DBQ 5 Nicholas Gilman

1. How does Hong’s understanding of the Ten Commandments differ from how those
Commandments are usually understood? Are there any similarities? Does his interpretation
reflect Chinese culture? If so how?

The commandments are very similar to the commandments are usually understood but do reflect some
ideas of Chinese culture. The commandment, “Thou Shall Not Rob or Steal” states that “riches and
poverty are determined by the great God,” which I find to be an affirmation of the status quo to accept
that a distinction will exist between the haves and have nots. The commandments seem to be reflective
of our typical understanding, which does inherently include ideas prominent in Chinese culture. The idea
of filial piety is reflective and the commandment, Thou Shalt Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother, That
Thy Days May Be Prolonged, a prominent ideology in Chinese culture which is also reflected in the
sharply punctuated remark following this description which leaves no room for descent stating shortly,
“Whoever disobeys his parents breaks this command.” Outside of these distinctions the commandments
reflect a majority of similarities to their usual understanding when viewed with broad strokes. (Word
count 158)

2. According the selections from the Ode for Youth how are people to behave toward each other in
general? Do these regulations for behavior reflect Chinese culture? If so how?

The behaviors and duties listed in the Ode for Youth are very reflective of the expectations for behavior
in Chinese culture. Filial piety is strongly represented in Chinese culture and appears as a tenet for
behavior in the this selection. This is specifically reflected in the Honour due to Parent, which states
that, “as grain is stored against a day of need, so men bring up children to tend their old age, a filial son
begets filial children.” This is also reflected in the Duties of Sons, which state, “consider obedience to
parents the chief duty.” The Chinese cultural ideology of the subservience of women is also strongly
reflected in the Ode to Youth. Additionally listed in the Duties of Sons is to, “not listen to the tattle of
women, and you will not be estranged from your own flesh.” The duties of wives is entirely directed at
her subservience to her male lords, stating “be obedient to your three male relatives and do not disobey
your lords. The duties of female sex carries similar language stating, “the duty of women is to maintain
chastity, she should shun proximity to the other sex.” (Word count 193)

3. According to Zeng Guofan why should the Taiping rebels be wiped off the face of the earth?

Zeng Guofan, in his decree, goes into great detail about the savagery of the Taiping rebels, not only in
their dealings with the Chinese people but of their desecration of Chinese heritage. He describes there
destructive and disrespectful actions toward Chinese religious temples by saying, “Afterwards, wherever
they have passed, in every district, the first thing they have done is to burn down the temples, defiling
the shrines and maiming the statues even of loyal ministers and righteous heroes such as the awesome
Kuan Yii and Yiien Fei.” This imagery is also vividly painted by his description of the rebels treatment of
villagers as they passed from town to town saying, “The clothing has been stripped from the bodies of
those captured by these bandits, and their money has been seized. Anyone with five taels or more of
silver who does not contribute it to the bandits is forthwith decapitated…The feet of women who refuse
to unbind them are cut off and shown to other women as a warning. The corpses of boatmen who
secretly conspired to fell were hung upside down to show other boatmen as a warning.” The brutality of
the rebels and their desire to rid China of its heritage in favor of Christian ideology fueled Zeng Guofan’s
desire for their defeat. (Word count 215)
DBQ 5 Nicholas Gilman

4. How did the issues facing China by 1850 make Hong’s revolt possible and give him initial
success?

Hong’s revolt was difficult for Zeng Guofan to defeat partially due to the lack of funding his militia was
awarded. This was an on-going issue until we was allowed to utilities tax revenue in the providences his
militias were operating in to fund his war effort. The major contributor to the success of the rebellion
came due to the social inequality that existed within China at the time. A large surge in population
coupled with a slow increase in agriculture meant a insufficient amount of food for the rapidly growing
population. The land was largely owned by wealthy elites with little left to spare for the rest of the
largely impoverished population. Government corruption was also prominent and favored the elite
ruling class. This desire for socioeconomic reform largely contributed to the success of Hongs revolt, in
addition to the issues resulting from the large scale illegal opium trade and drug dependency fostered by
the British East India Trading Company. (Word count 160)