Chen Yucheng (), born Chen Picheng (; 1837May 1862), was a Chinese general during the
Taiping Rebellion and later served as the Heroic (Ying) Prince (or Brave King) of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the later stages of the rebellion, nicknamed "Four-eyed Dog" because of two prominent
moles below his eyes.
Born to a peasant family in
Guangxi
Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
around 1836, Chen Yucheng joined Taiping rebel forces during the
March to the Yangtze in 1851. 15 years old at the time of his enlistment, Chen quickly rose through the ranks and in 1856, in the aftermath of the
Tianjing incident, an internal power struggle within the Taiping leadership, he was promoted to a general. He was awarded the ''
E An'' in 1857.
After commanding a series of successful military operations west of
Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
between 1856 and 1858, Chen was given the title of Prince Ying by the Taiping Kings in the following year. Together with fellow Taiping General
Li Xiucheng, Chen defended and released the capital during the siege of Nanjing in 1860.
In February 1861, Chen Yucheng led 100,000 troops in a preparation to attack
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
, leading one half of a
pincer movement in an offensive against Imperial forces. However, he was on the defensive and forced to withdraw. After his retreat the
Xiang Army
file:Zeng Guofan.png, 150px, Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Xiang Army
The Xiang Army or Hunan Army () was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces called ''tuanlian'' to contain the Taiping Rebel ...
concentrated all its forces on the
Siege of Anqing.
Chen was executed by Imperial Qing forces in May 1862.
References
*
*Michael, Franz. ''The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents (Vol. II/III)'', Seattle, 1971.
*Michael, Franz and Chang Chung-li, ''The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents (Vol. I)'', Seattle, 1966.
*Teng, Ssu-yu. ''New Light on the Taiping Rebellion'', Cambridge, Mass., 1950.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yucheng
1830s births
1862 deaths
19th-century executions by China
Hakka people
Hakka generals
19th-century Chinese generals
Executed people from Guangxi
Executed Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people
Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion
People executed by flaying
People executed by the Qing dynasty
People from Wuzhou
Qing dynasty people