Analysis of the Impact of Insufficient Grain Supply on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Abstract

Throughout the Taiping Rebellion, the issue of food supply became its Achilles heel, causing extremely adverse effects on the revolutionary movement. In the early stages of the uprising, due to insufficient food supply, it had to break through from Yong’an, making military operations constrained by food supply; Nanjing was established as the capital for the convenience of food supply, which resulted in significant military strategic mistakes; At the same time, the insufficient supply of food intensified the internal contradictions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It adopted methods such as ordering tribute and attacking vanguard to obtain food, which not only disappointed the farmers who had high hopes for it, but also caused serious opposition among landlords and gentry. Even the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s army had several incidents of fire and union to compete for food. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom experienced a food crisis due to food supply issues, which led to serious political, military, and religious crises, ultimately leading to the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement.