In 1852 the tame annals of the city were interrupted in " remarkable way, and since that date, Changsha' has had a characteristic history of Ber own. Before that date, she was merely avery ordinary provincial capital. Never since then has she been in any sense "ordinary". The Taiping rebellion which started in 1850 in the province of Kuangsi, under the leadership of a Cantonese, had attained alarming proportions in the closing months of 1851. Lin Tsehsi (of "opium war" fame) was appointed as a special Commissioner to deal with the movement. He died on his way to take up his new duties. His successor was 8 Hunanese, but one who did nothing to raise the expectginal fror
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.