Asian Millenarianism: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Taiping a ...

in his missionary activities in his hometown, Guangdong, whereas Feng Yunshan achieved considerable success in Guangxi, where many Hakkas lived in critical poverty, starvation, discrimination, oppression, and calamities, which were believed to be signs of the apocalypse. Feng Yunshan was later able to use what he learned in this setting to help Hong Xiuquan raise his dignity as the leader of God-worship Society in Guangxi. It is, therefore, important to appreciate the complexities of the social background when studying the Taiping movement.

Without comprehensive understanding of the political, social, economic, cultural, ideological, and religious aspects of the traditional Qing Dynasty's policy, including that of the Ming (1368–1644), it will also be difficult to understand the Taiping movement and why it appeared.

There are no significant studies either of the Taiping in relation to millenarianism, or of the circumstances and ideas which motivated the Taipings to join the millenarian movement. All scholarship on the Taiping has ignored the ancient Korean millenarian influence on the Chinese classics such as Confucianism and Taoism, which influenced Hong Xiuquan and the Taipings. To form a more comprehensive view of this complex area, it is imperative that the Korean influence on the Chinese classics, which in turn influenced the Taiping, is explored in more depth.

The Tonghak Millenarian Rebellion occurred in Korea in the 1890s. During the 19th century, the country, which was known as Asia's Hermit Kingdom and Country of Morning Calm, felt the full force of a Western-influenced revolution in values, and for a time the survival of the state itself was in doubt. Coupled with this, in the latter part of that century and the early part of the 20th century, internal socioeconomic unrest in Korea led to a slow erosion of the foundations of the Yi Dynasty, Korea's last Confucian-based royal court. It was in this context that the Tonghak movement, one of whose slogans was “preserve the country and secure peace for the people,” developed. The Tonghak movement emerged in reaction to many complex social problems common to the late Yi Dynasty in Korea. In one sense, it was an Eastern response to the influence of Catholicism. It was also inspired in response to a perceived decline