The Taiping Rebellion was a peasant revolutionary war of unprecedented scale and far-reaching impact in China in the mid-19th century. It was launched by the vast number of peasants and ethnic minorities led by Hong Xiuquan against the background of the deepening of the social crisis in China and the intensification of ethnic and class contradictions after the Opium War, aiming to overthrow the rule of the Qing Dynasty and establish a new dynasty of equality, freedom, prosperity and strength. The Taiping Rebellion once controlled much of the Yangtze River basin and established a regime that lasted for 14 years, causing a huge shock to the Qing Dynasty and also resisting foreign invaders. However, this campaign ended in failure, and the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianjing, was captured by the Qing army, and the leaders and soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were killed or captured, and the regime of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was completely eliminated. So, what was the root cause of the failure of the Taiping Rebellion?
To answer this question, we need to analyze it from two aspects: internal contradictions and external pressures. The internal contradictions mainly refer to the limitations of the peasant class represented by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, as well as the corruption, division, and mistakes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom regime. External pressure mainly refers to the joint strangulation of the Qing government and foreign invaders, as well as the complex international and domestic environment faced by the Taiping Rebellion.
The fundamental reason for the failure of the Taiping Rebellion was the limitations of the peasant class. The peasant class is a scattered, conservative, and backward class, which has no advanced productive forces and production relations, nor does it have scientific ideological theories and political programs, and it can only put forward some utopian, unrealistic, and even reactionary propositions, such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "Heavenly Dynasty Tianmu System" and "New Chapter of Capital Administration", which are based on absolute egalitarianism and try to restore an ideal society of a non-existent primitive commune, while ignoring the development and changes of society, as well as the diversity and differences of the people. These ideas not only fail to mobilize and unite the broad masses of the revolution, but also arouse opposition and resistance. The peasant class also did not have long-term revolutionary discipline and organizational capacity, and it was susceptible to corruption and division, which led to the weakening and disintegration of revolutionary forces. The history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement is a typical example, it has existed from the very beginning of the system of theocracy, that is, Hong Xiuquan is both a political leader and a religious leader, he deified himself as the second son of God, the brother of Jesus, the king of all the peoples, his authority cannot be challenged, his teachings cannot be questioned, and his edicts cannot be disobeyed, this system not only violates the principles of democracy and equality, but also buries the hidden danger of civil strife and division. In the later years of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the contradictions and strife between Hong Xiuquan and several other princes intensified, which eventually led to the outbreak of the Tianjing infighting, which almost wiped out the core leadership of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and plunged the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's regime into chaos and crisis. At the same time, many of the generals and soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were also eroded by corruption and degeneration, and they supported their own troops, accumulated wealth and self-enrichment, became corrupt and degenerate, and even defected to the enemy, thus destroying the centripetal force and combat effectiveness of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The objective reasons for the failure of the Taiping Rebellion were the joint strangulation of the Qing government and foreign invaders, as well as the complex international and domestic environment faced by the Taiping Rebellion. The Taiping Rebellion took place against the backdrop of China's degeneration into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society after the Opium War, and it was an arduous struggle not only against the reactionary rule of the Qing government, but also against the brutal oppression of foreign invaders. Both the Qing government and the foreign invaders regarded the Taiping Rebellion as their common enemy, and they colluded with each other to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Qing government mobilized the army and local armed forces throughout the country, and organized various forces such as the Hunan army, the Huai army, the Hui army, and the green camp to carry out brutal encirclement, suppression, and attrition of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Foreign invaders also took advantage of their military superiority and political influence to directly or indirectly participate in the attack on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they not only provided the Qing government with weapons, arms, funds, advisers and other support, but also sent the Anglo-French army, the Changsheng army, the Changjie army and other troops to cooperate with the Qing army to attack the important cities and strongholds of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Anqing, etc. The international and domestic environment facing the Taiping Rebellion was also very complex and unfavorable, and it did not receive support and assistance from other countries and nations, but was hostile and ostracized by them, and it did not receive widespread recognition and participation from Chinese society