Zeng Guoquan (12 October 1824 – 13 November 1890),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Yuanfu,

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Shuchun, was a Chinese official and military leader of the late

Qing dynasty 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 ...

. He was the ninth brother of

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 ...

, a prominent statesman and general, and a descendant of the philosopher

Zengzi Zeng Shen (505–435 BC), better known as Zengzi (Master Zeng), courtesy name Ziyu (), was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi (Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of Mencius, thus ...

. He served in 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 ...

, a standing military force organised by his brother to counter the Taiping rebels, and was nicknamed "Ninth Marshal" (). He was known for his expertise in

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

warfare, particularly the use of trenches, hence he was also nicknamed "Zeng the Iron Container" (). During the conquest of Tianjing (

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 ...

), the capital 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 ...

, Zeng was notorious for condoning massacres of the city populace, which resulted in him being called "Zeng the Butcher" ().

Life

Zeng was born in

Xiangxiang Xiangxiang () is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangtan, Hunan province, China. Located on Central Hunan and the west of Xiangtan, Xiangxiang is bordered by Ningxiang County and Shaoshan City to the north, Xiangtan County to th ...

, Changsha Prefecture,

Hunan Province Hunan is an inland province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, and Guizhou and Chon ...

was his ancestor. He sat for the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

several times but failed to make the cut. 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 ...

, Zeng assisted his brother

in raising and organising local militias from Hunan to form the

to fight the rebels. In 1856, he managed to recruit 3,000 troops from Hunan to reinforce Qing imperial forces at

Ji'an Ji'an ( zh, c=吉安 , p=Jí'ān) is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China and bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a popu ...

Jiangxi Province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

. In the following year, they managed to recapture Ji'an from the rebels. In 1860, Zeng and his troops besieged

Anqing Anqing ( zh, s=, t=安慶, p=Ānqìng, l=, also Yicheng, Nganking and formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province of China, province, China, People's Republic of China. Its popu ...

and repeatedly fended off rebel reinforcements led by Chen Yucheng. They captured Anqing in the following year. In 1864, they conquered Tianjing (

), the capital of the

established by the rebels. Zeng was later appointed as the

Provincial Governor Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

Hubei Province Hubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major politi ...

. During the reign of the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, w ...

, Zeng, Guo Songtao and others compiled the book ''Hunan Tong Zhi'' (湖南通志; ''Guide to Hunan''). In 1863, he sponsored 5,000 silver

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

Wang Fuzhi Wang Fuzhi (; 1619–1692), courtesy name Ernong (), pseudonym Chuanshan (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, and philosopher of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties. Life Born to a scholarly family in Hengyang in Hunan province in 1619, Wang ...

. He also offered 300 silver taels to

Li Shanlan Li Shanlan (李善蘭, courtesy name: Renshu 壬叔, art name: Qiuren 秋紉) (1810 – 1882) was a Chinese mathematician of the Qing Dynasty. A native of Haining, Zhejiang, he was fascinated by mathematics since childhood, beginning with the ' ...

for the printing of ''Ze Guxi Zhai Suanxue'' (), a book on mathematics written by Li. In 1882, when he learnt that Peng Yulin wanted to establish a Chuanshan Academy in

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, of whom 1,290,71 ...

, he donated his personal copy of the ''Chuanshan Yishu'' and provided funding to help Peng start the school. In 1867, when the

Nian Rebellion The Nian Rebellion () was an insurrection against the Qing dynasty in northern China from 1851 to 1868, contemporaneously with the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) in southern China. The rebellion was suppressed, but the population and economic ...

was ongoing, Zeng and

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 ...

adopted different approaches towards attacking the rebels. Zeng ordered Bao Chao to lead his unit to attack the rebels.

Liu Mingchuan Liu Mingchuan () (1836–1896), courtesy name Xingsan, was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Qing dynasty. He was born in Hefei, Anhui. Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion at an early age, a ...

was defeated but was saved by Bao Chao. Liu then pushed the blame for the defeat to Bao and Liu Shengzao, resulting in the latter two being punished. Zeng was also forced to retire, ostensibly on the grounds of illness, but actually as punishment for his failure. In 1875, Zeng returned to politics and consecutively served as the Provincial Governor of

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

and

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

provinces, and

Viceroy of Liangguang The Viceroy of Liangguang, fully in Chinese as the Governor-General of Two Guang Provinces and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Ming and Qing d ...

. In 1884, he was appointed as

Viceroy of Liangjiang The Viceroy of Liangjiang, fully named in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Two River Provinces and Other Local Admirals, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages, Management of Rivers, and Administration on Nanhe Affairs, was one of e ...

. He died in 1890 and was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

"Zhongxiang" ().

References

* *Porter, Jonathan. ''Tseng Kuo-Fan's Private Bureaucracy.'' Berkeley: University of California, 1972. * Wright, Mary Clabaugh. ''The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T'ung-Chih Restoration, 1862 -1874.'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Guoquan 1824 births 1890 deaths Politicians from Xiangtan Qing dynasty generals Generals from Hunan Political office-holders in Hubei Political office-holders in Shanxi Political office-holders in Shaanxi Political office-holders in Guangdong Political office-holders in Jiangsu Viceroys of Shaan-Gan Viceroys of Liangjiang Viceroys of Liangguang Xiang Army personnel

Life

See also

References

External links