A Brief Modern Chinese History. Haipeng Zhang

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СКАЧАТЬ New Governance was distinct from the 1853 Land Law of Heavenly Dynasty, which advocated for an egalitarian kingdom with a peasant economy. The 1859 New Governance, on the other hand, argued for a capitalist kingdom as the younger Hong realized that capitalism would most likely triumph over feudalism.15 After reading his younger cousin’s program, the elder Hong wrote very detailed instructions and comments agreeing with most of the younger Hong’s suggestions. Here lay the possibility of a fundamental transformation of the Taiping Rebellion. Unfortunately, due to the endless wars, the New Governance could not be put into practice. The younger Hong and his political program were not able to substantially influence the politics of the Heavenly Dynasty.

At this time, the Taiping Army had successfully rebuilt itself.16 They contacted the Nian army, which was fighting in the northern region of the Yangtze River, and asked for their support, which they granted. The Taiping Army then won a series of victories. In September, 1858, it destroyed Qing’s Northern Barracks and, two month later, annihilated more than 6,000 soldiers of the Xiangjun. The following March, they again destroyed the Southern Barracks and freed Nanjing. Even Zeng Guofan, the founding leader of the Xiangjun, had to acknowledge that the second destruction of the Southern Barracks was the Taiping Army’s pièce de résistance.17 Soon the Taiping Army headed east and attacked wealthy Suzhou and Changzhou. In the space of two months, a number of Qing’s high officials and generals were killed in battle and 50,000–60,000 Qing soldiers surrendered to the Taiping Army. However, when attacking Shanghai, the joint Anglo-French forces attacked the Taiping Army, claiming the lives of several hundred Taiping soldiers. Li Xiucheng, then the leading general of Taiping Army, remained under control and ordered his troops to withdraw from Suzhou.

The Fall of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace

One of the goals of the Anglo-French expedition in China was not to overthrow Qing but to prevent China from collapsing. These colonial governments knew that only when Qing was stable would they be able to squeeze more profits out of China. One British official said, “if anarchy ensue, our trade and our tea will be nil.”18 When the Taiping Army attacked Suzhou and Changzhou, Qing’s leading officials in Jiangnan and the leaders of the invading armies met in Shanghai to work together. That summer, Yang Fang, a Qing official in charge of grain affairs in Jiangnan, asked the French troops to defend Shanghai and other strategic cities and towns. At the same time, Yang funded the Foreign Rifles Squad headed by Frederick T. Ward, a hooligan from Massachusetts in the United States. Ward’s Squad attacked the Taiping Army and occupied Songjiang, a prefecture adjacent to Shanghai. When fleeing to Shanghai, the high Governor General in control of Jiangnan suggested that the central government give in to the invaders’ demands in exchange for their cooperation in suppressing the Taiping rebels. The Anglo-French leaders responded, specifically saying that they would prevent Shanghai from being attacked by any strangers.19 The Anglo-French invaders then continued their northern expedition against Qing at the same time that they partook in Qing’s southern expedition against the Taiping Army, even calling it a miracle. The Western powers believed that they would definitely reap much higher profits if Qing survived the rebellion.

      The Qing government grew increasingly dependent on foreign aid during the crackdown on the Taiping Rebellion after the 1861 coup. The Empress Dowager Cixi, who was the de facto supreme leader of Qing, in February, 1862, issued an imperial edict in the name of the Emperor Tongzhi (r. 1861–1875), asking ministers and generals to discuss the feasibility of borrowing troops from the colonial powers. Although leading ministers such as Zeng Guofan disagreed, the local authorities in Shanghai, to take but one example, decided to go ahead with the idea. Consequently, with funding from high local officials, some Western opportunists organized and trained some army personnel equipped with foreign arms. Among them the Foreign Rifles Squad, later renamed the Ever Victorious Corps, were the most notorious. In the meantime, Zeng Guofan attacked Anqing, which played a pivotal role in defending Nanjing. Zeng invested an army of 50,000 men, led by his younger brother, in attacking Anqing. In response to this, the Taiping Army decided to capture Wuchang, hoping that this would relieve the pressure on Anqing. The Anqing campaign would prove crucial to both sides.

Chen Yucheng, one of the leading generals of the Taiping Army, in March, 1861, approached Wuchang. Unfortunately, due to the late arrival of the supporting troops led by Li Xiucheng, and the British diplomats, Chen finally gave up attacking Wuchang and returned to Anqing. Strategically, capturing Wuchang was the best solution to saving Anqing. In the following months, both sides engaged in bloody battles in Anqing, which fell in September, 1861, with 16,000 Taiping warriors slain. The fall of Anqing dealt a heavy blow to the Taiping Army, which grew increasingly weak. While the Taiping Army lacked unity and coordination, Zeng’s Hunan Army proudly displayed its firm strategy, military flexibility, and strong command. Xiangjun was destined to triumph.20 The next summer, Chen Yucheng, a twenty-six-year-old King and brilliant general in the Taiping Army, died a martyr’s death after the betrayal of a rebel leader.21 Chen’s death marked the Taiping Army’s complete failure on the battlefield west of Nanjing.

Li Xiucheng was another excellent military leader in the Taiping government. In December, 1861, he recaptured Hangzhou, placing almost all of Zhejiang under the control of the Taiping Army. One month later, Li launched a second attack on Shanghai. In February, 1862, the joint Anglo-French forces, together with Ward’s Squad, began fighting against the Taiping Army. Two months later, Li led his elite troops and attacked Songjiang, where Ward’s Squad was stationed. One of the senior officers in the French navy was killed in the battle. Later Li recalled that the foreign devils did not dare to confront the Taiping Army,22 which was confirmed by Xuo Zongtang, the commander of the Qing army in Zhejiang.23 At that moment, the Xiangjun led by Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guofan’s younger brother, captured a strategic city, posing a grave threat to Nanjing. Li had to give Shanghai up and withdraw the army back to Nanjing. After taking Anqing, Zeng Guofan divided the Qing army into three columns. The first column, commanded by Zuo, marched into Zhejiang and started to attack Hangzhou. The second, led by Zeng Guoquan’s Xiangjun headed for Nanjing. The third was led by the newly-founded army Li Hongzhang, who was based in Shanghai, and pointed his guns at Suzhou and Changzhou. Nanjing was therefore placed under great threat. Thus, in spite of their great efforts to fight against the Qing army, the Taiping troops were not able to break the siege.

The Taiping Army failed to rescue Nanjing from the siege not only because of the commander’s excessive steadfastness but also because of the leader’s suspicions and misuse of the right of investiture.24 By June, 1863, despite Li’s painstaking efforts with the Taiping Army’s battle in the east of Nanjing, it inevitably went downhill. In November, Suzhou and Wuxi fell, and, in March, 1864, Hangzhou was abandoned. Then, in April, Changzhou was captured by the Qing army. The Taiping defense in Jiangsu and Zhejiang totally disintegrated and some Taiping troops retreated to Jiangxi, where they preferred to die in a ditch to starving to death in Jiangnan.25 Li suggested Hong Xiuquan leave Nanjing. However, Hong refused. He passed away on June 3, 1864. Zeng’s Xiangjun were determined to capture Nanjing at all costs. One month later, the Xiangjun stormed into Nanjing and committed a massacre. According to Zeng Guofan’s memorial to the throne, more than 100,000 rebels were killed, and their dead bodies clogged the long Qinhuai River.26 When trying to save Hong’s young СКАЧАТЬ