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| Hong Tianguifu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiping Heavenly King | |||||||||
| Reign | 2 June 1864 – 18 November 1864 | ||||||||
| Coronation | 6 June 1864 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Hong Xiuquan | ||||||||
| Successor | Kingdom abolished | ||||||||
| Born | Hong Tiangui (洪 貴[note 1])(1849-11-23)23 November 1849 Guanlubu,Guangdong,Qing Empire | ||||||||
| Died | 18 November 1864(1864-11-18) (aged 14) Nanchang,Jiangxi,Qing Empire | ||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | Hong | ||||||||
| Father | Hong Xiuquan | ||||||||
| Mother | Lai Lianying (賴蓮英)[1] | ||||||||
| Hong Tianguifu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 洪天貴福[note 1] | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 洪天贵福[note 1] | ||||||
| |||||||
| Birth name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 洪天貴[note 1] | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 洪天贵[note 1] | ||||||
| |||||||
Hong Tianguifu (23 November 1849 – 18 November 1864) was the second and lastking of theTaiping Heavenly Kingdom. He is popularly referred to as the Junior Lord (幼主). Officially, like his fatherHong Xiuquan, he was the King of Heaven (天王). To differentiate, he is also called the Junior King of Heaven (幼天王).[2]
Hong was born inGuanlubu [zh] village in Hua County (present-dayHuadu District), Guangdong.[3] Initially given the first name Tiangui (天貴; "Heaven's Precious"), his father added an additional character (福; "happiness/"blessing") around 1860, making his name unusual, asChinese given names typically have only one or two characters. The name change came amid Hong Xiuquan's increased focus on mysticism and belief that Hong was fit to replace him as "worldly leader". In the kingdom's hierarchy, Hong was referred to as "The Young Monarch of 10,000 years", mirroring his father's title "Heavenly King, Lord of 10,000 years".[4]
Hong succeeded his father on 2 June 1864, a day after his death, at age fourteen. He was not respected like his father bythe kingdom's princes and was spoken of poorly. InLi Xiucheng's autobiography, written shortly before Li's execution, Hong was described as "inexperienced", "spoiled" and "incapable".[5] Hong also never rode a horse, which was essential for leaders and commanders in wars.[citation needed]
On 19 July 1864, six weeks after Hong's coronation, theQing government capturedTianjing, the capital of the Taiping rebels. Aided by Li Xiucheng, Hong escaped toDongba [zh],Jiangsu, disguised in Qing Army uniforms. Hong's two younger brothers were killed during the clashes. They rendezvoused with his uncleHong Rengan and first went toGuangde County,Anhui, before heading to the town ofHuzhou,Zhejiang on 13 August 1864, where they rendezvoused with the local Taiping Army commander Huang Wenjin (黃文金). The Qing government sentZuo Zongtang andLi Hongzhang to attack the town. The Taiping Army commander in charge of defending the southern gate of the town, Chen Xueming (陳學明), surrendered on 26 August 1864. Hong Tianguifu, Hong Rengan and Huang Wenjin were forced to flee from the town the next day, under the cover of night. Huang Wenjin soon died of his wounds. The rest of the survivors attempted to escape to the border region ofJiangxi andFujian to join the remnant Taiping forces led byLi Shixian. However, on 9 October 1864, they were ambushed by the Qing army atShicheng. Hong Tianguifu escaped to the mountains near Shicheng after his token force was wiped out, but he was caught on 25 October 1864 by Qing soldiers searching for him. Hong Rengan was captured and subsequently executed on 23 November 1864 atNanchang,Jiangxi.[citation needed]
While being escorted by guards, Hong Tianguifu had a conversation with a Qing army soldier named Tang Jiatong. Hong first talked about his relationship with his father and others. He said, "The old affairs[a] of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were done by my father and Hong Renxuan, he sat on the throne. What did it have to do with me? Even after ascending the throne, I did nothing that is unfavorable to the Qing dynasty. The ones who resisted the Qing Empire were Prince Gan,[b] Prince Zhong[c] and the other [princes]." (Chinese:太平天國的那些舊事全是我父親和洪仁軒干的， 坐江山的也是他，跟我有什麼關係，即使我在登基之后，也没有做出任何對清朝不利的事情，那些反抗清朝的事都是干王、忠王等人做的。) After the second day of writing a poem praising the Qing dynasty, he was executed byslow slicing on 18 November 1864 at the age of 14.[6][7]
A glimpse of Hong Tianguifu's character can be seen by his remarks before his execution: "Guangdong is not a nice place, I do not want to go back in. I just want to study with Old Master Tang inHunan, and I want to be a good scholar" (廣東地方不好，我也不愿回去了，我衹愿跟唐老爺到湖南讀書，想進秀才). This apparently innocent, pointless, and irrelevant comment was considered by some[who?] as a desperate and futile attempt to avoid death by confusing the executioner of his identity.[clarification needed] It may also have reflected his lack of understanding of what was happening to him and his lost kingdom.[2]
Despite his short reign as king, he was still issued an officialseal made ofjade (玉璽;yù xǐ), which is exhibited in theHong Kong Museum of History.[8]
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Heavenly King of Taiping 1864 | Succeeded by Position abolished |
| Battles and campaigns | |
|---|---|
| Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leaders | |
| Other rebel leaders |
|
| Qing dynasty leaders and personnel | |
| Other notable figures | |
| Miscellaneous topics | |
See also: | |
