THE TAIPINGS AT NINGPO
19
If the foreigners were surprised at the speed and smooth success of the Taiping operation, they were equally surprised and gratified at the behavior of the revolutionaries as they established themselves in the city. The initial favorable impression created by the Taipings was almost universal, for even those who were most ill-disposed toward the Taiping movement commented charitably at the outset. The principal critic of the Taipings, British Consul Harvey noted initially that the occupying force conducted themselves with "wonderful moderation."4 Harry Parkes, long a detractor of the Taipings, corroborated this evaluation with an account of their entry into the city, noting that:
The Ningpo rebels have shown the utmost desire to be on friendly terms with foreigners. Outside the south gate, which formed the point of attack, stands the establishment of the Sisters of Charity, which if occupied, would form excellent cover for an assaulting force, as its upper windows command the city walls; yet, although they crouched underneath its enclosure, as they collected for their rush on the gate, they did not trespass for a moment within the premises. Another large Roman Catholic establishment was one of the first buildings they had to pass, as they poured into the city, flushed and excited with their success; but they only stopped to welcome a small knot of foreigners who were standing underneath the porch, and to charge their people to offer them no harm. Roman Catholics and Protestants they hailed indiscriminately as being the same religion and fraternity as themselves....5
Parkes also reported that the Taipings invited men of influence in the Chinese community to come forward and serve as magistrates, a policy they had already instituted elsewhere in the province. S. Wells Williams, the historian, also known for his personal animosity toward the Taipings, wrote of the experience of a colleague at Ningpo, a Presbyterian missionary by the name of Rankin, who spoke of "great interest in the Gospel among some of the villages not far from the city, and (who) says that the rebels have put no hindrance in the way of his work.”
There seems to have been a great deal of sympathy generated on the part of the foreign community toward the Taipings, at least initially, in response to their positive policies. Taiping
THE TAIPINGS AT NINGPO
19
If the foreigners were surprised at the speed and smooth success of the Taiping operation, they were equally surprised and gratified at the behavior of the revolutionaries as they established them- selves in the city. The initial favorable impression created by the Taipings was almost universal, for even those who were most ill-disposed toward the Taiping movement commented charitably at the outset. The principal critic of the Taipings, British Consul Harvey noted initially that the occupying force conducted them- selves with "wonderful moderation."4 Harry Parkes, long a detractor of the Taipings, corroborated this evaluation with an account of their entry into the city, noting that:
The Ningpo rebels have shown the utmost desire to be on friendly terms with foreigners. Outside the south gate, which formed the point of attack, stands the establishment of the Sisters of Charity, which if occupied, would form excellent cover for an assaulting force, as its upper windows command the city walls; yet, although they crouched under- neath its enclosure, as they collected for their rush on the gate, they did not trespass for a moment within the premises. Another large Roman Catholic establishment was one of the first buildings they had to pass, as they poured into the city, flushed and excited with their success; but they only stopped to welcome a small knot of foreigners who were standing underneath the porch, and to charge their people to offer them no harm. Roman Catholics and Protestants they hailed indiscriminately as being the same religion and fraternity as themselves....5
Parkes also reported that the Taipings invited men of influence in the Chinese community to come forward and serve as magi- strates, a policy they had already instituted elsewhere in the province. S. Wells Williams, the historian, also known for his personal animosity toward the Taipings, wrote of the experience of a colleague at Ningpo, a Presbyterian missionary by the name of Rankin, who spoke of "great interest in the Gospel among some of the villages not far from the city, and (who) says that the rebels have put no hindrance in the way of his work”.”
There seems to have been a great deal of sympathy generated on the part of the foreign community toward the Taipings, at least initially, in response to their positive policies. Taiping
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