Editing Taiping Rebellion (section)

== Names ==
[[File:Taiping Heavenly Kingdom map.svg|thumb|Territories of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
{{Legend|#fed98e|Held at various times during the rebellion}}
{{Legend|#ffa644|Early period}}
{{Legend|#d56a2d|Late period}}]]
The terms which writers use for the conflict and its participants often represent their different opinions. During the 19th century, the Qing did not describe the conflict as either a civil war or a movement, because doing so would have lent credibility to the Taiping. Instead, they referred to the tumultuous civil war as a period of chaos ({{zhi|p=luàn|c=亂}}), rebellion ({{zhi|p=nì|c=逆}}) or military ascendancy ({{zhi|p=jūnxìng|c=軍興}}).{{sfnp|Meyer-Fong|2013|pages=11–12}} They often referred to it as the Hong-Yang Rebellion ({{zhi|p=Hóngyáng zhī luàn|c=洪楊之亂}}), referring to the two most prominent leaders. It was also dismissively referred to as the Red Sheep Rebellion ({{zhi|p=Hóngyáng zhī luàn|c=紅羊之亂}}) because the two names sound similar in Chinese.<ref>Meyer-Fong, Tobie. "War". ''What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China''. Stanford University Press,  September 26, 2013.</ref>

In modern China, the war is often referred to as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, due to the fact that the Taiping espoused a doctrine which was both nationalist and communist, and the Taiping represented a popular ideology which was based on either Han nationalism or protocommunist values. The scholar [[Jian Youwen]] is among those who refer to the rebellion as the "Taiping Revolutionary Movement" on the grounds that it worked towards a complete change in the political and social system, rather than working towards the replacement of one dynasty with another.{{sfnp|Jian|1973|pp=4–7}}

Many Western historians refer to the conflict in general as the "Taiping Rebellion". In 2013, scholars such as Tobie Meyer-Fong and [[Stephen Platt]] argued that the term "Taiping Rebellion" is biased, because it insinuates that the Qing government was a legitimate government which was fighting against the illegitimate Taiping rebels. Instead, they argue that the conflict should be called a "civil war".{{sfnp|Meyer-Fong|2013|pages=11–12}} Other historians such as [[Jürgen Osterhammel]] term the conflict the "Taiping Revolution" because of the rebels' radical transformational objectives and the [[social revolution]] that they initiated.{{sfnp|Osterhammel|2015|pp=652–654}}

Little is known about how the Taiping referred to the war, but the Taiping often referred to the Qing in general and the Manchus in particular as some variant of demons or monsters ({{zhi|p=yāo|c=妖}}), representing Hong's proclamation that they were fighting a holy war to rid the world of demons and establish paradise on earth.{{sfnp|Spence|1996|pages=115–16, 160–163, 181–82}} The Qing referred to the Taiping as "Yue Bandits" ({{zhi|p=Yuèfěi|c=粵匪}} or {{zhi|p=Yuèzéi|c=粵賊}}) in official sources, a reference to their origins in the southeastern province of Guangdong.{{sfnp|Meyer-Fong|2013|pages=11–12}}

More colloquially, the Chinese called the Taiping some variant of Long-Hairs ({{lang|zh|長毛鬼、長髪鬼、髪逆、髪賊}}), because they did not shave their foreheads and braid their hair into a [[Queue (hairstyle)#Queue order|queue]] as Qing subjects were [[Qing dynasty#Claiming the Mandate of Heaven|obligated to do]], allowing their hair to grow long.{{sfnp|Meyer-Fong|2013|pages=11–12}}