The most stunning example of what the rise of such groups can lead to was the Taiping Rebellion that erupted in China's provinces in 1850.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

Others have concentrated on the movement's beliefs and goals, as Vincent Shih did in "The Taiping Ideology" (1973) and Rudolf Wagner did in "Reenacting the Heavenly Vision: The Role of Religion in the Taiping Rebellion" (1982).

WSJ: Book Review: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom

The country's history is filled with terrible uprisings inspired by newfangled religions--among the most recent and cataclysmic, the Christian-tinged Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from 1851 to 1864 and the mystical, Kung Fu-like Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the century.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | China: Inside China's Search for Its Soul