The Jintian Uprising was an armed revolt formally declared by Hong Xiuquan on 11 January 1851 during the late Qing Dynasty. The uprising was named after Jintian (present-day Guiping, Guangxi), the place where it took place. It was the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion.

In 1843 Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan and Hong Rengan founded the God Worshipping Society (拜上帝教), a heterodox Christian sect, in Hua County (花縣; present-day Huadu District, Guangdong). The following year they traveled to Guangxi to spread their teachings to the peasant population. After that, Hong Xiuquan returned to Guangdong to write about his beliefs, while Feng Yunshan remained in the Mount Zijing (紫荊山) area to rally people like Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui to join their sect.

Around 1849, a famine broke out in Guangxi and the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) rose in rebellion against the ruling Qing Dynasty.

By the 7th lunar month of 1850, Hong Xiuquan had amassed over 20,000 followers, who were all gathered at Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi. In preparation for an uprising, Hong organized these men into military formations, each led by commanders with military ranks: a marshal (軍帥) commanded five divisional marshals (師帥); each divisional marshal commanded five brigade marshals (旅帥); each brigade marshal commanded five infantry chiefs (卒長); each infantry chief commanded four majors (兩司馬); each major commanded five company leaders (伍長); each company leader had four soldiers under him. The total number of officers and enlisted personnel reached 13,155 by the end of that month, and civilian ranks were also created to govern the remaining civilian population.

The Qing imperial army in Guangxi was not particularly strong, with only about 30,000 troops, and was occupied with suppressing the Tiandihui's rebellion. Hong Xiuquan and his followers were able to build their forces without being noticed by the government.

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