Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom Read online

  AUTUMN IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM

  ALSO BY STEPHEN PLATT

  Provincial Patriots: The Huanaese and Modern China

  First published in hardback in the United States of America in 2012 by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  First published in Great Britain in hardback, export and airside trade paperback and e-book in 2012 by Atlantic Books, an imprint of Atlantic Books Ltd.

  Copyright © Stephen Platt, 2012

  The moral right of Stephen Platt to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Hardback ISBN: 978-0-85789-766-4

  Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-85789-767-1

  E-book: 978-0-85789-769-5

  Printed in Great Britain

  Atlantic Books

  An imprint of Atlantic Books Ltd

  Ormond House

  26–27 Boswell Street

  London

  WC1N 3JZ

  www.atlantic-books.co.uk

  For Francie and Lucy

  Blessed are the peacemakers:

  for they shall be called the children of God.

  —Matthew 5:9

  CONTENTS

  Dramatis Personae

  Chronology of Major Events

  Preface to the UK Edition

  A Note on Romanization

  Maps

  PROLOGUE Heaven’s Children

  PART ONE Twilight

  1 The Preacher’s Assistant

  2 Neutrality

  3 The Shield King

  4 Soundings

  5 An Appointment in the North

  PART TWO Order Rising

  6 A Reluctant General

  7 The Force of Doctrine

  8 The Perils of Civilization

  9 Endurance

  10 Heaven and Earth

  11 Crossings

  PART THREE The Great Peace

  12 The Point of No Return

  13 Vampires

  14 Flowering Rain

  15 Blood and Honor

  16 Crossing the Mountain

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Notes

  Selected Bibliography

  Index

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT

  XIANFENG, emperor of the Qing dynasty

  PRINCE GONG, Xianfeng’s half brother

  YEHONALA, a concubine of Xianfeng, later Empress Dowager Cixi

  WENXIANG, a grand councillor

  SENGGELINQIN, a Mongol bannerman and general

  GUO SONGTAO, a Chinese official

  ZHANG GUOLIANG, a former bandit, general of the Green Standard

  HE CHUN, a general of the Green Standard

  WU XU, the daotai of Shanghai

  XUE HUAN, governor of Jiangsu province

  TAIPING REBELS

  HONG XIUQUAN, the Heavenly King

  HONG RENGAN, Hong Xiuquan’s cousin, the Shield King and prime minister

  LI XIUCHENG, the Loyal King

  LI SHIXIAN, Li Xiucheng’s cousin, the Attending King

  CHEN YUCHENG, the Brave King

  TAN SHAOGUANG, the Esteemed King

  SHI DAKAI, the Wing King

  GAO YONGKUAN, the Receiving King

  THE PROVINCIAL ARMIES

  ZENG GUOFAN, commander in chief of the Hunan Army

  ZUO ZONGTANG, a general in the Hunan Army

  BAO CHAO, a Sichuanese commander in the Hunan Army

  DUOLONGA, a Manchu cavalry commander in the Hunan Army

  LI HONGZHANG, Zeng Guofan’s student, commanding general of the Anhui Army

  CHENG XUEQI, a turncoat from the rebels, commander in the Anhui Army

  OTHER CHINESE

  YUNG WING, a graduate of Yale University in the class of 1854

  YANG FANG, a Shanghai banker, patron of the Ever-Victorious Army

  YANG CHANGMEI, Yang Fang’s daughter, married in 1862 to Frederick Townsend Ward

  BRITISH

  In Government

  LORD PALMERSTON, prime minister

  LORD RUSSELL, foreign secretary

  WILLIAM GLADSTONE, chancellor of the Exchequer

  COLONEL WILLIAM H. SYKES, member of Parliament for Aberdeen, Scotland

  Diplomats and Consular Officials

  JAMES BRUCE, eighth Earl of Elgin, British plenipotentiary

  FREDERICK BRUCE, James Bruce’s brother, British minister to China, 1860–1864

  THOMAS F. WADE, an interpreter, later professor of Chinese at Cambridge

  HARRY PARKES, an interpreter and consular officer

  Military

  REAR ADMIRAL JAMES HOPE, Royal Navy commander in chief of East Indies and China Station, 1859–1862

  CAPTAIN RODERICK DEW, captain of HMS Encounter

  CHARLES GORDON, commander of the Ever-Victorious Army, 1863–1864

  SHERARD OSBORN, commodore of the Anglo-Chinese Flotilla

  Other

  JAMES LEGGE, a Scottish missionary, later professor of Chinese at Oxford

  JOSEPH EDKINS, an English missionary

  JANE EDKINS, Joseph Edkins’s wife

  GRIFFITH JOHN, a Welsh missionary

  THOMAS BOWLBY, a reporter for The Times of London

  JOHN SCARTH, a businessman

  HORATIO NELSON LAY, inspector general of Imperial Maritime Customs

  AMERICAN

  FREDERICK TOWNSEND WARD, soldier of fortune and founder of the Ever-Victorious Army

  ISSACHAR JACOX ROBERTS, a missionary from Tennessee

  ANSON BURLINGAME, U.S. minister to China, 1861–1867

  JOSIAH TATTNALL, commodore of the East India Squadron, 1858–1859

  FRENCH

  BARON GROS, French plenipotentiary

  REAR ADMIRAL AUGUSTE LÉOPOLD PROTET, commander in chief of French forces in China

  RUSSIAN

  NIKOLAI PAVLOVICH IGNATIEV, a diplomat

  SWEDISH

  THEODORE HAMBERG, a missionary

  CHRONOLOGY

  1837

  Hong Xiuquan has first visions.

  1839–1842

  Opium War between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty.

  Hong Kong ceded to Great Britain.

  Shanghai opened as treaty port.

  1843

  Hong Xiuquan begins preaching among the Hakkas.

  1850

  MARCH 9 The Xianfeng emperor accedes to the throne.

  SUMMER First uprisings of the Society of God Worshippers in Guangxi.

  1851

  JANUARY 11 Hong Xiuquan announces founding of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

  Taiping Rebellion begins.

  1852

  Hong Rengan meets Theodore Hamberg.

  1853–1854

  Hong Rengan studies with Hamberg in Hong Kong.

  1853–1856

  Crimean War.

  1853

  JANUARY 8 Zeng Guofan receives instructions to organize militia in Hunan.

  JANUARY 12 Taiping conquer Wuchang.

  MARCH 19 Taiping conquer Nanjing, massacre Manchu population.

  APRIL 27 British ship Hermes visits Nanjing.

  1854

  FEBRUARY Zeng Guofan’s Hunan Army begins fighting Taiping in Hunan.

&nbsp
; MAY Hong Rengan travels to Shanghai, trying to get to Nanjing.

  JULY 27 Yung Wing graduates from Yale University.

  OCTOBER 14 Zeng Guofan’s militia forces take back Wuchang.

  OCTOBER 25 Battle of Balaclava, Crimean War.

  1855–1858

  Hong Rengan in Hong Kong, employed by London Missionary Society.

  1855

  JANUARY–FEBRUARY Disastrous defeat for Hunan Army at Jiujiang.

  FEBRUARY 11 Zeng Guofan attempts suicide.

  APRIL 3 Taiping reoccupy Wuchang.

  SEPTEMBER Muslim rebellion breaks out in southwest China.

  1856–1860

  Arrow War (Second Opium War) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty.

  1856

  SEPTEMBER 2 The Eastern King and his followers killed in coup in Nanjing.

  OCTOBER 8 Smuggling ship Arrow boarded by Qing authorities at Canton.

  DECEMBER 19 Hunan Army recaptures Wuchang.

  1857–1858

  Sepoy Mutiny in India.

  1857

  APRIL 20 Lord Elgin appointed plenipotentiary to China.

  DECEMBER 28 Allied forces bombard, occupy Canton (take possession January 1).

  1858

  MAY Hong Rengan leaves Hong Kong for Nanjing.

  MAY 20 British and French fleet attacks Taku forts, goes on to invade Tianjin.

  JUNE 27 Treaty of Tianjin signed between Britain and China.

  NOVEMBER–DECEMBER Elgin’s fleet sails up Yangtze River past Nanjing to Hankow.

  NOVEMBER 1 Great Britain institutes direct rule of India; East India Company dissolved.

  NOVEMBER 15 Major Taiping victory against Hunan Army at Three Rivers, Anhui.

  Zeng Guofan’s brother Guohua killed.

  1859

  APRIL 22 Hong Rengan arrives in Nanjing, is promoted to Shield King on May 11.

  JUNE 25 Repulse at Peiho River: British fleet devastated at the Taku forts.

  1860

  MAY Taiping armies rout imperial siege troops at Nanjing.

  JUNE Zeng Guoquan lays siege to Anqing (will last until September 1861).

  Frederick Townsend Ward enlists foreigners for rifle corps in Shanghai.

  JUNE 2 The Loyal King occupies Suzhou.

  JUNE 10 Zeng Guofan appointed acting governor-general of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu; receives full appointment on August 10.

  JULY 15 The Loyal King sends letter stating that the Taiping won’t harm foreigners at Shanghai.

  JULY 16 Frederick Townsend Ward’s militia captures Songjiang.

  JULY 28 Zeng Guofan sets up headquarters in Qimen.

  JULY 30 Frederick Townsend Ward attacks Qingpu, is defeated.

  AUGUST 1 Allied fleet lands at Beitang.

  AUGUST 2 Joseph Edkins and Griffith John arrive in Suzhou to meet Hong Rengan.

  AUGUST 19 British and French forces attack Taiping rebels at Shanghai.

  AUGUST 22 British and French forces capture Taku forts in north China.

  SEPTEMBER 22 The Xianfeng emperor abandons the capital.

  OCTOBER 13 British and French troops occupy Beijing.

  Issachar Roberts arrives in Nanjing.

  OCTOBER 18 British troops burn the Summer Palace.

  OCTOBER 24 Sino-British Treaty of Beijing signed.

  1861

  FEBRUARY 9 Confederate States of America founded in Montgomery, Alabama.

  FEBRUARY 20 Admiral Hope makes first visit to Nanjing.

  MARCH 4 Abraham Lincoln sworn in as U.S. president.

  MARCH 22 Harry Parkes meets with the Brave King at Huangzhou.

  APRIL 17 Lincoln gives order to blockade Confederate ports.

  MAY 13 Great Britain grants belligerent status to the Confederacy.

  MAY 19 Frederick Townsend Ward arrested in Shanghai.

  MAY 31 U.K. Parliament debates belligerent status of Taiping.

  JUNE 7 U.K. Parliament debates recognition of the Confederacy.

  JULY 21 First Battle of Bull Run.

  AUGUST 22 The Xianfeng emperor dies.

  SEPTEMBER 5 Hunan Army forces conquer Anqing, slaughter 16,000 survivors.

  NOVEMBER 8 Trent Affair (U.S. Civil War).

  Coup d’état in Beijing; Sushun and other regents executed.

  DECEMBER 9 Taiping take Ningbo.

  DECEMBER 15 Zeng Guofan given military control of four provinces.

  DECEMBER 29 The Loyal King Li Xiucheng conquers Hangzhou.

  1862

  JANUARY 20 Taiping forces attack Wusong, begin siege of Shanghai.

  JANUARY 22 Issachar Roberts flees Nanjing, writes denunciation of Taiping.

  FEBRUARY 10 Taiping forces defeated by Ward’s Ever-Victorious Army at Songjiang.

  FEBRUARY 22 Admiral Hope submits plan for clearing rebels from area of Shanghai.

  Beginning of alliance among British, French, and Ward.

  APRIL Li Hongzhang’s Anhui Army transported to Shanghai by steamship.

  APRIL 25 Li Hongzhang becomes acting governor of Jiangsu.

  MAY 10 British and French forces retake Ningbo from Taiping.

  Beginning of Allied campaign in Zhejiang.

  MAY 12 Allied forces and Ward capture Qingpu.

  MAY 13 Duolonga captures Luzhou from the Brave King.

  MAY 15 Brave King captured in Shouzhou, executed on June 4.

  MAY 17 French Admiral Protet killed by Taiping bullet; French troops rampage.

  MAY 30 Zeng Guoquan pitches camp at base of Yuhuatai.

  Beginning of the siege of Nanjing (will last until July 1864).

  SUMMER Major cholera epidemic in Shanghai.

  Massacre of Taiping prisoners makes world newspapers.

  JULY 20 U.S. Minister Anson Burlingame arrives in Beijing.

  SEPTEMBER 17 Battle of Antietam in U.S. Civil War.

  SEPTEMBER 21 Frederick Townsend Ward dies of bullet wound in Ningbo.

  OCTOBER 13 Li Xiucheng launches assault on Zeng Guoquan’s forces at Yuhuatai (will continue for forty-five days, until November 26).

  DECEMBER 13 Major Union defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia.

  1863

  JANUARY 1 Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation.

  JANUARY 7 Zeng Guofan’s brother Zeng Guobao dies of typhoid at Nanjing.

  FEBRUARY 13 Anglo-Chinese Fleet begins departing from England for China.

  MARCH 25 Charles Gordon takes charge of the Ever-Victorious Army.

  JUNE 13 Zeng Guoquan’s forces take control of Yuhuatai.

  Shi Dakai surrenders in Sichuan, executed on June 25.

  JULY 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg; tide of U.S. Civil War turns against the Confederacy.

  AUGUST 2 Henry Burgevine defects to the Taiping.

  SEPTEMBER Yung Wing meets with Zeng Guofan at Anqing.

  Sherard Osborn arrives in China to take command of the Anglo-Chinese Fleet.

  OCTOBER 15 Burgevine surrenders.

  NOVEMBER 19 Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address.

  NOVEMBER 20 Lord Elgin dies in India.

  DECEMBER 4 Esteemed King Tan Shaoguang assassinated by other Taiping generals who surrender Suzhou to imperial forces under Gordon and Cheng Xueqi.

  DECEMBER 6 Li Hongzhang takes control of Suzhou, executes generals who surrendered.

  End of Military cooperation between Britain and Qing imperial government.

  1864

  MARCH 19 Ulysses S. Grant put in charge of all Union Armies.

  MAY 31 Ever-Victorious Army disbanded.

  JUNE 1 Hong Xiuquan dies.

  JULY 19 Zeng Guoquan conquers Nanjing.

  JULY 22 Li Xiucheng captured in outskirts of Nanjing.

  JULY 28 Zeng Guofan arrives from Anqing to take possession of Nanjing.

  AUGUST 7 Li Xiucheng executed at Nanjing.

  OCTOBER 9 Hong Rengan captured in Jiangxi province.

  OCTOBER 25 The Young Monarch captured, executed on November 18.

  NOVEMBER 23 Hong Rengan executed and cut to pieces at Nanchan
g, Jiangxi province.

  1865

  APRIL 9 Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

  PREFACE TO THE UK EDITION

  The war that engulfed China from 1851 to 1864 was not only the most destructive war of the nineteenth century, but likely the bloodiest civil war of all time. Known in English as the Taiping Rebellion, it pitted the Chinese rebels of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom against the waning authority of the two-hundred-year-old Qing dynasty of the Manchus, and in its brutal fourteen-year course at least twenty million people lost their lives to warfare and its attendant horrors of famine and pestilence. In terms of the U.S. Civil War, with which it coincided in its final years, the death toll of the Chinese civil war was at least thirty times as high.

  Like most Americans, I did not learn about the Taiping Rebellion as part of my standard education. I managed to get through twelve years of public schooling, four years of college, and the better part of a year in China before reading about it for the first time, and I do not think my experience was uncommon. This war remains little known in the United States not just because our own civil war naturally occupies the center of our histories of the period but also because of a long-standing misconception that China in the nineteenth century was an essentially closed system and therefore that a civil war in China—no matter its scale—was something with relevance only to the country in which it was waged.

  Part of my purpose in writing this book is to help restore China to its proper place in the nineteenth-century world. China was not a closed system, and globalism is hardly the recent phenomenon we sometimes imagine it to be. The Qing Empire was deeply integrated into the world’s economy through trade, and there were thousands of foreigners living in Hong Kong and Shanghai. By consequence, the war in China was tangled up in threads leading around the globe to Europe and America, and it was watched from outside with a sense of immediacy and horror. Furthermore, to compound the miseries of China’s dynastic rulers, Britain and France mounted an entirely separate war against them in the late 1850s over trading rights and the stationing of ambassadors, which overlapped with the ongoing Taiping Rebellion and helped push the empire to the brink of total collapse.