To defeat the Taiping rebellion, the Qing court needs, besides Western help, an army stronger and more popular than the demoralized imperial forces.

In 1860 scholar-official Zeng Guofan (1811-72), from Hunan Province, is appointed imperial commissioner and governor-general of the Taiping-controlled territories and placed in command of the war against the rebels.

Zeng's Hunan army, created and paid for by local taxes, becomes a powerful new fighting force under the command of eminent scholar-generals.

Zeng's success gives new power to an emerging Han Chinese elite and erodes Qing authority.

Simultaneous uprisings in north China (the Nien Rebellion) and southwest China (the Muslim Rebellion) further demonstrated Qing weakness.