Hong Xiuquan (1814 – 1 June 1864) was born in a formerly prosperous in South China to poor parents. The community worked to support Xiuquan’s studies to take the imperial civil service examination. After three unsuccessful attempts and questionable future, Xiuquan fell ill and experienced visions. After a fourth unsuccessful examination attempt, Xiuquan recognized that the Christian God was the key to his future and starting rallying the local population to his cause. He used this supporters to defeat local representatives of the imperial government and established his own “heavenly” kingdom in Southern China that ruled over 30 million people. Hong implemented an ambitious program of reform. He created an elaborate civil bureaucracy, reformed the calendar used in his kingdom, outlawed opium use, and introduced a number of reforms designed to make women more socially equal to men. The Civil War quickly engulf most of south/central China that killed up to 25 million, almost overthrew the power of the Qing dynasty and ravished the involved regions. Ruling in an increasingly distant manner, Hong ruled through several kings of varying ability and unable to real with a combined response by the Qing government and Western powers in Shanghai. As his capital of Nanking was under siege by 1864, Hong fell ill and died on 1 June 1864.