The Taiping and the Tonghak rebellions as millenarian movements in global context: Historical and philosophical reflections

Millenarian movements have been mainly studied from a monotheistic perspective. Traditional explanations for millenarian movements may not be applicable to Asian cases, since Asian millenarian views of salvation differ from non-Asian ones. This study re-examines the Taiping and the Tonghak movements in nineteenth century Asia using a much wider range of sources than have been used by scholars in the past. It seeks to understand the movements as an expression, in part, of deeply-rooted Asian spiritual ideas. It also offers historical and philosophical reflections on what studies of Asian millenarianism can contribute to the comparative study of millenarianism. Author defines history as self struggle. In Asian thought, there are two types of self: material and selfless. Material self means that one\u27s material body is real. Selfless means that one\u27s material body is not real. Material self struggle often manifests itself in violent millenarian movements, while selfless struggle ideally produces peaceful inner mind activities. In Western societies, the self struggles of millenarian movements were typically based on the idea of “spirit within material body.” In contrast, many Asian millenarian movements, inspired by the notion of “selfless” struggle, sought to avoid overt violence, although such movements frequently attracted elements associated with material self-struggle. Beliefs about salvation may be grounded in the wisdom of God, in intuition, or in reason. Scholars of millenarianism need to liberate themselves from explanatory models based on only one of these approaches. One needs instead to employ a comprehensive research strategy that draws on evidence from religion, culture, and the sciences. In reexamining the conceptual foundations of Asian millenarianism, the author explores ideas about “the end of the world” that are shared by major religions and natural scientists. He shows how Asian millenarian thought is related to I-jing and chi energy theory, linked to intuitive wisdom. The concluding section offers a philosophical view on higher civilization, government, democracy, and great freedom leading to Great Peace.