Having slept for the whole day, I had strange dreams. I dreamt of myself wearing tattered clothes. I was competing against stray dogs for food. I dreamt of myself standing atop a mountain with my hand in the air. After a wave of my hand, the picture of imposing battlefields appeared. I saw myself wearing an imperial robe. I was sitting on the Dragon Throne inside a lavishly decorated imperial hall. In another dream, I saw myself drinking poison. Outside the city wall, people’s uproar shook the sky. When I died, I didn’t close my eyes… 

My mind told me that these were the old stories of the spirit. He wanted to use these images to affect me and make me feel touched so that I would be on his side. 

After thinking about the scenes I had just dreamed about, I felt upset. 

My dreams were the unfolding picture of Hong Xiuquan’s entire life. In 1864, the three major armies of the Qing Dynasty conquered Nanjing, the capital of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Hong Xiuquan died in his Heavenly King Mansion. The cause of his death was unknown...