[Editor's Note] Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History research was once a "protective academic" in the field of Chinese history research, and was even named "Taishi" and "Taixue" as a specialty. However, since the end of the 20th century, the study of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom history has become increasingly neglected. Studying peasant wars and peasant revolutions is no longer a hot topic. In the past, it was said that "more people studying the Taiping Army than the Taiping Army", but now it is "there are nowhere to be lost" and "the house is neglected".
Assistant Professor and Researcher of the Department of History of Peking University Liu Chen believes that the decline of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom research "may be an inevitable necessity for academic research to return to rationality", which is mainly related to the wide range of research fields and the increasing research difficulty caused by the number of research results, and also related to the changes in the academic environment and the shift of scholars' interest in research. At the same time, he also proposed that from the perspectives of social history, new cultural history, etc., supplemented by the improvement of research methods, there is still a lot of room for research on the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Recently, his monograph "Xiao Chaogui and the Early History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" was published by the Social Sciences Documentation Press. The Paper conducted an exclusive interview with Teacher Liu Chen, talking about the belief construction, power sorting and relationship with the Xiaodaohui. This article is the first part of the interview.
Liu Chen
Xiao Chaogui and the early history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Pengpai News: How did you first focus your research on the "unique skill" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom history?
Liu Chen: My interest in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began when my father pulled me to watch the CCTV version of the TV series "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom". I was about sixteen or seventeen years old at that time. I remember that more than one-third of the content in the TV series describes the leadership's power struggle, the party struggles and internal struggles, and the lessons are painful. Afterwards, I read a lot of historical materials and articles related to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Tianjing Incident , and wanted to find out the truth of the history. That time was the beginning of the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom becoming colder. Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, I wrote a 40,000-50,000-word article "From Secret Discussion, Secret Letter to Ming Dynasty: The Complex Brewing of the Tianjing Incident" to explore the ins and outs of the Tianjing Incident. Later, based on this article, I wrote a postdoctoral report "The Power Struggle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Leadership".
But my start to learn the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom started by studying the characters of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was not the protagonist of this book, Xiao Chaogui, but Li Zhaoshou, the leader of the twig who has been infamous for all ages and has behaviors between good and evil. I once told his life story - "The New Theory of Li Zhaoshou, the hero in troubled times", which is my undergraduate thesis. At that time, there was another similar person who wanted to think about it - Miao Peilin . Compared with the two, they had less research on Li Zhaoshou before. At that time, I had done a compilation of historical materials for these two characters. Based on the 14 books " Nian Army " and "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", the Nian Army's thesis was basically read.
Stills of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom"
The Paper: Why are you interested in Xiao Chaogui, a character who is not people's attention?
Liu Chen: Below the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom King Hong Xiuquan , and above the Wing King Shi Dakai, there are four kings . The Western King Xiao Chaogui is also the "son-in-law of Heavenly Father" and "sponsored by Brother Tian". He is "brave and strong, and charge first" in the Taiping Army, with a special status and a significant role. For such an important figure, because he died in battle in the early days, he left relatively little historical materials, so he was not very clear about the people and things. However, after the discovery of "The Imperial Edict of the Heavenly Brothers" Volume 1 and 2, Xiao Chaogui's research was feasible. It recorded several important historical events before and after the Jintian Uprising and early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and revealed many obscure and tortuous or unknown facts in the past, many of which were very interesting.
When reading "The Imperial Imperial Imperial", I found that the number of times "The Imperial Imperial Imperial" descended sharply after October of the first year of Xinkai (1851). After saying the five words "Everyone is bold and generous" in March of the second year of Renzi (1852), it disappeared in a hurry until Xiao Chaogui appeared again in July of the same year and suddenly died in battle, ending his life. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that he came to earth to control all matters of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom more than 120 times in the previous three years, and was very particular instructed. This is an extremely abnormal phenomenon.
With the determination to resolve this unsolved case, it took almost a year to finally write the article "Brother Tian's Silence: A Study of Xiao Chaogui's Traces after the Battle of Shuidou Village". This is my first systematic article about Xiao Chaogui's research. Then, following this clue, I wrote a series of articles one after another. Based on these studies, using Xiao Chaogui's life as the vertical axis of time, Xiao Chaogui's short life was combined with the early history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and thus this book "Xiao Chaogui and the Early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" was formed. The original intention of this book was not to write a biography for Xiao Chaogui, but to restore the voice, appearance and smile of a real peasant leader as much as possible, further brush away the dust of history, and explore the final foreshadowing of why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could sweep across South China in its inception and how the "nation" fell. Building the development context of the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom history and correcting people's inherent thinking about the evolution of the power structure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is also the meaning of this book.
Stone Statue of Xiao Chaogui
Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui
The Paper: What is the relationship between Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui?
Liu Chen: "Brother Tian" spokesperson Xiao Chaogui and "Heaven Father" spokesperson Yang Xiuqing are not purely allies or close friends. Behind the two of them work together, there is a little-known contradiction hidden. However, the relationship between "Brother Tian" (Xiao Chaogui) and "Father Tian" (Yang Xiuqing) cannot be simply regarded as an opponent or an enemy. The subtle political and religious relationships between the two and the subjective and objective environment for the survival of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom all determine that Xiao Chaogui's "seizing power" is just a political undercurrent that cannot be crossed. The relationship between Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui was an important link in the early historical development of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Before and after the Jintian Uprising, there was an "Era of Xiao Chaogui" in the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In the "Xiao Chaogui era", God would successfully complete the most important preparation work before the uprising-the Jintian Tuan Camp, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also ushered in the glory of advancing and advancing Yong'an. In this sense, Xiao Chaogui was the real forging of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Xiao Chaogui's status has a development process. At the beginning, Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing cooperated well. In this process, Xiao Chaogui gradually cultivated private parties and took over the power. The sudden change in the situation occurred in August when Yang Xiuqing's condition worsened in Gengxu (the 30th year of Daoguang, 1850). This book quotes Han Shanwen's "The Tale of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising" and Hong Renyu's "Authorization" to prove that Yang Xiuqing was seriously ill in the eight or nine months of this year. According to the "Tianqing Taoist Book", during Yang Xiuqing's serious illness, Xiao Chaogui began to act as the "Chief Auxiliary" and mastered the affairs and power of the God Society. Xiao Chaogui also used direct commands, slander, and isolated suppression to make the seriously ill Yang Xiuqing escape from the core of the power of the God Society.
Xiao Chaogui's status as the acting "prime minister" was maintained until October 2018 (the 30th year of Daoguang, 1850). This attempt to transcend is in October of the 1911 (1st year of Xianfeng , 1851). At this time, the Battle of Shuidou Village broke out outside Yong'an City, and Xiao Chaogui was seriously injured. Then, on October 25, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan issued an edict to grant the title of the Five Kings. The status of Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui undergoes a fundamental change. Yong'an was granted a title of king, creating a situation where the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing controlled the kings and dominated the kings. The "Xiao Chaogui era" has also come to an end. So I said that the title of king in Yong'an was a "quiet coup" and the political landscape had undergone major changes.
Yang Xiuqing Xiao Chaogui’s edict
The Paper: What are the similarities and differences between the spells of Hong Xiuquan, Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing?
Liu Chen: Heavenly Father and Brother Heavenly Descend to Earth is actually mutated from the prevalent surrender and jumping god combined with Christian doctrines that are prevalent in Xunzhou, Guangxi, where witches and ghosts are valued. Its essence is no different from that of witches. I tend to believe that the origin of God's teaching is that Chinese folk religion is more imprinted, or that Chinese folk religion is covered with a tulle of Western religious tulle.
Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, and Xiao Chaogui all know some witchcraft.Hong Xiuquan was respected by the church members as "Mr. Hong" at the beginning. Hong Renyi admired him very much. He had received some orthodox ideas and training from Western religions in Hong Kong. When he arrived in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he was "divided" (discussed) with Hong Xiuquan at first, but he was soon as he was assimilated by the heresy theories of Hong Xiuquan's Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother, Heavenly Mother, Tianshao. He was loyal and extremely worshiped by Hong Xiuquan until his death. In his confession, he said, "(Hong Xiuquan) often awakens the people of this heavenly physics and physical principles, and everyone saw that our master could drive away ghosts and monsters. He sighed that he was strange in the world, so he heard that he believed it. He could also make the mute speak, and he was crazy, paralyzed and cured. He believed it and he was cured, and he was particularly worthy of returning." It can be seen that Hong Xiuquan knew some witchcraft and medical skills. Hong Xiuquan was still talking until his death, and was deeply involved in his religious theory and could not extricate himself. He really believed in the God he founded and converted himself. There is no doubt about his religious piety.
Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui have received professional "retired" training. Xiao Chaogui often "super the soul" to the church, but in fact he made people fall asleep, which was a kind of hypnosis technique. Mr. Feng Erkang believes that the suggestive role of the hypnotist is very important during the process of surrendering to the servants. Xiao Chaogui must have great skills as a suggester. He can allow Hong Xiuquan to meet and talk with his wife, the "First Month Palace" in heaven, with affectionate feelings, otherwise it will be ineffective. The myth of Brother Tian descending to the earth will not be able to gain a foothold in the God's Society. Of course, there must also be certain frauds, such as collective hallucination, which can cause hallucination by using the external forces such as psychedelic and anesthesia of drugs.
Because "The Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imper If you suddenly descend to the earth on behalf of your Heavenly Father to deal with the case of Zhou Xieng's rebellion and surrender, although there are many doubts in this case, it has allowed the prime minister Yang Xiuqing, who had just been appointed as the control of the kings, to accumulate enough "divine power". From the perspective of means, Xiao Chaogui was a little "gentle". Yang Xiuqing was very devoted and acted vigorously. He danced and jumped around while "fighting the demons", breaking his neck. According to Zhang Xiaoqiu's "Journal of Guangdong Bandits" records: "In the third month of Yimao, the men and women in Hecheng all went to listen. When Yang Ni was in the middle of the journey, he carried it out, as if he was dead, and the crowd protected him. It was Yun Ye Yang Ni went crazy, jumped out of the house, and fell out of the house, and injured his neck and arm." This is the source of Hong Xiuquan's gratitude and praise Yang Xiuqing for "being endless hardships, the war monsters damaged their necks and fell."
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War Situation Chart
Construction of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Faith System
The Paper: Why can Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui become spokespersons of Brother Tian and Father?
Liu Chen: Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan Recognizes the sacred status of Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and Tian brother respectively, and it is weighed.
First of all, God will be in chaos and division, and the state of division is in urgent need of ending. Since Feng Yunshan was arrested and Hong Xiuquan went east to rescue, the God Association has internal and external troubles. Outside, there are attacks by armed groups such as Wang Zuoxin, and many congregations inside use gods to possess them to cause divisions. This chaos of the God Association needs to be ended urgently. After Hong Xiuquan returned to Zijing Mountain , Feng Yunshan had already traveled far away. In order to immediately solve this turbulent state, he urgently needed to support one or two of them as the truth, assist him, and avoid causing greater chaos.
Secondly, the two sides have the possibility of forming an alliance. Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui were very scheming. They passed on the words of the Father of Heaven and the Brother of Heaven, and safeguarded Hong Xiuquan's position as the leader everywhere and defended the theoretical cornerstone of the God Society at all times. Hong Xiuquan "researched the truth by examining each article and judging which of each person's words is true and which of the false. In this way, it proves Yang Xiuqing's words... Among these divine words, the most important one that is judged by Xiuquan as true is the words of Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui." Yang and Xiao used their Heavenly Father and Brother Tian to write a myth for Hong Xiuquan. Hong Xiuquan recognized the status of Yang and Xiao as the leader, which was obviously a cooperation and utilization of both sides.
Again, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui's forces Hong Xiuquan to acknowledge the legitimacy of their rumors. Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui accumulated a certain amount of power in the Zijing Mountains. Not only that, they also expanded and cultivated personal power. On March 16, 1849, Yang Xiuqing ran to Guixian to proclaim his heavenly father: "Gaolaoshan Mountain ordered Zunzheng, and there was a cross prayer." This means that the heavenly father issued the order and thousands of prayers were abiding. This shows that Yang Xiuqing has gained the recognition and support of the congregations in other parts of the God Society at this time, and his power is not limited to the Zijing Mountain area. Hong Xiuquan's recognition of their rumored identities is an admission of the fait accompli, and it is not ruled out that he is under pressure from the Yang and Xiaohui.
The Paper: How is the belief system of Heavenly King, Heavenly Father, and Heavenly Brother built?
Liu Chen: When Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan first founded the God Cult, they built a religious power system with the belief of the only true god of Heavenly Father, Lord Emperor, as the core. They absolutely did not expect to share it with Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui, who were illiterate, or in other words, Hong Xiuquan hoped to enjoy the religious power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom alone.
Before Yang and Xiao rose, Hong Xiuquan was mainly responsible for writing, analyzing the creation and maintenance of doctrines and religious systems in the meeting. Feng Yunshan was mainly responsible for coordinating the guidance, publicity and organization of daily academic affairs, and the two divided the work and cooperated. In this architectural model, Hong Xiuquan is a veritable religious head and honorary political leader, while Feng Yunshan is a practical decision-maker in the political circle of God. It can be said that the formation of Hong Xiuquan's unique status is closely related to the foresight of his believers and ally Feng Yunshan and Feng's sincere loyalty to Hong Xiuquan. At this time, the spokesperson for the Father's faith in God's religion was Hong Xiuquan.
After Yang and Xiao risen, the right to build the religious theological system of the God religion was divided up by Yang and Xiao in the form of rumors of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother. The religious beliefs of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother no longer exist simply in the spiritual world, but are moved into the real society alive. The language and form of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother were recorded in the form of the "Imperial Imperial", becoming an important political strategy and national policy in the pre- and mid-term Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This inspired the passion of the soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, who started with religion and established their country with religion. Therefore, the Taiping Army rushed from the barren and deserted Zijing Mountain into the prosperous and beautiful Jiangnan township with rapid force, and established the southeast. At this time, the cornerstone of the faith system of the God Church were the faith of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother. Their spokespersons in the secular world were Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui. Their status and this phenomenon were recognized and accepted by the soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Hong Xiuquan's status as religious leaders and heads of state was weakened, and even rumored to be a puppet. After the Tianjing Incident, Hong Xiuquan was immersed in the religious world and focused on building the theological system of "father, son, Gongsun" and "brother, brother, I was young", repairing the religious power system with the three cores of Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother, and Heavenly King, and trying to rule the secular society, such as the change of politics and the change of the country in 1861 ("God's Heavenly Kingdom" and "Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother, Heavenly King Taiping Heavenly Kingdom"), restoring and strengthening the divine nature of Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui, which is also a manifestation. Hong Xiuquan's purpose was to eliminate the disintegration of the belief in God's religion by the Tianjing Incident, reshape the divine power of the Heavenly King, and recreate the fact that the spokesperson of the Heavenly Father is God's second son and the Great Way of the Heavenly King Quan. Unfortunately, people are indifferent and have poor results. God's faith has gradually become a stagnant pool. It can be said that Xiao Chaogui plays an important role in the construction and development and evolution of the theological system of the God Church, and his status is no less than that of Yang Xiuqing. However, judging from the historical development and changes of the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the main constructor and protagonist of the essence are the king of heaven Hong Xiuquan.
The Paper: Wei Changhui is Xiao Chaogui's confidant. Is it related to Xiao Chaogui's family killed by the Dongwang family during the Tianjing Incident?
Liu Chen: Of course, there is no direct relationship between . However, the Tianjing Incident was not an unexpected phenomenon after the capital was established, and it cannot be simply attributed to the corruption of the upper class of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or the feudalization of the regime. It was the result of the long-term conflicts in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leadership group starting from the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The power struggle of the early leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a precursor to the Tianjing Incident and an important part of the history of the power struggle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The reason why Xiao Chaogui can compete with Yang Xiuqing is not unrelated to his emphasis on cultivating personal power. Wei Changhui was promoted and cultivated by Xiao Chaogui himself.
In addition, it was not accidental that the Jintian Uprising was launched in Wei Changhui's hometown. To some extent, it can be said that it was the result of Xiao Chaogui's win over Wei Changhui. Because Wei Changhui was often arranged by Xiao Chaogui to deal with important matters directly, Wei Changhui performed very positively in the early activities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so he was often recognized as the "leader of the thief" by the Qing side and ranked alongside Hong Xiuquan. Of course, Wei Changhui did live up to expectations and performed outstandingly in the Jintian National Camp, making important contributions to the successful launch of the Jintian Uprising and the founding and founding of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Until the Taiping Army occupied Yong'an, the Qing side had not yet figured out who the real leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was. It was not until Hong Daquan was captured that the Qing side had a clear understanding of the ranking of the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Wei Changhui deserves another study, and past research has been stereotyped and simplified.
It must be noted that the alliance relationship that Wei Changhui and Xiao Chaogui once existed may also be one of the reasons why Yang Xiuqing later suppressed Wei Changhui. After Feng Yunshan and Xiao Chaogui's death, Wei Changhui was unable to substitute their power. The conflict between them lasted for six or seven years, and in the end it could only be resolved through the bloody scene of the "Tianjing Incident". For Wei Changhui, only by killing Yang Xiuqing can he replace his power. In the past, the Tianjing Incident was also called the Yang and Wei Incident. In other words, the dispute between Yang and Wei was a power struggle between Yang and Wei (actually the power struggle between Hong and Yang). It has some relationship with previous historical origins, factional struggles or feuds, but it is more about personal power conflicts and contradictions.
Taiping Army combat map
Formation of the power ranking of the four kings in the east, west, south, north and north
The Paper: Yong'an was crowned king, how was the power ranking of the four kings in the east, west, south and north of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom formed?
Liu Chen: The ranking changes of the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are very interesting, reflecting the evolution of the power struggle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leadership in the early days. At the beginning of the founding of the God Church, it mainly involved the masters of Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Lu Liu, Cigu Wang Family, and Dachong Zeng Family. Later, Feng Yunshan was arrested, Lu Liu died in prison, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui rose, and the existing power structure changed. They jointly excluded and surpassed Feng Yunshan, defeated the main opposition in the association, and attacked the King of Cigu and Zeng family and Dachong. Of course, Feng Yunshan also took the overall situation into consideration and silently accepted the misplaced role as the "three brothers", and was willing to stay behind the "four brothers" and "brother-in-law". This requires tolerance.
The ranking of leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was officially fixed by the rumors of Xiao Chaogui's pro-Tian brother, "Xiuqing, Chaogui, Yunshan, Wei Zheng, Dakai, Rigang and Yushu", directly lowering Feng Yunshan from second to fourth. Chen Yushu is a special person. He was a brother from Guiping, Guangxi. He was a "local tyrant". Before and after the Jintian Uprising, he was one of the members of the leadership of the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His status was later replaced by Hu Yihuang, a wealthy family member of the martial arts generation. His power gradually declined. When he was stationed in Pinghu in the 11th year of Xinyou, he was only "Mai Tianan" (that was an era when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was "the princes were everywhere"), and he was affiliated with Li Xiucheng and Chen Bingwen. There was no record of being named kings afterwards. Judging from the "Emperor of Brother Tian", Chen Yushu withdrew from the leadership core and was no longer valued, which may be the result of the early instructions and suppression of Yang and Xiao Daitian.
Wei Changhui made a clear statement at the beginning of the uprising. As mentioned before, Shi Dakai A founding father who was highly praised by both sides of the enemy and us, and was a "rich family" as Wei Changhui, had a reputation in the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was not very good to remember that in July of the fifth year of Xianfeng, the "Thief Love Collection" actually stated that Shi Dakai was "a stinky child with no intelligence." Jiujiang . Hukou won a great victory, easily defeated Jiangxi, and forced Zeng Guofan to jump into the lake. These "famous works" were all later. Shi Dakai seemed to rarely appear in important events in the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The "Edict of Brother Tian" mentioned Shi Dakai very few times, which shows how distant Xiao Chaogui and Shi Dakai were. The village where Shi Dakai was located and the Cigu Village where Hong Xiuquan's cousin Wang's family were located were in Gui County. This may be because Xiao Chaogui's old enemy, the Wang family and Shi Dakai, walked closely together. The only time in "The Imperial Edict of Brother Tian" records Shi Dakai's remarks was that he contradicted Brother Tian.After being warned by Brother Tian, Shi Dakai has hardly expressed any opinions since then and even rarely appears. Shi Dakai himself did not pay attention to people for a long time after the uprising. It was not until October of the second year of Xianfeng that his name began to appear in the report of the Qing court's expedition and suppression of officials.
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom takes the principle of "left as the upper". For example, Yang Xiuqing's "left as the upper" was higher than Xiao Chaogui's "Youbi". When he was first appointed as the chief general of the Five Army, Shi Dakai's "left as the chief general" level should be higher than Wei Changhui's "right as the chief general of the right as the chief general of the right as the chief general of the right as the chief general of the five armies. Hong Xiuquan called the "Heaven King" in Dongxiang , and was ordered by the will of the "Heaven Father". The Heavenly Father went down to the earth in Dongxiang rumored: "All the little ones should support the master with one heart and not be bold. I sent you to come down to the earth to be the king of heaven. His words are the destiny of heaven. You must obey it. It is difficult for you to ignore the king." Then the political arrangement of establishing the system of the five armies and the order of the ranks of the five armies in Dongxiang may also be instructed by the "Heaven Father". However, some unknown political changes occurred during the subsequent march. It may be speculated that Wei's status surpassed Shi, and Shi Dakai's reputation in the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was not unrelated to Xiao Chaogui and Tian brother's suppression of Shi, which is in line with the political pattern of Yang, Shi, Xiao and Wei's cooperation with each other.
The former site of Yong'an, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom,
In fact, the content of the Yong'an Conferred Five Kings, which is now circulating in the world, is suspected of being modified. Professor Zhu Congbing , Suzhou University, believes that "relevant documents in the early history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom show that Hong Xiu has conferred the five kings of the east, west, south and north wings to first confer four kings in the east, west, south and north and then conferred the wing kings." "The list of many Taiping Army leaders circulated at that time reflected that the word "Ying Wang" in the title of "Ying Wang" originated from the existing "Left Wing Gong" and "Right Wing Gong". Qin Rigang once served as the "Left Wing Gong", and Shi Dakai once served as the "Right Wing Gong" (Zhu Congbing: "The Birth Examination of the "Ying Wang" in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - Questioning the Edict of the Enthronement of the Five Kings in Yong'an", "Guangdong Social Sciences" No. 2, 2012). According to this, Shi Dakai's earliest status may be second only to Qin Rigang.
Zhang Runan's "A Brief History of Jinling Province" records the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's first conferred four kings and then the Yiwang King. "When the thief was Xiuren and Lipu, they stopped the Tianwang and the four thiefs in the east, west, south and north. The Yiwang was the official prime minister of the wings, and the deputy prime minister of the Qin Rigang. When they surrounded Guilin, the Tianwang issued an edict to confer the Yiwang King as the chief general of the pseudo-left army. The feudo-winged Tianwang, and Rigang began to become the regular." In the early Qing court's frontline officials only knew the Four Kings, but did not know the Yiwang King, which shows that Shi Dakai's influence was not great enough at the time. It is now known that the "Yong'an Enthronement of Five Kings" was recorded in the original "Yong'an Enthronement of the Destiny" in the second year of Renzi, but it also existed when it was reprinted, Hong Xiuquan made artificial arrangements and reconstructions of the early Taiping Heavenly Kingdom history. The so-called "Yong'an Enthronement of Five Kings" may be a confirmation of the fait accompliment, and the sentence "It also praised Dabi as the Wing King and the Winged Heavenly Dynasty" may be a supplement to the later. The analysis of the splicing of the Five Kings of Yong'an is a splicing with my conclusion that Xiao Chaogui was seriously injured when he was named King of Yong'an, and the grand scene of Yong'an being named Five Kings of Yong'an being a fictional one may be fictional.
However, the fact that Yong'an was named king exists. Its importance lies in the sentence "The above-mentioned kings are all controlled by the East King". It has made the Dong King's family dominant. Whether it is the Xiwang Xiao Chaogui who was originally on par with Yang Xiuqing and was rumored by Brother Dai Tian; or Feng Yunshan, who had long been excluded from the core of power by Yang and Xiao; or Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, who were still inexperienced, they did not have the political capital and strength to check and balance Yang Xiuqing, which laid the foreshadowing for the future Tianjing Incident, and the personnel rankings of the early leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were fixed and institutionalized.
