Gastvortrag PhD Marcin Tomasz Damek (University of Nanjing):

The Basel Mission arrived in China in 1847—just before Hong Xiuquan (a native Hakka of Huaxian County in Guangdong Province) proclaimed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in 1851, a massive rebellion that nearly toppled the Qing dynasty. Missionaries like Theodor Hamberg not only witnessed the upheaval but interacted directly with it: Hong’s cousin Hong Rengan shared insider accounts, leading to Hamberg’s influential 1854 book The Visions of Hung-Siu-Tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-Si Insurrection.
Most scholarship treats these Basel-Taiping encounters as footnotes to bigger stories (rebellion history, missionary work, or an already-fixed “Hakka” ethnicity). Furthermore, the Hakka identity was applied ahistorically: Hong Xiuquan and his associates were regarded as Hakka without much consideration of their self-identifications at the time. The Hakkas were not yet the proud, modern ethnic identity we know today. The label “Hakka” (客家, literally “guest families”) was originally a relational or even legal term for later-arriving tenant farmers—often poorer and looked down upon by established “Punti” groups.
Based on the newly researched Basel Mission archives and follow-up studies, this talk shows how these unlikely interactions went far beyond a single episode. Connections between the two sides were not limited to a single episode. On the contrary, Basel-Taiping interactions continued even after Qing forces crushed the Taipings in 1864. More importantly, they helped shape and promote a shared Hakka language (through early Bibles, dictionaries, and writing systems) and a broader ethnic self-understanding. The Taipings became part of Hakka historical memory, and the very word “Hakka” gained traction to designate the modern ethnic group, turning marginality and conflict into a foundation for identity and pride.

Dr. Marcin Tomasz Damek received his PhD in Chinese History from Nanjing University, China. He specializes in the Modern History of China, and his thesis discussed relations between the Basel Mission and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His research also encompasses many other fields: History of Overseas Chinese, Peace Research, Hakka Studies, and Missionary Studies. His works were published in the China Social Sciences Citation Index journals. His book “Warsaw: Poland” was featured in the “International Cities of Peace Series” that was promulgated by the Nanjing University UNESCO Chair of Peace Studies.