Xiao Chaogui (; 1820 – September 1852) was an important leader during the early years of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty of China. He was a sworn brother to Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taipings, and claimed to serve as a mouthpiece for Jesus Christ. Because of his importance to the rebellion, he was awarded the title of the "West King."
Early life Xiao Chaogui was a poor peasant farmer from Wuxuan, now part of Guiping, in the Thistle Mountain region of Guangxi.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 107 (1996)Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 36 (1966) Despite his modest means, he became an influential leader in the region.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 41 (1973) He was probably a member of the Hakka people,Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 41 (1973) but it has also been suggested that he was Yao.Robert P. Weller, Resistance, Chaos and Control in China: Taiping Rebels, Taiwanese Ghosts and Tiananmen 228 (1994) He may have been a relative of Yang Xiuqing.Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 36 (1966) He, along with his wife, father, and brothers, joined Hong Xiuquan's Society of God Worshippers. He possessed a "legendary reputation for valor and physical strength."Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 41 (1973)
Wife He was married to Yang Yunjiao, a zealous God Worshipper.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 348 (1996) Yang claimed to have visited Heaven in 1837 during a serious illness and to have been informed of the coming of a religious instructor, who was later presumed to be Hong Xiuquan.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 32-33 (1973)
Some sources have stated that, following the death of his first wife, Xiao married Hong Xuanjiao, a younger sister of Hong Xiuquan.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 57 (1973) This Hong Xuanjiao has left an imprint on Chinese culture as a valiant female warrior.Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800 98 (2010) However, Hong Xiuquan had no younger sister.Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800 99 (2010) Instead, it appears that wives of Taiping Kings like Xiao Chaogui were referred to as "younger sisters" of Hong Xiuquan.Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800 99 (2010) The most likely explanation appears to be that Yang Yunjiao and Hong Xuanjiao were the same person; Yang Yunjiao changed her given name from Yunjiao to Xuanjiao (possibly due to issues related to pronunciation), and folk historians provided her with the surname Hong to honor Hong Xiuquan.Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800 99 (2010)
The God Worshippers In the autumn of 1848, while Feng Yunshan and Hong Xiuquan were in a neighboring province, Xiao Chaogui assumed a leadership role in the God-Worshipping Society.Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 36 (1966) At this time, Xiao began to claim that Jesus Christ had descended to earth and that Jesus spoke through him while he himself was in a trance.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 50 (1973)Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 36-37 (1966)Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 107 (1996) This claim was ratified by Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan when the two returned to Thistle Mountain the following summer.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 50 (1973)Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 37 (1966)Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 107 (1996) Xiao, speaking as Jesus, provided doctrine, advice, and leadership to the God Worshippers.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 107-08, 113, 118, 124-25 (1996) When speaking as Jesus, Xiao was able to reprimand even Hong Xiuquan, as Jesus necessarily possessed greater authority than even Hong.Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 37 (1966)Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 111 (1996) During that summer of 1848, Xiao entered into a sworn brotherhood with Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Jesus Christ.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 40-43 (1973)
Leadership in the Taiping Rebellion Xiao acted as one of the principal military commanders of the Taiping forces in the early days of the Taiping RebellionJonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 130, 138, 163 (1996) and was named commander in chief of the Taiping's Front Army Corps on January 11, 1851.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 65-66 (1973) Shortly after their capture of Yongan, Hong Xiuquan named Xiao Co-Marshal, the ceremonial rank of marshal being the "ultimate mark of distinction in the Taiping organization."Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 78 (1973) On December 4, 1851, Hong bestowed further honors on Xiao, declaring him to be the West King, Lord of 8,000 Years.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 143 (1996) Six days later, during a Qing counterattack on a supply depot near Yongan, Xiao was wounded.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 145 (1996) With one minor exception, Xiao ceased to speak with the voice of Jesus soon thereafter.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 146-47 (1996)
In the summer of 1852 while the Taiping were encamped in Daozhou, three proclamations were issued by Xiao and Yang Xiuqing (by then the East King of the Taipings) in an attempt to gain the sympathy of the locals and to drum up new recruits.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 93 (1973)Political Leaders of Modern China: A Biographical Dictionary 187 (Edwin Pak-Wah Leung ed. 2002)Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 160 (1996) These proclamations demonstrated the triune religious-nationalist-political nature of the Taiping Rebellion by calling for the conversion of the people to Bài Shàngdì Huì (Supreme Emperor Worshipping Society), for the ruling ethnic-minority Manchus to be overthrown, and for the destruction of a government the Taipings considered to be thoroughly corrupt.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 93-95 (1973)Franz H. Michael, The Taiping Rebellion: History 58-59 (1966) The proclamations hardened the opposition of the gentry and scholars but helped convince over 20,000 locals to join the rebellion.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 95 (1973)
Death In late August 1852, Xiao led a small force from Chenzhou, the current base of the Taiping, in attempt to capture the city of Changsha.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 163 (1996) They arrived at Changsha in September and began besieging the city.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 163 (1996) Seeing little progress being made, Xiao chose to don robes indicating his noble rank, hoisted a large banner above his head, and headed to the front lines to direct his troops.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 98 (1973)Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 163 (1996) He was quickly hit in the left shoulder by a cannonball fired from the walls of the city and succumbed to his wounds near the end of September.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 98 (1973) The siege was ultimately abandoned in November.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 165 (1996) Xiao's actions leading up to his death have been harshly condemned by Chinese historians, who characterize them as "not an act of heroism but another example of 'stupid loyalty and stupid valor.'"Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 98 (1973)
Despite his death, Hong Xiuquan continued to regularly issue decrees in his name. He was also posthumously awarded the title "Rain Master."Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 159 (1973) One of his sons inherited his noble title and was addressed as Junior West King, until his death in the aftermath of the fall of Nanjing.Jen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 98, 534 (1973) Both sons were considered to be nephews to Jesus and grandchildren to Shangdi.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 246 (1996)
Notes
References