Born near Guangzhou to a
客家 family whose forebears came from the
梅州 area, he had visions during an illness after failing the exams in 1837. Years later a Christian tract convinced him they meant he was the second son of God. In 1851 he founded the
太平天国, and in 1853 he took
南京, renamed it
天京, 'Heavenly Capital', and ruled there as the
天王, the Heavenly King. He died in 1864, weeks before the city fell to the Qing.
