The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a peasant regime created by a peasant uprising in the late Qing Dynasty, which was also the largest peasant war in Chinese history. This is a question that many readers are quite concerned about. Let’s learn about it together with all the readers and give you a reference.
In the late Qing Dynasty, after the Opium War, the Qing government intensified the exploitation of the people in order to fulfill unequal treaties. At the same time, corruption was rampant, and conflicts between farmers and landowners intensified. In 1851, Hong Xiuquan led Yang Xiuqing and others to launch an uprising in Jintian, Guangxi, beginning the magnificent Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. In less than 6 years, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom swept across 18 provinces with an unprecedented scale. However, surprisingly, in June 1856, there was a sudden internal strife in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, resulting in the famous “Tianjing Incident”, and from then on, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began to decline.
At the beginning of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising, there were a total of six “kings”. Among them, the Western King Xiao Chaogui and the Southern King Feng Yunshan died in battle, while the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing was killed in the Tianjing Incident. Subsequently, the Northern King Wei Changhui was dismembered by five horses, and the Wing King Shi Da chose to leave happily but coldly. Hong Xiuquan no longer had any “old friends” by his side. Among them, Shi Dakai is hailed as an outstanding military strategist, while Yang Xiuqing is described as a “ridiculous authoritarian” politician. In fact, people have many misunderstandings about Yang Xiuqing.
In the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Yang Xiuqing was appointed as the Eastern King, with the nickname “Nine Thousand Years Old”, second only to Hong Xiuquan. Hong Xiuquan was mainly responsible for religious affairs, and all military mobilization and government affairs were handled by Yang Xiuqing. The fact that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was able to sweep half of China within six years is enough to prove that Yang Xiuqing, as a “commander”, is not a mediocre person. However, peasant uprisings often have many limitations, and Chinese people still need a long time to explore this “political and religious unity” regime, among which there are certainly sacrifices. And Yang Xiuqing’s sacrifice is very typical.
Yang Xiuqing was responsible for the military and political power of the Taiping Army for a long time, as recorded in history:
Xiu Quanyi resided deeply and did not leave. Military affairs were decided by Xiu Qing, and literary reports were given to his mansion first. Punishments, rewards, and dismissals were all given to him, and he was sent to the kings.
Since the establishment of the Heavenly King’s Mansion, Hong Xiuquan has rarely left the palace. All military reports and punishments are handled by the Eastern Palace. Yang Xiuqing may seem like the “second in command” of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but in reality, he is equivalent to the commander-in-chief. Moreover, Yang Xiuqing has a special privilege, which is to spread rumors on behalf of the Heavenly Father. Yang Xiuqing can use the name of the Heavenly Father to give orders, and Hong Xiuquan has no right to stop him.
As the achievements of victory grew, the power of Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan collided. Coupled with the instigation of other malicious individuals, Hong Xiuquan believed that Yang Xiuqing had a tendency to “rebel and seize power”. Even some unofficial historians believe that at this stage, Yang Xiuqing demanded from Hong Xiuquan to call himself “Wansui”. Where is it? Nine thousand years is not enough, do we need to add another thousand years? Hong Xiuquan eventually erupted and secretly ordered the Northern Prince Wei Changhui to massacre the Eastern Palace, resulting in the death of Yang Xiuqing.
In the “Qing History Draft: Biography of Hong Xiuquan”, the process of Yang Xiuqing’s murder is described:
Xiuquan couldn’t bear it, so he summoned Wei Changhui to secretly plan it… Seeing Xiuqing, he called out ‘Long live!’ Changhui pretended to be happy and offered congratulations, while Xiuqing stayed for a banquet. Half drunk, Chang Hui was caught off guard and stabbed with a sword, causing him to die from a chest hole.
Yang Xiuqing had great influence, and Hong Xiuquan chose Wei Changhui to remove Yang Xiuqing. Because Wei Changhui has always been dissatisfied with Yang Xiuqing, and his own brother was once forced to death by Yang Xiuqing. Wei Changhui acted in defiance and killed Yang Xiuqing at a banquet.
But Yang Xiuqing held great power in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for many years, with tens of thousands of confidants under his command. After Yang Xiuqing’s death, these “Dongwang Party” members spent their days killing members of the “Beiwang Party” in order to avenge Yang Xiuqing. How can we solve this problem. The Qing History Draft, Biography of Hong Xiuquan, describes a detail as follows:
The Eastern Party was filled with fear and engaged in daily battles with the Northern Party, with many of them dying and fleeing. Xiuquan’s wife Lai Shizhen said, “If evil cannot be eliminated completely, there will be future disasters.” Because Xiuquan was accused of being guilty of being cruel and cruel, Chang Hui was punished with a staff to comfort and thank the Eastern Party. They were summoned to come and observe, and could be gathered and annihilated. Xiuquan used his strategy and suddenly surrounded and killed the spectators with armor. The Eastern Party has been completely wiped out, with nearly 30000 deaths before and after.
That is to say, the members of the Dongwang Party caused chaos all day long. Lai Shi, the wife of Hong Xiuquan, said to Hong Xiuquan beside her pillow, “We cannot eliminate evil all the time, and we will leave disaster behind.” She also provided a plan: to have Hong Xiuquan pretend to execute Wei Changhui, to exonerate Dongwang Yang Xiuqing, and to have the Dongwang Party members observe the execution process. Then deploy troops on the periphery and kill all the followers of the Dongwang faction present. This time, more than 30000 people were killed, and the Dongwang Party was basically wiped out.
It has to be said that this strategy is extremely vicious. Hong Xiuquan’s wife Lai Shi, also known as Lai Lianying, is also known as the “Zhengyue Palace”. She accompanies Hong Xiuquan all year round, helping him handle government affairs and train female soldiers. She has made great contributions to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Because Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the Son of the Heavenly Father and the Sun, the place where his wife lived was called the Moon Palace.
Looking at Yang Xiuqing’s political achievements during his reign, it can be seen that he was indeed quite capable. The death of Yang Xiuqing has always been a matter of doubt in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Some people say that Yang Xiuqing did not actually rebel, but was wrongfully killed by Hong Xiuquan. The history is vast, and the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom stems from the limitations of the peasant class uprising. As the achievements of victory grew greater and greater, these righteous soldiers gradually became arrogant and decadent, forgetting their initial goals, losing themselves in the struggle for power and ultimately leading to tragedy.
