Small Swords Society

[8] The Society succeeded in seizing Xiamen, Tong'an, Zhangzhou, and Zhangpu in Fujian province, but was forced to withdraw after heavy fighting, continuing resistance at sea until 1858.

[9] While in Xiamen, they allied with forces of the Red Turban Rebellion in Humen to seize the city of Huizhou, near Guangzhou, Guangdong province, helping to galvanise that insurrection.

[11] Large numbers of Chinese refugees from surrounding areas flooded into the foreign concessions in this period, dramatically increasing the population there and giving rise to the prevalent longtang or shikumen-style housing which came to dominate Shanghai by the early 20th Century.

[12] The Small Sword Society in Shanghai initially declared the re-establishment of Da Ming Guo (Chinese: 大明国), the Great Ming State, and elected Liu Lichuan as leader, who wrote to the Heavenly King of the Taiping Tianguo to join his rebellion, subsequently adopting the Taiping Tianguo name.

[15] The Society's headquarters were in the Yu Garden of Shanghai, at the heart of the old city and today a popular tourist attraction and shopping district.