Examine the reasons for the rise and fall of the Taiping [Taip’ing] Rebellion.

The question requires candidates to consider the interrelationship between the reasons why the Taiping Rebellion both rose and fell. Candidates may offer equal coverage of rise and fall, or they may emphasize their discussion of one of them. However, both aspects will be a feature of the response. Candidates may refer to economic reasons for the rise, such as high taxation and rents, and the impact of the opium trade. They may discuss increased lawlessness, the British humiliation of the Qing and Hong Xiuquan’s presentation of Taiping Christianity as an alternative ideology. Reasons for the fall could include a divided leadership, the loss of support because of the destruction of temples and idols, the unpopularity of the Taiping’s extremist views on the role of the sexes and their anti-Confucianism, and their failure to win the support of foreign powers, who helped suppress the revolt.

The question required candidates to consider the interrelationship between the reasons why the Taiping Rebellion both rose and fell. This was a relatively popular question and there were some good responses that demonstrated a high level of understanding. Candidates did, for the most part, address both parts of the question although many candidates handled the second part of the question rather superficially.