Nien Rebellion - Assessment

Assessment

The Nien rebellion failed to topple the regime largely because it failed to make alliances with other rebels, especially the Taiping movement. Nien only symbolically supported Taiping by accepting the Taiping king's "appointments", but refusing to follow his orders. Had the Nien and Taipings joined forces, the Qing government would have been faced with a formidable threat, in spite of its alliances with European powers. Despite the Niens' failure to seize power, the events of the rebellion dealt a severe blow to the Qing regime. The environmental disasters of 1851 and 1855 devastated the richest provinces of China, depriving the Qing regime of tax income and trade duties. The endless fighting between Nien troops and Qing forces, who made widespread use of scorched earth tactics, ruined the countryside and resulted in countless deaths. Although the Nien rebellion was smaller than that of the Taiping, it severely drained government finances, devastated the richest areas of China, and left China's economy in a very precarious state. In the long term, the Nien rebellion was to become one of the major factors in the collapse of Qing China.