Xiao Chaogui
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Xiao Chaogui (; 1820 – September 1852) was an important leader during the early years of the
Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...
against the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
of China. He was a sworn brother to
Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdo ...
, the leader of the Taipings, and claimed to serve as a mouthpiece for
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Because of his importance to the rebellion, he was awarded the title of the "West King."


Early life

Xiao Chaogui was a poor peasant farmer from
Wuxuan Wuxuan County (; za, Vujsenh Yen) is a county in the east-central part of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Laibin. During the Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the ...
, now part of
Guiping Guiping () is a county-level city in eastern Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guigang City, located at the confluence of the Qian River, Qian and Yu River (China), Yu rivers, which are the Xi River's primary north and south tri ...
, in the Thistle Mountain region of
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
. Despite his modest means, he became an influential leader in the region. He was probably a member of the
Hakka people The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhe ...
, but it has also been suggested that he was Yao He may have been a relative of
Yang Xiuqing Yang Xiuqing () (died September 2/3, 1856), was an organizer and commander-in-chief of the Taiping Rebellion. Early life Yang Xiuqing's family were farmers from Xincun near Jintian, Guangxi, but he lost his parents at a young age. According ...
. He, along with his wife, father, and brothers, joined Hong Xiuquan's Society of God Worshippers. He possessed a "legendary reputation for valor and physical strength."


Wife

He was married to Yang Yunjiao, a zealous God Worshipper. Yang claimed to have visited Heaven in 1837 during a serious illness and to have been informed of the coming of a religious instructor, who was later presumed to be Hong Xiuquan. Some sources have stated that, following the death of his first wife, Xiao married
Hong Xuanjiao Hong Xuanjiao (, - fl. 1856), was a Chinese female general and rebel leader during the Taiping Rebellion. She was the sister of the leader of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan. She acted as co-commander of the Taiping forces during the civi ...
, a younger sister of Hong Xiuquan. This Hong Xuanjiao has left an imprint on Chinese culture as a valiant female warrior. However, Hong Xiuquan had no younger sister. Instead, it appears that wives of Taiping Kings like Xiao Chaogu were referred to as "younger sisters" of Hong Xiuquan. The most likely explanation appears to be that Yang Yunjiao and Hong Xuanjiao were the same person; Yang Yunjiao changed her given name from Yunjiao to Xuanjiao (possibly due to issues related to pronunciation), and folk historians provided her with the surname Hong to honor Hong Xiaquan.


The God Worshippers

In the autumn of 1848, while
Feng Yunshan Feng Yunshan (; 1815 – June 10, 1852) was the South King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a distant cousin and early accomplice of Hong Xiuquan, and an important leader during the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing government. He was one of th ...
and
Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdo ...
were in a neighboring province, Xiao Chaogui assumed a leadership role in the God-Worshipping Society. At this time, Xiao began to claim that Jesus Christ had descended to earth and that Jesus spoke through him while he himself was in a trance. This claim was ratified by Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan when the two returned to Thistle Mountain the following summer. Xiao, speaking as Jesus, provided doctrine, advice, and leadership to the God Worshippers. When speaking as Jesus, Xiao was able to reprimand even Hong Xiuquan, as Jesus necessarily possessed greater authority than even Hong. During that summer of 1848, Xiao entered into a sworn brotherhood with Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing,
Wei Changhui Wei Changhui () was the North King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Taiping Rebellion. Pre-Rebellion involvement Wei Changhui was a wealthy native of Jintian, Guiping, Guangxi, who owned both land and a pawnshop. Wei was also educated ...
,
Shi Dakai Shi Dakai (1 March 1831 – 25 June 1863; ), born in Guigang, Guangxi, also known as Wing King () or phonetically translated as Yi-Wang, was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet. Early life Shi Dakai wa ...
, and Jesus Christ.


Leadership in the Taiping Rebellion

Xiao acted as one of the principal military commanders of the Taiping forces in the early days of the Taiping Rebellion and was named commander in chief of the Taiping's Front Army Corps on January 11, 1851. Shortly after their capture of Yongan, Hong Xiuquan named Xiao Co-Marshal, the ceremonial rank of marshal being the "ultimate mark of distinction in the Taiping organization." On December 4, 1851, Hong bestowed further honors on Xiao, declaring him to be the West King, Lord of 8,000 Years. Six days later, during a Qing counterattack on a supply depot near Yongan, Xiao was wounded. With one minor exception, Xiao ceased to speak with the voice of Jesus soon thereafter. In the summer of 1852 while the Taiping were encamped in
Daozhou Daozhou or Dao Prefecture () was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China centering on modern Dao County, Hunan, China. In the Yuan dynasty it was known as Daozhou Route () and in the Ming dynasty (briefly) as Daozhou Prefecture (). It existed ( ...
, three proclamations were issued by Xiao and Yang Xiuqing (by then the East King of the Taipings) in an attempt to gain the sympathy of the locals and to drum up new recruits. These proclamations demonstrated the triune religious-nationalist-political nature of the Taiping Rebellion by calling for the conversion of the people to Christianity, for the ruling ethnic-minority Manchus to be overthrown, and for the destruction of a government the Taipings considered to be thoroughly corrupt. The proclamations hardened the opposition of the gentry and scholars but helped convince over 20,000 locals to join the rebellion.


Death

In late August 1852, Xiao lead a small force from
Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...
, the current base of the Taiping, in attempt to capture the city of
Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
. They arrived at Changsha in September and began besieging the city. Seeing little progress being made, Xiao chose to don robes indicating his noble rank, hoisted a large banner above his head, and headed to the front lines to direct his troops. He was quickly hit in the left shoulder by a cannonball fired from the walls of the city and succumbed to his wounds near the end of September. The siege was ultimately abandoned in November. Xiao's actions leading up to his death have been harshly condemned by Chinese historians, who characterize them as "not an act of heroism but another example of 'stupid loyalty and stupid valor.'" Despite his death, Hong Xiuquan continued to regularly issue decrees in his name. He was also posthumously awarded the title "Rain Master." One of his sons inherited his noble title and was addressed as Junior West King, until his death in the aftermath of the fall of
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. Both sons were considered to be nephews to Jesus and grandchildren to God.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 246 (1996)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Chaogui 1852 deaths Chinese religious leaders Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion Year of birth missing People from Laibin Generals from Guangxi Zhuang people