translations or paraphrases of many chapters in the Bible and a number of essays and sermons on the Scriptures. Upon returning the books, Hung's cousin commented on their extraordinary contents and Hung Hsiu-ch'üan himself then carefully read them for the first time. He professed to find in them the key to his visions of seven years previously and concluded that the aged man of his visions was God the Father; that the middle-aged man, his Heavenly Elder Brother, was Jesus; and that he himself was a son of God, second only to Jesus in power and glory, thus completing a new trinity. He also believed himself called through revelations to destroy demons and pagan idols, and to restore the worship of the true God.
When Hung Hsiu-ch'üan and his cousin Li had baptized each other Hung began to preach. Soon he had made two converts: Hung Jên-kan [q. v.], his relative, and Fêng Yün-shan 馮雲山 (1822–1852), his neighbor and schoolmate. In a short time Hung Hsiu-ch'üan's and Hung Jên-kan's parents, wives, and children were also converted. As the destruction of idols in their native village met with resistance Hung Hsiu-ch'üan and Fêng Yün-shan set out in 1844 to preach in Kwangsi, supporting themselves by peddling pens and ink. Hung returned to Hua-hsien in the winter of 1844 and spent the following two years (1845–46) in teaching and in writing religious discourses and odes. Fêng, in the meantime, made his headquarters at Tzŭ-chin shan 紫金山 or 'Thistlemount', about fifty li north of Kuei-p'ing, Kwangsi. During the next few years he made thousands of converts, chiefly among the Hakka peasants and the Miao aborigines, and organized the religious society known as 拜上帝會 Pai Shang-ti Hui or Association of God Worshippers. For about two months in 1847 he was in Canton receiving instruction from an American missionary, Reverend Issachar J. Roberts 羅孝全 (1802–1871). He left, however, without being baptized. In July 1847 he again set out for Kwangsi where he found Fêng Yün-shan in prison for the destruction of idols. In a short time, however, Fêng was set free. Here Hung was welcomed by the local converts as their leader. Although it was pointed out to Hung and Fêng that the Christianity they preached was based on their private interpretations of a small part of the Bible, they zealously continued to preach. The new doctrine spread rapidly from 'Thistlemount' to neighboring districts, but it was not long before it assumed a political aspect.
The defeat of China by England in the Anglo-Chinese War (1840–42) had disclosed the weakness of the Manchu troops and the corruption of the imperial government. Owing to the oppression of the poverty-stricken peasants by landlords, and because of the great famines in South China in 1847 and 1849, many bandits appeared, particularly in the mountainous province of Kwangsi, and presently made it impossible for the officials to maintain order. The local inhabitants and the Hakkas and Miaos organized each their own militia to protect their group since they could not get along harmoniously with each other. As the God Worshippers were chiefly composed of Hakkas and Miaos the result was a division of the group into two camps consisting of God-worshipping militia and non-Christian militia. These had frequent conflicts with each other but victory usually fell to the former because of their better organization. For this reason members of the secret anti-Manchu society known variously as T'ien-ti Hui 天地會 or 添地會, San-tien Hui 三點會, San-ho Hui 三和會, Hung-mên Hui 洪門會, or "Triad Society"—which aimed at the destruction of the reigning dynasty—asked to join the God Worshippers. Thus a religious movement, together with an intense anti-dynastic sentiment and the desire for an agrarian revolution, combined to initiate the Taiping Rebellion. The plans for the rebellion were formed by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan and five other chiefs: the above-mentioned Fêng Yün-shan; Yang Hsiu-ch'ing [q. v.]; Hsiao Ch'ao-kuei 蕭朝貴 (d. 1852), brother-in-law of Hung, a farmer and native of Wu-hsüan, Kwangsi; Wei Ch'ang-hui 韋昌輝 (original name 韋正 d. 1856), a native of Kuei-p'ing Kwangsi, an educated man who had had experience in transacting business with local officials; and the warrior, Shih Ta-k'ai [q. v.]. Presumably none but these six were cognizant of the plans.
In July 1850 the Taiping Rebellion broke out in the village of Chin-t'ien-ts'un 金田村, at 'Thistlemount'. All God Worshippers were ordered to withstand the government troops. In order to force them to follow their chiefs to any destination, without thought of their families, their homes were destroyed, and all movable property was delivered to a general treasury from which they shared alike—the circumstance of sharing all in common inspiring thousands of poor Hakkas to join the revolt. Soon the pirate, Lo Ta-kang 羅大綱 (d. 1856, some sources say 1855), a native of Chieh-yang, Kwangtung,
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