Foreign Devils and God-Worshipers: Western Mercenaries and Cross-Cultural Realism During the Taiping Rebellion
Abstract
The most destructive war of the 19th century was the Taiping Rebellion in China (1851-1864). This rebellion claimed the lives of between twenty and twenty-five million people, nearly forty times the number of deaths that occurred in its contemporary, the American Civil War (1861-1865). The war was fought along cultural and ideological divisions between the Manchu dominated Qing Dynasty and the Christian inspired Taiping Movement. This monograph examines the experiences of Western mercenary, and native Chinese commanders in service to the Qing Dynasty of China during this major conflict. The American adventurer Frederick Townsend Ward, British officer Charles George Gordon, and their Chinese superior, Li Hongzhang, were instrumental in the introduction of Western equipment and tactics to the Qing military. Integrating these new technologies required navigating the schism between Western and Chinese cultures. The modern concepts of Cross Cultural Competency and cultural realism provide a lens to investigate the abilities of these men to cross this divide. These men played a key role in forming the modernized army which eventually led to battlefield and the preservation of the Qing Dynasty. Their experiences suggest that pragmatic necessity may supersede cultural sensitivity in advisory and multinational operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1038932
Entities
People
- Carl J. Danko
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College