The Taiping Rebellion was arguably the largest and most influential peasant uprising in the late Qing Dynasty. In the name of "worshipping God", Hong Xiuquan held high the banner of opposing the Qing Dynasty, and once captured Nanjing and set the capital Tianjing. However, Zeng Guofan led the Qing army to finally conquer Tianjing, and Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Rebellion failed.
Interestingly, when Zeng Guofan visited Hong Xiuquan's bedroom, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. What was the reason for Zeng Guofan's emotion? What was so special about Hong Xiuquan's bedroom? Could it be that Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life was the trigger for the collapse of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? What shocking secret was hidden in this bed?
Hong Xiuquan's rise journey
It all started with a farmer named Hong Xi. Hong Xi was originally an ordinary farmer in Yongfu County, Guangxi Province, from a poor family. In 1837, he participated in the township examination in Guangdong Province, but unfortunately failed three times in a row. After falling off the list for the third time, Hong Hee fell seriously ill, and the disease almost took his life.
Just when Hong Xi was dying, he dreamed that an old man said to him: "You are from heaven, and you have come to earth to slay demons and eliminate demons." Since then, Hong Xi has a new understanding of his mission. A few years later, Hongxi came into contact with Christianity, which led to the introduction of concepts such as "God" and "Jesus". He began to call himself "the second son of God" and "the younger brother of Jesus", and carried out religious activities in the name of "worship of God", calling on people to "worship God, not idols".
In 1847, Hong Xi changed his name to "Hong Xiuquan" and launched a movement to worship God in Guangxi. At first, Hong Xiuquan's missionary activities were not very successful, but they soon evolved into a massive peasant uprising. In 1851, Hong Xiuquan launched an armed uprising in Jintian, and was revered by his followers as the "Heavenly King", and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was born.
Hong Xiuquan ordered all the soldiers of the Taiping Army under his command to "grow their hair and change clothes" and wear red scarves on their heads, which became their symbol. In the early days of the uprising, Hong Xiuquan won successive battles and captured many cities. In 1853, the Taiping army conquered Nanjing, and Hong Xiuquan immediately changed Nanjing to "Tianjing" and made the capital here. From then on, the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom expanded rapidly, and the Taiping army not only marched westward, northward, and eastward, but this uprising soon spread throughout most of China.
Hong Xiuquan's rise journey can be described as a legendary scene. A down-and-out peasant candidate, after experiencing the baptism of serious illness, turned out to be the "king of heaven" who led millions of people. His rebel army attacked the city and plundered the land, which once plunged the Qing dynasty into an unprecedented crisis. However, just as Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Rebellion was at its peak, his "nemesis" Zeng Guofan had already begun a counteroffensive against the Taiping army.
Zeng Guofan relied on the combat strategy of "pressing step by step" to capture Wuchang in 1856 and Jiujiang in 1858, cutting off the western front of the Taiping army. In 1861, Zeng Guofan spent another year conquering Anqing, completely cutting off the Taiping army's supply on the western front. At the same time, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others also attacked the base areas of the Taiping army in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places, making it impossible to support Tianjing.
In the face of Zeng Guofan's attack, Hong Xiuquan listened to some slanderous rumors and vetoed Li Xiucheng's proposal to relieve the siege, resulting in the defeat of the Taiping army in Tianjing City. In 1864, Tianjing was finally captured by Zeng Guofan, and Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Rebellion came to an end. When Zeng Guofan stepped into Hong Xiuquan's bedroom, he was shocked by the extravagant scene he saw, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
The luxurious life of the Heavenly King's Mansion
As soon as Hong Xiuquan conquered Nanjing, he immediately began to build the imperial palace on the site of the Qing Dynasty's Liangjiang Governor's Palace, which was known as the "Heavenly King's Mansion". The Tianwang Mansion occupies more than ten miles in circumference, and is divided into two parts: the outer city "Sun City" and the inner city "Golden Dragon City", and the city wall is as high as two zhang.
There are buildings such as the Golden Dragon Palace, the West Garden, and the Houlin Garden in the Tianwang Mansion, and the layout is magnificent and magnificent. The Golden Dragon Hall is the main hall of Hong Xiuquan, which is used to receive civil and military officials. The west garden is for Hong Xiuquan to enjoy the flowers, planted with all kinds of exotic flowers and plants. Houlin Garden is dedicated to Hong Xiuquan to raise all kinds of rare birds and beasts.
In addition to the building itself, the decoration in the Tianwang Mansion is also splendid. The dragon chairs are carved from the finest mahogany inlaid with gold and pearls, and the floor is covered with priceless Persian carpets. On the wall hangs a plaque of Hong Xiuquan's imperial pen, on which the four characters of "all countries come to court".
Hong Xiuquan's dormitory is also extremely luxurious. In the center of the dormitory is a large mahogany bed, carved from the finest mahogany, with delicate patterns. The bed is covered with a futon made of silk brocade, and the pillow is carved from Lantian jade.
Hong Xiuquan's daily life is also extravagant. When he travels, he has to take sixty-eight sedan chairs, which is huge. His crown was made of eight pounds of gold, which was worth a lot of money. Even the meals are made of pure gold with bowls and chopsticks, and each meal has to be served with a total of 24 dishes of "six birds, six beasts, six scales, and six introductions".
In addition to luxury daily necessities, Hong Xiuquan is most criticized for his obsession with beauty. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was first established, Hong Xiuquan had already searched for beauties from all over the world to serve as concubines. After arriving at the Heavenly King's Mansion, his lust was even more indulgent.
According to Hong Xiuquan's son Hong Tianguifu's confession, Hong Xiuquan had a total of eighty-seven concubines, of which Lai was the second concubine, and Hong Tianguifu was born to her. Hong Tianguifu also revealed that when he was nine years old, Hong Xiuquan had already given him four wives and concubines.
In addition to concubines, there are folk histories that say that Hong Xiuquan imprisoned more than 2,000 beauties in the Tianwang Mansion for him to choose concubines. Although this statement is an exaggeration, Hong Xiuquan's obsession with beauty is well known.
Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life did not stop there. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom implemented the "Sacred Treasury" system, and all gold and silver treasures were classified as "Sacred Treasury", which was distributed and used by Hong Xiuquan and other leaders. This opened the door to the corruption and extravagance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leadership.
Hong Xiuquan not only used the wealth in the "holy treasury" to purchase luxury goods, but also distributed a large amount of gold and silver to his cronies and concubines, resulting in the rapid loss of wealth in the "sacred treasury". At the same time, the Taiping Army's food and grass supply was very scarce, and the quality of life of the sergeants deteriorated.
Not only that, other leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, such as Yang Xiuqing, also imitated Hong Xiuquan's style and lived a life of extravagance and decay. Yang Xiuqing's Dongwang Mansion is even grander than the Tianwang Mansion, and there is even a fish tank under his palanquin so that he can enjoy fish in the palanquin.
Faced with the extravagant life of Hong Xiuquan and his subordinates, discontent within the Taiping army was high. Many soldiers felt that it was a mistake for the leadership to be so profligate and to fight so hard in the midst of war. This dissatisfaction eventually led to divisions and struggles within the Taiping Army, which became one of the important factors in the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Zeng Guofan conquered Tianjing
Zeng Guofan's process of conquering Tianjing can be described as thrilling and legendary.
In 1853, after Hong Xiuquan captured Nanjing, he renamed it "Tianjing" and made the capital here. From then on, the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom expanded rapidly, and the Taiping army not only marched westward, northward, and eastward, but this uprising soon spread throughout most of China.
In the face of the fierce attack of the Taiping army, the Qing Dynasty was shocked. Emperor Xianfeng had to issue an edict ordering Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and others to jointly quell the Taiping Rebellion.
In 1856, Zeng Guofan led the Hunan army to conquer Wuchang and cut off the western front of the Taiping army. In 1858, he captured Jiujiang and completely isolated the base of the Taiping army. From then on, the Taiping army could only support itself in Tianjing City.
In order to conquer Tianjing, Zeng Guofan adopted the combat strategy of "pressing step by step". He ordered his generals Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and others to attack the base areas of the Taiping Army in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places to cut off their foreign aid.
At the same time, Zeng Guofan personally led his army to besiege Tianjing in three ways. One of them was led by him personally, one was commanded by Wu Changqing, and the other was led by Feng Zicai. The three-way army pressed forward step by step, putting Tianjing in an unprecedented predicament.
In the spring of 1864, Zeng Guofan ordered a general attack on Tianjing. After months of fierce fighting, at the end of June, the last line of defense of the Taiping army was breached. On July 19, Zeng led a large army into Tianjing City.
After entering the city, Zeng Guofan first came to Hong Xiuquan's Tianwang Mansion. At this time, the Tianwang Mansion was already in shambles, Hong Xiuquan had already died of illness, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was already "a group of dragons without a leader".
Zeng Guofan looked around in the Heavenly King's Mansion and finally came to Hong Xiuquan's bedroom. As soon as he entered, he was stunned by what he saw—a huge mahogany bed standing in the middle of the dormitory.
This bed is as wide as a flat boat, with more than 200 square meters. The bed is intricately carved from the finest mahogany, with delicate floral patterns. The bed is covered with a futon made of silk brocade, and the pillow is carved from Lantian jade.
Faced with such an extravagant scene, Zeng Guofan couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. He thought of Hong Xiuquan's arrogant and lascivious life in the Heavenly King's Mansion, and couldn't help but sigh: "If you don't die, who will die!"
In fact, Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life has long been well known. According to Hong Xiuquan's son Hong Tianguifu's confession, Hong Xiuquan had a total of eighty-seven concubines, of which Lai was the second concubine, and Hong Tianguifu was born to her.
Hong Tianguifu also revealed that when he was nine years old, Hong Xiuquan had already given him four wives and concubines. In addition to concubines, there are folk histories that say that Hong Xiuquan imprisoned more than 2,000 beauties in the Tianwang Mansion for him to choose concubines.
Not only that, Hong Xiuquan's daily life is also extravagant. When he travels, he has to take sixty-eight sedan chairs, which is huge. His crown was made of eight pounds of gold, which was worth a lot of money. Even the meals are made of pure gold with bowls and chopsticks, and each meal has to be served with a total of 24 dishes of "six birds, six beasts, six scales, and six introductions".
In the face of Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life, discontent within the Taiping Army was high. Many soldiers felt that it was a mistake for the leadership to be so profligate and to fight so hard in the midst of war.
This dissatisfaction eventually led to divisions and struggles within the Taiping Army. In 1856, there was a "change of the king's husband" in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Hong Xiuquan's close confidant Wang Fuzhi was executed. In 1859, there was another "Dongwang Party Dispute", and Yang Xiuqing was sentenced to the Nine Clans.
With continuous internal friction and the attack of Zeng Guofan, the foundation of the Taiping army was gradually shaken. In 1864, Li Xiucheng proposed to Hong Xiuquan to relieve the siege, but they were all rejected by Hong Xiuquan. Eventually, Tianjing fell, and the Taiping Rebellion was completely destroyed.
After Zeng Guofan conquered Tianjing, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion when he saw all kinds of traces of Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life. If Hong Xiuquan was not arrogant and lascivious, and concentrated on military affairs, perhaps the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would not have been easily destroyed.
The cause of the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
The fall of the Taiping Rebellion did not happen overnight. The failure of this peasant uprising, which lasted for 14 years, was due to many reasons.
First of all, there were serious contradictions and divisions within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In 1856, Hong Xiuquan's confidant Wang Fuzhi was executed, triggering the "Wang Fu Change". In 1859, the "Dongwang Party Dispute" broke out again, and Yang Xiuqing was sentenced to the nine clans.
These infighting constantly weakened the combat effectiveness of the Taiping Army, and also made Hong Xiuquan suspicious of the people around him. When Li Xiucheng proposed to Hong Xiuquan in 1864 to relieve the siege, Hong Xiuquan actually vetoed it completely, resulting in the defeat of the Taiping army in Tianjing City.
Second, the Taiping Rebellion was hit by external forces, especially the invasion of Western powers. In 1853, after Hong Xiuquan conquered Nanjing, Britain, France, the United States and other countries put pressure on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to open its treaty ports.
In 1856, Britain directly declared war on the Taiping Army and sent fleets to bombard Guangzhou and other places. In 1862, the Anglo-French forces directly captured Ningbo, cutting off the Taiping army's sea supply lines. The intervention of the Western powers undoubtedly hastened the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Moreover, the Taiping Rebellion, as a peasant uprising, had some limitations of its own. First of all, there was a lack of effective strategic and organizational leadership, and although Hong Xiuquan and other leaders had certain military talents, they were ultimately literati and lacked systematic military training.
The second is that the economic and material conditions are backward and cannot meet the needs of the army and the people. Although the Taiping army captured many cities, they did not establish an effective economic system, and the supply of grain and grass has always been a big problem.
Finally, there are some problems with the idea of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. Although the "worship of God" proposed by Hong Xiuquan has an anti-superstitious aspect, it also has some elements of gods and gods, and it is difficult to truly emancipate the people's minds.
Coupled with the extravagant life of leaders such as Hong Xiuquan, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement gradually deviated from the original intention of "helping the people", and also made the general public disappointed with it.
In the face of the Taiping army's attack, Zeng Guofan adopted the combat strategy of "controlling the upper and lower, pressing step by step". He ordered his generals Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and others to attack the base areas of the Taiping Army in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places to cut off their foreign aid.
At the same time, Zeng Guofan personally led his army to besiege Tianjing in three ways. One of them was led by him personally, one was commanded by Wu Changqing, and the other was led by Feng Zicai. The three-way army pressed forward step by step, putting Tianjing in an unprecedented predicament.
In the spring of 1864, Zeng Guofan ordered a general attack on Tianjing. After months of fierce fighting, at the end of June, the last line of defense of the Taiping army was breached. On July 19, Zeng led a large army into Tianjing City, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was completely destroyed.
After Zeng Guofan conquered Tianjing, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion when he saw all kinds of traces of Hong Xiuquan's extravagant life. If Hong Xiuquan was not arrogant and lascivious, and concentrated on military affairs, perhaps the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would not have been easily destroyed.
The failure of the Taiping Rebellion was, of course, due to many reasons. However, the extravagant life and extravagant style of Hong Xiuquan and other leaders were undoubtedly one of the important factors that led to the collapse of the movement. This also warns future generations that the success of any undertaking requires leaders to keep a clear head and firm beliefs, and must not be deceived by power and money.