A lot of people misrepresent the Taiping revolt. It wasn't just religious fanatics. Many people high up in the Heavenly Kingdom were secular reformers who just joined it because it was the biggest movement at the time. The Taiping Kingdom was a very modernized state compared to the reactionary Qing, which is why the western powers spent so much effort helping the Qing crush them. If they had won, China would have awakened much sooner.