Yang Xiuqing
Encyclopedia
Yang Xiuqing (died 2/3 September 1856), was an organizer and commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 of the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

.

Yang was a firewood seller in Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...

 before he joined the rebellion. In 1848 he converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 after reporting that he had experienced visions of God. In 1850 he began to claim that he could miraculously heal true believers. He was an early participant in the rebellion and rose quickly to prominence; in 1851, when Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan , born Hong Renkun, style name Huoxiu , was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.-Early...

 took the title of Heavenly King for himself, Yang was made commander-in-chief of the army. Yang was further named "East King", in keeping with three other leaders of the rebellion who were given titles as "kings" of the four quarters of the Heavenly Kingdom. Yang devised an extensive network of spies to root out the intrigues of loyalists in the kingdom. By the 1850s Yang became the most powerful leader of the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

.

Under Yang's direction, the city of Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 (Nanking), which became the capital of the Heavenly Kingdom, was taken in 1853. As Hong became increasingly uninterested in politics and more interested in his harem, he named Yang as his prime minister for the Heavenly Kingdom. Yang clashed with Hong over the rebellion's policies and views toward Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

 and iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

; Yang believed that Confucian morality was essentially positive and that its basic tenets were compatible with the rebellion's interpretation of Christianity and that images of dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

s were not sacrilegious
Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things...

. Hong, however, rejected this notion and believed that Confucianism ought to be eradicated, as it was the work of the devil. This, and Yang's conspiracies for greater power raised Hong's ire, and in 1856, Yang was murdered by Hong's followers. In the three months that followed, Hong killed Yang's family and 20,000 of the East King's adherents. The fortunes of the Taiping Rebellion subsequently declined as the rebellion's leaders became involved in internecine conspiracies and intrigues.
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