The author of this book is a China person named Liang Fa. He is the first Chinese pastor of Protestant Christianity. This man is a woodcutter, with a low education, and has written a variety of popular sermons, among which "Advice to the World" is just one. This book has more than 1, words, half of which are extracted from the original text of the whole chapter in the Chinese translation of the Bible at that time (The Holy Book of God and Heaven, published in 1824), and the other half are the teachings elaborated by Liang Fa in view of China's national conditions, which involve some basic Christian theological contents such as creation theory, original sin and redemption theory, heaven, hell and doomsday judgment theory. The book particularly emphasizes: "The absolute nature of God's uniqueness, respect and power, while the gods and idols of all other religions belong to the crooked ways that have been eliminated. If you worship them, you will be condemned to heaven." In order to gain the exclusive position of God in China, Advice to the World lashed out at China's traditional culture, folk religion and superstitious customs such as witchcraft and geomantic omen.
As early as the 16th year of Daoguang, Hong Xiuquan got this book when he took part in the government examination in Guangzhou, but he only skimmed it. He was a rare thing and just read it. However, after he failed in the third exam, he was seriously ill for 4 days, and he was in a coma with high fever. He felt that he had traveled to heaven several times and encountered all kinds of strange things. This is the "Ding You's strange dream" described in some later documents. After recovering from his illness, Hong Xiuquan continued to be Mr. Xiang Shu while preparing for the exam. Six years later, he was still unknown in the list. He is in a dilemma, confused and confused. At this time, Hong Xiuquan accidentally reread "Advising the World", and his feelings and understanding were very different from those of the previous browsing. The words in the book attacking Confucianism, criticizing the imperial examination and denying the folk ghosts and gods deeply attracted him. He couldn't help reading it carefully, and his body and mind gradually entered the ocean of magic and light, comprehending the "sacred principle of the serious road" and seemed to enter the realm of great enlightenment. Reminiscent of the illusion of illness six years ago, he was confident that it was God's call to visit heaven, which was full of doubts in the past and was completely released today. He said: these books are really a godsend to me to prove that my past experience is true.
So, it's not the western religion that influenced him, but the kind of anger and depression that made this half-tone Ecclesiastes sound. If he was reading the genuine Bible at that time, it would be even more difficult for you to give someone a slap in the left face. Maybe it will be thrown aside, and there may not be the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that will be unveiled later.