The southern foothills of Zijing Mountain in Guiping County, Guangxi Province, are densely packed with lofty mountains. Due to the dangerous terrain, this place is usually inaccessible and not a lively place. However, in the thirtieth year of Daoguang (1851), a village called Jintian broke out in a village here, which was recorded in history, known as the "Jintian Uprising". After that, after a strenuous battle, the Taiping Army finally established the capital nanjing in the third year of Xianfeng (1854), across the river from the Qing government. In the struggle from Guangxi to Nanjing, there is a woman who is indispensable.
We all know that most of the wars at that time were mainly cold weapons, and the basic battles were men. The wise men who lined up and strategized were also men who were full of poetry and books.
So, who is this woman? Why is her role so great? What about her ending?
This woman's name was Hong Xuanjiao, and she was an extremely legendary female general in the Taiping Army. Even after the fall of the Taiping Army, many people still missed her. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, some people defied the wind to make a statement for it. Hundreds of words are sprinkled with foreign words, and Hong Xuanjiao's heroic posture is depicted in detail. In the pen of posterity, Hong Xuanjiao made up light makeup, rode in the dust, and wielded the double knife in his hand to fight against the Qing army. His bravery and martial spirit is still not much better than that of Liang Hongyu at that time, which is really a heroic master among women.
Most of the accounts of Hong Xuanjiao are caused by the false rumors of su Sanniang, another famous female general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Some experts, such as Mr. Luo Ergang, even believe that Hong Xuanjiao is Su Sanniang. The reason is that "Su" is in Cantonese with the Mandarin "Xiao" consonant. So "Su Sanniang" became "Xiao Sanniang". Later, in the process of circulation, someone added a vertical to the "three", so "Su Sanniang" became "Xiao Wangniang".
In fact, she was not originally surnamed Hong, but her surname was Wang, and Hong was changed later. Before the uprising, she had close contacts with Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui and others, and had a good relationship with each other. When Hong Xiuquan saw more and more believers and was ready to start a trouble, Hong Xuanjiao claimed that she had seen God in her dream. God told her, "In ten years someone will lead the world to God." Hong Xuanjiao's words coincided with Hong Xiuquan's statement, and invisibly greatly increased Hong Xiuquan's prestige.
Therefore, Hong Xiuquan recognized her as his sister and changed her "Wang" surname to "Hong" to show closeness. Hong Xiuquan trusted her very much, and later, he also made the decision for her, introduced her from it, and let her marry Xiao Chaogui. Under the painstaking management of Hong Xiuquan and others, the Taiping Army was invincible all the way, and its power gradually increased, until it captured Nanjing and fought against the Qing government. However, in the process of gradually becoming stronger, the enterprising spirit of the kings of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was gradually consumed.
After the capital was set in Nanjing, everyone was shocked by the grace and magnificence of the famous capital of Jiangnan and began a life of arrogance and lavishness. There was constant friction between the kings over the struggle for wealth and the field property. The kings of heaven, who were once as strong as iron plates, also slowly became estranged and began to be jealous of each other. Yang Xiuqing's power was expanding day by day, and he no longer wanted to submit to Hong Xiuquan's control. All this, Hong Xuanjiao silently looked in her eyes. In order to maintain the supreme rule of her brother Hong Xiuquan, Hong Xuanjiao saw the opportunity and exquisitely designed a banquet.
She invited Yang Xiuqing, who had a second heart, to the table, and then opened the prelude to the Ping rebel army. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was not overthrown in this incident, it was also seriously injured and lost the capital to compete with the Qing army. In the future confrontation with the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Army gradually fell into the ascendancy, until the city of Nanjing was breached and the Taiping Army was completely destroyed. The huge Taiping Army uprising eventually ended in failure, and Hong Xuanjiao's whereabouts became a mystery.
Some people say that when civil unrest broke out in Nanjing, Hong Xuanjiao died among the rebels. Some people also said that it was not the rebels who killed Hong Xuanjiao, but Hong Xiuquan, who has always loved her. Although this statement is shocking, if you think about it, it is not without reason. Because, with the rise of the kings' forces, Hong Xiuquan's leadership position was greatly threatened. Then, when Hong Xiuquan was dealing with the rebels, it was not impossible to kill Hong Xuanjiao by hand.
Moreover, Hong Xiuquan's behavior towards Shi Dakai also proves that he is not a broad-minded person. Shi Da has been working tirelessly for many years before and after the saddle, and has made meritorious contributions to suppressing the rebellion, and has always been loyal to Hong Xiuquan. However, after Yang Xiuqing's death, Hong Xiuquan did not trust Shi Dakai, but instead used his brothers to restrain him everywhere, until Shi Dakai ran away with hatred, and all his family and subordinates in Jingzhong were killed. In September 1861, Shi Dakai was hindered by the early rise of the Dadu River, which had not been encountered in a hundred years, and repeatedly failed to cross the river, and the grain and grass were exhausted and fell into a desperate situation.
Since there is no conclusive evidence, people in later generations, with admiration for Hong Xuanjiao, believe that her final outcome is to die in battle when the Tianjing City is broken, shedding the last drop of blood for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, this claim can be largely denied. Because if the Qing army really killed her, then such a great merit would definitely be recorded in the imperial court. Even if it's just a corpse, it's on record. Unfortunately, the Qing court also had no record of this.
Therefore, this proves that Hong Xuanjiao's claim that she died in battle with the Qing army is not credible.
There is also a more bizarre theory, that is, after Hong Xuanjiao was attacked in Tianjing, she disguised herself as an ordinary woman and came to Shanghai with the refugees. In order to escape the pursuit of the Qing court, Hong Xuanjiao fled with the missionaries to the United States until his death.
Resources:
【"The Truth of Hong Xuanjiao of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Character History", "Hong Xuanjiao's Life Examination"】