Hung Hsiu-ch'üan (1814-1864) was a Chinese religious leader and founder of the Taiping sect. His beliefs led to the Taiping Rebellion.

Hung Hsiu-ch'üan was born on Jan. 1, 1814, not far from Canton to a poor peasant family of the Hakka minority group. Because the young boy displayed some intelligence, his family pooled its resources in order to give him an education. In 1827 Hung participated in the official civil service examinations for the first time, and, although he passed the preliminary examination, he failed the district examination in Canton. Despite repeated attempts he was never successful and became one of those frustrated scholars who eked out a living as a low-paid teacher and who in times of crisis often provided the leaders and supporters of rebellious movements.

Birth of a Religion

In 1836, when in Canton for another unsuccessful attempt at the examinations, Hung heard a Christian...