CHINESE  HISTORY:  THIRD  PERIOD

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striking  the  Siang  River,  followed  its  course  northward,
sacking  the  cities  along  its  banks.  At  Changsha,  the  capital
of  the  province,  they  met  with  their  first  serious  repulse,  for
this  city  was  so  ably  defended  by  Tseng  Kwo-fan  that  they
were  unable  to  take  it  even  after  a  long  siege.  Abandoning
the  attempt  they  skirted  the  Tungting  Lake,  and  entered
the  valley  of  the  Yangtze.  On  the  banks  of  the  Great
River  they  seized  the  cities  Hanyang,  Wuchang,  Hankow,
Anking,  Kiukiang,  and  Nanking.  The  latter  city  was
selected  as  the  capital  of  a  new  dynasty  to  be  known  as  the
Taiping,  a  word  signifying  that  their  leader  intended  to
establish  the  reign  of  peace  on  earth.  Hung  Hsiu-chuen
himself  assumed  the  title  of  Emperor,  being  called  Tien
Wang,  or  “  Heavenly  Monarch.”  Four  assistant  kings  were
appointed  to  aid  in  governing  the  Empire,  known  respectively ­
  as  the  Kings  of  the  North,  South,  East,  and  West.
After  this  Hung  himself  no  longer  acted  as  the  energetic
leader  of  his  hosts,  but  gave  himself  up  to  a  life  of  ease  and
licence.
In  1853  an  expedition  was  dispatched  to  the  north  in
the  hope  of  taking  Peking.  In  their  attack  on  Tientsin  the
rebels  were  repulsed  by  the  Manchu  General,  Sankolinsin,
and,  disheartened  by  their  defeat,  began  to  withdraw  to
the  south.  At  this  juncture  Li  Hung-chang  came  into
public  notice.  He  raised  an  army  in  his  own  province  of
Anhwei,  and  began  a  series  of  vigorous  attacks  upon  the
rebels.  Gradually  the  Imperial  forces  made  headway
against  the  rebels,  and  succeeded  in  hemming  them  in  on
that  part  of  the  Yangtze  between  Nanking  and  Anking.
Second  War  with  Great  Britain  (1856-1860)
In  the  meantime  relations  between  the  Chinese  and  the
British  merchants  in  the  south  had  not  become  any
smoother.  The  British  resented  the  way  in  which  they
were  treated  by  the  Chinese  authorities,  and  the  Chinese
thought  they  had  just  cause  of  offence  because,  although
the  opium  trade  had  been  declared  illicit,  smuggling  still