I. Similarities
1. Resist foreign aggression: Both the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Boxer Rebellion are national liberation movements that resist foreign aggression. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom opposed the oppression of the Qing Dynasty and the aggression of foreign powers, and the Boxer Rebellion resisted the aggression and oppression of foreign powers.
2. Peasant Uprising and Religious Belief: Both the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Boxer Rebellion were uprising movements initiated by peasants, representing the interests and demands of the peasant class. Both the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Boxer Rebellion used the power of religious belief to mobilize and organize the masses. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom believed in Christianity, and the Boxers believed in folk religions.
Second, differences.
1. Time and background: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement took place in the middle of19th century, which originated from the social contradictions and national crisis in the late Qing Dynasty, and the main object of resistance was the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty; The Boxer Rebellion took place at the end of 19, at the beginning of the 20th century, after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898. The main object of resistance is foreign invaders.
2. Organization and leadership: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement has a relatively complete organization and leadership system. Its army is called Taiping Army and has a modern military organization; The Boxer Rebellion mainly relied on the spontaneous organization of local farmers, lacking unified leadership and organization.
3. Mode of struggle: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement took the form of armed struggle, engaged in long-term wars and guerrilla warfare, and also paid attention to political and cultural struggles; The boxer movement mainly took the form of violent confrontation, and fought by means of demonstrations and sabotage of westernization.
4. Goal and slogan: The goal of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is to establish a unified, Christian-based, equal and Han-led new regime; The boxer's goal is to defend the culture of China and China, and its slogan is "Help the Qing Dynasty to destroy the foreign countries".
The Historical Significance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and Its Failure Causes
I. Historical significance
1. Resisting foreign aggression: The Taiping Rebellion broke out when foreign powers invaded China and the Chinese nation was facing a serious crisis. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's actions against foreign enemies aroused the national pride and patriotic enthusiasm of China people, and laid the foundation for China's modernization process.
2. Opposing feudal rule: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising opposed the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty and put forward a series of anti-feudal slogans such as "equal land", "anti-oppression" and "anti-corrupt officials". These slogans reflected the interests and demands of the peasant class at that time and had positive social significance.
3. Promote the modernization of China: Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement failed, it stimulated the national pride and patriotic enthusiasm of the people of China and promoted the modernization process of China. The anti-feudal and anti-oppression thoughts of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had an important influence on the later China Revolution.
Second, the reasons for the failure
1. Strategic mistake: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom made a strategic mistake. Although the victory was achieved in the early stage, it failed to consolidate the fruits of victory in time after the capture of Nanjing, and failed to make effective use of the contradictions within the Qing Dynasty, and missed the opportunity to expand the results.
2. Internal contradictions and external interference: There are serious contradictions and divisions within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The suspicion between leaders, the power struggle and the alienation of civilians from leaders gradually weakened the power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The interference of foreign forces in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is also one of the important reasons for its failure. Foreign powers supported the Qing Dynasty through various means and besieged and blocked the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
3. Economic problems and leadership corruption: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has serious economic problems. Although the land reform was carried out, the tax system was not perfect, financial management was chaotic, and the consumption of long-term war caused the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's economy to collapse gradually. The leadership of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom gradually degenerated, indulged in pleasure and lost its original revolutionary spirit and fighting spirit. This behavior has seriously affected morale.