As the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan led the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that swept most of China, from the Jintian Uprising in 1851 to the fall of Tianjing in 1864, a peasant uprising that lasted fourteen years, developed eighteen provinces, and conquered more than 600 cities. The heavy blow to Chinese and foreign reactionary forces has left a far-reaching impact on China's modern history. Hong Xiuquan brought the Chinese peasant uprising to the pinnacle of thousands of years.
(Statue of Zeng Guofan)
However, there are many differences about the cause of Hong Xiuquan's death, whether Hong Xiuquan committed suicide by poison when the Qing army was pressing, or died of illness, and what kind of relationship Hong Xiuquan's death has with Zeng Guofan, let's take a look.
(Where the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom met at that time)
Looking through the historical materials, Hong Xiuquan "committed suicide by taking poison", and these historical materials are basically related to Zeng Guofan, who mentioned Hong Xiuquan's death in the "Li Xiucheng Self-Description" engraved in the third year of Tongzhi: "Tianwang Si was anxious and irritable every day, that is, he died of poisoning on April 27. This is Zeng Guofan's statement, but most researchers do not agree with this cause of death, after all, Zeng Guofan and Hong Xiuquan are two "hostile forces".
(Hong Shung-jeong image)
Zeng Guofan was the mind of the "Xiang Army" at that time, there was Empress Dowager Cixi above and the Xiang Army below, Zeng Guofan considered both the interests of the country and his own interests, and for dealing with the cause of Hong Xiuquan's death, he had to give an explanation to both the people of the world and the Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, Zeng Guofan could only let Hong Xiuquan "commit suicide by taking poison", which avoided a lot of trouble.
(Scene of Hong Xiuquan's meeting)
On June 1, 1864 (April 27, 1864), Hong Xiuquan died, and Hong Xiuquan's son Hong Tianguifu succeeded him, saying in Hong Tianguifu's "Self-Statement": "On April 19 of this year, the old king died of illness, and on the twenty-fourth day, the courtiers helped me to ascend the throne." From Hong Tianguifu's "self-statement", it can be seen that Hong Xiuquan died of illness, and when Hong Tianfugui succeeded to the throne at that time, he was still an ignorant teenager who had never been out of the gate.
(Statue of Hong Xiuquan)
The words of this ignorant teenager can still be believed, because when Hong Tianguifu was tried at Yamen in Jiangxi, he put all the responsibility on him to Hong Xiuquan, Hong Renjie, Li Xiucheng, and others, and Hong Tianguifu also said: "The things that fought in Jiangshan were all done by the old heavenly king, and had nothing to do with me." "Even after I ascended the throne, they were all done by the King of Gan and the King of Loyalty." At the critical moment, Hong Tianguifu showed his naivety and immaturity, Hong Tianguifu was also more realistic, and his self-statement would not lie.
(Zeng Guofan dynasty costume statue)
However, in early 1960, a photocopy of "Li Xiucheng's Confessions of Relatives" (i.e., "Li Xiucheng's Self-Description"), which was treasured in Zeng Guofan's home, was officially released, which contained the original record of Hong Xiuquan's death, which also proved that Hong Xiuquan died of illness, not suicide. It is recorded: "The King of Heaven was very ill and died on April 21. "This man's illness, who did not take medicine, who let his illness be good, who did not take medicine, who did not take medicine, died on April 21." The original manuscript was contrasted with the engraving, the truth was revealed, and the so-called engraved "Li Zicheng Self-Statement" was forged by Zeng Guofan. Compared with other original records, Hong Xiuquan's illness and death are more certain.