. On campaign mosl wore armour 10 denOle
lheir SlalUs .lId carried at lhe bell a quiver com.ining
a S!"-cif", number of .rrows according to lhe weards
rank. Armour ".., of silk or COllon ro,ffed wilh silk
floss. quilled 10 Iltickness of up 10 lwo ins .00
reinfOfUd ....;lb melal 'Iud,.
Like lheir T.iping cout\lerp.ns. Imperiali'l sol-
diers' arms varied. Regulalions .pparemly required
lllJl each man had a shield. bow. matcltlock. spear
and 1\0,.., s"ords, bill in realily lhe majorily were
equipped Wilh '10 more lllan a .,,0Id .nd a pole.nn
Of a 'pear _""'''" ft loog for ca"alry. or to 14 ft for
inf.mry - and evell many of lhese ""'" in (>COr
co,ldilion (Weslem descripliot\' of Cllinese arms
in,""riably in<luded lhe ....0Id 'nmy'). rung.ying or
ganisatioll allo"".j fey aboU1 half 11><' men of eacll
baualion !O be .nncd Wilh a ""Old or a """,ar. and
about fifth of tllem eacb willi matchlocks and
jingolls. 111 re.lily ll>ey ...rely had ll1i, many (lindley
reckoning lhat '1101 0... ill ten' had a matchlock).
In Ille right h..mds lbe 00....' w'"' 'till con,idered a
more effe<:l;""" weap"" tllJn the matcillock. but tOOse
name. age. binbplace. unil. and date of enlistmenl.
DIller parapt...rnalia normally .nached 10 lhe belt
in<luded apu1'St. a lobacco-pooch. a chopslick-case
and fan-case. Every ImperialiSl soldier possessed.
pipe and fan (ca,-.Irymen carried lilem in lheir
boolS). plu, carried an umbrella across hi, back.
Soldiers had to provide lheir 0''1' foolwear. usu_
.Ily fell-s<Jled sUppers. rc"laoed by wooden_sok--d
shoe, lOr "'l'l wealiler. in summer lhey """Ore bare feel
or sHaw or lealher sandal,. Ca,...lrymen. oo...."","r.
in,-.riably wore blad 'Tanar boo,,'.
For head"'=. Green SlOnd.rd lroopS and
Bannermen wore a round silk bal. wllh a black
lurned_up brim .00 red crown. Bann;.r ca",lry"",n
allJch;,d 10 i15 crown a JXlir of lail,. ,ariously de_
scribed .., belni; Cal. fu<. manen. mink or squirrel.
Bra,,", wore a lUrnan. Wilh lheir pigrail wound round
tile head benealh il. wbUe milil;" troops are oormJUy
described .., wearing bamboo COOIje.1IJ1S. somelirnes
painted. Turn.ns wen: of a stand.rd colour in each
unit. In Kiangsu in 1862_63 lhe Hu.i Army lrOOjls
wore mostly bit..... red or bbck ltlrn.n,: braves fi'orn
Sz.eche......n and W\Il.ln !Xovi"""s operaling in lhe
B.mfl(!f"ma in /XIj_ af
Ta.t., IJ A");"sr /861).
fim R. S...mnOl!',
Nar",;,'. of...., N"flh
Cbina C.mp:aign of t800
(/861).
......" ,<> figli, o.
fO<>l ...he. ",-",,<sa'}'.
compeICI1 In ilS use !O come fiom nnnhern
China, 001 lne SQUlhern pro,-In""s wn.re mosl nr In.
Rrl'cllioo look place. Banoer ca,..1ry in pankular
spi'cialised in an:hery. e'"" lilough many.1>o carried
"llJlclIIoct.. Some ca,-.Iry unils ""'" "''''' equipped
wih cemin number or jingalls; .1 lhe Bailie of
Cli.ln@;iaw.n in 1800 lhey were eilher carried slung
be1w...., lWo 1101'SOs, SQ ll1al lhe ulpOO SlaOO lrniled
aImg lhe ground. o. dlsmamled. wilh In. jingall
carried on one horse .nd ilS s(atid on al!Olller.
Tile im.oducllon fireanns beg.n on.
small scale during lhe 1850:s. but commcllCed in
eameSl from 1861. signlficamly lhan fCO" Ihe
T.iping. Enn lhen lhey w..... limlloo principally 10
lne Hunan 000 Hu.i .nnles. The had .1 leaS!
100) muskels,oo rilles by Sepleml>e. 1862. 10.lXXl
by mid 1863 and 15.lXXl by spring 18M. Li Hung_
chang wrole Ibal he eycmually II3d m---.m muskc1s
per )'ing compared 10 lhe HUllJn Army'. 120. (Spe.rs
.00 'Chinese lances'. or lridems. Slill b" oulnum_
"

boored muske1s among lhe SO,lXXl HutIJn Anny "",n

encamped before Nanking in JUI.. 18&1.)
Less con,,,mionaJ wealX'flS in use 00 ooth sid<s
indoded m:lgazine.f111oo cro:s.>bows capable of firing
eiglll10 len boks in rapid succession: "",hIs, usually
in lh.. Kml of barbed .,rows fined ",jlh a rm:wod
propellJm; ",,"'<!e,_IxIg'<. comaining abool a poor<!
of gunJ'CM'd;" aM fined wjlh a IU..; and slinkpol'.
nhen......", j .... filled Wilh a oombUSlible subsIJnce
which g;l"t off asphyxiating li.mes ",,""," lit.
ARTILLERY
Anillery in 191h Cetllury China differed lillie from
lrnl of 171h cemury Eul'Op"'. and war< often as old.
The guns - u=Uy l>rge nod l I ~ v y in relation 10
their calibre were m.de liom brass. iron. copper
and "''''' woed. occ.,ioo.lly ornmely consm,cloo 10
",...mble dragon> (the Taipings OC1ually called can-
oons 'long drngons'j. Cilles and fons were provided
Imp...ial suns fielded
against 1MAnglo-Frmch
in 1861).
WMh large quantities of anillel)', """,lIy moonted on
carriages witlloot whecls or any me.ns of
depression or """-'lion beyond 'a 101 of rough
wedge.s'; Chinese: pmcti"" was 10 l.1y lheir guns 10 fire
>I a poim lbey I>oped the enemy wookl h...." to pass.
In consc:qu.--nre their fue was often higilly
nl the ]XXIr qwlily of Chi""", gunpowder 0Ild the
'-'''''"co, casti"., of their cannon_ball, comributed 10
lh.is \mcen.in gunnery'. Under fire, 110m.."......, tile
aune..e Slood resohnely to IlIeir guns, more often
th.n 001 10 the laSl man.
Wilen f..ld-anillery was called for, gun, ",uu1d
be moumed on l",o_whe<:1ed carriageslhat ......mbled
h.m<J.cal1.'l, somelimes with. curnd """f, or ordi_
nlIY four_wheeied cans. MOSl guns deployed in the
field were emplaced in entrenched posilions prior to
baltle, but by 1860 a b' sm.lI_catibre ImperiatiSl
pioces were mounled on mule-dmwn carriages,
!hough. .s a rule, lhere w..... ' ..ry b' guns moumed
as tleld-anillery. ImperialiSl gun-carri.ges awe" to
1m" been painled red if at all. with the barrel, and
fmings paimed bl:lck; T.ipin& gun, were probably
similarly finished. l00ugh one SOUI'Ce' refers to a gun_
carriage paimed a 'kad
Though tn. T.ipings possessed ronsidemble
quamities of Western >lid Chinese guns.s mle
Itry had DO f..ld .nillel)' beyooothree or four s"",11
pieces ('rarely ""reeding. 6 pdr in size) moumed on
the e.nhworXs oflhcir numerous stockaded camps.
In aboul 1860, 110\,.."'....., Lindley pUI toge1her
b.nel)' for the eh,mg Wnng Ihal comprised ",,-ern!
ClUnese guns .nd three WeSlern pieces (a 31 pdr. an
18 pdr and a 'large French cannon') whkhl00k p.n
in the Banle ofHu_kau.
After 1&53 tile Imperialists purchased much
Western aniller;", alld they were coSling imitalions by
From 1861 both sides also tried to copy West-
ern explosi...e shell5, but Wilh limiled success;
Gordon OOIed thai of lhose lhe Taipings mallufac_
tured. 'nOl one in 20 burslS'.
French sou"",s nOled the use of org.n_gum by
the Imperi.lists al lhe B.nle of Paliakao. These .re
described as comprising a frnmel'-orX fmed with
eighl or ten jingalls that w..... fired eitller simultan-
e<JUS1y or in succession.
C",.mdplan ofafarn!wd paliJadcd b,easrwo,*,
canlp b. Lampt'fi Each su"oondedbr a belt
j"'p<'nal,,, 0' Ta'pmg of knee_high Jha,pertM
banai"", CUIU"""IJ one ba",bOO su,j;es. TenlS 0'
<>/ ,hcsefu,-j'ulf ,ud hws e<cered
up<'mri.grn ,he ,';ernln'if wrrh ,he uml
'he ""''''J'. of e"",,,,and,,,'s-"'emg ,he
,hem ....eaiJo "scdas The """'c
""",,,,*," in Ih, ddcnu if I'"",an..", U/IM'" /rad
ell'.... Thev ",,",In' add;lrQ.al d'l!tcs "",I
"""'p'iud dilch" a.d "",bank"..."lS,
"loophulcJ, so",e""'''s
q,o 0 o QO,D
o oo'b'tJ'tJ 00 U U_I U 0
0"0'0" [[]
do"dooo DODD 0 0
d 0"00"'0"0"dddo"do
FLAGS
Chinese armies were accompanied by huge quamities
of in .ssoned sizes.oo colours. mostly lriangu.
lor bUl sometime' square or ",,,n, amoog'l lroe im_
perialisls, !"'nf.lon_shape<!. They were mode of dyed
'ilk. usually wiln dcq>ly scalloped or serTalOO edges
in a contrasling 00100. fill<d 10. 11-13 fl baml>oo
pole. J. lamprey. present io Shanghai in 1862.64.
said th.l among 1M I ,,,peri.lislS OIl<" llag "as carried
per len men, and lh.l some were up 10 11 feel long
and eighl frel Imperialisl Oogs were uniform to
each un;l .00 were ".,ioosly described as plain. or
wiln drngollS. lige,,;, piC1ures of gods. 'yin
.nd yang' symbols, clouds, circle:!. zig_zag Unes,
l>orizomal stripes or inscriplions. FlJgs of)1mg.ying
for= cUSlolnlrily boo'" jusl the firs! glyph of lheir
.nny name.
T.ipiog f1:Igs appear (0 ha'" been 1M more
colourful: ""'esler...", were daz:zled by lheir displ.y.
of 'lhoosa'lds of f!:lgs. of every colour fron' bL>ck 10
crimson'. TI,.,.., of Huo!': Hsiu_cb'uan's origin.1 the
co",. were of. common colour and panern (yelkM'
wilh differem-coloored borders KJr each corps), but
ilS Taiping numbers 1J1"'W, tlK- colours of unil fugs
prolirer:lted. h,,'Y unil leader fron Ihe sergeam
upwards ""as accompanied by a uiangular fI:lg, Ihe
sire of whkh increased in 6-in. incremems according
10 his rank (liom 101' II by 1,1' II lOr a sergeanl up 10
7,1' i\ by 7,1' i\ fC4" eh'e.g-Josiang). W""1f' and Ih.
IOOSl senior commanders SU!>stiMed larger square
flags. Technkally they were supp"s.--d 10 displ:ly In.
off""",s name, p",,'ince, and unil delails, but some
bore religious slogons and by tlK- 1860s it appears
thaI many were actually plain. In addition 10 I""ir
fomul anny f\ags, ",.,ngs were also innliJbly accom
panied by a dr:lgon.;:mbroidered 'snake.banner'. ItS
wore senior ImperialiSl mandarins.
One 1)l'C of Taiping flag thai .hould be men_
tioned is In. huge, plain blac\; one which. ooce

o"e ofMo '..ake-runners

eapl""'"fro", 'he
Ta'plngs ""dprue"'" '0
Chari.. GQd_ by';'"
E",peror. (NDI;"""I.f"""
.If,oe"",)
!>oisled, obliged men to K>lbw it to IlK- dealh. Those
who lurned back were cut <!own by off""'rs placed in
lhe rear. Lindley obse"-ed Ihal the Im[X'1ialiSl'
rarely. if.,........tood befure a 'black flag' allack.
THE EVER-
VICTORIOUS
ARMY
The EVA "'<IS a corps of Weslerolrained and
oft""""d Chinese which foughl fC4" tlle ImperialiSl'
in II>e Shanghai are. Founded by an AnlCrican
fllibus!er, Frederick Ward, il Slarled life in mid 1M
as art international ballalion of aboIn 100 mercenar
ies. The men were mostly de""rlers, "'naway seamell
or ad\-emurers. predominamly AllIC'Iicarl and Bril
ish, loougb almost "''''Y coomry in Europe wilS
repres<.'"nled ill ils rallks. Most were dismissed in tn.
summer of 1861, but tOOse hpl Oil became oftkers of
I,XJJ Chinese soldiers thaI Ward nad ,",,"'iled ill the
"kinity of his headquarlers al SWlgkian8 by Febru
l:T"p;".w."o
1: 1''';'''"0 _".,.m"n
Jo T",p"'" n ~
A
u
\, JO'l'"riol'" on ~ o , ~ ~
1, Sm." S ~ ,"0.1
Jo Ilan." ,.., ..l')n>an in armuu,
,
c
D

I 1',.,,"'<.... ;,.....k, " I'0.0<

!' h e ~ (;",.j"o
] 1nol'"n.I,,, nwOO.no

,
1
\
;
E
F
Sbo..1>&i lMO-tl
1 F..""h .......
l: lnfon",,-. F ...c""- f ........ '" lUmp_
J:; P".._.SU I_e-p.
G
H

,
".,-,b Ch,", ll1W
i, .......... F.",,'. II"....
!: ""..,.,n,. (... ",,,,, C",hc C,,,,,,
1'", ,"", ;"d ..'",
ary 1862. Thtlr nun,be", 19d i""",_d I<l }JlOO by
alld an wm' equipped "'Ib WOS/Cm flf<'alllU.
FoDoooTli 'I:f po.nlC1pOlllOll III tho of rI"ftaI
_lOS lK Impon:allSl'l called IIl1s new IfPS lbe
au. or 1:,'Cr-VicIonoulI Army'.
Ibou@Il W<5I<...... rru>d)' "'li:rml .0 sampIy 115
'\\'a....1 FOl'tl!"
Tb< Bnl5h aw.on... In Sl\anfl:1Ia. ..........
pamul mponsibol-r ir IK EV... dunna tho.. 'J(}..
milo radlltJ' <:arrIJWgII lpIml 1/1c T:lIpmgs llw
oplns. JIRI'IidJog II ,,-.b arms. 0'QIJ1pmnI1.
unlKmns and t'lftl drill Instructors. E\'COWaIIy. fOI.
""'1I1l Wi..... dralb in actIOn In SqlC<"","" 186.2.
1110 r!'Slglla'ion of one of hIS (Edward
Fom:slCr) only a month later and lhe of tile
next (Henry llutg<vir>e) .t 1110 beginnIng of J863.
Brit.in al>o prm'ided tile EYA ",ith its comrnand<r. A
Raj'a) capl.in, John lIoliand.
orily :lfIpointed to lhe posl in J.lJll.l;UY. and then
"'l'1ad in March by Omlel; Gordon of,1Io Roy.J
EngJIlfM'S, ,,00 ".... SlJbKoqoJmUy flicbwncd
'CIuneS<" Gordon
... COll>'lhr drspall:b daled a """* :U\cr Ward's
dcOlb ..cpons.Iw.1ot Po'A lOQ/locd some S.cro .......
bul Ictk'n by l..I H...,-ch>IIB bento'ft'fl July am
Odobcr 1S62 pocnll)' ",tcr 10 uriI)' Another
010__lOt ....... lUi .. Set*..bcr lile EVA
...... dIed I JSI BoIuI"", al ......... 1.100 me.. 1111d
B.,bon of UIIodcr 'iOO. a 3ft! BInIlion of,..... 1M>
I Rlik Blnlboa of ....<Vfy I,{IOO, l''''l
"'nlilery of )00, and Hea>y "'ndln)' al ........ 600
'Ad under 4,000 "'lotaL Aller BurF' ....'s dr<lIUS6aI
(v.hoch resulted liom his assauk on I bankct' "flo had
"illlhcld tile ann)". po.y) l' lIungo<'bang agreed
"ith the lhallhe fon:< should be cut,o 3,000
men. bill it ....,.." oclU.:lily dropped belcM' l,Soo rnefI
and oftC'll <."""""-'<1
' ....ho.'n Gordon assumed romm.:lIld he 100k "'"h
IWn a Slll.1ll number of Brllsh Army olflCtlS ... hIS
!Q/f. Along ..ith hi. attef1ll'l' to ;l1Iroduee such
",kinnI. baM 011 1"lW'" and loolm,. tbls prompICd
I1'5Cnunml. ConwqumIly lbottt ..
nulJUn dunng the fIrSt h' monIM allus
wnmlIld Iht IarlIC"I . r=IIt"W I'n:m Ilos doc..... 10
lIarfiIft- IK f<lOtlM; beadquarRft 10 Qul_ In June
1S6) __IK dcpari..-eofUOO ........ :wId tho Po'A

Tk f<:lm''s IlIJmbeB ...st0ft0d 'hroug:b the
FrrJ.ri<* r ........,1
...... " ,1,....
enliltment ofT"p'ng Gordon COf15.Idc,..,j
llle TalponS' 'much bettn" men' lhan the onhnary
Clunese. aoo 1))' til<: end of 1863 tile w-g.,r part of the
EVA "'35 IMdc up of ex-relleJ. Gordon lIa<l such
coofoJc:nce in their loyalty lh.. he Olle'll f.ekled II",m
.g.in.t their 100e comrades--i",nnnl only
their enlillmcnt. lloweyer. they""'" COII<'queruly
...... tun "'3'1 desi",,*. nnd by April
1l'6l 11 " .. Jt'po<1ed lMl EV'" dnll oM OlllUl$.tllOll
......... '01 '111')' "",. ebb lnrlecd. and lut t"" f<:lm'
bc<:..ha InOf'e tnefk<:1",'" Ull5llrpnSlngy.
thon, _ ia ,"" bst Ew II>Onlhs of _S <:X$ftCe
WllK Po suffoftd most alll5 "'OISI <!dials. It ......
lin:iIIly on May IlI64 104 fCJn'l@lI oIli<ftI;
and .u:sa men ........, pi" <l[ ... hile IboIIl a third al
tho bu: _600 .....lIcry. )00 wInDy and 11 off.....
....... tnll5x-m-d 10 Iht Hua' AmJy

The EVA's inf.nt!)' ""as orp;.nlsed Imo ban.llo""
whicb mlder Gordon were more usually refer...d to
as reglmem,. At fuU Slrenglh Ward', batt.llons "'ere
Imended to comprise.bou1 IfUJ men, but only Ihe
lSi and Rille Bal13I;",,, appear to ha'" e,,,,. re""bed
this number. AI I>olh Wald', death .nd Burgevlne',
dismissal tllere ""... foor banalions, bUl under Hoi
land a,1d Gordon lbe number Incre.""d to f,ve, ..Id In
spring 1861 10 six ""akef reglme01s of nominally
500-600 bUl In elf"'" anywhere belw""n 350 and 650
men each. Gordon', regiment' coosisted of six com
panles, each comprising f"-o foreign omoers, ""'''''
Cllioe:sc NCO, and 80 enliSle<! men (tl>oogb """",I
'lL'Cdoles liom 18liI----6l n'fer 10 companies of 100
men). In .dditlon tile'" "-as ooe Chinese interpreter
per regimenl. lhougb comtn:U1ds we... gh,," exclu-
slYely in English ..Id had '0 be leann by role.
In addilioo 10 ,be Infant!)' n-glment' Ihere "as
separnle Bodyguald f<r the EVA's commander.
Under ""card tlti' con'isted emirely of Manll.men
(FiUploos). Their strength peaked al 200.300, but
hlgb casuahy rate (I>olh W.ld and Gordon ....... led
Iheir men from the front) IlOO reduced their numbers
to 50 by the time W.ld die<!. Under Holl.nd .nd
Gordon. lhe Bodyguald comprised f"-o distincl ele
ments, 'company of foreigners' consiSling of '.1
most every ,-.riely of lhe human race, from lhe
FreJlchm,n to the Negro'...Id 100 Chinamen, de
scribed .s elite of tile COlpS'.
The ,\rtiller}"
Tbe EYA's SlJpcrior Westem anillery. "'lIich coukl
punch holes tllroogb the walls of >loclades and cities
alike, was.n essential Ingredient in it' success. Ward
is saki to ha'" .ssembled f\O.-o 12 pdrs arid several 6
pdrs as e..-Iy as July 18W. and to b:m' had "'"
ba"..le, by .u'umn I861. However, in '00>1 .ctlons
he f...lded maximum of.boot dozen pie"". Only
aficr Brillsh iO\-ol\-ement in tile force iDCre"""d fol-
lowing his death did .nillery become more readily
accessible; then gun, of all shapes and sizes """'"
made ",,"ilable to Holland .nd Gordon by lhe ....
,horllie, in Shanghai.
By April 1863 lhe EVA's .nillery part comprised
f"--o S-in. howitzers, four 3J.pdrs. tbree 24.pdr how.
itzers. dozen 12.pdr howllzers. 18 12.pdr moon-
taln.howltzers, four 8 in. bras' monars. ten 4'1, in-
5'1,.in. monars, and thl or six rockel.tubes, with
250500 romld' per gun. There were six bal1enes,
four constllUllng tile Hvy Anillery .nd the remain-
ing f"--o tile Light Anillery. wllb e""b b.1tery con,ISI
"
in2;, in lheol)', of f1ye foreign ollkers, 19 Chi""""
NCOsand 120-ISOgunners,
riwr_l>o.l Ikol
MI..,. lhe anillel)', Ihe "..,.t imlX'r!am elemeot of tile
EVA "as its flOlilia of armed paddle_steamers backed
"" by Chinese guoboats, The Chung Wang
amibuted IUs dere," in the Soochow area almoSl
exclusi\... to the EVA's paddl._steamers. (lindley
wrol. that any on. of them "as 'mort effi:cIi". tllan a
greal anny;n In. fleld.) Ward l>oughl and chJnered
up to dozen, toough under Burgp'i". tlleir num_
Ix"" were reduced to six, and uDder Gordon flfSl
diminish.d to 1"0 and " ..... It><:n restored to about
six. The !/)'Mln was lhe most formidable, an iron
side-wh1 paddl._steamer 90 II long. and 14 II wido,
"ilh lhree to four_II draughl thJt aIIo"'ed b.r 10
....goIiale tile most shJllow wat.rways. Her .lma-
llL'1ll comprised a 31.pdr in In. bow and 11.pdr
OOI"itzer in the st.m, thoogh son.. of the OIher
.<learners had 00 more thao. 12.pdr bow_gun. Each
"'" 'rendered like a ,no,'al>loo fon' by In. addit;oo of
IcophoIed planking round lbe bulwa"'", desig".d to
fruslrnt. muskell)'.
The Cbi....se gunboats, flned with 9.pdr or 11_
pdr bow_g.uns, were used I"gely ... tmnslX'n, (each
being capable of carrying 40-50 m.n), but were
occasionally de10iled 10 suppon co.operaling. IIllper_
ialiS! forces.
OTHER
'DISCIPLINED
CHINESE' UNITS
..
This unil, 00sed", Ningpo in O>ekiang, began Wilh
It><: raising io mid May 1862 of a force of 100
Chi""nwn by 11>0 local Brilish llJn] ronunander,
Roderick Dew. By it tOialled LOCO men,
organised in sill companies of under Royal Ma
rine NCOs plus an artill.1)' conlingem of 5Q..IOO
men. Comm'U1d "'as transferred to the EVA in Octo_
ber, and its strength re""bed ISXl by .malgamation
with the EVA cooling.em alrc-ady in NinglX'. Par! of
this combined ,'..... sen! to Sungkiang. al Ihe end
of ]862, becoming tile EVA's 51h Regimom (ref.rred
to in Gordon's time as lbe 'Ning.po Ballalion'), but
I,OCO men remained in Chekiaog, and in March 1863
again became independent oflbe EVA as the Ch 'aMg-
art Ch,,,, or 'Enr_Secur. Am\y'. Its conun'llId.r was
an Ameri<.n, James Cooke.
The original 100 merI had worn white t",bans,
but by the time tl>ore were .lOO they were already
w.aring green, like It><: E\A All'" separation their
uoifolm "'as doscribed as dart blue with g"""n
f""ings and green lurban, repiaced by white uoi
form with blU<' facings in summer.

Corps of Ki ..
This SlnaU unil. e",,,nlU.lly comprising -100 men plus
40 off""rs provided by French army NCOs. was
raised in Shanghai inJu"" 1861. II inilially included
an millery "k...".,m Ih.1 serwd in lhe :J.O.-ntile ra_
dius' campaign ",im m" 6-pdrs. bul subsequenlly il
appe,rs 10 na,,, become emirely inf.nlly. lis flrsl
commander. Tardif de Moidrey. wem on 10 become
comm:l.Ilder of1M 'Ever_Triumph.m Army' in Janu_
"'Y 1863. alld ",as suc=d<d by Joseph Boollefoy of
Ihe French IIJVY. For mos1 ofilS exisle""" il opernled
in close c().operal;on eilher wilh French regular
foo:es or as "in",,1 ."dli"'Y ball.lion oflhe EVA in
Gordon's lime.
Army'
Jealous of Itle Sl>CCCSS of lhe British-backed E\A lhe
French eSI'blishod similar fon:e al Ni"01'" in ntid
1862. Wilh an cquaUy eXOlic mixlUre of ""Iionalili""

represenled a"",ng ils omeers, lhough lhe m.jorily

were French""'n. Loc.1 Chinese ""''''hams pro"ided
Ihe finance .lId lhc French aUlhorilies .1 Sh,nghai
suppUed insHuclors. Quickly koo"" .. Ihe Ch'ang-
chich Chun or 'Ever_Triumphalll Army" il com-
prised 1,20) men by Inc time ils firsl comm.nder.
A.E. Le Brelooll de Caligny. was kiUed in an allack
on Shows!ling in Jan""ry 1863. His replace"",nl.
Tardif de Moidrey. was killed allacki"2' the same
1""11 a monlh lat.... Under r.ul Neveuc
d'Aiguebellc. ilS nexl commat>der. the furre "as
increa-;od 10 oome 2.500 men by M.y 1863. Then lhe
provincial govemer. Tso Tsung_l.ng. orde"'-d Ihal il
be reduced 10 1,500. bUI il "'" still 'bonl I,m-
slrong in AUgu>l 18&l when ;1 paMkipaled in lhe
caplure of Hoochow.
The Enr_Triumph,m Army and the EYA "'ere
similar in many w.ys. They bolh included. 'Euro_
pe.n Company' and a bodyguard ofManil."",n: lhey
boIh used .mwd S!e.m.... (lhe ETA bad (\>u hy mid
18(4): .00 lbey bolh used Wes1em .nillel)', lhoogb
lhe ETA see"" to h",e f"'ld<d only four or f"" gun'
in mo:sI action,.
Force
\\i'l>en llle EVA lransferred ilS headquaners 10 Quin_
Sifl in June 1863. Li Hung-<:h.ng pUI Sungldang in
lhe llands ofHalUday M""anney, an eK_Brilish Anny
surgeon "00 Iud be<:n secrelary 10 Henry Burge"ine.
MacanlleY was giycn lhe rank of colonel .00 as_
signed al>oo1 l.em ImperialiSllroops Wilh orders 10
'lmn Ibem imo disciplined soldiers', b" wlUch pur_
pc<sc he look on an unkoown number of foreign
offtcers. Known as 'M.canney's fon;e'. lhis coOlin_
goon! also had a Slean..,.,., lhe KajQw(wl1il iI was slolen
by Taiping sympalhisers), along whh a sizeable ani I_
lei)" part. comprising al leaS! six 12-pdr howil,.,rs
and fi"e monars.
Force
TIU, unil, based .1 Fahwa, con,isled of Imperialisrs
lran'ferred 10 rile Brilish in JUlie 1862 fey lraining
and placed under lhe 00IlIIll:IIId of Lieulenanl
Kingsley of the 67rh Regiment It! October 1862
of ilS men SJ'" ac1ion .Iongside rhe EVA
and in Noycmber Kingsley and his men were seoll0
SWlgkiallg to join rl>e EVA for a proposed expedllion
againS! Nanking. By July I863, 001" 1,1 oo.srrollg .nd
commanded by Licll1ellanl Cardew, rhe fur<:e was III
Quinsan,.nd in lhe aulumn alleasr pan ofil accom_
panied Gordon in rile ""'-.nce towards SoocIlO"'.
Wben rhe EVA'. 3ni Regimenr, disbanded because of
miscondocl in AuguSl 1863. was reconsliluled in
Oc1ober, Kingsley's fon:e "''''' pro"ided rile men.
ANGLO-FRENCH
INVOLVEMENT
Unh.ppy wirh llle Ch'ing Gowrnmenl's refltSal 10
consider addilion.1 lrading cooces,ions 10 rhose
.greed III rhe elld oflhe Opium War. ll>e seizure of
llle crew of a ship (1M Arro>.j regisrered in Hong
Kong and llle murder of a Caloolic missionary by
Ch'ing oltki:lk "ere used by Brirain.nd france as an
excuse 10 declare " .... on ClUna in 1857. Variously
rdened to as rhe AITOW War, rhe Seoood China War
and lhe Sec<Jnd Opium ""'ar, lhis conflicllasled. wirh
lengthy inrenni..ions, unlil 1860. lIs principal ..-
Ii"'" <:arne .r lhe l>eginning and end of lhis period.
"irh lhe c""lure of Camon in December 1857 and
the """"h 00 ""king in August.Seplember 1860.
Two '11'00 on the coast,1 fo!1.'l '" T'ku _ success_
fully in 1858 .00 disa>lroo,ly in 1859 eonSliwted
mo>l of whJl ca"", be!w""n. Th. 1860 camp"ign
",'''h"ed , sizeable Ang]o.Fr.nch anny, bUl only,
LW loou",nd "",n were ;'11"01'"ed in Ihe rapid ""_
quence ofviclOries scored," Sinbo, T,ngku and th.
T'ku Fons in August, and Chilllgkiawan and
r.lial.:ao in Sepwnber.
Coofwingly, ill .xaclly the """" lime" lhey
were fighting ag.insl 11>0 Imperialisls in the Nonh.
Anglo.Freoch troops Sl,lionod .1 Sh.ngh:l.i found
thomsel'""s in alliance wilh Imperiali>l forces defelKl_
ing the dly again'l the Taipings. Umil then a sl""',y
tloe'U1rality had been obse"'ed in China's dvil war.
despite th. Brilish 1Ia"ing considered inte"'ention on
beh.1Jf of the M.nehus as early as 1&53. 11 was lhe
Toiping threat 10 tbe sizeable W.Slern conununilies
in Shanghai '00 Ningpo, .00 101M uJde Ihol lhey
represc:ntc-d, tllal fin:d!y pel'SUJded Ih. British and
Freoch 10 beron.. OCli",1y i",,,I\"ed. albeil only
wilhin 30 miles of each of lhese dlies. In pankular
the ","",,'al of the Ch,mg Wang's ad",nce on Sh,ng_
hJi prompted. number of Anglo_French opornlions
.galtlS1 T.iping forces in Ihe Ioc,UI)" be!w""n Febru-
"'Yand Nonmber 1862, noIably in the """,.Ued '30_
mHe radius' cao'P"ign of March_May which r.",lted
in the ",e'''''1)" of t.n dlies for the Imperiali>ls.
During 18ffi-61 garri""n forces in Shanghai
generaily comprised some -I.cro Brilish and
similar. bUi uSUJUy smaH.r, number of French
Iroops, largely sean..n and mari""s. Afl... 1110 second
T.iping 'l1""k, inJaml.1/)' 1862, heM....er, lhe Brilish
elemenl ""as increased dramJlie.ily, and a",raged
.bout 2,500 men until mid 1863. A subslOnti.1 "",-.1
brig.de wo;; a promi"..m f.alUn: of this forre: some
450 or mor. Brili'b and :l(X)..400 Fr.neh seamen '00
marinos look pan in most operaliotlS oflhe '3Q.mHe
r.diu,' camp"ign. aoo ll>oir overall eom""'nders
wen: also "",-.1 men - Admiral Hope tor 1110 British
and Admiral PrOle! (umil bo was killed in May 1862)
tor lhe French. Indi.n troops provided by Ihe 51h
Bombay Nat,,'e Infantl)"oo the 22nd Pwlj.bis con_
Sl;Med anolher "",jO!" ingrediem.long,ide ele--
menlS of 11>0 Brilish 3151, 671h and 99th Regimoms
and the Freneb 3m Ughl Infaml)' Banalioo
d'A!riq"e. Unlil March 1862 ooly. leY.' u n r ~ of
those .i1ied troops had ""lWily been ;n,,,h-ed in fi.ld
operal;o", .g.inSl the Ta;pings, but ,ft.r Aprillbeir
numbers were increased 10 arour.d 2,lXXl. They were
suppon.d by up to 30 guns, .nd lhe Briti'h in,-.ri

ably oulnumbered lhe fr.nch.

In all lheir engagemems in In. SlIangh.i are.lhe
:illie.'l acted in concen wilh Iffilli'rialisl foo:e,. usually
represemed by lhe herVicloriOU'S Army and occa-
sioo.llly local ),mg.ying fOn:es. In .lIied operalions in
lbe NinWO disuicl. h<M........... II was foreiJc<lH'fficcred
ClIinese unils soch as lhe E\A Roderick Dew's
Ningpo fon:e.oo lhe her.Triumpllam Army which
prmidcd Ihe bulJ; of lhe lroops. supponed by only
,"","I numbers of Brili,h and Frellch se""",n (lhough
usually lhey were equipped Wilh ..' ......1 .nillel)'
pieces). Gunboals were also occasionally employed in
boIh lheatres.
The Volum.... r Corps
In 186l----6:! II w", amici paled Ihal Ih. Wes1em com
munity in Sh.nghai could. in .n emergency. musler
SOIl.., 4-5.0ll men. aboYt halfofwl>om come
fiom regular lroop. and "",..I brigades as outlined
aboJ\.." wilh lhe b.l.mce made up flOOl the crews of
mcn:ham ships .lld lhe yolum..,rs who conSliluled
u.., Silanghai Volum..,r Corps. Thi, foo:e had fin;(
reen organised by Briti,h .nd American resirems in
April 1853. f<r ..If....,f.nce during lile di,mm.nce,
from lhe Small SwUfd upri,ing. II ",IS
disbanded following lhe defe'l of lhe rebels in 1855
but ""i,"cd in June 1861 in response lOIn. i""re.,ing
risk ofTaiping By lhell ilS membership ",IS
l"'ly Anglo-French bm wilh '. plemiful sprin\;.
ling' of Americans. Tn.", w.re ISO yolumeers by
August and 'some hundred,' by lhe .nd of 1861.
organised in companies of aboul SO "",n. They saw
aclioo only once. ag.insl unruly Imperiali'l lroops in
u.., S<Kalled 'Banle of Muddy Flal' in April 1&54. in
which 50 Briti,h and 25 American "olumeers 1001;
pan alongside an Anglo.American n.mll brigade.
How........... during lhe T.iping on SlInnghai
in bnuary 1861 lhey perfonned lhe duly of 'guard.
ing nighlly lhe inner line of defences'. Tiley were
inili.lly equipped wilh ,moOlhbore mu,kel ,nd
bayOlIe1. which were laler replaced by rifle .nd
,,,,,".
Ch<1Fl" Gordo. ill Ih< ba",,,,,.: ",her. grlY.
i'Osr"m< ofa manJ"r'n. .Jgetli. ,.N1 a black
fl"g, in ;.scrip/i"", is/X!t:!,,,p, lhe
badgr"".d probabt., Olt<! '" N<1Fing
his m<7I '" i'O.,mamk,of """'" of !Ii, ,'kro,'i<'s
E,u_I",C'/",-iOlOS .'I,m,'. fn clliJrac'et's.
0..".. .
A 30-s1rong "'''''ily lroop c,lIed lhe Sh,nghai
MO\llued Rangers "'" added in December 1861.
This p,m'ided Admirnl Hope wilh scoots during lhe
allied operalions round ShJnghai in 1862. and be
came inml,"cd in a skirmish "ilh Taiping m.rnuders
in AuguSI. Though initially mounled on horses. lhey
''''1' soon changed 10 1131iYe ponies. They were
apparently .rmed wilh sabre, .nd firearm>.
CHINESE TACTICS
Though WeSler..rs con,irered Ihe Chi ..se limid. il
would be fairrr 10 describe lhem as supremely cau-
I;OUS: they ,,",,' nOlhing merilorious in heroics or self
sacrifICe. 'They h.lYe a m.uin, lilal "rash ,nd arro
gam ""klier's musl be defe.ted": wrole John U",i> in
Ille 18JOs.. '..lid llle chi.r V;I1"" of In.ir slralegy ;s
extr.me camion and 10\." ofaafl. nOl w;lhout I.rge
,hare of perfidy .nd falsehood.' Anolher obse,,"cr

wrole lhm Chine", sokliers did 001 c"",ider lhem

"",yes 10 have 'any self.respec110 l<e, or credil to
gain', so trnl e'...., headlong lliglv broughl 00 dis-
grace, .nd as soon as lhe scare w,," ".,,,,. they were
ready to fight .gain. Neyenheless, ""'esrem oflicers
repealedly rem.1ted 00 lad: of resolution .mong
Chinese in the foeld and of lheir prefel\'"r.ce lOr
oyernwiog li>c enemy by oumbers, qu.mity of fu2;s..
size of guos .nd "olwlIe of noise. ratller trnn by
ac1i
y
ely engaging in combal.
On lhe banl<flekllhey would send out. cloud of
skirmisllers .nned with jiog.lls, swools and shields,
while lhe reSl of lhe anny ooyanred io pamllel
coluntils.. The laner would wheel ioto liDe of banle
,,'hen nearing the enemy. usually in Ihree 10 fin
Engage",enl be'".een ,he sl;eableri,"" na,'I",.
ar",ed """""" Ti-pins ~ b o a l S """,,,,",,,d lite
(lh,fl_EY,/Firdlyj, l<1Fger pan if Ihe",
""",manded b. ,/,,/;",,,,, <:r,..-edb. Ie. '01&or
LIndl",. o.d.iflO/ilia if more ",m del""'din,. ""
/",perlar", gunboalS, s",e ondequ,pPeJ n1th a
",,,,,,,,,be, /861 The bon_g.." ,"", <:mildbe
,"'o"gk ''''po<1anc, i on}.h;',gfro", a J p.Jr '" a
,he y""lP""andas .J pJ,. n-I,h, a seco.d gun
",bu,,,,,,, .teanl ,hal so",,""',, fined at lite
bolh ,ldesmolnloi.ed "ern.
individu.1 bodies arrayed creseemlike ro Ihreaten
lhe ero>my's from alld flanks simull.lneotlsly. When
O"aillble ca"alry fOfllled tile wings or lhe rese"", wid
.Millery was eitller ",",sed in lhe cenll\'" or dimib
Uled along tile enlire froor. The T.ipings placed
Iheir I'OOl\'"sr lroops - usually spearmen - in lhe from
ranks and lheir '-er"",n, .nd guard.uoir, in the rear.
probably bccnu.. lhe ImperialiS! froot rnnks usually
coosisled of matchlockmen alld arcllers. Troops 00
ooth sides maooeu"red 10 signa'" Iran,mined by
drums. gongs and flag llKI\-e"""m,.
They often opero><! fire long before the enemy
came imo range, lIoping to scare lhem off. Tllis
barrage "nlld lhen, in lheory. be followed by a
general adYallCe, cooplOO wilh.n anempt al er.circle
mem by the flank del.dunenls. In handto-hand
Combal rl>e T.iping, wen.' recogni<ied 10 ha,,, an
.dy"mage: ImperialiSls preferred 10 Sland off .nd
duel with flre.nns from a diSlaoce. Lindley 'lOled
,hal whelleyer ,i>c Taipings "",,,,,ged 10 get to close
quaners lhey were "ictorious, eveo against foreign.
off.",..,.j Imperialists such as lhe EVA. HowevC1", by
'ht 1860s 'hey ""re raldy abI< 10 close Wilh the
enemy before 'oyerwhelntillg .nil,",ry and ...gular
,
,

'"011..1" of muskelry' mowed them down. Conse

<JI."'nlly. ,.. iltler .ide usually charged head.on. pre
ferring feinls or.d .kinnishes. which is why Nude.
deleriorale<! imo sham fights in wWch
i>odl sides arefully ",'oided comacl. Anockers con
liocled by .., e...,my who Slnod finn wookl flU back.
often in order...Id relre.' by companies, firing
It'S lhey wem; lilen an exchange of muskell)' "<lUId be
,.,,,,med. A second ad',.llCe mighl foliol" bu' if lhis
100 failed ,he enlire anny mighl quil lhe fleld If 00
..y we,., made by eilh.... side. oolh wookl Wilh
IF-M'. 'each proclaiming lhe eXlennination of the
OIlier'. Defeated lroops were genernJly pursued at a
S>i: disunce. ho\o."''''r.ince in lhe early pan of ttle
Rebtllion tile Taiping.5 seve",1 limes succffded in
""wing unwary ImperialiSls into ambushes by feign.
Fog nighl.
""'hen confronted by .., ..Iry. infantoy "uukl
lOOn up in circles. Lindley Wilnessed the Ch""g
Wa"g's enlire aomy draw up in '"'' rows of Sl'wred
circles, briSlling with spears and Ilalberds. The flrSl
""'" contained muskel""rs and the second jing.lls.
aM 'Iley .'il1CCCSSfully Wilhslood the deleomined
charg<' of..,,-ern1 thollSmld Banner ca,<lIJy. The mus
keteers mainwned. continuous fire by 'running round
and round ... loading"" lhey passed 10""rds the rear
of the circle .nd firing as liley came to lhe from'.
In mOSl oonles roe side or Ihe other was usually
in an emren<lled pus;lio". from which Chinese
troops fought Wilh tr more determin.lion Ihan
w!>en in lhe open flekl. In the closing 'l'ges of ll>e
Rebellion the T.ipings in pankul", depended he,,'
ily on Iheir f1eld.worl.:s., and Ille Imperi.list. rarely
anacked 'bern """""ssfully unless suppone<! by II>e
fon-ign..,mcered contingents Wilh their P'O"'erful
Western anlilery.
THE PLATES
AI: Tail';I1/i.
Wangs ''''''lly wore y"IIoI>.' and red. Though depicled
on foo here. ll>ey ... moWlled on ltle Dallleflekl.
and their standard.l>earers. inYari.bly on fOOl. had to
run to keep up wilh them.
..
A2: TO;I';nx .'fI""m,,,,,
The greales' number of Taiping spe"'" by fur were
simply.n iron filled 10 a bamboo pole. A ShOll.
n...,.,"y sword akin lei a cUllass " ... oft"" carried ..
secondary arm. men', eilher srulkd 'h.rough IIIe
waisJ.sa5h or slung across ,I>e in. ",.Dbard.
AJ: TO;I';nx /tIu,'-",,,r
This man is armed wi'h a Brilish muskel.
n. Taipings ""wily oouined ,lIeir Wes1em fire_
am from unscrupuloll5 Shanghai 'raders ("""11y
America",) unable 10 resis' ,I>e 'fabl,lou;; sums' _ up
lei $100 for a single _ offell.>d for "''''' '-err
inf<1ior arms. Documenls S<'iu<! from ooe such
,rading_hoose in 1862 51'0""00 ,h., during len
mond.. it had suWli.d ",-er 3,(XXl rilles and
sho,gun5, 18,(0) canridges and """ four_.nd_a_h:Jlf
milUoo percussioo caps, as well .. several hundred
gun,. H",.-o,nr, ,lie arms we... generally of poor
qu.li!)". ei'l>er old and worn or badly made.
In his left hand is paimed "idel" or bamboo
"ic,ory helme,'. which. Taiping regulalions Slaled
couk! ooly be worn in banle. II is nenr men,ioned in
Weslom sources so was probably rarely used.
81: Mallch" ru,'alry'n,un
MOSI B.nroe1" .."<lIry",,,n wen: armed Wilh spear and
bow or malchlock. or ail '1IJu. The qui'-.. and
bcM-case were c.rried ei'her slWlg across lhc or
suspended liom II>e waiSi. The quiver coolained 27_
60 arrows oflllJu diflerem lYpeS. A bare sword "..,
frequet\lly "",ured under lhe saddle-flap. C.'-a1ry
ponies camo from MongoUa and Manchuria and
",,,mged 12'1r-14 hands. They were sollL'Iimes uni_
fonn in colour wilhin a unit: Iwo OOn.lions som in
1858 were mounled re5jlOCli,,,ly 00 whil0 and pie_
bald horses.
82: I",perialisr /tIa(ch!oc'-.nun
Th. Chi"ose mllchlock had ooly a soon, angled grip
like a piSlOI. aoo was frred r.:ld against Iho Cr.:Sl, lile
cheek. or l11e righl side .1 abo'" hip_heighl. It "..,
!KII '-err accumle ",cep! .1 close range (L1rgr:ly
Ihrough in"'fticiem pmctico) aoo lhe s"",11 bulle1s it
nred _moslly cyUoorical slugs ralher lhan spherical
balk. ltled up to si.' or ten at a lime _ had lillie
peDe1ral".-e power. Powdo-r "'Os carried eililer in a
lacquered wcodo-n flask or os prepared charges in lhe
form of paper c.nridges or small bamboo com.ioers
Ih.. wen.' omplied down lhe barrel. No wadding "as
used. oor "as lhe rammer, bullo.. wore stm bome by
striking lhoe bUll oflhe piece against the ground.
83: Mongol cocolr),"on
Mongol c',,"'ally frequently during
eme'll"""ies, e:wedally lhose of Ihe Chahar tribe,
which could r,,--ld .. 8,())) men, (In lheory lhe
Mongols could mu>! .. a quaner of a million <:'1'I'oIry,
buI in pranke, only Ie:sl; lhan alent hOflhis number,)
0'll"n;",lion was in kmhu" or '5landards', m,,",,,, up
ofabool IOn IY>-ling, each ofnomin'dly JO(I nl<'n bUI
",u,dly un<lerslrenglh, Like lhe Chines.e, Mongols
"",,"'ed the frolll of lhe head and WOfe lheir hair in a
OUler c10llICS were chiclly of lanned lealher
and shee{><kin, worn 0"" b.'l&lY trousers alld a
<:oIlon kaftan Ihal was usually bllle, Armamenl ron-
sUed ofa long sp<:.1f, bcw, matchlock mid sword
CJ: in ...illl.,. dr",s
To cope wilh cold wealher Iht Chinese wore up 10 a
roals one another, The OU1crmosl would
prelerabl)- be of shee{><kin or fill, A pair of quilled
lcj;gings was pull<:d ou lhe trou>crs alld """ured
10 lhe girdle by loops. Sueh mulliple layers would
occasionally Slop e'''en a rifle bulle!,
0: Small S...."." rebel
The Small Sword Society ""ized Shanghai in Sep-
Itmbcr I&5J alld held il uluil Febru.lry 1&55 (when
French lmops assi:slcd lhe in its r.cap-
lure), They ll<w Taiping as w.1I as nags bur
00 mililary assi5lance from lhe former,
whooe sphere of influence did not bj- lhen e."end cas!
of Nanking.. The majority "'<Jre red ruroans ruld
abandoned lhe piglail, wearing lheir long hair 'galh-
.red up into a knot on lhe crown', John Scanh
rocords lhal lheir dress be1myed Wrsl.m influence,
wlh pocke1s, pe..'es alld lealher bells; ><>me even
wore English shoes and socks, Many had Weslern
fir.mms, including Min;" rifles mid ColI ",,'OO-'e...
CJ: Bon",.,. ca"alr)'",un in orlllOMr
Armourwas Slill worn I>i some Bannermen "'Id mOSl
offICers, more as a insignia Ihan a foml of
dele""", II consisled of <!e<:oF.llively embroidered
quilled OOIlon (silk kJr OffICers), reinforced wilh iron
or b""" studs, It was called ring kia or 'armour wilh
nails', and occasionally still incorpormed a lining of
small melal phI.... Among Banner c",'all)'n",n lhe
Frenehntl!n oflhe En!r- Tri",,,plwnl Ann}', ''WG,',d
from" ",,"'emporn,,' phorograp/r,
colo'" of lhe quiked fabric was uniform wilhin a
unil, Helm"'s were ofSleel or "'alher, olk-n painted
or Olhe""';'" decomled, wilh a L"IlI plume lube lhal
""""Ity bore a tun of red hors.ehair or a "'nail red illS-
E"cr_\'kluriousArm,'
OJ: &rt,eom_Mojor of the Bodj'l!Pord
Though se'-'eml contemporary ph<>lographs <:xis!, {he
only full <le.scripl;on of EVA uniform colours comcs
from Ihe North eM"" Jleraid of lJ January I&6J,
which us lhal lhe Bodyguard "'<Jre blue wilh
"'ariel facings, and green shoulder Slraps bearing
lheir designalion in Chine"" characlers', The entire
am>y ""'" green whi<"h earnt lhem one of
lheir !W'o Chinese nickll.1mcs, 'green-headed b","es',
(The <>Iher, 'imilalion foreign devil", alluded 10 Iheir
Weslern-Slyle uniforms,) The EVA:< bo,- Chinese
company commanders promoled from among
ii' ""'ll'"ant-majors.
"
,
2: 'Chillese' GOrdOll
The dress of EVA OftkelS"."" "arie<!. Cen.inly "
unifonn exisle<! by April 1861. perhJps lhoe same bluo
jackel. lrousers .00 cap", comprised lhe unifonn of
lhe force while il W&'S Slill entirely composed of
foreigners. Howe,,,r. one sioologisl. H.B. Morse.
'\'I'OIe earUer this century lMl off"""" wore green
unifonns wilh bl:lck braid round lhe cuffs. PhOlo-
graphs show jacke1S similar 10 a Brilish Anny palrol.
jack'" or frock-cOOI. Am"rican officers in panicular.
home...... appear 10 1\",," remained un.uniformed.
we..iIlg 'bucc.neerillg. brigand.like dress . . .
slriped.Imed and booted Ui<e l!>eatrical oondini'.
Wil/d "ore 00 unifonn; inslead he usually wen:
eilller a dark blue English frock-coal and sOOn
cape. or loose. blue serge lunic. Gordon wore I\is
0\\11 RE uooress uniform.
%
/I'

DJ: III/am",,,,,,,,_ ,UIII"'" m'/flIT/1I
The wimer uniform of (he Inf.ntry "'" dart. green.
";lh scark1 r>clogs. and shoold<-r_slrap. In.t were a
diff.",nl coloor br .>en regiment .1Id 'slamped'
wilh Ill<: regiment', number in Chinese and English.
In (he summer Inf.n!!y. AMineI)' and Bodyguard
al"'. change<! into '. comple1. ",nn. uniform wilh
red facings. precisely similar 10 lhe kahkee dre.. wom
by Brilish lmops in India'. The blankeHoli. worn.U
year round. is de.....-ibed in 1861 as coming ill '.11
m.ru><1" of brighl colours'. His weapon is smOOlh-
bore I"'",ussion muske!. Only Ibe 4th or Rjfle Regi.
ment ""as equipped wilh rifles eilher Enflekls or
Dreyse ndle.guns.
D1: Al1ll1n,.,,,,,o
The Anille1y', wimer unHorm WilS lighl blue, "'lh
c,rteI ,oouldo-r_slrap. and rocings and broad scar
k:1 snipe down lhc lrooser.leg. Though some EVA
sokli<1's wore Weslern boals, .nillerymen, wiloom
excepl;on. wore Dlmese slippers and Slockings.
-
Rig"': n", in/c,,.,,, of 1M
,\'0..,10 F'Qf1at ToO. orr,.,
cap'uu. } I IS6(J,
from on< of
famoo
L J p/lo'ogmplos.
aJllIed ""jth 1"'r<:U>sion n1uskelS, btll lew tI:ld En_
field rifle5.
,------,----,-=-=--------,--------------l Diagram,"" lie
",,,rue",,,h,,,, ;!.Q
Omcufo,,<>j,iocJo,'
'!oallP""Jcd ,he Pcih" aJ
rot"_ from Esca}mc de
Memo"". sur La
Ch"",
EI: Prim". f'orre
Tbi. figure is froo, ske1ch by Lamprey. who de
serires lheir uniforn, as reing of bl ... serge. w",n
wilh luroon lh,l could re block. red or ligbt blue.
Lindley lells U<; lha! Illey hod llle numrer '6T on
lhoeir shoulder.Slr""s - lhe regimenl 10 which lh<:ir
Brilish Oftloers belonged. MOSI of lhe fon::e """

3: Imp"ialist ",a",Jar;"
Tbe IiI':"'" on his embroidered cbeSi panel aoo 1!>e
blue bunon on h;,; llal indicate lballhis is a foonh-
gtade mililary mandarin. OffICers of lhis seniorily
were rarely found anywhere ""ar lhe oonlefield.
(""'eSiemers noIe<! IlIal lhe more exalled Illeir milk
lbe faSlor lhey r",ired 10 lhe rear; ooly lhe moSI
junior "ere normally fouoo in lhe firing line.)
1'1: '8rt"""
This figure, from .00111...,. Lamprey skelch, depict.';
lho' ch.rocleriSlic appeam,,,,,, of such irregul.1'S, lypi.
fied by lho' large lUlban a,id lile gait.r.d or bandaged
shins and bare h-1.
1'2:
This ;s .n infall1ryman of lho' Huai Army's )"Q"g-
ch';mrlt wi or 'foreign arms plaloons'. lrained and
occasioo.Uy h:d by foreign oflkers. Unlike mosl
T.ipinV. such [ml"'ri.liSl unils adopl.d lb. b.yonel
along Wilh lheir WOSlern flre'nTIs, c.rrying il fixod
10 lhe musk'" .1 all lim.. since lhey possessed 00
=""""'.
1'3: ""knf';
The 'Nien bandils'. rebels Jeli", m:l.inly in Sh.n
lung, Hon.n. Anhw.i .od K;angsu provinces, ro-
opernled wilh 1M T.ipings ill1erminell1ly Iron 1&53:
some of lhclr Ie.ders ''':re "'''0 appoill1ed lmngs.
Their Slrenglh by in tho siz.e.b1e ""'alry th.l lhey
coold field by tho' 1:l1e 185Qs (lOl.lIing OIl avel"Jge
20.(0) men .ft.... 18(0). mainly .rmed ";lh swords
.nd long bamboo laoces, Ihough """" had fireanns.
Infamry were also Jrme<! predominanlly Wilh long
spe'r>, bm Ibey.1so carriod SWOlds .tId jing.lk.00
I\Jd bolh f.. kJ..guns and he"",)' millery. 10;li.11y '""""
Nien "ore uniforms (reponed in 1&SI10 hJ,,, benl
copied in ooloor .nd Slyle from llle Taipings), bUl
lhese were io m;oorily. All wore tlleir hair long.
=-ered wilb red or )"Ilow lurban. ChiolS wore
brown or red jJCk"'s.
Sh"uehai Ill6O-62
G/: I'unch
Seamen and mJrines provided the buik of 11>0 Fr.noch
lroops wOO lOOk pan in lhe 'J.O..mlle radius' cam-
paign of spring 1862. They .1>0 panicipaled in oper
'lions ag.insl the Imperialisls in 1857.60, noIOOly
lhe eaplure ofC.nlon.
G2: 'roncoChines, ''<In:, <if

We kJIo,.' wilb cerlJimy only lh'! Ihis unil wore
lumans sniped in blue. wbile and red (JS did lhe
EYer.Triumpham Army). lhoogh il is clear from lb

only koo"'o picture thai tbeir jackelS "'ere ",hile.

ne <>lller colours .re hypol!>etic.l. a1beillikely.
GJ: Prb,,"" Shunghul Corp,-
Volumeers were responsible for providing their 0\0011
uniform, which appears 10 have comprised. red shin
.nd ",Wte lrousers in summe.,". a skined red jacket
.nd black lrousers "'ilh red mipe in "imer, and
black trilby ",ilh cockfealher plume. Hc"'.......r, pho.
logrnphs 1J.ken in tbe 1870s indicale Ihal ele"",ms of
summer and "'im.... unifonns ",ere often "om 10
,.....
Norll' 1860
11/: l'une', 1/"",-,
Fane's Ho ",as ooe ofm" Sikh ca"alry regi"",ms
th':l1 d in this campaign. The oll>er was
Probyu's, "-hose unitorm comprised a dart. bl"".grey
tunic, red cummerbund, slale.;;oloored Imoon .nd
wlUte bre<:cl>es. BOlh regimenlS were .rmed "ith
piSlOls, carnine, lance and ml",.r.
Fm.ch ""''''KOf> Ihe
br;,lge,,' P"U,u,,,,,. 2/
September /86<1.
1/2: S,''7;'"'''' Cunr"" Coolie Corp,
The Camon or Chinese Coolie Corps "'Os raised in
1857. Son... 2,500 served in Nonh China, carrying
their loads slung liom pole belweeo t"" men.
Those woo coold spe.k a lillie EngUsh were made
NCO.. A slighlly differenl lIIliform ",.. worn in
1857.59, with 'Military Train' on the h.l .nd lhe
unit delails 00 diagonal "'rule sash mlber Ihao
patches on lhe bre,sl .nd back.
1/3: Pri,,,',,, 2nd (Queen's lIuyul) lIegi",e'"
This ligure is ba5fd on tl>e drawings of lUI.
erealock. Th. Chinese are said to 11:1,.. nicknamed
British iof.mrymen 'H.,S' in ref.re""", to tbeir dis
tinct;v. while .irpipe Similar helmc1s " ..re
""m by some FretlCh lroops during lhis campaigo,
and Illere exists a picture of 111<" all.ck 00 the Taku
Fons s!>ow;ng tbem being "om by French guoners.
lI..commc.Md
W.l. Bales T'ro Ts""gr'aMg (1937); Lin<ksay Brine,
nu, T"'-'Pj"g R,belU". ;n C"ina (I &62): Holgor Cahill,
A AdrenlPlrer (19JO); PrescOll Clarte and l.S.
Grogory, Wesler. R'porlS Of> Ih, Taip;ng (19&1): C.A.
Cu","'en, Taiping Rebel (1977); WiUiam Hail. Tseng
Ku<>-fim 'md rhe Toiping II:rll<';;;on (1927): A. Egmont
Hake. E,;>ms in Ihe Tneping lI:ebelUmr (1891); ktl
Yu_wen. 171e Tniping lI:emllltionary Moremrm,
(197J): Augustus F, lindley, Ti-Ping Tien KOI'oh
(1886): Thomas Meadows. 171<' Chinese and rheir
lI:ebdUons (1856): Richard J, Smilh.Mercena'ies and
Mnnda'ins (1978) and 'Chi""", MmIJry Institutions
Dra....."l by s<:<>"h if5m<J/i s.,wd rebels a' S/Ia"ghai.
Is5J-5.
in troe Mid_Nineleenlh CenlUlY', Jomnai of Askm
!fjsrory. ml VII l. (1974): SIJnley Spenor, Li Jlllng-
chang and tire flllai Anny (1964); T.F. Wode, 'The
Anny orthe Chinese Empire', The Chinese Reposi-
lOry. ,'01 XX (1&51): Andrew Wilson. The 'Erer_
Victorious Army' (1868).
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