# Tianjing > name of the Chinese city of Nanjing from 1853 to 1864 **Wikidata**: [Q3528033](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3528033) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjing) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/tianjing ## Summary Tianjing was the capital city of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, serving as the administrative and symbolic heart of this rebel regime from 1853 to 1864. It is historically identified as the name given to the Chinese city of Nanjing during this specific decade-long period. As a former settlement, it represents a distinct historical phase where the city functioned as the primary seat of power for the Taiping movement. ## Key Facts - **Historical Name**: The name "Tianjing" specifically refers to the city of Nanjing between the years 1853 and 1864. - **Political Status**: It served as the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. - **Entity Classification**: It is classified as both a city and a former settlement. - **Alternative Spellings**: The name appears in historical records as "Tienking" and "T'ien-ching". - **Geographic Association**: The entity is intrinsically linked to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as its country of origin. - **Digital Presence**: The entity has a dedicated Wikipedia page available in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese. - **Visual Documentation**: An image of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era is archived at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Taiping_Heavenly_Kingdom_(5811931378).jpg. - **Knowledge Graph Metrics**: The entity has a sitelink count of 5 across various language editions. ## FAQs **What was the political significance of the name Tianjing?** The name Tianjing signified the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's capital, marking Nanjing as the central hub of the rebellion against the Qing dynasty. This designation transformed the city from a standard provincial capital into the spiritual and administrative center of a new regime. **How is Tianjing related to the modern city of Nanjing?** Tianjing is not a separate geographic location but rather the historical alias for Nanjing during the specific timeframe of 1853 to 1864. Once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fell in 1864, the city reverted to its traditional name, Nanjing. **In which languages can one find information about this historical entity?** Detailed information regarding Tianjing is accessible through Wikipedia articles written in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese. These multilingual resources ensure that the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's capital is available to a global audience. ## Why It Matters Tianjing matters because it represents the zenith of the Taiping Rebellion, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, where the city served as the operational base for a massive alternative government. Its existence as a distinct entity for eleven years challenges standard historical narratives of 19th-century China by highlighting a period where a rival state successfully controlled a major metropolis. Understanding Tianjing is essential for analyzing the socio-political upheavals of the era, the specific administrative structures of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the profound impact this rebellion had on the region's demographics and urban development. ## Notable For - **Unique Historical Identity**: It is the only period where Nanjing was officially designated as "Tianjing," distinguishing it from all other eras in the city's long history. - **Capital of a Rebel State**: It functioned as the capital for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a massive theocratic and military regime that controlled significant portions of southern China. - **Multilingual Documentation**: The entity maintains a presence in five distinct language editions of Wikipedia, reflecting its global historical interest. - **Specific Temporal Definition**: It is strictly defined by the dates 1853 to 1864, creating a clear historical boundary for its existence as a distinct political entity. - **Visual Archival**: It is associated with specific historical imagery documenting the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, preserved in Wikimedia Commons. ## Body ### Historical Identity and Nomenclature Tianjing is defined strictly as the name of the Chinese city of Nanjing during the years 1853 to 1864. This specific designation was adopted by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to reflect their ideological vision, transforming the city into their holy capital. The entity is also recorded under the aliases "Tienking" and "T'ien-ching," reflecting variations in transliteration used in historical and academic contexts. As a former settlement, it no longer exists under this name, having reverted to Nanjing after the fall of the Taiping regime. ### Political and Administrative Role The primary function of Tianjing was to serve as the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This relationship established the city as the central node of the kingdom's political, military, and religious operations. The entity is classified as a city within the context of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, distinguishing it from other settlements that were merely occupied or controlled. The "country" associated with this entity is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom itself, indicating that Tianjing was the sovereign seat of this short-lived state. ### Geographic and Temporal Scope The existence of Tianjing is bounded by the specific dates of 1853 and 1864. During this decade, the city operated as a large human settlement, fitting the general class definition of a city with a significant population and infrastructure. The entity is categorized as a "former settlement," acknowledging that its status as Tianjing is a historical artifact rather than a current administrative reality. The geographic location remains that of Nanjing, but the political identity was unique to this specific era. ### Digital and Academic Presence In the digital knowledge ecosystem, Tianjing is represented by a specific Wikipedia title, "Tianjing," which is available in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese. This multilingual availability underscores the entity's importance in global historical discourse. The entity currently holds a sitelink count of 5, indicating the number of active Wikipedia pages across different languages that link to this specific entry. Additionally, visual documentation exists in the form of an image file hosted on Wikimedia Commons, specifically titled "Taiping_Heavenly_Kingdom_(5811931378).jpg," which provides visual context for the era. ### Classification and Relationships Within knowledge graphs, Tianjing is linked to the class "city" and "former settlement," with a substantial sitelink count of 252 associated with the broader concept of large human settlements. It maintains a direct "capital_of" relationship with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and a "country" relationship with the same entity. The "said_to_be_the_same_as" relationship connects Tianjing directly to Nanjing, clarifying that they are the same physical location at different points in time. These structured properties ensure that the entity is correctly contextualized within both historical and modern geographic frameworks.