Chapter 12 Section 2 Worshiping God and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
When Protestantism was introduced into China, it became one of the tools of Western capitalism to invade China. It was used to anesthetize the spirit of the Chinese people and cover up the purpose of carve-up and plunder.However, the impact of its introduced teachings and western thoughts on the traditional culture of Chinese feudal society has awakened the people who have been in a state of ignorance for a long time.Hong Xiuquan and others took Christian teachings as the basis for anti-feudal thinking, established a special form of Christian organization Worship God, and launched the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising, which is a manifestation of the Chinese people's awakening from anesthesia.
Hong Xiuquan is a native of Huaxian County, Guangdong Province. He studied Confucianism since he was a child, and was keen on his career in imperial examinations. In 1836, he went to Guangzhou to take the exam and failed. A missionary gave him a copy of Liang Fa's "Good Words to Encourage the World". In 1837, he went to the examination again and failed. Due to extreme frustration, he became ill with grief and indignation, and returned to his hometown to lie ill for more than 40 days. In 1843, he failed the third examination. In the midst of confusion and depression, his cousin Li Jingfang reread "Good Words to Advise the World", thinking that "the content is extremely different from ordinary Chinese scriptures".Hong Xiuquan "repeatedly and carefully examined" the book, "like awakening from a dream", because it was very consistent with the strange dream seven years ago, "felt that he had obtained the true way to heaven and the hope of eternal happiness, and was very happy."According to the book, he and his cousin poured water on the top and baptized themselves.Afterwards, Feng Yunshan, Hong Rengan (gan Gan) and others "concentrated and carefully read" "Good Words to Advise the World", learned from them, and decided to abandon the idea of imperial examinations to become an official, and "preached to the world the evil of idolatry and the essentials of worshiping the true God" ".Soon, he abandoned the Confucius tablet, closed the school, and went to other counties and Guangxi with Feng Yunshan in April 1844 to promote the teachings of worshiping God.At the same time, self-compiled "Baizheng Song", "Original Dao Salvation Song", "Original Dao Awakening the World Training" and later "Yuan Dao Jue Shi Xun" were distributed. political revolution. In the spring of 1847, Hong Xiuquan was introduced by Zhou Daoxing, a believer in the Han Society, and went to Guangzhou with Hong Rengan to learn Christian doctrine from Luo Xiaoquan, a Baptist pastor, and studied the Old Testament and New Testament translated by Guo Shili, as well as Luo Xiaoquan’s compilation and annotation. Ecclesiastes.Three months later, he asked for baptism, but failed due to the repulsion of Luo Xiaoquan's two assistants surnamed Huang. In July, Hong Xiuquan went to Zijing Mountain in Guangxi to join Feng Yunshan.At that time, there were thousands of believers, and its influence was growing day by day. It was known as the "God Worship Association".The two jointly formulated religious ceremonies and the "Ten Articles of Heaven", and went out to destroy idols and criticize evil gods and demons.Although the religious propaganda of the God Worship Association did not directly call for the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, nor did it point out the real reason why the people suffered, but it pointed out that the original Shinto idols in China were "old snake demon ghosts" and "Yan Luo demons", which were the source of disasters. Yuan; believes that only by believing in and worshiping the "Emperor God" and obeying the rules of heaven and not worshiping evil gods can "the world be one family and share peace" and change the "world of fighting and killing" into "a world of fairness and integrity".In the process of development, the Worship of God continued to conflict with feudal forces such as Tuanlian, and gradually evolved from a religious organization to a political and military organization. Finally, in 1851, an uprising broke out and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution broke out.
The uprising was organized and launched by the Worshipers of God, which originated from Christianity.Feng Yunshan, the founder of the Worship of God Association, is said to have visited Pastor Guo Shili in 1848 and was baptized in his name.The Hanhui also reported on September 27, 1853 that Feng Yunshan had contacted members of the Guangxi Hanhui three years ago, and later became a member of the Hanhui, and had been taught by Pastor Guo Shili.Guo Shili was an early Christian missionary who came to China, and was deeply influenced by his theological thoughts and missionary methods.The faith of the Moravian Brethren is Christ-centered, but God and Christ are one and the same.The liturgy is simple, only baptism, singing, reading and praying.It advocates eliminating hierarchical privileges, emphasizing equality for all, calling each other brothers and sisters among believers, and advocating public ownership of property.Believers are divided into groups based on gender and marriage, and the group leader is responsible for discipline and spiritual practice to ensure a rigorous life.Every believer is free to preach. Since there are no definite doctrinal standards and articles of faith, preaching is done according to one's own wishes and is not restricted by evangelistic meetings.Since the Hanhui's missionary activities had already entered the Guangxi area, it was only natural that its members entered the God Worship Association and exerted influence.Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Hong Rengan and others were all related to those missionaries, so the belief system of the Worshiping God Association has an undeniable relationship with the Hanhui.However, in their revolutionary activities, they incorporated their own social and political ideals and traditional Chinese ideas, making them very different from Christianity in many ways.This "heresy" tendency became more and more obvious with the development of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement.
Worshiping God will worship the "Emperor God" who is "the father of the common people in the world", and says "the emperor who is as big as he is, is above all powers, and is the emperor who rules the world, people, and everything."Emperor God is omnipotent and supreme, the only true God; Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Lord who redeems the world. At the same time, he opposes the worship of evil gods other than God and idols of various gods (even including the Catholic Virgin Mary).But in Christian doctrine, Jesus is the only begotten son of God and the Lord who redeems the world, while the Worship of God claims that Hong Xiuquan is the second son of God.In the early days, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui claimed many times that the Heavenly Father (God) and Heavenly Brother (Jesus) possessed their bodies to deliver decrees in order to stabilize the situation.Hong Xiuquan later affirmed the content of these edicts and listed them as teachings.Yang, Xiao and others were also called the sons and sons-in-law of the Heavenly Father.In the later period, Hong Xiuquan, in addition to mentioning Tianmu and Tiansao, also claimed that Tianxiong had no children, and adopted his son Hong Tianguifu to Jesus as his heir.In this way, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity of the Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit (Holy Spirit) has become the "God Family" of "grandparents, my children" in the worship of God.
Hong Xiuquan also drew on the double meaning of the kingdom of heaven in "Good Words to Advise the World", but it is not defined as heaven and the church, but divided into the big heaven in the sky and the small heaven on earth.Little Paradise does not refer to the church, because the Worship of God does not have the concept and organization of the church.They have no priest system, no specific chapel, and all religious life is presided over by leaders at all levels.Later, although Hong Rengan suggested that the post of "priest teaching officer" be set up, he was only a full-time official in charge of religious affairs in the state system where theocracy was integrated.Hong Xiuquan said: "The great heaven in the sky is a paradise where the soul returns to God to enjoy blessings, and the small heaven on earth is a paradise where the body returns to God's glory." Commentary on the Holy Book of the Last Edict") This small paradise of physical glory was later called "the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Heavenly Father, Brother, Heavenly King".In the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan made use of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation about the coming of the doomsday kingdom of heaven, saying that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is the "new heaven and new earth" descending from heaven, and Tianjing is the new Jerusalem.
Hong Xiuquan learned from "Good Words to Advise the World" that "God should be worshipped, everyone is the same", "All the people in the world are brothers, and God regards them as children", but he did not accept humility, self-abased, content with fate, and obedience to the government. Wait for the preaching.Worshiping God will expand the concept of religious equality to the political and economic system, and extend spiritual equality to the life of the world, put forward the idea of equality of men and women, equality of all people, and equality of nations, and call on brothers and sisters in the world to "jump out of the demons." The gate of ghosts, follow the true way of God, respect the majesty of the sky at all times, and obey the commandments of heaven, be with each other to be kind to the world, be with yourself and others, be with each other as a pillar of the mainstream, be with each other to turn back the fallen tide, and see through actions The world is one family, sharing peace", and realizes the ideal society of "compassionate with those who are in need, rescue each other in adversity, never close the door at night, do not pick up lost things on the road, separate men and women, and be virtuous through elections".
The Worship of God adopted the Christian concept of the devil and regarded the devil as a representative of evil. The snake demons and ghost winds mentioned in "Exhorting the World Good Words" refer to "evil spirits" and "evil spirits" that do not have a body, that is, pagan evil gods in the spiritual world. Enemies are covered.In addition to calling Yan Luo demon, East China Sea dragon demon, and old snake devils, Hong Xiuquan also proposed that "earth, wood, stone, gold, paper, and tile statues, dead demons should be killed, and cults, pink, tobacco, wine, theater, Divination, divination, wishing, life, phase, Buddha, prostitute, You, nun, witch, adultery, gambling, and giving birth to demons are nineteen items".In the proclamation, under the name of "Fengtian Zhuyao", it directly refers to the Qing emperor and officers and soldiers as "Demon Tartar" and "Demon Hu".Hong Xiuquan declared: "My Lord (God) has decreed to kill the evil and keep the righteous. Killing the demon and killing the guilty is unavoidable." He also declared that "too much patience or humility is not applicable to the present, Gai will not be able to control the evil world", thus combining the political goals of killing demons and saving the world.
Treating the Bible and worshiping God are very different from Christianity because they place more emphasis on the present than on the afterlife.Although Hong Xiuquan respected the "Bible" very much, calling it the "Book of Heaven" and "The Last Edict", he often commented on it according to his own ideas.When he thought that some scriptures were not suitable for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he would refute them by citing other scriptures, and sometimes simply declared that "I know that the New Testament has wrong records".The God Worshipers believe that the edicts of the kings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are also an integral part of the Bible, on the same level as the New Testament and the Old Testament.The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom declared: "There are three books of the true way today, and there is no other, "Old Legacy Holy Book" ("Old Testament"), "New Legacy Holy Book" ("New Testament"), "True Destiny Edict" (the imperial edict issued by Hong Xiuquan) ) also." In the later period, in the "Regulations on the Order of Imperial Scholars", the "Xin Yizhao Holy Book" was changed to "The Former Yizhao Holy Book", also known as the "Former Testament"; Imperial Edict", also known as "True Covenant".In this way, the Christian "Bible" composed of the "New Testament" and the "Old Testament" was expanded into a God-worshiping "Bible" composed of three parts: the "Old Testament", "Former Testament" and the "True Testament". .
The religious etiquette of the Worship of God Association is mostly self-created without teachers, so it is a mixture of Chinese and Western forms.When the baptism is held, two lamps and three cups of tea are placed on the altar at one end of the hall.Men and women sit on the left and right sides, sing hymns together at the beginning, and the officiant preaches.When praying, all the people kneel down toward the place where the sun enters, and one person prays for the crowd.Newly converted believers should write a "Repentance Memorandum" with their own name on it, read it aloud by themselves when saluting, and burn it after reading.The officiant asks the baptist: "Will you not worship evil gods? Do you not do evil things? Do you abide by the rules of heaven?" The baptist kneels down after repenting and making a vow. On the top of the baptized person's head, read at the same time: "Wash away the sins, get rid of the old and start the new." Then the baptized person stands up, drinks a cup of clear tea, and then washes his chest with clear water in the basin, which means cleansing his heart.Believers also often go to the river for immersion, while praying for forgiveness of sins.Those who have been baptized can receive various prayers and recite them during morning and evening worship and meals.In addition, there are prayers for marriage, funeral, ground breaking, etc., which are recited during the ceremony. The ceremony is similar to the old custom of worshiping ancestors and gods in China.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Worship of God, they did not know that there was a sacrament ceremony. Although there was a similar ceremony in the later period, it was still very simple, and they usually drank a little wine on the fourth Sunday of each month.Every Sunday (due to an error in calendar calculation, it is actually Saturday in the Gregorian calendar) during the worship service, they sing hymns, read the Bible, and preach.The sermons were written down and burned on the spot after the sermons were finished.Finally, incense is burned and firecrackers are set off.
The Worship of God Association also knew nothing about traditional Christian festivals.Hong Xiuquan issued an imperial edict in 1859, stipulating that the 13th day of the first lunar month is the "Taixiong Ascension Day" (the day Jesus ascended to heaven), the second day of February is the "Baoye Day" (the day of gratitude to God), and the 21st day of February is the "Day of Gratitude to God". The third day of March is the "God's Descending Festival" (Yang Xiuqing claims to be possessed by God to pass the decree), July 27th is the "Eastern King's Ascension Day" (the day Yang Xiuqing was killed), and the ninth day of September is " Brother's Fall Festival" (Xiao Chaogui claimed that Jesus possessed a body to pass the decree).Although there were activities to celebrate Jesus' Christmas in the later period, they were only worship and feasts, without traditional Christian etiquette, and not all believers celebrated Christmas.
In terms of religious precepts, Hong Xiuquan changed the Ten Commandments of Moses into "Ten Rules of Heaven", that is, first, worship the Emperor God; second, do not worship evil gods; third, do not misuse the name of the Emperor God; God; 5. Be filial to your parents; 6. Don’t kill others; 7. Don’t commit adultery; 8. Don’t steal or rob; 9. Don’t tell lies; 10. Don’t be greedy.There are four seven-syllable rhymes attached to each article. For example, the first article reads: "The God of the Emperor is the true God. He worships himself day and night and exalts himself. The ten articles of heaven must be obeyed, and ghosts should not be confused about the truth." The hymns sung in Christianity are almost the same, which are easy for believers to memorize.After the Jintian Uprising, Tiantiao became the military law of the early Taiping Army.Later, it developed into more complete "Five Disciplinary Edicts", "Rules for Camps", "Ten Essentials for Camp Regulations", "General Essentials for Marching", etc.For example, the first article of "Ten Essentials of Dingying Regulations" is "observe the destiny of heaven", and the second article is "familiar with the rules of heaven, praise, morning and evening worship, thanks for the rules and edicts issued", full of religious meaning everywhere. consciousness.The Taiping Army not only strictly followed the religious etiquette under the difficult conditions of the war, but also attached great importance to the preaching of "natural feelings and principles", so that soldiers "only know that there are heavenly fathers and brothers, and are not afraid of demons". , Unite as one, so become a heroic and combative army.
Although the Worship of God is quite different from traditional Christianity in many ways, it was born out of Christianity after all, and is directly related to the missionary activities of early missionaries.Therefore, after the outbreak of the Taiping Revolution, some Western missionaries believed that it was an excellent opportunity to solve the problem of missionary work in China. "If the revolution succeeds, the foreseeable benefit for us is to open the sea ban to facilitate missionary business." Although the British and American authorities at that time did not allow missionary work. Although some scholars openly contacted the Taiping Army, some people still sympathized with the God Worship Society and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the press and in speech.Yan Matai, an American missionary at the Old North Gate Baptist Church in Shanghai, even hosted Feng Yunshan’s nephew and nephew who were passing through Shanghai in disguise, claiming to help them sneak to Tianjing on a US warship (the two were left behind before leaving, and were eventually purged. army killed).Hong Rengan was the earliest believer in the Worship of God Society.After the Jintian Uprising, he failed to join the brigade in time, and was wanted by the Qing Dynasty and fled everywhere. In April 1852, he was taken to Hong Kong by Hong Yaxin, where he was taken in by pastor Han Shanwen to learn Christian teachings. At the end of 1853, Han Shanwen baptized him, and then he taught in Hong Kong for a living. In the spring of 1854, he took a ship to Shanghai and planned to serve in Tianjing.Before the trip, Han Shanwen presented a variety of books.Due to the obstruction of the Qing army, he had to stay in Shanghai, and worked in the Mohai Academy of the London Missionary Society, and had close contacts with missionaries such as Medus, Eyose, and Mulvillian. In the winter of 1854, he returned to Hong Kong and was hired by the London Missionary Society as a missionary and assistant to Pastor Legacy. In 1858, the London Evangelistic Society funded Hong Rengan to go to Tianjing again, and was jointly congratulated by British missionaries in Shanghai before his departure.When Hong Rengan became queen, the missionaries were deeply encouraged, thinking that he would "try to instruct and advise Hong Xiuquan with orthodox Christianity, and correct Hong Xiuquan's wrong religious views."Therefore, after August 1860, more than 10 foreign missionaries successively visited Suzhou and Tianjing.
At this time, the British and American authorities no longer prohibited their missionaries from entering the areas controlled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but instead used them to learn about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's religious and commercial policies.The foreign missionaries themselves also said, "Never gave the Taiping Army a sliver of help or a word of encouragement in the event of the rebellion. The missionaries were there to collect some information, teach them to understand the truth more fully, or encourage them. They renounce erroneous views, and unchristian customs."For doctrinal differences, Hong Xiuquan did not accommodate foreign missionaries. In March 1861, the British missionary Eyose, who visited Tianjing, wrote an article "God's Visibility is a Metaphor, Invisibility is Reality".Afterwards, Eyose said, "When the Anglo-American missionaries gave him advice and asked him to revise the ideas he had promulgated, he always simply said, let go of the previous church's customary constraints. No matter how he was explained to him on any matter, he Always refute it with a friendly face, but firmly." He also said that the officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had "discovered that their own views were very different from those of Anglo-American Christians".
However, Hong Xiuquan and others did not understand these differences in essence, and only regarded them as differences in religious or policy opinions with missionaries and the British and American authorities. After the signing of the "Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin" in 1858, the British envoy Elgin prepared for the opening of the trading ports along the Yangtze River. Reunion", and it was rumored that Luo Xiaoquan was invited to meet.Under the instruction of the American minister, Luo Xiaoquan went to Suzhou to meet Li Xiucheng on September 22, 1860, and was highly regarded for assisting Li Xiucheng in handling foreign affairs. On November 13, Luo Xiaoquan was escorted into Tianjing, received courteous reception, and was granted the title of "Yijue". He appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs to assist Qian Wang to manage foreign affairs and live in Qian Wang's mansion. In January 1862, on the eve of Britain and France's open armed intervention in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he secretly fled to Shanghai on the 20th on the British ship Renard under the pretext of a conflict between his servants and King Qian.A month later, the newspapers disclosed his report to the US minister, indicating that he knew that an armed attack by foreign troops was imminent and was notified and left.However, when he learned that foreign troops were preparing to assist the Qing army in defending Shanghai, Li Xiucheng also wrote to the ministers of Britain, France, and the United States, hoping to "reciprocate with sincerity" with them.However, although the Taiping Army kept its promise not to attack Shanghai, the foreign brothers who "worship God together" assisted the Qing Army to attack the Taiping Army without faith.The missionaries also sided with the invaders and the Qing army one after another, and participated in suppressing the criminal activities of the Taiping Army.Before he died, Hong Rengan said sadly: "The source of my dynasty's disaster is the foreigner helping the demon!" The hypocrisy of Western missionaries "persuading people to do good" was gradually recognized by the Chinese people, and what followed was The anti-foreign religious struggle shook the universe.
Notes:
Notes: