Yang Xiuqing, was an organizer and commander-in-chief of the Taiping Rebellion.
17 Facts About Yang Xiuqing
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Yang Xiuqing's family were farmers from Xincun near Jintian, Guangxi, but he lost his parents at a young age.
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Yang Xiuqing claimed to have been stricken deaf and mute only to have regained his hearing and speech at a meeting of the God Worshippers.
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Yang Xiuqing began to claim that he could enter trances in which he would be possessed by the Holy Spirit, allowing God the Father to speak through him.
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From May to November 1850, Yang Xiuqing claimed to be deaf and mute.
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Once he recovered, Yang Xiuqing alleged that God was angered that Hong Xiuquan was not being allowed to establish the kingdom of God on Earth and sought to punish mankind with disease.
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Yang Xiuqing was an early participant in the rebellion and rose quickly to prominence; in 1851, when Hong Xiuquan took the title of Heavenly King for himself, he made Yang, in spite of having no military knowledge or experience, commander-in-chief of the army.
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Yang Xiuqing was further named "East King" as one of the five kings.
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In 1851, Yang Xiuqing announced a vision in which it was revealed that there were traitors in the highest levels of the movement, and two years later that words of the Eastern King, that is, Yang Xiuqing himself, were divine.
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Yang Xiuqing devised an extensive network of spies to root out the intrigues of loyalists in the kingdom.
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Shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious, Yang Xiuqing ultimately proved himself to be a brilliant strategist and organizer, as well as the administrative mastermind of the Taiping Movement.
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Yang Xiuqing first led them to divide their forces by forcing them to send relief forces to other cities, then sent all his own troops against them in a massed attack.
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Yang Xiuqing clashed with Hong over the rebellion's policies and views toward Confucianism and iconoclasm; Yang Xiuqing believed that Confucian morality was essentially positive, and that its basic tenets were compatible with the rebellion's interpretation of Christianity.
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Shortly before seeking a title equivalent to Hong Xiuquan's, Yang Xiuqing dispatched Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Qin Rigang to separate provinces.
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Meanwhile, Yang Xiuqing demanded to be called Wansui, a title reserved for the emperor.
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At this point, six thousand of Yang Xiuqing's followers remained in Nanjing.
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Yang Xiuqing's remaining followers in the capital were all systemically slaughtered over the next three months.