Tan Shaoguang () (1835 – December 1, 1863) was a military leader of 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 ...

. During his military tenure he was known as the King of Mu (慕王) ("Seeker Prince"). As a young soldier he joined the

Jintian Uprising The Jintian Uprising was an armed revolt formally declared by Hong Xiuquan, founder and leader of the God Worshippers, on 11 January 1851 during the late Qing dynasty of China. The uprising was named after the rebel base in Jintian, a town i ...

. After several years he was promoted to general, and led the Taiping forces to many military victories. He was awarded the E An in 1861. He was murdered by traitors after an interrogation in 1863.

Notable victories

The Army Group Jiangnan (江南大營) were

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 ...

soldiers who encircled

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 ...

twice, in March 1858 and May 1860. The first siege used 200,000 soldiers, and was led by

Li Xiucheng Li Xiucheng (; 1823 – August 7, 1864) was a military rebel commander opposing the Qing dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion. He was born to a peasant family. In 1864, he was captured and interrogated following the third and final Battle of ...

. It was routed in 1860, after occupying

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 ...

Province (except for

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 ...

). Tan also fought in the

Battle of Shanghai (1861) The Battle of Shanghai (太平軍二攻上海) was a major engagement of the Taiping Rebellion that occurred from June 1861 to July 1862. British and French troops used modern artillery on a large scale for the first time in China. Cannon fire ...

Death

Li Xiucheng's mansion was built 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 ...

, where it is the only one from the Taiping Rebellion still existing today. In July 1863 Li ordered his son-in-law, Tan Shaoguang, to assume control of

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 ...

; the " Ever Victorious Army", which had been raised by an American,

Frederick Townsend Ward Frederick Townsend Ward (; November 29, 1831September 22, 1862) was an American sailor and mercenary known for his military service in Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion. He commanded the Ever Victorious Army, a joint Sino-foreign forc ...

, 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 its support

won several battles, leading to the surrender of

. Six days before Tan was killed,

conducted a secret negotiation with eight generals on a boat on

Yangcheng Lake Yangcheng Lake () is a freshwater lake in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, about northeast of the city center. The lake is long from north to south, with an average width of from east to west with a surface area of about , and ranges in depth ...

. He asked them to kill Tan, promising their safety. To seal their agreement, Li prepared a dinner of rich, sweet Taiping crabs. Before recapturing Suzhou from the Taiping forces, the eight generals met with Tan in the inner city. Tan accused his generals of cowardice; his guards killed over 1,000 soldiers, but his traitorous generals killed him after Li Xiucheng's escape. Two days before this meeting, Li Xiucheng had warned Tan Shaoguang of the treachery; Tan did not believe him, refusing to escape and follow him. Following Tan's death, the traitorous generals opened the city door; over 200,000 Taiping forces surrendered, and welcomed

as he recaptured Suzhou. However 10,000 of them were killed on orders of Li. Tan Shaoguang was also the husband of one of Liu Xiucheng's three daughters; one of which was married to Chen Binwen, another Taiping general.

Sources

*Tiān Guó Zwi(天國志) 1835 births 1863 deaths 19th-century executions by China Hakka generals 20th-century Chinese generals Executed people from Guangxi Executed Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion People executed by the Qing dynasty People from Guigang {{China-mil-bio-stub

Notable victories

Death

See also

Sources