For two days in mid-October, ash fell like snow atop Beijing. All that remained of one of the greatest cultural storehouses in all of human history, put to the torch as an extremely personalized punishment... after everything not nailed down inside it had already been looted off, of course.

But the man it was meant to punish... wasn't even there. He'd already slipped out the back door of the Forbidden City weeks before - leaving an opera troupe to play on and cover his escape, as he left his own capital behind to its conquerors for the last time.

What was left was a city ready to be conquered, a conqueror who didn't want it at all, and who would negotiate a very favorable credit-extension deal instead... with a computable interest in the survival of the government he'd just humiliated, and in the quiet of the very ports the Taiping had spent all summer marching toward.

Time Period Covered:

Aug.–Dec. 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]

Prince Gong, the emperor's half-brother; imperial plenipotentiary [1833–1898]

Senggelinqin, Mongol prince; commander in the north [1811–1865]

Zaiyuan, Prince of Yi, imperial commissioner [1816–1861]

Muyin, imperial commissioner

Hengqi, Qing official

Zeng Guofan, imperial commissioner against the Taiping [1811–1872]

The Qianlong Emperor [1711–1799]

The British:

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, High Commissioner & Plenipotentiary [1811–1863]

Frederick Bruce, British Minister to China [1814–1867]

Harry Parkes, interpreter & negotiator [1828–1885]

Henry Loch, Elgin's private secretary [1827–1900]

Thomas Bowlby, correspondent of The Times [1818–1860]

Gen. Sir James Hope Grant, commanding the British force [1808–1875]

Rear Adm. Sir James Hope [1808–1881]

Capt. Charles Gordon, Royal Engineers [1833–1885]

Robert Swinhoe, interpreter [1836–1877]

Lord Macartney, ambassador to the Qianlong court, 1793 [1737–1806]

Lord Amherst, ambassador, 1816 [1773–1857]

King George III [1738–1820]

Queen Victoria [1819–1901]

The French:

Baron Gros, French Plenipotentiary

Gen. Charles Cousin-Montauban, afterward Comte de Palikao [1793–1877]

Felice Beato, photographer [c. 1832–1909]

Jean Denis Attiret, Jesuit painter at the Yuanmingyuan [1702–1768]

The Russians:

Count Nikolay Ignatiev, Russian envoy [1832–1908]

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Rengan, the Shield King [1822–1864]

Major Works Cited:

Giles, Herbert A. A Glossary of Reference on Subjects Connected with the Far East.

Gros, Baron. Négociations entre la France et la Chine en 1860.

Hake, Alfred Egmont. The Story of Chinese Gordon.

Leavenworth, Charles S. The Arrow War with China.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

A suspicious ship of dubious registry is boarded by Qing marines off Canton, 12 of her crew are taken captive for piracy, and the British allege their flag was hauled down in the process. That last part, at least, was almost certainly untrue... not that that stops it all from spinning entirely out of control.

Within the month, the Royal Navy will be shelling the office of the viceroy who won't meet with them, Parliament's own better angels will be promptly overturned by the public itself at the polls, and the kickoff of a 4-year war… that no one could ever quite name an actual cause for: The Arrow War, AKA The 2nd Opium War.

Time Period Covered:

Oct. 1856 – 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]

Ye Mingchen, Governor-General of Liangguang [1807–1859]

Senggelinqin, Mongol prince; commander at Taku [1811–1865]

The British:

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, High Commissioner & Plenipotentiary [1811–1863]

Frederick Bruce, first British Minister to China [1814–1867]

Harry Parkes, acting British Consul at Canton [1828–1885]

Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong Kong [1792–1872]

In Parliament:

Lord Palmerston, Prime Minister [1784–1865]

William Gladstone [1809–1898]

Benjamin Disraeli [1804–1881]

The French & Americans:

Baron Gros, French Plenipotentiary

Father Auguste Chapdelaine, missionary [d. 1856]

Josiah Tattnall, U.S. Navy commodore [1795–1871]

John E. Ward, U.S. Minister to China [1814–1902]

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Major Works Cited:

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10: Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Part 1.

Wong, J. Y. Deadly Dreams: Opium, Imperialism, and the Arrow War (1856–1860) in China.

The Loyal King does everything right. He writes ahead to Shanghai to announce he's coming – as a friend! And only for the Qing parts of the city! His standing orders: no firing on the foreigners, you get your head chopped off. He even signs off wishing them all good health until he can meet them in person.

The letter is returned unopened. So is the second one.

And so, in the third week of August 1860, an army marching under orders not to shoot back spends 5 days being shelled outside the walls of a city they thought friendly… all culminating with the French burning the suburbs to the ground, with everyone still inside.

And those soldiers holding that wall on the Qing’s behalf? They're the rear echelon of an expedition sailing north to burn down the dynasty's capital.

Time Period Covered:

June-Aug. 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

The Qing:

Xue Huan, acting Governor of Jiangsu

Wu Xu, the Shanghai Daotai

Yang Fang, banker; head of the merchant syndicate

He Guiqing, cashiered Governor-General of Liangjiang [1816–1862]

The Foreigners…

At Shanghai:

Frederick Bruce, British Minister to China [1814–1867]

Thomas Taylor Meadows, acting British Consul at Shanghai [1815–1868]

Frederick Townsend Ward, commander, Shanghai Foreign-Arms Corps [1831–1862]

Thomas Francis Wade, first British Inspector of Customs at Shanghai [1818–1895]

Horatio Nelson Lay, British Inspector of Customs from 1855 [1832–1898]

Savage, English coastal pilot in Taiping service [d. 1860]

In the North:

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, British High Commissioner; Frederick Bruce's elder brother [1811–1863]

Major Works Cited:

Fairbank, John King. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the Treaty Ports, 1842–1854.

Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.

Murphey, Rhoads. Shanghai: Key to Modern China.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10: Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Part 1.

For a thousand years, Suzhou and Hangzhou stood as synonyms for the next best thing to Heaven itself. Well, that was before 1860. As of now, Hangzhou is a fire-gutted ruin, and Suzhou is next on the target list.

But the army that does the most damage… is not the invader. The Taiping arrive to find the dirty work done ahead of them, by the very Qing forces assigned to defend the great southern city, and a vast number of the city having decided to "take matters into their own hands." As such, when a party of missionaries sails upriver from Shanghai to find out just what happened to Suzhou, they'll have to wade through a literal riverful of the dead.

Time Period Covered:

May-Aug. 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

The Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]

He Guiqing, Governor-General of Liangjiang [1816–1862]

Xu Youren, Governor of Jiangsu [d. 1860]

Zeng Guofan, Governor-General of Liangjiang (from June 8, 1860); commander, Hunan Army [1811–1872]

Ma Dezhao, Qing commander

The Foreign Missionaries:

Joseph Edkins, London Missionary Society [1823–1905]

Jane Edkins, his wife [1841-1863]

Griffith John, Welsh Congregationalist missionary [1831–1912]

James Legge, London Missionary Society, Hong Kong [1815–1897]

Major Works Cited:

Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

The stealth troops successfully sneak past the enemy lines in dead men's

coats. The false flags planted on the hillside fool the city guard. The front gate assault diverts, while the sappers around back bring the walls down. I love it when a plan comes together, every single piece locking in like perfect clockwork...

Except… it wasn't really the plan. The city that fell was never the objective – it was merely a diversion… a diversion that would leave 60,000 dead within a week.

Time Period Covered:

1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864]

Li Shixian, the Attending King (Shi Wang) [1834–1865]

Chen Yucheng, the Brave King (Ying Wang) [1837–1862]

The Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]

He Chun, Imperial Commissioner, Jiangnan Daying [d. 1860]

Zeng Guofan, acting Governor-General of Liangjiang; commander, Hunan Army [1811–1872]

Zhang Guoliang, commander, Jiangnan Daying [1822–1860]

Zhang Yuliang, commander of the Hangzhou relief column

Xu Yuren, Governor of Jiangsu

Major Works Cited:

Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

Please check out this entire series-arc, re-written, expanded, & re-recorded as of Aug 2026:

- Ep. 306: Dead Men Tell No Tales: https://megaphone.link/ARML5251369441

- Ep. 307: Murders & Acquisitions, Mostly: https://megaphone.link/ARML6215286599

- Ep. 308: The Shadow State:

https://megaphone.link/ARML7890860851

Bottled up in Tung Chung Bay, subsisting for three weeks on caterpillars & boiled rice, the largest pirate fleet in the history of the world meets six Portuguese ships and the arithmetic that finishes it. What follows is the biggest criminal amnesty the world had yet seen, and a question very few pirates ever get to ask themselves: what does a cutthroat do with retirement?

Time Period Covered:

1809–1844 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Red Flag Confederation:

Zheng Yi Sao (AKA Ching Shih, née Shi Yang), Commander of the Red Flag Confederation [1775–1844]

Zhang Baozai (Cheung Po Tsai), Fleet Commander of the Red Flags, later Qing navy vice-commander at Penghu [1783–1822]

Guo Podai, Commander of the Black Flag Fleet [178?–181?]

Mei Ying, a captive of the Red Flag Fleet [d. 1809]

Qing Empire:

The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan) [r. 1796–1820]

The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]

Bailing (Zhang Bailing), Governor-General of Liangguang [1748–18??]

Sun Quanmou, Provincial Fleet Commander

Zhou Feixiong, physician of Macau

Wu Yaonan, government official [fl. 1810–1840]

Lin Zexu, Viceroy of Liangguang [1785–1850]

Portuguese Empire:

Miguel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira, Ouvidor of Macau

Captain José Pinto Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa, Commander of the Macau Flotilla

Gonçalves Carocha, pilot

British East India Company:

Richard Glasspoole, second mate of the Marquis of Ely [1788–1846]

Major Sources Cited:

Andrade, Tonio. The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History.

Antony, Robert J. Like Froth Floating on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China.

Glasspoole, Richard. A Brief Narrative of My Captivity and Treatment Amongst the Ladrones (1809); see also Owen Rutter, ed., Mr Glasspoole and the Chinese Pirates (Golden Cockerel Press, 1935).

Leonard, Jane Kate. “Maritime China in Transition, 1750–1850,” in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part 2: The Ch’ing Dynasty to 1800.

Murray, Dian H. Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790–1810.

Van de Ven, Hans J. Breaking with the Past: The Maritime Customs Service and the Global Origins of Modernity in China.

Yuan Yonglun. Jing hai fen ji (靖海氛記, 1830), translated by Karl Friedrich Neumann as History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea, 1807–1810 (London, 1831).

Li Xiucheng thinks the plan is pointless. He said so out loud, to his superiors… and lost. So of course, it’s him tasked with leading it out the gate. He is, after all, the Loyal King. And so 6,000 soldiers cross the river in the dark through the only path still open to them, every one of them clad in the uniform of a dead enemy. Nobody stops them. Nobody even looks twice. 150 miles southeast there's a city that has no idea they’re coming for it, and it’s not even the city they’re really after.

Time Period Covered:

1859 – 1860 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Hong Rengan, the Shield King, Gan Wang [1822–1864]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King, Zhong Wang [1823–1864]

Chen Yucheng, the Brave King, Ying Wang [1837–1862]

Li Shixian, later the Attending King, Shi Wang [1834–1865]

Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Qing Empire:

The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861, r. 1850–1861]

Zeng Guofan, founder and commander of the Hunan Army [1811–1872]

He Chun, Manchu general, commander of the Great Southern Camp [d. 1860]

Zhang Guoliang, general of the Great Southern Camp [1810–1860]

Dexing'e, commander of the northern camp

Major Works Cited:

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang, The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents

Platt, Stephen R., Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War

Spence, Jonathan D., God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan

A man disguised as a peddler stands on the bank of the Yangtze watching a British fleet go past, and tries to hitch a ride to Nanjing. He's been trying to reach the rebel capital for 6 years now, and this is the closest he's gotten. He’s told “no” … again. So he picks himself up once more and just keeps walking. He’ll get there eventually. And once he does, within three weeks he’ll be made the Shield King – the 2nd most powerful man in the Taiping Kingdom… on paper, at least.

Time Period Covered:

1858–1859 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Hong Rengan, the Shield King [1822–1864]

Chen Yucheng, the Brave King [1837–1862]

Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King [1823–1864]

Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Great Britain:

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin [1811–1863]

Thomas Francis Wade, interpreter [1818–1895]

Missionaries & Observers:

Theodore Hamberg [1819–1854]

James Legge [1815–1897]

Karl Marx [1818–1883]

Great Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]

Magistrate Tan of Huangmei

Major Works Cited:

Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection.

Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I, II & III.

Oliphant, Laurence. Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan in the Years 1857, '58, '59.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

In the Heavenly capital of Nanjing, a government that’s now mostly murdered has to be restaffed… somehow. And so their old titles are simply dusted off and re-distributed who whoever’s still left standing. Meanwhile, the men out actually running the war have learned that there’s no use in waiting for the paperwork or permission… neither are coming. They hold their own conference, swear their own oath, and decide to prosecute the war on their own from here on out, regardless of what Nanjing might think about that arrangement.

Time Period Covered:

1857–1858 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Chen Yucheng [1837–1862]

Li Xiucheng [1823–1864]

Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861]

Li Shixian [1834–1865]

Yang Fuqing

Wei Jun

Lin Qirong, commander of Jiujiang garrison [d. 1858]

Wu Dinggui, commander of Sanhe garrison

Great Qing:

The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]

Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]

Zeng Guohua [1822–1858]

Zeng Guobao

Hu Linyi [1812–1861]

Zhang Guoliang [1810–1860]

Hechun [d. 1860]

Dexing'e (Duxing'a)

Li Xubin [1818–1858]

Major Works Cited:

Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

The Heavenly Kingdom, having recently killed kings three and four of its founding five – and misplaced the fifth – attempts to solve its acute leadership shortage. To that end, the Heavenly King turns to his own blood, promoting his brothers – both military novices – and handing supreme military authority to the upjumped royal harem-staffing administrator.

Meanwhile, up his own backwater Jiangxi creek, the one man of Great Qing capable of destroying the rebels is finally handed a paddle by his enemies’ infighting... and promptly goes home to bury his father.

Two governments, two indispensable men, and one season in which both of them simply choose to walk away.

Time Period Covered:

1856–1857 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping

Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]

Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]

Hong Renfa, the Peace King [d. 1864]

Hong Renda, the Blessings King [d. 1864]

Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861]

Chen Yucheng [1837–1862]

Li Xiucheng [1823–1864]

Yang Xiuqing, the East King [d. 1856]

Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856]

Nien

Zhang Luoxing, Lord of the Alliance [1811–1863]

Li Zhaoshou [d. 1881]

Qing

The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]

Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]

Zeng Guohua [1822–1858]

Hu Linyi [1812–1861]

Major Works Cited:

Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II.

Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.

Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.