Hong Xiuquan was the architect of one of the greatest rebellions against the Chinese Qing dynasty in the 19th Century. Born in 1814, he belonged to the Hakka ethnic minority group. Despite numerous attempts he never passed the Chinese civil service exam. In 1843, after a last failed attempt and a meeting with Christian missionaries, he became convinced that he was the second son of God on earth, tasked with freeing China from the Qing dynasty. Hong gained numerous followers and in January 1851 Hong’s new dynasty, the “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace" was proclaimed. In May of the same year the rebellion against the Qing dynasty started. The following civil war did not end until 1871, costing the lives of millions of people. A fragile empire remained. Many followed Hong Xiuquan in his rebellion against the Qing dynasty. Among them was Shi Dakai. Already in 1849, at the age of 16, Shi Dakai became a leader in the movement. He proved to be a visionary leader and excellent military strategist, who dealt the Qing dynasty numerous military defeats. He surrendered to the imperial army on the 13th of June 1863. He was tortured and executed on the 25th of June 1863. Provenance: Kristian (“Kristen”) Peter Albertsen (1894–1977) and subsequently family. Kristen was born in Marstal on the Danish island Ærø and worked for “Store Nordiske”, the Great Nordic communications company from 1912. He was stationed in London and Petrograd, but moved to Asia in 1917. He worked for Great Nordic in Shanghai, Nagasaki and Chefoo. On the 11 of july 1918 he was attached to the Chinese Imperial Telegraph Administration. In his time with the company, Kristen worked as a superintendent with the reestablishment of the telegraphline in Mongolia, to ensure the line could be set up again between Peking and Kyakhta (Russia), after damage to the telegraphline. His, and many Chinese and Mongolian people's, work to restablish the line went on in the years 1921 to 1923. Kristen was in Urga (Ulan Bator) when the Baron von Ungern-Sternberg took the city on the 3rd of february 1921, initiating a violent period dominated by warlords, crime and great political unrest. Kristen returned to Great Nordic on the 1st of may 1927, where he was appointed telegraph manager of Peking two years later. He settled there with his wife Karen Jørgesen (married 1923). She returned to Denmark with their at the time two children in March 1932. Kristen finished up his work in China before returning to Denmark in 1933.