Early life and education

Hong Xiuquan, born "Hong Huoxiu", was the third and youngest son of a Hakka family. Some sources claim his family was "well to do". He was born in Fuyuan Springs, Hua county (now part of Huadu District) in Canton (Guangzhou), Guangdong to Hong Jingyang, a farmer and elected headman, and Madam Wang. He and his family moved to Guanlubu Village shortly after his birth. Upon marrying his wife Lai Xiying, Hong received the courtesy name "Renkun." He was also the brother of Hong Xuanjiao, a woman who became the commander of the female battalion during the Taiping Rebellion.

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 began studying at a primary school in his village at the age of five. He was able to recite the Four Books after five or six years. He then took the local xiucai preliminary civil service examinations and placed first. A few years later, he traveled to the nearby city of Guangzhou to take the imperial examinations. He was unsuccessful and, his parents being unable to afford to continue his education, he was forced to return to agricultural work. The next year, he accompanied a wealthy schoolmate elsewhere for a year of study and became a village schoolteacher upon his return.

In 1836, at the age of 22, Hong returned to Guangzhou to retake the imperial examinations. While in Guangzhou, Hong heard Edwin Stevens, a foreign missionary, and his interpreter preaching about Christianity. From them, Hong received a set of pamphlets entitled "Good Words for Exhorting the Age", which were written by Liang Fa, Stevens's assistant, and contained excerpts from the Bible along with homilies and other material prepared by Liang. Supposedly, Hong only briefly looked over these pamphlets and did not pay much attention to them at the time. Unsurprisingly, he again failed the imperial examinations, which had a pass rate of less than one percent.

Visions and iconoclasm

In 1837, Hong attempted and failed the imperial examinations for a third time, leading to a nervous breakdown. He was delirious for days to the point that his family feared for his life. While convalescing, Hong dreamed of visiting Heaven, where he discovered that he possessed a celestial family distinct from his earthly family, which included a heavenly father, mother, elder brother, sister-in-law, wife, and son. His heavenly father, wearing a black dragon robe and high-brimmed hat with a long golden beard, lamented that men were worshiping demons rather than him, and presented Hong with a sword and golden seal with which to slay the demons infesting Heaven. Furthermore, he did so with the help of his celestial older-brother and a heavenly army. The father figure later informed Hong that his given name violated taboos and had to be changed, suggesting as one option the "Hong Xiuquan" moniker ultimately adopted by Hong. In later embellishments, Hong would declare that he also saw Confucius being punished by Hong's celestial father for leading the people astray. His acquaintances would later claim that after awakening from his dreams Hong became more careful, friendly, and open, while his pace became imposing and firm and his height and size increased. Hong stopped studying for the imperial examinations and sought work as a teacher. For the next several years Hong taught at several schools around the area of his hometown.

In 1843, Hong failed the imperial examinations for the fourth and final time. It was only then, prompted by a visit by his cousin, that Hong took time to carefully examine the Christian pamphlets he had received. After reading these pamphlets, Hong came to believe that they had given him the key to interpreting his visions: his celestial father was God the Father (whom he identified with Shangdi from Chinese tradition), the elder brother that he had seen was Jesus Christ, and he had been directed to rid the world of demon worship. This interpretation led him to conclude that he was the literal son of God and younger brother to Jesus. In contrast to some of the later leaders of his movement, Hong appears to have genuinely believed in his ascent to Heaven and divine mission. After coming to this conclusion Hong began destroying idols and enthusiastically preaching his interpretation of Christianity. As a symbolic gesture to purge China of Confucianism, he and the cousin asked for two giant swords, three chi long and nine jin (about 4.5 kg), called the "demon-slaying swords", to be forged.

Hong began by burning all Confucian and Buddhist statues and books in his house, and began preaching to his community about his visions. Some of his earliest converts were relatives of his who had also failed their examinations and belonged to the Hakka minority, Feng Yunshan and Hong Rengan. He collaborated with them to destroy holy statues in small villages, to the ire of local citizens and officials. Hong and his converts' acts were considered sacrilegious and they were persecuted by Confucians who forced them to leave their positions as village tutors. In April 1844, Hong, Feng Yunshan, and two other relatives of Hong left Hua county to travel and preach. They first journeyed to Guangzhou and preached in the outlying areas before heading northwest to White Tiger Village. There, Hong and Feng Yunshan parted ways before traveling some to the southwest to the village of Sigu, Guiping county, Guangxi, where distant relatives of Hong's resided, including two early converts who had returned home. It is in or near Sigu that Hong begins to draft "Exhortations to Worship the One True God", his first substantial work. In November 1844, after having preached in Guangxi for five months, Hong returned home without Feng and resumed his previous job as a village teacher, while continuing to write religious tracts.

The "Emperors Worshipers"

In 1847, Hong Xiuquan was invited by a member of the Chinese Union to study with the American Southern Baptist missionary, Reverend Issachar Jacox Roberts. Hong accepted the invitation and traveled to Guangzhou with his cousin, Hong Rengan. Once there, Hong studied Karl Gützlaff's translations of the Old and New Testaments and requested to be baptized by Roberts. Roberts refused to do so, possibly due to Hong being tricked by the other converts into requesting monetary aid from Roberts. Hong left Guangzhou on 12 July 1847 to search for Feng Yunshan. Although robbed of all of his possessions, including his demon-slaying sword, by bandits in the town of Meizixun, he eventually reached Thistle Mountain on 27 August 1847. There, he reunited with Feng and discovered the "Society of God-Worshipers" that Feng had founded.

In January 1848, Feng Yunshan was arrested and banished to Guangdong, and Hong Xiuquan left for Guangdong shortly thereafter to once again reunite with Feng. In Feng and Hong's absence, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui jointly emerged to lead the "God Worshipers" themselves. Both claimed to enter trances which allowed them to speak as a member of the Trinity; God the Father in the case of Yang and Jesus Christ in the case of Xiao. When Hong and Feng returned in the summer of 1849, they investigated Yang and Xiao's claims and declared them to be genuine. Hong ministered to the faithful in outdoor meetings strongly resembling the Baptist tent revivals he had witnessed with Issachar Roberts.

Most of Hong Xiuquan's knowledge of the scriptures came from the books known as "Good Words to Admonish the Age" written by the Chinese preacher Liang Fa, as well as a localized Bible translated into Chinese. Many Western missionaries grew jealous of Hong and his local ministry. These competing missionaries were fond of spreading defamatory rumors such as his "lack of baptism." (Hong and his cousin were in fact both baptized according to the way prescribed in the pamphlet "Good words to admonish the age").

In 1847, Hong began his translation and adaptation of the Bible, what came to be known as "Authorized Taiping Version of the Bible, or "The Taiping Bible", which he based on Gutzlaff's translation. He presented his followers with the Bible as a vision of the authentic religion that had existed in ancient China before it was wiped out by Confucius and the imperial system. The deity of the Old Testament punished evil nations and rewarded those who followed his commandments, even music, food, and marriage laws.

Hong made some minor changes in the text, such as correcting misprints and improving the prose style, but adapted the meaning elsewhere to fit his own theology and moral teachings. For instance, in Genesis 27:25 the Israelites did not drink wine, and in Genesis 38:16-26 he omitted the sexual relations between the father and his son's widow. Hong preached a mixture of communal utopianism, evangelism and oriental syncretism. While proclaiming sexual equality, the sect segregated men from women and encouraged all its followers to pay their assets into a communal treasury.

When Hong returned to Guangxi, he found that Feng Yunshan had accumulated a following of around 2,000 converts. Guangxi was a dangerous area at this time with many bandit groups based in the mountains and pirates on the rivers. Perhaps due to these more pressing concerns, the authorities were largely tolerant of Hong and his followers. However, the instability of the region meant that Hong's followers were inevitably drawn into conflict with other groups, not least because of their predominantly Hakka ethnicity. There are records of numerous incidents when local villages and clans, as well as groups of pirates and bandits, came into conflict with the authorities, and responded by fleeing to join Hong's movement. The rising tension between the sect and the authorities was probably the most important factor in Hong's eventual decision to rebel.

Rebellion and the Heavenly Kingdom

By 1850 Hong had between 10,000 and 30,000 followers. The authorities were alarmed at the growing size of the sect and ordered them to disperse. A local force was sent to attack them when they refused, but the imperial troops were routed and a deputy magistrate killed. A full-scale attack was launched by government forces in the first month of 1851, in what came to be known as the Jintian Uprising, named after the town of Jintian (present-day Guiping, Guangxi) where the sect was based. Hong's followers emerged victorious and beheaded the Manchu commander of the government army. Hong declared the founding of the "Heavenly Kingdom of Transcendent Peace" on 11 January 1851.

Despite this evidence of planning, Hong and his followers faced immediate challenges. The local Green Standard Army outnumbered them ten to one, and had recruited the help of the river pirates to keep the rebellion contained to Jintian. After a month of preparation the rebels managed to break through the blockade and fight their way to the town of Yongan (not to be confused with Yong'an), which fell to them on 25 September 1851.

Hong and his troops remained in Yongan for three months, sustained by local landowners who were hostile to the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty. The imperial army regrouped and launched another attack on the rebels in Yongan. Having run out of gunpowder, Hong's followers fought their way out by sword, and made for the city of Guilin, to which they laid siege. However, the fortifications of Guilin proved too strong, and Hong and his followers eventually gave up and set out northwards, towards Hunan. Here, they encountered an elite militia created by a local member of the gentry specifically to put down peasant rebellions. The two forces fought at Soyi Ford on 10 June 1852 where the rebels were forced into retreat, and 20% of their troops were killed. However, in March 1853, Hong's forces managed to take Nanjing and turned it into the capital of their movement.

After establishing his capital at Nanjing Hong implemented an ambitious reform and modernization program. He created an elaborate civil bureaucracy, reformed the calendar used in his kingdom, outlawed opium use, and introduced a number of reforms designed to make women more socially equal to men. Hong ruled by making frequent proclamations from his Heavenly Palace, demanding strict compliance with various moral and religious rules. Most trade was suppressed, and some communal land ownership was introduced. Polygamy was forbidden and men and women were separated, although Hong and other leaders maintained groups of concubines.

Yang Xiuqing, also known as the "Eastern King", was a fellow Taiping leader who had directed successful military campaigns, and who often claimed to speak with the voice of God. Hong became increasingly suspicious of Yang's ambitions and his network of spies. In 1856, he and others in the Taiping élite had Yang and his family murdered in a purge that subsequently spun out of control, resulting in the further purge of its main perpetrator Wei Changhui.

Following a failed attempt by the Taiping rebels to take Shanghai in 1860, Qing government forces, aided by Western officers, slowly gained ground.

Death

In the spring of 1864, Nanjing was besieged and dangerously low on food supplies. Hong's solution was to order his subjects to eat manna, which had been translated into Chinese as sweetened dew and a medicinal herb. Hong himself gathered weeds from the grounds of his palace, which he then ate. Hong fell ill in April 1864, possibly due to his ingestion of the weeds, and died on 1 June 1864. Although Hong likely died of his illness, suicide by poison has also been suggested. He was buried in a yellow-silk shroud without a coffin in the bare ground, per Taiping custom, near the former Ming Imperial Palace. He was succeeded by his teenage son, Hong Tianguifu.

On 30 July 1864, Qing forces exhumed, beheaded, and burned his body. His body was later exhumed on orders of Zeng Guofan to verify his death, and then cremated. Hong's ashes were later blasted out of a cannon in order to ensure that his remains have no resting place as eternal punishment for the uprising.

Publications

• Imperial Decree of Taiping (1852)

• The Instructions on the Original Way Series (1845–1848): included in the Imperial Decree of Taiping later. The series is proclaimed by the People's Republic of China's National Affairs Department to be Protected National Significant Documents in 1988.

　• Instructions on the Original Way to Save the World

　• Instructions on the Original Way to Awake the World

　• Instructions on the Original Way to Make the World Realize

• The Heavenly Father's poem(1857)

• New Essay on Economics and Politics (1859)

Poetry

The following poem, titled Poem on Executing the Evil and Preserving the Righteous, written in 1837 by Hong Xiuquan, illustrates his religious thinking and goal that later led to the establishment of the "Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping". Note that in the seventh line, the name of the then yet-to-come kingdom is mentioned.

Legacy

Views and opinions on Hong differ greatly. The Communists under Mao Zedong generally admired Hong Xiuquan and his movement as a legitimate peasant uprising that anticipated their own. Sun Yat-sen came from the same area as Hong and was said to have identified with Hong since his childhood days.

To honor his legacy, the People's Republic of China established a small museum in 1959, the "Hong Xiuquan's Former Residence Memorial Museum", in his birthplace, where there is a longan tree planted by him. The museum's plate is written by the famous literary figure Guo Moruo (1892–1978). The residence and Book Chamber Building were renovated in 1961.

There has been an active academic debate on the degree to which Hong is similar or dissimilar to Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi. Scholars that promote the opinion that a strong similarity exists between Li and Hong note that both rallied a large number of people behind a religious or spiritual cause in order to challenge the status quo. Scholars disputing a close relationship note that Li's political intentions are debatable.

姓名

原名洪仁坤，小名火秀，又名洪日。在1837年大病痊癒後，聲稱夢見天父著白袍於夢境賜寶劍「雲中雪」、印璽給他。上帝在中文名為耶火華，天父指他名須避諱，必須用全（全拆字為人王，有自稱君王之意）代替火字（火字乃犯「爺火華」，即今譯之天父耶和華名諱），又說他有三種改名方法。一是隱匿，自稱洪秀；二是新創，自稱洪全；三也可以使用不犯諱的名字，叫洪秀全，因而得名。

生平

早年

1814年1月1日（清嘉慶十八年十二月初十），洪秀全出生於廣東花縣（今廣州市花都區）福源水村。父親洪鏡揚，是耕讀世家，母親王氏。洪秀全還有長兄洪仁發，二兄洪仁達、堂弟洪仁玕。

洪秀全祖先居於今日江蘇，其祖先洪皓是南宋的名臣，與當時的岳飛都是同期的愛國民族英雄，而後南遷閩南，又遷居廣東，在廣州府花縣落腳。

洪秀全7歲起，在村中私塾上學，學習四書五經及其它一些古籍。由於他是兄弟中唯一識字者，村中父老看好洪秀全可考取功名光宗耀祖，可是三次府試都失敗落選，第三次在廣州落選後已經是25歲（1837年，虛歲）了，受此打擊回家以後重病一場，一度昏迷，他本人說病中幻覺有一老人對他說：奉上天的旨意，命他到人間來斬妖除魔。從此洪秀全言語沉默，舉止怪異。

此時洪秀全並不甘心于考試的失敗，在6年後的1843年春天再一次參加了廣州的府試，結果還是以落選告終。這時洪秀全翻閱以前在廣州應試時收到的基督徒梁發的《勸世良言》一書，把書中內容與自己以前大病時的幻覺對比，自認為受上帝之命下凡誅妖，自認上帝的幼子，耶穌的幼弟，並稱上帝耶和華為「天父」，稱耶穌為「天兄」，一氣拋開了孔孟之書，不再做一名儒生而改信了基督教的教義，索性把家裡的孔子牌位換成了上帝的牌位。雖然未曾讀過《聖經》，洪秀全卻開始逢人便宣傳他所理解的基督教教義，稱之為「拜上帝會」。洪秀全說：「人心太壞，政治腐敗，天下將有大災大難，唯信仰上帝入教者可以免難。入教之人，無論男女尊貴一律平等，男曰兄弟，女曰姊妹。」洪秀全的「拜上帝會」在教義上模仿基督宗教，太平天國的十誡叫十款天條。

洪秀全最初在廣州附近傳教，但未取得很大成功。1844年洪秀全和馮雲山轉至廣西一帶傳教，洪不久便返回廣東，馮留下發展，在當地的信徒日增。1845年至1846年間，在家鄉的洪秀全寫下《原道醒世訓》、《原道覺世訓》、《百正歌》等作品。1847年初，洪秀全來到傳教士羅孝全在廣州的禮拜堂學習了幾個月，曾要求受洗，但羅孝全不同意洪秀全對以前大病時所見「異象」的見解，並認為洪秀全對教義的認識不足夠，拒絕為他施洗。洪秀全4個月後離開。洪其後再到廣西會合馮雲山，並陸續制訂拜上帝會的規條及儀式。

洪秀全的拜上帝會與地方衙門的矛盾日漸加深，洪秀全等人在1850年決定反清，加緊準備，會眾在下半年間陸續前來金田團營。

建立太平天國

1851年1月11日在廣西桂平的金田村舉行起義，建號太平天國，洪秀全稱天王；12月攻克永安後，分封東、西、南、北、翼諸王，各王均受東王楊秀清節制；1852年太平軍離開廣西，1853年攻佔南京，改名天京並定都在此，正式建立了與清廷對峙的農民政權。洪秀全一面派出軍隊西征北伐，一面頒佈《天朝田畝制度》等政策法規，試圖達到「有田同耕，有飯同食，有衣同穿，有錢同使，無處不均勻，無人不飽暖」的理想社會。

太平天國舉行第一次科舉考試時，有史以來特為婦女參加考試設立女科，拔取了女狀元、女進士等。

定都天京後，洪秀全主張把四書五經列為禁書，東王楊秀清不同意，借「天父下凡」迫洪秀全讓步，洪只好同意四書五經在修改後可以刊印流傳，然而直至太平天國滅亡仍未曾刊行。後來洪秀全又修改《聖經》，按照政治上的需要及個人喜惡改動內容，在太平天國內頒行。

天京事變

天王洪秀全與東王楊秀清的矛盾日漸加深。洪秀全知道北王韋昌輝、翼王石達開及燕王秦日綱對東王不滿，在1856年詔三人誅東王，9月發生天京事變，東王、北王與燕王先後被誅。翼王石達開在天京主政一段時間，為洪秀全所忌，洪秀全封自己的親兄弟洪仁發、洪仁達為王，以牽制石達開，引起石達開不滿。1857年石帶領大軍出走，脫離天王指揮。自天京事變及翼王出走後，洪秀全雖然掌握了朝政大權，太平天國卻開始走下坡。

晚年

清軍開始進迫天京，在陳玉成和李秀成等人支撐下，太平軍在數年間擋住了清軍的多次攻勢。

1859年族弟洪仁玕抵達天京，洪秀全大喜，封仁玕為軍師、干王，名義上總理天國朝政，卻不肯把軍事權力交給他。由於洪仁玕未有立功而封王，洪秀全怕其他人不服，再次封異姓為王。

1862年英王陳玉成被殺後，形勢急轉直下，天京附近據點逐一陷落。李秀成知道天京難以久守，向洪秀全建議放棄天京，轉戰中原，被洪秀全斥責。

1864年3月，天京遭到包圍後，城內糧食不足，洪秀全帶頭吃「甜露」（雜草與觀音土混成的黏團）充飢，因而致病。1864年6月1日（同治三年四月二十七日），洪秀全病逝天京。曾國藩卻向清廷報稱洪秀全服毒自盡。洪秀全死後尸體被秘密葬在天王府的後花園新建涼亭內。

1864年7月30日，天京陷落之後，湘軍總兵熊登武得到一個天王府黃姓宮女告密，在她的指引下，曾國荃派人從天王府的大殿內挖出了洪秀全的尸體。此時未時初，曾氏二兄弟旁觀挖洪出土時，晴天竟突轉陰暗，洪秀全的屍體以白布包裹著，雙手交叉，放在胸前，手持一枚鐵十字，沒有棺材，身體嚴重腐爛，只有肩膀和右臀稍有皮肉。

8月1日，曾國藩斷然下達了最嚴厲的懲處方式：「戮尸，烈火而焚之！」于是洪秀全的尸體再次被拖了出來，被刀戮、火焚。焚尸後，曾國藩根據湘軍將領李臣典的建議，命人把骨灰和以火藥，裝入炮彈，然後接連發射出去，目的是要讓洪秀全徹底灰飛煙滅，屍骨無存，陰魂無歸，更可以使太平軍的舊部失去了精神象徵。

家庭

洪秀全家族的歷史資料

根據古老的洪氏世系資料編修的家譜，名為《萬派朝宗》，記載了從金田起義前後，一直追溯遠祖自江浙南遷到廣東的過程。洪氏于漢代、三國時世居彭城郡下邳（今江蘇邳縣），西晉永嘉之亂中南遷京口（今鎮江），晉安帝時續遷新安郡遂安縣（今杭州市淳安縣），此後在各種戰亂中，輾轉經由江西、福建而入廣東。洪秀全其祖先洪皓是南宋時期的名臣，洪皓曾孫洪璞出任福建泉州府晉江縣縣尉，舉家遷到泉州。元朝末年社會動蕩，唯嶺南較安定，洪璞的第十世孫洪貴生從福建遷往廣東潮州府海陽縣（今日潮安縣）的布心。所以洪貴生是洪氏遷入廣東的始祖。洪秀全便是洪氏遷入廣東後的第十六世孫，也即是遷到花縣官祿布後的第六代。

妻妾

共有妻妾88人，皆稱王娘。以其夢見的「天妻」為元配妻子，稱正月宮，去除此夢中「天妻」，餘下87人，正室賴蓮英稱又正月宮，妃嬪依次有副月宮、又副月宮兩等。妻妾中僅五人有記載身份。

正室：

• 又正月宮賴蓮英(1839~1864)，生幼天王，天京城陷後被俘，送北京凌遲。

妾：

• 副月宮第四妻余氏，天京城陷後被俘(1838~1864)，凌遲。

• 副月宮第十二妻陳氏(1840~1864)，生洪天光，天京城陷後被俘，凌遲。

• 副月宮第十九妻吳氏，生洪天明，天京城陷後被俘，凌遲。

• 黃氏, 天京城陷後被俘，凌遲。

子女

五個兒子，一說六個

• 洪天貴福，尊稱幼主萬歲，封王世子，即位為幼天王, 天國滅亡後與部眾失散，一度成功逃亡, 但之後被清軍盤查時因口音被認出遭捕, 凌遲。

• 洪天曾，生于1852-1853年，夭折

• 洪天明，尊稱王三殿下永歲，封明王，生于1854年

• 洪天光，尊稱王四殿下永歲，封光王，生于1854年

• 洪天佑，封幼東王，過繼給楊秀清

女兒，史料不詳，至少有八人

• 長女洪天姣，尊稱天長金，夫婿天二駙馬、金王鐘萬信

• 次女洪氏，尊稱天二金，夫婿列王徐朗

• 三女洪氏

• 四女洪氏，尊稱天四金，夫婿天四駙馬黃棟梁

• 某女洪氏，夫婿天西駙馬黃文勝

• 某女洪氏，夫婿天東駙馬

• 某女洪氏

• 八女洪氏，尊稱天八金，夫婿天八駙馬

著作

• 《斬邪留正詩》

• 《太平詔書》

• 《原道救世歌》

• 《原道醒世訓》

• 《原道覺世訓》

紀念

1961年，為紀念洪秀全，當地政府在其故居原址上複原的建築。現在的故居建有洪秀全故居紀念館，洪氏宗祠闢為紀念館輔助陳列室。1988年列為第三批全國重點文物保護單位，亦是省、市首批愛國主義教育基地，2005年成為國家AAA級旅遊景區。1991年正式對外開放。