Wei Changhui () was the North King of the

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy which sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The Heavenly Kingdom, or Heavenly Dynasty, was led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka man from Guan ...

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 ...

Pre-Rebellion involvement

Wei Changhui was a wealthy native of Jintian, Guiping,

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 ...

, who owned both land and a pawnshop. Wei was also educated and a member of a prosperous clan that had ensured that the market town of Jiantin was a safe haven for the God Worshippers. During the early days of the movement during the 1840s, Wei converted to God Worshipping by

Feng Yunshan Feng Yunshan (; 1815 – June 10, 1852) was the South King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a distant cousinJen Yu-wen, The Taiping Revolutionary Movement 22–23 (1973) and early accomplice of Hong Xiuquan, and an important leader during the Ta ...

and

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 ...

. During the summer of 1848, Wei swore brotherhood to Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan,

Yang Xiuqing Yang Xiuqing () (died September 2/3, 1856), was an organizer and commander-in-chief of the Taiping Rebellion. Early life Yang Xiuqing's family were farmers from Xincun near Jintian, Guangxi, but he lost his parents at a young age. According ...

, Xiao Chaogui,

Shi Dakai Shi Dakai (1 March 1831 – 25 June 1863; ), born in Guigang, Guangxi, also known as the Wing King () or phonetically translated as Yi-Wang, was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet. Early life Shi Dak ...

, and

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

During the Rebellion

Wei was a principal Taiping general since the early days of the rebellion. On December 4, 1851, Hong Xiuquan declared Wei to be the North King, Lord of 6,000 Years. Once the Taiping captured

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 ...

, Wei began to coordinate the defense of the surrounding region and managed Nanjing's food supplies.

Tianjing Incident and death

In order to consolidate his power, Yang Xiuqing began to humiliate and threaten Wei. Shortly before seeking a title commensurate with Hong Xiuquan's, Yang dispatched Wei, Shi Dakai, and Qin Rigang to separate provinces.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 237 (1996) Hong, viewing Yang's request as treasonous, alerted the three generals to return at once. Wei returned to Nanjing with three thousand troops on September 1, 1856, and found that Qin Rigang had already arrived. In consultation with Hong Xiuquan and his allies, the two generals decided not to wait for Shi Dakai's arrival.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 242 (1996) Instead, they and their troops immediately stormed Yang's palace and slew him before he could escape. They then slaughtered his family and followers within the palace, despite having agreed with Hong that only Yang was to die. At this point, six thousand of Yang's followers remained in Nanjing. Hong and his generals agreed to set a trap for those men.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 243 (1996) Hong pretended to arrest Wei and Qin Rigang for their actions and invited Yang's followers to watch as the two were beaten. Once the majority of Yang's followers were inside, the beatings ceased and Yang's followers were imprisoned inside the halls from which they were watching the beatings. The next morning, they were all systemically slaughtered.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 243-44 (1996) Killings of Yang's followers continued for three additional months.Jonathan D. Spence, God's Chinese Son 244 (1996) Shi Dakai finally reached Nanjing in October and blamed Wei for the excessive bloodshed. Wei in turn suggested that Shi may be a traitor. Having been warned that he could be assassinated next, Shi fled Nanjing, leaving the same day he arrived. That night, Wei and Qin Rigang stormed Shi's mansion and slaughtered his family and retinue. Shi then consolidated an army of 100,000 and demanded the heads of Wei and Qin. Wei directed Qin to block Shi's advance and began plotting to imprison Hong Xiquan. Hong Xiuquan was able to preempt those plans, however, and had his bodyguards kill Wei. Qin was lured back and killed shortly thereafter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Changhui Chinese religious leaders Executed Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people Military leaders of the Taiping Rebellion People from Guigang Zhuang people 1856 deaths 1823 births Executed people from Guangxi People executed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom