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Brief: This article covers China’s early modernization drive. After suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, Prince Gong and officials like Li Hongzhang launched the Self‑Strengthening Movement to adopt Western industry and military technology. It built arsenals, shipyards, and new schools. Meanwhile, court politics continued: the Tongzhi Emperor died young, and Cixi installed the puppet Guangxu Emperor…
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Brief: This article tells the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Hong Xiuquan, inspired by Christian ideas, launched a massive peasant rebellion against the Qing in 1851. His forces captured Nanjing as their capital. However, a brutal power struggle – the Tianjing Incident – split the movement, leading to its collapse. It…