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Hong Xiuquan

Hong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan.jpg
Taiping Heavenly King (太平天王)
Reign 11 January 1851 – 1 June 1864
Predecessor (none)
Successor Hong Tianguifu
Born (1814-01-01)1 January 1814
Hua County, Guangdong, Qing China
Died 1 June 1864(1864-06-01) (aged 50)
Tianjing, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Issue Hong Tianguifu, Heavenly King of Great Peace
Hong Tianming, Ming King
Hong Tianguang, Guang King
Full name
Hong Xiuquan
Era name and dates
太平天囯: 11 January 1851 – 1 June 1864
House House of Hong
Father Hong Jingyang
洪競揚
Mother Madam Wang
王氏
Religion Hong's own interpretation of Evangelicalism
Full name
Hong Xiuquan
Era name and dates
太平天囯: 11 January 1851 – 1 June 1864
Hong Xiuquan
Chinese
Hong Renkun
Chinese
Huoxiu
Chinese

Hong Xiuquan(1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Renkun and with the courtesy name Huoxiu, was a Hakka Chinese leader of 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.

Hong Xiuquan's name at birth was "Hong Huoxiu", the third son of a poor Hakka family. He was born in Fuyuanshui Village, Hua County (now part of Huadu District, Guangzhou), Guangdong to Hong Jingyang and Madam Wang. His grandfather was Hong Guoyou, who was, like his ancestors, a farmer. He later moved to Guanlubu Village. His wife was Lai Xiying.

Hong showed an interest in scholarship at an early age, so his family made financial sacrifices to provide a formal education for him, in the hope that he could one day complete all of the civil service examinations. Hong started studying at a school called Book Chamber House at the age of seven. He was able to recite the Four Books after five or six years. At around the age of 15, his parents were no longer able to afford his education, so he became a tutor to children in his village and continued to study privately.

He took the local preliminary civil service examinations and came first; so, at the age of 22, in 1836, he decided to take the provincial examinations in the nearby city of Guangzhou. While in Guangzhou, Hong heard an Evangelical Christian missionary preaching about his religion. From him Hong received translations and summaries of the Bible that were written by the Christian missionaries Edwin Stevens and Liang Fa, Stevens' assistant (ordained by Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to China). Hong supposedly only briefly looked over these pamphlets, but did not pay much attention to them at the time. Unsurprisingly, he failed the imperial examinations, which had a pass rate of less than one percent.


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