I don't know if I've seen a proper WI on this, but it seems ripe for AH in terms of changes stemming from a single person.
So, suppose that Hong Xiuquan never rebels-he gets killed in a carriage accident, passes his exams and becomes a little-known if somewhat unusual eccentric local official, never meets any missionaries(admittedly leaving an opening for him to start a more buddhist/daoist tinged uprising if he does so). What might happen? Obviously the Qing dynasty is far from out of the woods yet what with the sheer number of rebellions that happened in the early and mid 19th century, but the sheer scale of the Taiping revolt suggests that it not happening would have fairly massive consequences, or even it not happening as it did.
So, suppose that Hong Xiuquan never rebels-he gets killed in a carriage accident, passes his exams and becomes a little-known if somewhat unusual eccentric local official, never meets any missionaries(admittedly leaving an opening for him to start a more buddhist/daoist tinged uprising if he does so). What might happen? Obviously the Qing dynasty is far from out of the woods yet what with the sheer number of rebellions that happened in the early and mid 19th century, but the sheer scale of the Taiping revolt suggests that it not happening would have fairly massive consequences, or even it not happening as it did.