Taiping Tianguo is not a functioning state, but an umbrella term that describes a variety of scattered rebel territories which were conceived as pseudo-Christian theocracies. Emerging as a large-scale rebellion in 1850, Taiping forces overran several cities in the Yangtze area, including Hankou and Wuchang. After the Civil War was over, the heavily modernised forces, now no longer distracted, of Hou Ming defeated them with ease in 1853, before they could reach Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan and his family were captured and executed, while his surviving associates rallied the remaining forces, fleeing into the hinterland. Disputes arose between the rebel leaders, and the rebels split into several groups. Each leader claimed to be Hong's successor. The Taiping statelets were no longer a threat. Most