“My hand grasps the killing power in Heaven and earth; To behead the devil ones, spare the just, and ease the people’s sorrow.” – Hong Xiuquan

Hong Xiuquan and the leaders of the Taiping must have known there was no going back, even if they wanted to. They had crushed an imperial force at the Battle of Jintian, killing Qing magistrates and officers. Now they prepared to face the consequences.

At the beginning of 1851 the Taiping had maybe thirty thousand lightly armed fighters standing against a giant empire, ruled by a dynasty which claimed dominion over more than four hundred million people. But they were running low on food. Hong and the to Taiping commanders knew that Thistle Mountain was not the place to found their Heavenly Kingdom. It was a rural backwater, not the capital of a newly restored Heavenly China.

Hong decided it was time to leave Thistle Mountain for good. He told his followers they would be abandoning their homes and likely any hope of returning there soon. They were leaving to find a majestic Earthly Paradise. Anything of value they could not take with them was burned.

The exodus had begun. The Taiping would march for close to two years, from exhilarating victory to tragic defeat, through rugged, inhospitable mountains and through some of the richest farmland in the world. Until they arrived at their ultimate destination: the ancient capital of Nanjing.

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