February 27, 2022: Book of the Week Review
Those who enjoy the Los Angeles Tribune will come across the following review of a book by Dr. Alan Westhampton-Powel III, the Professor Emeritus of Princeton University's Department of East Asian Studies. An excerpt is included below:
...Contemporary Qing writers referred to the Taiping Civil War (1850-1864) as the Hong-Yang Rebellion (referring to two of its most prominent leaders). It was also often dismissively referred to as the 'Red Sheep Rebellion', because 'Hong-Yang' sounds like Red Sheep' in Chinese. Qing writers were loathe to refer to the Rebellion as more than a 'period of chaos' or 'unruly banditry' so as to deny the Taiping movement any credibility. However, the truth is that it was the largest civil war in history, with over ten million combatants and thirty million dead. And that is a lot, even by Chinese standards.
More colloquially, the Manchu elite of the Qing Empire referred to the Taiping (the majority of whom hailed from Southern Chinese ethnic groups, such as the Hakka) as 'Long-Hairs', because they did not shave their foreheads and braid their hair into a queue as Qing subjects were obligated to do, allowing their hair to grow long.
There's very little known about how the Taiping referred to the war (as most any material they managed to produce was almost immediately destroyed by the vengeful Qing). However, those scraps that remain suggest that the Taiping thought of the Qing in general (and the Manchus in particular) as some variant of demons or monsters. They used colorful language such as 'devouring the blood and souls of our children' as a metaphor for the Qing's infamously repressive taxation and bureaucracy. This completely unambiguous focus on economic redistribution is reflected by their prophet Hong's best known (and one of his only surviving) proclamations that they were 'fighting a holy war to rid the world of demons and establish paradise on earth'.
It wasn't until the formation of the modern People's Republic of China that the saga of the 'Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement' was reclaimed as a source of great interest, being seen as both a proto-nationalist and a proto-communist movement.
The following was written by the imperial scholar, historian and subprefect of Beijing known as Zongli Zongtang. Ironically, it was never published, having been written in early 1894 nearly three decades after the events witnessed in his first youth. This was just prior to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War on 25 July, 1894, which would cripple the Qing Empire forever. Although the Qing Dynasty would limp on until as late as 1912, China would know only turmoil, invasion, famine and war for the next fifty years.
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As a learned and loyal servant of the Qing dynasty, it is my duty to recount the events of the so-called "Red Sheep Rebellion," which plagued our empire from 1850 to 1864. I must admit that I find this task distasteful, as the rebellion and its leaders were deluded and insane at best, but history must be recorded, no matter how contemptible its subjects. I am an old man, yet as all know, I was a first hand witness to many of the events as set down in my earlier treatise: Yēsū jīdū de zázhǒng gǒu (Ed. This roughly translates as "The Bastard Dogs of Jesus Christ's Supposed Brother Finally Get What's Coming To Them - Part Three"). It is my understanding that your Imperial Divinity desired a more abridged version, and as such, I have endeavored to compose the following in as concise and unbiased a fashion as possible.
The roots of this terrible conflict lie in the delusions of a failed scholar named Hong Xiuquan. After failing the civil service examinations multiple times - an indication of his intellectual deficiencies - Hong claimed to have had a series of visions, which led him to believe that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ. This deranged belief formed the basis of his God Worshipping Society, which attracted the support of the desperate and uneducated.
In 1850, Hong Xiuquan's rabble launched their rebellion against our great dynasty, declaring the establishment of the so-called "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."
I must pause here to mention the exploits of one Liu Fang, a Long-Hair general whose cunning and resourcefulness were perhaps exaggerated as a pseudo-legendary 'Heaven-Sent Fox', yet still proved himself a formidable adversary. Liu Fang played a crucial role in the capture of Nanjing (Ed. Nanjing was the 'Southern Capital' of the Qing Empire, and its loss gave legitimacy to the Taiping leadership who established their own rival administration.), infiltrating the city's defenses and sabotaging its gates, allowing the Taiping forces to enter and seize control - a truly dark day in our history.
Another notorious rebel commander was a priestess turned demonic prostitute named Li Mei, a fanatic adherent of the Taiping cause who it was claimed, possessed supernatural power in the martial arts. While it is true that the 'Whore of the Black Flag' demonstrated great ferocity, her actions ultimately did little to alter the course of events as shall be seen.
The Hong-Yang regime engaged in all manner of perversions. They abolished private property, established communal land ownership, and promoted twisted forms of gender equality such as allowing women to become examination candidates. As a primus graduate myself, I cannot help but scoff at their naivete and ignorance.
As the rebellion continued, The Long-Hair's forces suffered from internal strife and a lack of effective leadership. Their northern expedition in 1853, an attempt to capture our glorious capital, Beijing, was an abject failure. It was at this point that the tide began to slowly turn against the rebels - although it would require a decade more of fighting before the rightful order of the world was restored.
In 1864, our great empire's Xiang Army, under the capable command of General Zeng Guofan, besieged the last, great rebel stronghold of Nanjing, which had served as their capital since its capture many yars before. He was determined to eradicate the scourge that had plagued our great dynasty for 14 long years.
As the siege tightened around the beleaguered city, the situation within Nanjing grew increasingly dire. Food and supplies dwindled, and the inhabitants faced the twin threats of starvation and disease. The once-mighty Taiping upstarts, brought low by its own hubris and the indomitable spirit of the Qing dynasty, were on the brink of collapse.
Realizing that their situation was hopeless, Liu Fang and Li Mei made a final, desperate attempt to break through our lines and escape the doomed city. Under the cover of darkness, they gathered what remained of their forces and launched a daring sortie against our well-prepared positions. Despite their insane efforts, however, their attack was repulsed, and they were forced to retreat back into the besieged city.
As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, the last vestiges of resistance were relentlessly crushed by General Zeng Guofan. The fall of Nanjing was imminent, and the fate of the rebel leaders sealed. Liu Fang, the cunning one, met a suitably grisly end in a skirmish within the city's walls, struck down by a stray arrow as he attempted to rally the few remaining defenders.
Li Mei's fate remains unknown. It is said that in the final hours of the siege, she and a handful of loyal followers and their families barricaded themselves within the huge, newly built Taoping cathedral in the city center, determined to make their last stand against our victorious Xiang Army. Although vastly outnumbered and surrounded, it is claimed that they repelled every attack until - after the ninth such assault by the emperor's elite Manchu bannermen had been repelled, and their corpses piled in evidence of their gallantry - General Zeng reluctantly put honor before glory.
General Zeng Guofan declared that he had a higher duty to preserve the life of the Qing Emperor's innocent subjects. As such, he ordered the temple set ablaze to spare the Xiang soldiery of further losses. And when that too failed to break Li Mei and her demented fanatics (who shamefully fought on despite the wailing and pleading of their burning children), he prudently ordered the cathedral obliterated with a battery of bombards as supplied by our British and French allies. When that too failed to extinguish resistance, he established a cordon around the ruins and finally starved them to death over the course of the next seventeen days, during which they were supposedly reduced to cannibalism. Hurrah!
The city of Nanjing was liberated from the grip of the deluded rebels, and the rightful rule of our glorious Qing dynasty was restored. As I record these events, I cannot help but feel a mixture of pity and disdain for the rebel fallen. The fates of Liu Fang and Li Mei serve as stark reminders of the perils of following false prophets and challenging the established order. As a loyal Qing servant, I cannot help but lament the senseless loss of life that occurred during the troubles.
In the years that followed the recapture of Nanjing, the great Qing dynasty worked tirelessly to rebuild the city and repair the damage caused by the rebellion. The people of Nanjing, freed from the oppressive rule of the Hong-Yang regime, once again prospered under the benevolent guidance of our illustrious empire. The lessons learned from this dark chapter in our history have left an indelible mark on our nation, serving as a constant reminder of the importance of unity, stability, and the wisdom of our ancestral traditions.
May the eternal wisdom of our great Qing dynasty guide our people to a future of peace, prosperity, and harmony.
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