The great seal of the Taiping. This version of the Taiping state seal, measuring 20.5 centimeters square, was probably made in 1860 or 1861 during the last years of Taiping rule over their Heavenly Kingdom. The seal is in the form of an acrostic, and Chinese scholars have long debated the exact order in which the characters on the seal were meant to be read and interpreted. The most definitive recent interpretation, offered by Wang Qingcheng, suggests starting with the central characters at the top of seal, proceeding with alternating lines in the bottom half of the seal (fanning out from the center and reading from right to left) before concluding with the smaller outside characters in the top half. This yields the following reading:

The Taiping state seal:

[Of] God the Father,

The Heavenly Elder Brother Christ,

The Heavenly King Hong, the sun, ruler of the bountiful earth,

[And] the Savior and Young Monarch, the True King, Guifu.

Exalted for a myriad years, eternally granting Heaven’s favor,

Eternally maintaining Heaven and earth in gracious harmony and convivial peace.