Taiping Rebellion

Author: Nan Gong Bo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: In the late Qing Dynasty, political corruption and suffering plagued the people. Hong Xiuquan, a village schoolteacher who failed the imperial exams repeatedly, rose up with his followers in Jintian Village, Guangxi, and founded the God Worshipping Society. Centered on the belief in God and Jesus, he claimed to be the son of God and the brother of Jesus, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In addition to proclaiming himself the Heavenly King, he also enfeoffed five kings: the Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern, and Winged Kings. As the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan used the guise of spiritual possession to wield power. The Eastern King, Yang Xiuqing, held great authority but harbored selfish ambitions to replace the Heavenly King's position within the kingdom and had a romantic affair with the Heavenly King's sister—Hong Xuanjiao, known as the "Six-Day Virgin." Hong Xuanjiao was originally a wandering performer in the martial arts world. By chance, she joined the God Worshipping Society through Yang Xiuqing. Later, she became the dual commander of the women's army in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, wielding immense power for a time. This alluring, willful, and tyrannical woman navigated among the various kings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, engaging in romantic affairs with the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, the Western King Xiao Chaogui, and the Northern King Wei Changhui. Due to political factors, she could not marry the man she loved—Yang Xiuqing—and instead married her first love, Xiao Chaogui. Hong Xuanjiao, the commander of the women's army, became a legendary figure in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.