Between 1850 and 1950, three cataclysmic revolutions shook China to the core, but out of them, today's China emerged. Inspired by the Christian story and calling himself God's second son, Hong unleashed the bloodiest war of the 19th century, the Taiping Rebellion. As imperial China weakened, foreign influence grew: treaty exports expanded, bringing growth and wealth, trams, railways and western sensibilities. This provoked another surge of violence, the Boxer Rebellion, an attack against foreigners.