When it comes to unsuccessful students, many people will immediately think of the art student who stirred up the world, Hitler.
But in the thousands of years of Chinese history, there are also two students who have not been on the list, and they have the same experience as the art student who did not make the list.
One of the unsuccessful students was able to make the emperor flee in a hurry, and the other set himself up as king and established a whole new kingdom. It may sound like a fantasy, but on the stage of Chinese history, such a thrilling plot has indeed been staged. Their legendary story is comparable to that of the German art student who stirred up the world, but it is a little less bloody and a little more poetic.
These two protagonists, one is called Huang Chao and the other is named Hong Xiuquan. Their life trajectories are so similar, yet they have their own characteristics. Huang Chao, the disgusted-looking loser, eventually became the leader of the peasant uprising that terrified the emperor.
Hong Xiuquan, a scholar who has tried and failed, actually founded a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that claims to be "one family in the world". Their story is like an absurd and true historical drama, which makes people sigh at the magic of fate.
Let's take a look at the legendary life of Huang Chao first. The son of a wealthy salt merchant, he showed extraordinary talent from an early age. At the age of five, he can read poetry, is proficient in swordsmanship and horseback riding, and is simply an ancient version of "someone else's child". His family had high hopes for him, hoping that he would be able to pass the imperial examination and add glory to the family.
However, fate always likes to joke. Huang Chao failed in the palace examination because of "poor appearance". This reason sounds ridiculous, but in the social context of the time, it was a perfectly normal thing. In ancient times, the selection of officials not only looked at talent and learning, but also looked at appearance. This kind of selection system has made many talented people depressed.
After falling off the list, Huang Chao did not collapse. He returned to his hometown and inherited the family's salt merchant business. With his bold and generous personality and extraordinary talent, he soon emerged in the salt business circle and became the "leader of the salt gang". This experience provided him with valuable organizational experience in leading the uprising in the future.
However, the hardships of life and the injustice of society made the anger in Huang Chao's heart burn more and more. At that time, the Tang Dynasty had come to an end. Natural and man-made disasters followed, and the people were struggling to make a living. However, the imperial court was still immersed in extravagance, turning a deaf ear to the suffering of the people. This strong contrast became the fuse that detonated the anger of the Yellow Nest.
In 874 AD, Wang Xianzhi launched a peasant uprising in Changyuan. Huang Chao saw that the opportunity had come and immediately organized people to join it. Their team snowballed in size and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. Huang Chao's talents were fully displayed in this uprising, and he and Wang Xianzhi were called "Yellow King" together.
However, history is always full of drama. When the imperial court was recruiting An, they once again ignored Huang Chao because of his appearance. This was undoubtedly rubbing salt on the wound and completely angered Huang Chao. He decided to go it alone and began his own campaign.
Everywhere Huang Chao's army went, the people welcomed him and called him a "savior". This kind of popular desire has made Huangchao's power grow rapidly. Eventually, he broke through Chang'an, drove out the mediocre emperor, proclaimed himself "emperor", and established the "Great Qi" regime.
Although Huang Chao's regime did not last long, his uprising had a profound impact on Chinese society. He broke the door valve system for thousands of years and opened a door for the people at the bottom to enter the official career. This change laid the foundation for later social mobility.
Let's take a look at Hong Xiuquan's story. This young man from a family of cultivators in Huaxian County, Guangdong, has shown extraordinary intelligence since he was a child. He began to read at the age of seven, not only familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, but also well-read, and was an out-and-out "scholar".
However, fate always seems to like to play jokes on talented people. Hong Xiuquan has participated in the imperial examination many times, but has repeatedly failed to make the list. This kind of blow is undoubtedly huge for an ambitious young man. But Hong Xiuquan did not give up, he chose another path - to become a private school teacher.
In the process of teaching, Hong Xiuquan's talent has been fully developed. His students loved him, and the villagers praised him. However, the shadow of the imperial examination always hung over him. At the age of 25, after falling off the list again, Hong Xiuquan fell ill.
During his illness, Hong Xiuquan had a strange dream. In the dream, an old man enlightened him and taught him something he had never been exposed to before. This dream became a turning point that changed Hong Xiuquan's fate.
Later, Hong Xiuquan came across a book of "Advice to the World", and the content of this book was surprisingly consistent with his dream. From then on, Hong Xiuquan began to believe that he was the son of God and came to the world to eliminate demons and monsters. He began to spread his ideas and soon gained a following following.
Hong Xiuquan's thought advocated that "the world is one family, sharing peace", which undoubtedly had great attraction in the social environment at that time. Especially for those at the bottom who live in dire straits, this kind of thinking gives them hope and comfort.
In 1851, Hong Xiuquan launched the Jintian Uprising and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. They marched all the way to the end of the occupation of Nanjing, renamed Tianjing, and established their own regime. In Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan began to implement his ideals.
He organized a new imperial examination, which was no longer limited to the Four Books and Five Classics, but involved all walks of life. Even women could take the exam, which was a shock at the time.
However, the internal contradictions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ultimately led to its defeat. Hong Xiuquan indulged in superstition in his later years and no longer paid attention to government affairs. In the face of the Qing army's attack, he firmly believed that God would send heavenly soldiers to help him, which eventually led to the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Huang Chao and Hong Xiuquan, these two unsuccessful students separated by thousands of years, have striking similarities in their stories. They all aspired to realize their ideals through the imperial examination, but they all failed to make the list for various reasons, and finally embarked on the road of resistance. Although their uprisings ended in failure, they left a strong mark on Chinese history.
Their stories show us that talent is not buried. Even if you fail on the road of the imperial examination, as long as you have talent, you can always find a stage to display. At the same time, their experiences also reflected the injustices and contradictions in the society of the time, revealing the shortcomings of the imperial examination system.
The legendary experience of these two unsuccessful students is not only a history of personal struggle, but also a condensed history of China's social change. Their stories allow us to see how ordinary people rise up in the face of adversity and how they can change the world in their own way. Although they all failed in the end, their spirit and ideals have forever remained in the long river of history and inspired future generations.
Reference: "Hong Xiuquan's Rebellion and Inheritance of Confucian Culture" by Wei Qing
"Hong Xiuquan's Thought and the Rise and Fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" Xu Yinmei
"An Important Reason for the Failure of the Yellow Nest Uprising" Ge Chunyuan