Hong Xiuquan

Founder of the Taiping Rebellion in China. Son of a Hakka farmer from Hua County, about 50 kilometers from Guangzhou. At the age of 23, after failing the imperial examination three times and falling ill with a fever, he was greeted by an angel and ascended to heaven, where he had a vision of fighting in heaven, where an old man with blond hair gave him the mission to exterminate the demons that were misleading and corrupting the people of the world. He once read a Protestant introductory book to Christianity called "Kanse Ryogen" that he happened to get in front of the examination center in Guangzhou, and became convinced that the old man was the one true God, Heavenly Father, and that the demons were the various false gods, Buddhas, idols, etc. that were rampant in China, and that he had been given a sacred mission by Heavenly Father to wipe them out, and founded the Shangdi Religion in 1843. He equated this God with Jehovah (Yahweh), but in reality it was a one and only God, a personal God from ancient China, that is, Shangdi, which was different from Christianity. He believed that all men are brothers and women are sisters who have been given life by God, and that they should live as one big family in a world without discrimination or conflict, and he depicted this ideal in the form of the great harmony described by Confucius in the "Liyun" chapter of the Book of Rites. In the early days, he did not necessarily think of a revolution on earth, but rather believed that this ideal would be realized if all people held to this correct faith and followed the ascetic precepts taught by God.

In 1847, he began a movement to destroy idols (shrines and statues) in Guiping County, Guangxi, which led to a fierce confrontation with the ruling order, and he eventually embarked on a revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty as the greatest demon and establish a heavenly kingdom on earth. He played a major role in the practical aspects of the movement, making full use of his authority, and in 1850 he entered into a large-scale battle with the Qing army, proclaiming himself Heavenly King in 1851, naming his country the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and establishing a new government in Nanjing as its capital in 1853. However, after the founding of Nanjing, he left political and military leadership solely to East King Yang Xiuqing (c. 1820-1856), and lived deep within the magnificent Heavenly King Palace, surrounded by many empresses, and his religion gradually became more mystical. After the Great Split in 1856, he did not trust subordinates outside his family, accelerating internal disintegration. He died of illness 20 days before the fall of Nanjing, but the truth of his death was kept hidden for a long time because Zeng Guofan, in order to emphasize the achievements of the Xiang Army, altered the statement by Li Xiucheng that Xiuquan had died of illness to say that he had committed suicide by taking poison.

[Shinji Kojima June 19, 2018]

"Hong Xiuquan" by Shinji Kojima (included in "People of Chinese History 9", 1981, Shueisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、太平天国の創始者。広州から50キロメートルほど離れた花県の客家(ハッカ)の農民の子。23歳のとき、科挙に三たび失敗し、熱病を病んだ際、天使に迎えられて昇天し、金髪の老人から、天下の人々を惑わし堕落させている妖魔(ようま)を退治せよとの使命を与えられ、天上で彼らと戦うという幻夢をみた。彼はかつて、偶然広州の試験場前で入手した新教系のキリスト教入門書『勧世良言』を読んで、かの老人こそは唯一の真の神天父上帝であり、妖魔とは中国にはびこる儒・仏・道教などのさまざまな偽りの神仏、偶像で、彼は上帝からこれらを一掃する聖なる使命を与えられたのだと確信し、1843年拝上帝教を創始した。彼はこの神をエホバ（ヤーウェ）と等置したが、実際は中国古来の人格神すなわち上帝を唯一神としたもので、キリスト教とは異質のものであった。彼は、すべての男は上帝から生命を与えられた兄弟であり、女は姉妹であって、一大家族として差別・対立のない世界に生きるべきだとして、その理想を孔子が『礼記(らいき)』「礼運篇(れいうんへん)」に記した大同に仮託して描いた。初期にはすべての人がこの正しい信仰にたち、上帝が教えた禁欲的戒律を守れば、この理想は実現されるとして、かならずしも地上の革命を考えてはいなかった。

　1847年広西(カンシー)の桂平県で開始した偶像（神廟(しんびょう)、神像）破壊運動をきっかけに、支配秩序と激しく対立し、やがて清(しん)朝を最大の妖魔として打倒して、地上に天国を樹立するための革命に進んだ。1850年末に清軍との大規模な戦闘に入り、1851年に天王を称し、国号も太平天国として、1853年南京(ナンキン)を首都に新政権を樹立するまで、彼はその権威を十分に活用して、運動の実際面でも大きな役割を果たした。しかし、南京建都後は、政治、軍事の指導をもっぱら東王楊秀清(ようしゅうせい)（1820ころ―1856）にゆだね、壮麗な天王府の奥深く、多数の后妃に囲まれて暮らし、その宗教もしだいに神秘性を加えた。1856年の大分裂以後は、一族以外の部下を信頼せず、内部分解に拍車をかけた。南京陥落の20日前に病死したが、その死の真相は、曽国藩(そうこくはん)が湘軍(しょうぐん)の功を強調するため、李秀成(りしゅうせい)の供述書における秀全の病死という記述を、服毒自殺と改竄(かいざん)したため、長く隠されてきた。

［小島晋治　2018年6月19日］

『小島晋治著『洪秀全』（『人物中国の歴史9』所収・1981・集英社）』

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