preface
In 1823, a boy named Hong Renxuan was born in the family of a peasant named Hong Renxuan in Huaminglou, Hunan Province. Long before Hong Xiuquan was born, there were rumors in the village that the Hong family would produce a big man. Sure enough, this child was born different, and at the age of five he began to be able to recite the Four Books and Five Sutras, and he became famous in the countryside as a teenager. When the villagers saw Hong Xiuquan, they all admired him and thought that he would become a great master.
However, the good times did not last long, in 1837, 14-year-old Hong Xiuquan went to Guangdong to take the exam, but he fell behind three times, and for a time he was confused about his future. This winter, Hong Xiuquan accidentally obtained a book called "The Treasure of Good Music", which contains a lot of Christian content and opens up his spiritual world. After reading it, the idea of equality and fraternity deeply influenced Hong Xiuquan, who had great ambitions, and he felt that he had found his purpose in life and began to embark on the road of preaching.
First, the accident of fate or the providence? Hong Xiuquan's missionary path
In 1843, 20-year-old Hong Xiuquan came to Guangxi with two disciples to preach. At first, few believed in his ideas and was even considered heretical by the locals. Hong Xiuquan was not discouraged, and he insisted on touring villages to preach, gradually attracting some poor people. Among them, Chang Kaishen and Feng Yunshan were his initial supporters.
Chang Kaishen was born in a landlord family, read a lot of books since he was a child, and fell behind when he took the township examination at the age of 20, and then fell into his hometown. He was originally not interested in Hong Xiuquan's preaching, but after many discussions with Hong Xiuquan, he gradually recognized his ideas and became Hong Xiuquan's right-hand man.
And Feng Yunshan is a miner from a poor family, but he is smart and studious, and has ambitions. From the beginning, he admired Hong Xiuquan's idea of equality, and after joining Hong Xiuquan, he became the backbone of missionary activities.
With the assistance of the two, Hong Xiuquan's missionary work gradually accumulated a certain mass base in the vicinity. In 1847, Hong Xiuquan decided to officially raise the flag and rebel against the corrupt Qing rule.
Second, from Guangxi to Nanjing, how did Hong Xiuquan mobilize the masses?
On January 11, 1851, Hong Xiuquan officially raised the banner in Jintian Village, Guangxi, proclaiming the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and proclaimed himself "Heavenly King". The rebel army soon captured several county towns in Guangxi. Only then did the Qing Dynasty realize the seriousness of the situation, but still despised this "rabble".
The main force of the rebel army set out from Guangxi, under the leadership of Chang Kaishen, Feng Yunshan and other backbones, all the way north, invincible. Everywhere they went, they spread the idea of equality of the king, won the support of many poor people, and joined the rebel army. The rebel army was huge, and the Qing army was repeatedly defeated.
In March 1853, the rebel army marched into Jiangxi and Hunan. At this time, villager Zhang Xianzhong also joined the rebel army. Zhang Xianzhong was born as a sharecropper from a poor family and followed the rebel army to find a way out. He was industrious and trusted, and later became an important general.
In December of the same year, the rebel army went straight to Beijing. In March 1854, after three days of fierce fighting, the Taiping Army captured Nanjing. Nanjing, the symbol of Qing rule, fell. Many gentry who had been watching saw that the rebel army was so strong and joined the Taiping Rebellion. The rebels were also supported by arms.
An important reason why the rebel army was able to grow rapidly was that the equality policy formulated by Hong Xiuquan and others attracted the vast number of poor people. The policies promulgated by the Taiping Rebellion, such as equal land rights, smoking bans and alcohol, were well supported by the people and greatly boosted the morale of the rebel troops.
Third, how to solve the problem of military spending? Various ways to raise funds for the Taiping Rebellion
One of the problems brought about by the growth of the rebel army is that military spending is increasing. At the beginning of the uprising, Hong Xiuquan implemented the "holy treasury system", requiring believers to voluntarily pay money and grain to support the rebel army. But this is far from enough.
In 1855, Nanjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was known as "Tianjing". Faced with the problem of military spending, the Taiping Rebellion adopted a series of financing measures:
The first is the siege of cities. When the Taiping Army attacked various places, it would rob the rich households and the government of money and grain, and hand over all of them to the "holy treasury". The rebels also expropriated the property of landlords as an important source of military supplies. This allowed the reserve of the "Holy Treasury" to grow rapidly.
Secondly, the Taiping Rebellion also vigorously developed business and profited from overseas trade. After the Taiping Rebellion occupied Nanjing, it took advantage of its location to develop foreign trade in tea and other commodities. The silk and tea they sold to countries such as Britain and France were welcomed and earned considerable income. This provided an important source of income for the rebels.
Through these methods, the Taiping Rebellion basically solved the problem of military spending and ensured the sustained development of the uprising. In 1858, during the heyday of the Taiping Rebellion, the sphere of influence covered almost the entire Yangtze River basin, and the Qing Dynasty's rule almost collapsed.
Fourth, corruption and infighting accelerate decline, where will Hong Xiuquan go?
However, the good times did not last long, and after 1860, the Taiping Rebellion began to decline. One of the important reasons is the corruption struggle within the ruling clique.
After Hong Xiuquan founded the Taiping Rebellion, he gradually ignored important affairs and indulged in the harem. Important power gradually fell into the hands of Yang Xiuqing and others. These powerful people are constantly fighting for power and money, and the political situation is turbulent.
After the Taiping Rebellion occupied Nanjing, the upper classes lived extravagantly, and wantonly looted the people's fat and anointment. The morale of the rebel army was also greatly deteriorated, and military discipline was sluggish. Many people lost confidence in the Taiping Rebellion, and the Qing army took the opportunity to counterattack and regain the lost territory.
In 1861, Yang Xiuqing lost the power struggle and left Nanjing. After that, the civil strife in the Taiping rebellion intensified, and the various factions attacked each other. The originally strong unity was broken, and the strength of the rebel army was greatly weakened.
In March 1864, the Qing army and the Western coalition conquered Nanjing. The following month, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom retreated to Tianjing, and Hong Xiuquan finally walked out of the harem and personally led the battle. But it was too late, and in July the Taiping Rebellion collapsed, and Hong Xiuquan was captured in exile and finally executed by Ling Chi.
As the leader of the peasant uprising, Hong Xiuquan had ambitions to change the world. But after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he gradually lost himself and could not restrain his subordinates, which eventually led to the collapse of the uprising, which can be described as the end of the hero, which is indeed embarrassing.
Fifth, after the dream of heaven was shattered, Hong Xiuquan's spirit lived on
Despite its eventual failure, the Taiping Rebellion promoted the historical process of the disintegration of feudalism in Chinese society and had a profound impact on future generations. It marked the climax of the Chinese peasant uprising and was one of the largest peasant wars in Chinese history.
The Taiping Rebellion dealt a heavy blow to the decadent Qing government and Western invading forces. It also promoted ideological emancipation and opened the historical prelude to the bourgeois revolution. During the Xinhai Revolution and the Liberation War, the spirit of the Taiping Rebellion was inherited and carried forward for the New Democratic Revolution.
epilogue
Although Hong Xiuquan suffered the consequences of his ultimate failure for various reasons, the ideal of equality and the spirit of resisting oppression that he tried to establish inspired and inspired future generations to a certain extent, pushing China from feudal autocracy to democracy and freedom. Today, we remember Hong Xiuquan, but also the universal values of freedom and equality he advocated, and these spirits are always worthy of our reference and promotion.