History Impossible

Hey all, it’s great to be back with all of you. Especially for this special conversation that has been well overdue, especially on the History Impossible feed. I was thrilled to be able to host my friend and mentor Daniele Bolelli of the History on Fire and Drunken Taoist podcasts (not to mention teacher, author of many great books, and martial artist), to first catch up on how things have been going on his end, and then discuss an old story close to our hearts—the Taiping Rebellion, and its leader, Jesus Christ’s alleged younger Chinese brother Hong Xiuquan. From there, we springboard into a broader discussion that encompassed my current research interests in grad school, particularly the global impact and nature of Protestantism.The Taiping Rebellion was probably one of the best events to use as this springboard because, it could be said, it was the most significant Protestant revolt in human history, if only for the sheer destruction it caused (topped only by the Second World War in terms of body count) an