Editorial Standards

Reader-facing prose

Write the main articles for interested readers. Teach the event first. Put technical source problems in notes and editor pages unless the problem changes the meaning of the story.

Do not write sentences that talk to editors inside the article body. Do not say "use this term" in a narrative page. Put naming rules here.

Footnotes

Use Markdown footnotes. Do not place raw citation commentary in the middle of sentences.

Example:

The Taiping captured Nanjing in March 1853 and renamed it Tianjing.[^britannica-taiping]

Footnote discipline

1. Every factual claim in reader-facing prose must be traceable to an identified source. If no source supports a claim, flag it with [citation needed] or move it to a draft/notes page.
2. Use the most direct source available. If Michael Vols. II-III provides a translated document, cite Michael, not a secondary summary of the translation.
3. Do not cite Britannica or other tertiary sources for contested or specialist claims. They are acceptable for uncontested dates, names, and basic geography.
4. When a source is disputed or has known bias (e.g. Lindley's pro-Taiping partisanship, Qing memorials' tendency to inflate enemy numbers), note the limitation in the footnote.
5. Chinese-language sources are cited in the original characters with pinyin romanisation. Provide an English translation of the title in the first footnote citation. Subsequent citations may use the English title alone.
6. Source access information (URL, LibGen ID, Internet Archive identifier) should be included in the first footnote citation for each source.
7. Do not use "op. cit." or "ibid." in footnotes. Use short-title references (e.g. "Michael, History and Documents, Vol. I, p. 45").
8. Group multiple citations supporting the same claim in a single footnote, separated by semicolons.

Chinese terms

On first use in a major page, write: Chinese characters, pinyin, translation.

Example: 天京, Tiānjīng, "Heavenly Capital."

After first use, use the English term or pinyin form that best fits the page.

Translation standards for Chinese passages

1. Three-tier translation rule: When a Chinese passage is quoted in reader-facing prose, provide:
2. - The original Chinese text (in the footnote, unless the passage is short enough to include inline)
3. - A literal translation (in the footnote, especially when the phrasing is contested)
4. - A polished translation (in the body text, for readability)

1. Transliteration: Use Hanyu pinyin for all Chinese terms. Do not use Wade-Giles unless quoting a source that uses it (in which case add the pinyin equivalent in brackets on first use).

1. Names: Use the Chinese name order (surname first) for all Chinese historical figures in the body text. Example: Hong Xiuquan, not Xiuquan Hong. For figures better known by a Western version of their name, note the Chinese original on first use.

1. Titles and offices: Translate offices descriptively (e.g. "Grand Secretary" for 大学士) rather than using romanised Chinese. If a Taiping-specific title has no English equivalent, use the pinyin with translation on first use (e.g. "Liang Sima 两司马, 'two-sima officers'").

1. Place names: Use the standard pinyin form for Chinese place names in the body text (e.g. "Guangzhou" not "Canton", "Beijing" not "Peking"). Note historical names in brackets on first use when relevant.

1. Terminology consistency: Once a translation is chosen for a key term (e.g. "Heavenly Kingdom" for 天国, "Heavenly Capital" for 天京), use it consistently across all pages. Do not vary translations for stylistic variety.

1. Untranslated terms: Some terms should remain in pinyin:
2. - Proper names of specific institutions (e.g. Boji Hui for 博济会)
3. - Terms whose translations are heavily disputed or carry misleading connotations
4. - Terms where the pinyin form has become standard in English-language scholarship

Source classification rules

All sources cited in this wiki are classified according to the following scheme. The classification should appear in the source database and be available to editors assessing source reliability.

By origin

By access status

Evidence handling rules

1. Corroboration requirement: No significant factual claim should rest on a single source unless the source is the sole surviving record of the event. When a claim relies on a single source, note this in the footnote.

1. Source triangulation: For contested events, present the accounts of relevant parties side by side. Do not synthesise a "balanced" account that papers over disagreement. Example: The Suzhou Massacre (1863) should present Li Xiucheng's account, Li Hongzhang's memorial, Western eyewitness reports, and the scholarly debate as distinct elements.

1. Negative evidence: The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. When a claim cannot be corroborated because of a known gap in the source record (e.g. the destruction of Taiping archives after the fall of Nanjing), state this explicitly.

1. Silence as evidence: What sources do not say can be as important as what they do say. When a source conspicuously omits something that, if true, the source would be expected to mention, this is admissible as weak negative evidence.

1. Numbers and statistics: All casualty figures, troop strengths, and population numbers from pre-modern Chinese sources are approximate. Round numbers (especially multiples of 10,000) are conventional, not statistical. Present ranges ("between 20 and 30 million") rather than point estimates ("27 million dead"), and always cite the source of the estimate and the method used to produce it.

1. Chain of transmission: For translated sources, trace the translation lineage. If a passage from a Taiping document is known only through a Qing memorial that quotes it, a missionary translation that paraphrases it, and a modern scholarly reconstruction — present all three and explain the differences.

1. Quotations: Quote directly from the source text whenever possible. Use "..." to indicate omissions; use [brackets] to indicate editorial insertions. Never silently alter a quotation to make it fit the narrative.

Dates

Use Gregorian dates in narrative. Add lunar dates only in chronology notes or specialist pages.

Disputed dates

If sources give different dates, write the event month in the main narrative and put the exact-date issue in a note or chronology page.

Casualty numbers

Use broad estimates in overview. Use exact numbers only with region, method, and source.

Political legacy

Classify claims as direct influence, claimed influence, rhetorical invocation, historiographical analogy, later mythmaking, or no proven influence.

Prose bans

Avoid inflated significance claims, generic summaries, slogans, and decorative language. Name actors. Name places. Name documents. Use short topic sentences.

Quality checks

Before an article moves from draft to published status, verify:

1. Source check: Every factual claim has a footnote to an identified source.
2. Terminology check: Chinese terms are given with characters + pinyin + translation on first use; pinyin is correct (check tones).
3. Date check: All dates are Gregorian; lunar equivalents are in notes only.
4. Name check: All personal names follow Chinese surname-first order; all place names use standard pinyin.
5. Number check: Casualty figures cite source and method; round numbers treated as approximate.
6. Bias check: Sources with known bias (pro-Taiping, anti-Taiping, denominational, nationalist) are flagged in footnotes.
7. Translation check: Quoted passages include both original Chinese (in footnotes) and a polished English translation (in body).
8. Link check: All internal wiki links resolve; all external URLs are accessible.
9. Claim check: Every significant claim is corroborated by at least two independent sources, or the single-source limitation is noted.
10. Readability check: A reader unfamiliar with Chinese history should be able to follow the article; all specialist terms are explained on first use.