Li Xiucheng (; 1823 – August 7, 1864) was a military rebel commander opposing the Qing dynasty during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

. He was born to a peasant family. In 1864, he was captured and interrogated following the third and final Battle of Nanjing. He was then executed by

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan (), was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

Name

He was sometimes called the Loyal King (). This title was bestowed after he refused a bribe from a

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

general officer to kill

Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary and religious leader who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly K ...

, the founder and leader of the rebellion.

Biography

Second rout of the Jiangnan Army Group

Army Group Jiangnan (江南大營) was an important

army barracks in

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 ...

. Forces led by Li Xiucheng besieged the barracks in an attempt to force its occupants to surrender. Beginning from March 1858 during the second encirclement, the

army commanded 200,000 soldiers to fight against Taiping forces, but they were routed by Li Xiucheng in May 1860. After that, Li went on to occupy all of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

provinces except

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Nanjing

Li worked alongside fellow Taiping General Chen Yucheng to defend and release the capital during the siege of Nanjing in 1860.

Escape from Suzhou

Li Xiucheng's palace in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

is the only one from the Taiping Rebellion era that still exists today. In July 1863, Li ordered his daughter's husband, Tan Shaoguang, to capture Suzhou. But

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

led the

Huai Army The Huai Army (), named for the Huai River, was a military force allied with the Qing dynasty raised to contain the Taiping Rebellion in 1862. It was also called the Anhui Army because it was based in Anhui province. It helped to restore the stabil ...

combined by the "Ever Victorious Army", which, having been raised by an American named Frederick Townsend Ward, was placed under the command of

Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, Gordon of Khartoum and General Gordon , was a British ...

. With this support,

gained numerous victories, leading to the surrender of

Writing

''Loyal Prince Li Xiucheng In His Own Words'' () is his autobiographical account written shortly before his

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

Li's sword

When Li withdrew from

, his sword, the symbol of his power, was given to his young brother Li Shixian. Li Shixian took this sword, but it was confiscated when he was captured by

in Liyang. Charles George Gordon returned to the UK with Li's sword, and presented it to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's cousin, Chief Commander of the Military the

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by agnatic, male descendants by pr ...

. On 30 August 1961, the sword ended up in the hands of a history professor at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1981, this sword was returned to China, where it is currently stored in the

National Museum of China The National Museum of China is an art museum, art and history museum located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The National Museum of China has a total construction area of about 200,000 square meters, a collection of more than ...

Children

Li Xiucheng had a son, Li Rongfa and three daughters. Li's daughters married Taiping generals, including Tan Shaoguang and Chen Binwen.

Sources

* * Tiān Guó Zwi(天國志)
李秀成：太平天国后期军事统帅
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Xiucheng 1823 births 1864 deaths 19th-century executions by China Hakka generals 19th-century Chinese generals Executed people from Guangxi Executed Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion People executed by the Qing dynasty by decapitation People from Wuzhou