Hemin Gan Biography: Tempering Winds and Sturdy Bones
Taiping Tianguo is the prelude to China’s modern democratic revolution, the most thorough democratic revolution led by the peasant class in modern China, and the apex of peasant wars throughout Chinese history. In the Taiping Revolution, the utopian communist ideas of Chinese peasant revolutionaries shone with the brilliance of the Chinese nation’s struggle and wisdom; it represents the highest achievement of two millennia of peasant-led rebellion, achieving remarkable accomplishments across politics, economy, military, and thought.
洪仁玕（1822-1864）was the great leader of this peasant revolution, a key leader in the later Taiping Tianguo revolution, and one of the core figures of the Taiping government. The reform program Zizheng Xinpian issued by Hong Rengan was China’s earliest capitalist reform program. His reforms were an initial attempt by modern Chinese to develop capitalism themselves. Hong Rengan was not only a great statesman but also a great thinker, philosopher, educator, and military leader. He was the earliest member of the拜上帝教 (God Worshippers’ Company) founded by Hong Xiuquan, later absorbing Western science and culture in Hong Kong, and further developing revolutionary thought in the struggle, proposing the grand ideal of a new heaven, new earth, new people, and new world. Philosophically, Hong Rengan advanced various aspects of Taiping revolutionary thought, inherited Hong Xiuquan’s path from pan-theism to atheism, vigorously opposed feudal religious superstition and idol worship with a materialist, militant atheistic stance; emphasized the subjective initiative of people, and continued the revolutionary dialectic that had light displaced darkness, stressing that the conditions for contradiction and change depend on people’s own efforts. He especially stressed ideological struggle, especially among intellectuals, and advocated centralized political power and ideological reform, authoring such essays as England Hero Returns to Truth, On Temptation of the Enemy, and Five Essentials for Teachers and Students, among others. As an educator, he advocated bold reforms, promoted literary reform like Hong Xiuquan, and left behind a large corpus of poems that celebrated revolutionary aspirations; he was, in effect, a pioneer of China’s modern vernacular movement, advocating reading for practical struggle and the utility of writings for political purposes. In military affairs, he contributed greatly to Taiping’s revolution; though he had little combat experience, he rose to leadership during late Taiping, personally led troops in battle, and played a tremendous role. He drafted the strategies for the two defeats of the Jiangnan Camp and the second Western Expedition, and personally commanded troops in battles; later at Anqing he led reinforcements. During the Tianjing crisis, he repeatedly risked his life to urge troops to relieve the siege. Although Hong Rengan held high office, he never sought personal pleasure, remained loyal to the revolution, and emphasized unity among revolutionary cadres; he shared strong ties with the English-born Chen Yucheng (陈玉成). Hong Rengan and Chen Yucheng pushed for strengthening centralization, opposing centrifugal tendencies within the Taiping leadership. Hong Rengan and Chen Yucheng thus formed the two pillars—civil and military—of the Taiping political structure in its later phase.
The revisionist bloc, after China’s restoration of capitalism, did much to propagandize the idea that “he who toils with his mind rules men, he who toils with his hands rules others” along with a Confucian moralist view of heroism; they heavily promoted dynastic hero narratives, elevating emperors and generals, while denigrating the heroic individuals of the Chinese nation—vast masses of slaves and peasant heroes. Was it the hero who made history, or the slaves? This is the fundamental divide between historical idealism and materialism. Today’s Chinese society is full of power among the predatory, who do not recognize the historical achievements of the people and promote the “hero creates history” myth, extolling emperors and court scholars. Yet world history belongs to the people, created by the millions of workers and peasants who have suffered exploitation and oppression. So many peasant revolutionary heroes have faded into obscurity, but we, as Marxists, must overturn this narrative and restore the white reputation of those who created Chinese civilization. Hong Rengan, as a revolutionary intellectual from the peasant class, embodies this patriotism. He categorized China’s usable “treasures” into three grades: the middle-grade treasures, which are useful Western technologies; the lower-grade treasures, such as items whose use is obviously pragmatic and universal; and the highest-grade treasures—the revolutionary thought of God Worship—Taiping’s God-worship ideology—which is the essence of China’s peasant anti-feudal revolution. Once the revolutionary thought spreads, people will not be seduced by worldly pleasures; they will be self-disciplined and able to reform old conceptions and customs and develop a societal order anchored in egalitarian ideals.
And Hong Rengan did not merely pursue capitalist modernization; he also proposed a series of social welfare initiatives, and called for the abolition of feudal customs that harmed people’s livelihoods: “Formation of public welfare associations (to help the poor) … hospitals to ease illnesses … homes for the crippled, blind, and the elderly.” He proposed developmental social security programs; and for those who can work, he insisted that aid should be paired with work, while completely supporting the disabled and the homeless. He articulated a socialist principle of “no one should eat without work,” while strongly criticizing vagrancy. He also argued for the abolition of coercive and violent feudal practices, such as burning infant daughters, and banned opium and the opium trade, as well as the destruction of temples and shrines. He advocated a staged, gradual approach to these reforms, beginning with government cadres and then spreading to society at large. Although in form he emulated Western models, his aims were fundamentally different from Western capitalist civilization. These policies reflected Hong Rengan’s identity as a peasant revolutionary intellectual, influenced by Taiping’s utopian communist thought, and his desire for a communist society that transcended capitalist limits. (All sources cited from Hong Rengan’s writings.)
“Communist revolution is a thorough break with traditional property relations; it will inevitably, in its own development, break with traditional ideas as well.” Taiping Tianguo, as a peasant revolutionary regime, stood in sharp opposition to the Qing feudal landlord class; its ideological battles would be fierce, long, and complex. Since entering class society, intellectual labor has been the privilege of the exploiting class, who monopolize culture, and spread evil ideas to mislead the world. Taiping’s early revolution attacked feudalism, but as landlordism and feudal thought re-emerged, the cultural struggle intensified. Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, members of the revolutionary faction, carried feudal aristocratic methods; their rhetoric promoted Confucianism and Chinese classics. The Tianjing Incident was the outcome of feudal power within the Taiping regime. Thus, cultural revolution became an essential component of reform.
“Alas, the allure of custom is immense”; in the first article of Zizheng Xinpian, Hong Rengan highlighted the toxic effects of old ideas, culture, customs, and habits—these were the root of China’s centuries of feudal decline. He stated: “Compare the present-day empire’s rule—whose is this land? Among us, the flower of China (Huá) has forgotten its own beauty, living under the rule of the barbarian; this is lamentable.” He pointed to the nation’s major problem—the domination of feudal and foreign-imposed oppression, and that the Chinese people, especially the intellectuals, have acquiesced, not studying genuine knowledge but following hollow formalities to gain individual wealth, a lamentable situation. He criticized the feudal world’s multi-layered hypocrisy and the use of Confucianism to oppress peasants; he called for the abolition of the “nice talk” of scholars and urged reliance on the peasant power. He argued that the reform of the mind and the removal of old ideas required a thorough ideological struggle and the transformation of social mores; only through ideological unity could organizational unity be achieved.
“Better to adopt heaven’s will than to persist in the old ways; to overrun the old, then build the new.” Hong Rengan, with his anti-Confucian critique, attacked the feudal moral order and its worship of hierarchy. He argued against Confucian hierarchical “order”—that this order suffocates human potential—and promoted egalitarian civic ideas and revolutionary morality. He decried the feudal emphasis on “relation and rank,” and advocated the idea that true legitimacy comes not from aristocratic titles but from dedication to the people and the revolution. He also attacked religious superstition, wrote vigorously against idol worship, and composed poems and essays as part of his ideological campaign. He asserted that faith in God Worship should be translated into a rational, secularist political program. His anti-religious, anti-superstition writings included X, Y, and Z essays that argued the use of Buddhism and Daoism to sustain a feudal social order must end, in favor of revolutionary, practical solutions in education and social reform.
In addition to his political, economic, ideological and educational reforms, Hong Rengan wrote a military treatise, The Four Military Principles, as a supplement to military doctrine. Although Hong Rengan lacked battlefield experience, his ideas contained practical military insight, emphasizing four aspects a leader must possess: knowledge, virtue, law, and keen ability. He argued that leading troops requires not only clever tactics but also a sound understanding of geography and weather; cautioned reliance on “surprise victories” alone; and stressed the central importance of political-military unity—“when the army and its commanders are united, soldiers eat at the same table and sleep in the same bed.” He insisted on strict military discipline and a political mission to overthrow feudal rule and relieve the people’s sufferings. He also asserted a duty to be exemplary; in a poem he urged officers to avoid vice and maintain discipline.
When Hong Rengan returned to Taiping’s Tianjing, he assumed command of the national policy (Zhongli Guoweng); his reforms, especially centralized political power and abolition of personal fiefdoms, were intended to prevent betrayers like Li Xiucheng from consolidating power and undermining the revolutionary regime. The emperor Hong Xiuquan formally proclaimed: “Within the capital, decisions are to be sought from the Gan Wang; outside the capital, matters must be referred to the English King.” This was an important strategy for centralization. Hong Xiuquan’s trust in Hong Rengan and Chen Yucheng was evident; Chen Yucheng was made English King, effectively the top general in command overseas and the actual commander of all Taiping forces, with the crown grant for his leadership. This was a key measure in restoring centralized authority and suppressing the anti-revolutionary forces represented by Li Xiucheng’s faction. Li Xiucheng, representing feudalism, had sought to enlarge the lordly legal privileges for landlords and to restore feudal order by leveraging his power, distributing privileges to local gentry and officials, promoting the Confucian education system to reintroduce feudal school and exams, and embedding Confucian political ideology in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to control peasant masses. He traveled from city to city to hold feudal examinations featuring the Four Books and Five Classics to recruit reactionary officials and to levy heavy rents. He even installed feudal schools, promoted imperial scholarship, and used Confucianism to corrupt the Taiping’s revolutionary cadre. His ephemeral feudal “gilded” strategies included a feudal “Merit-like” honor code, and the feudal system of rent and taxes was reimposed. Hong Rengan and Chen Yucheng correctly asserted that “state affairs depend on appointments,” and under their advice, Hong Xiuquan issued the “Legislation and Proclamations,” banning generals from “raising troops on the road.” Some harsh provisions followed: no one could grant promotions or seals; if a general attempted to grant promotions, he would be punished; any unauthorized promotions implied severe penalties. This measure was intended to prevent Li Xiucheng’s faction from consolidating power.
Second, to develop the economy and reform the economic base to strengthen the state and restrain regional factionalism and external assaults, Hong Rengan proposed a series of economic reforms. Because he had long been abroad, he lacked extensive on-the-ground peasant revolutionary experience, and his exposure to Western capitalist science led him to undervalue the importance of land reform in democracy, which is reflected in Zizheng Xinpian’s reforms. Fortunately, the Heavenly King had long planned reforms and emphasized the need to advance land reform by revising the Taiping’s major economic program, the Tianchao Tianmu System. Hong Rengan proposed a realistic land reform program—Tianchao Zeli—stipulating: “Male over sixteen, each able to till ten mu (about 0.67 hectares) of land, pay three stones, six dou, six sheng of grain, money 366 wén.” This was a temporary solution to land needs for peasants and a measure to curb feudal land ownership while ensuring state revenue. Building on this, Hong adapted Western capitalist models to promote development: modern transport (ships, railways, the banking system), modern industry, mining, finance, postal services, newspapers, etc. He also argued that foreigners should not be allowed to enslave Chinese; thus he allowed the wealthy to hire workers, but forbade slaveholding; a progressive step toward modern labor relations.
Although Hong Rengan advocated adopting certain Western political systems and incorporating Western science to revitalize the Taiping government, he never blindly celebrated Western civilization or belittled the Chinese people’s diligence and wisdom; he maintained a clear and sober view of Chinese civilization. He was a patriotic peasant revolutionary who recognized Taiping’s superiority to other reform movements that followed, and his zeal eclipsed those of even reformists who worshipped Western ideas. He valued China’s material and spiritual wealth as produced by Chinese workers and considered the nation’s progress dependent on the struggles of the Chinese people; he is a representative of revolutionary intellectuals among peasants. He divided Chinese “treasures” into categories: the middle grade—useful Western implements; the lower grade—practical, universally useful devices; and the highest grade—the Taiping God Worship revolutionary thought, which embodies the essence of China’s peasant revolutionary thinking. As long as revolutionary thought spreads, people will not be enthralled by sensual pleasures; they will be disciplined and can reform old ideas and customs to realize a new heaven and new earth. Hong also shows a desire to abolish feudal customs, to promote social welfare, and to cultivate a rational, virtuous, egalitarian social order. He rejected feudal superstition, drawing a poetic critique against idol-worship, and insisted that a modern socialist society should be established with the ultimate goal of freeing the peasants from oppression and exploitation.
Hong Rengan, in addition to policy formation and reform, authored The Four Military Articles—an additional military perspective. Even though he lacked battlefield experience, he put forward prudent strategies, emphasizing the importance of morale and ethics. He believed that a leader must earn the people’s trust through a democratic, egalitarian leadership and unity between officers and soldiers, articulating the principle that the revolution’s political goals must be implemented and the feudal system overturned. He published admonitions to soldiers and officers, urging virtuous and disciplined conduct. The essence of his military thought is that the revolution’s ultimate victory depends on the unity of the army and the people, and that the feudal army can be overthrown only through a clear subordination to the political leadership of the Taiping state.
As a learned, loyal, devoted revolutionary, Hong Rengan’s return to Tianjing as Prime Minister of State brought significant reforms to the Taiping regime. Yet, because he had spent many years abroad, his reforms did not fully address the land question, a fundamental flaw that hindered the success of democracy. He failed to grasp the fact that the transition from feudal to capitalist production would require a different political-economic framework; his reforms—while modern and ambitious—were contradictory and could not be fully implemented given the era’s constraints. In the end, the Tianjing Incident severely weakened the Taiping cause. Even though Chen Yucheng’s forces achieved several major victories, the failure of the Second Western Expedition and the fall of Anqing doomed the regime. After Hong Rengan’s return, the Taiping’s central command could no longer be effectively implemented given Li Xiucheng’s faction—revering feudal privileges and party factionalism.
Nevertheless, Hong Rengan’s reforms were a historical first: China’s first modernizing reforms, largely grounded in practical possibilities, attempted to sustain the Taiping revolution and push toward national revival. They represented the Chinese nation’s self-reliance and the intellectual capability to resist imperialist encroachment and feudal oppression, and express a forward-looking vision for a modern sovereign nation. Hong Rengan’s modern reforms, though incomplete, signaled a path toward a new, modern China that would eventually be recognized as a nation with a proud people who would build a new, modern society.
Strategic Planning and Decisive Victory From Afar
During Hong Rengan’s tenure as Prime Minister of State, Taiping military circumstances continually shifted. After Chen Yucheng’s victory in Jiang North Camp and the subsequent victory near He’ao, the defense of Anqing seemed precarious but the West front gradually improved. In 1859, Chen Yucheng was rewarded with the English title of King for his achievements; yet a “disorder and chaos” pattern followed—the “attack the base, you’ll fail; fail again, attack again” logic of the enemies. By October 1859, Qing forces reassembled remnants and attacked Jiang North Camp, Baochao’s arm, attempting to annihilate Taiping’s best troops. The Taiping resistance at Jiang Nan Camp gradually collapsed; Tianjing’s defense grew more precarious. Tianjing and its surrounding provinces required renewed military discipline and reinforcements. Hong Rengan proposed a plan: to encircle Wei to save Zhao; since Tianjing was strongly guarded, supply routes were fragile, and Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou lay far away. He proposed: a) using a northern force to break the security around Shandong, b) sending a southern force through Jiangxi to seize Hubei and Wuchang, c) supporting the central leadership to coordinate. The plan aimed to break the Jiangnan Camp’s siege and relieve Tianjing by a two-front offensive, with a high probability to restore the Taiping regime’s power. The plan was approved by the Taiping leadership, and a historic offensive was launched.
May 15, 1860, saw all Taiping forces moving vigorously toward the southeast to begin the Jiangsu and Zhejiang campaign. Chen Yucheng led the vanguard with Liu Ranglin. The fall of Hangzhou surprised the Jiangsu authorities and triggered a mass retreat; the Taiping forces returned via Anhui toward Tianjing. Chen Yucheng’s forces advanced while Li Shuxing delayed due to his own ambitions—based on his own fief in Suzhou and his extravagant villas—delaying by months and sacrificing strategic opportunities. Hong Rengan criticized Li Shuxing’s behavior for losing the critical opportunity to rescue Anqing and advised a two-pronged approach to the Jiangsu Zhejiang region and the Jiangnan Camp. The plan’s successful execution would allow the Taiping to control the Yangtze River banks and reconstitute their power.
By mid-1860, the Jiangsu Zhejiang campaign turned into a full-scale offensive, with heavy losses for Qing troops but also heavy losses for Taiping. Yet, the campaign’s momentum indicated rising Qing weaknesses; its success would lead to the drive for a broader Westward expansion. In late 1860, the campaign’s tactical offensive and logistic arrangements captured Hangzhou; the Qing’s Jiangnan Camp was in disarray. The central leadership recognized that the time to attack was now. In late 1860 and early 1861, the Taiping’s renewed attempts to relieve Anqing and realize the long-awaited Western Expedition were underway, but Li Xiucheng’s repeated disobedience and retreat from Jiangsu Zhejiang allowed the Qing to reorient and fortify. The West’s strategic aims were thwarted, and the regime’s weakness grew.
The Mandate to Lead, to Face Heaven and Nation
As order and reform programs took hold, Tianjin’s siege worsened. The Taiping army’s leadership court—Hong Rengan, Chen Yucheng, and Lin Shaozhang—pressed forward; the Taiping attempt to break the siege became escalated. In February 1861, Hong Rengan was dispatched by imperial decree to lead a campaign toward Anhui and northern Zhejiang to urge soldiers and join Chen Yucheng in relief of Tianjing. Although he had not commanded in battle before, the mission was a crucial test. During the expedition, he wrote numerous manifestos, admonitions, and admonitories urging people to adopt revolutionary ideas and overcome old beliefs; he also produced the edicts that promoted the abolition of idol worship to sustain a revolutionary mood. His works included Ban Idol Worship, On Temptation, On Military Duty, and other treatises, collected in The Qinding Jun Ci Shilu. His writings became a precious spiritual asset for the Taiping army.
This campaign also reminded him of the need to establish a system of thinking and moral discipline to prevent the civil-military authorities from becoming self-serving. His slogan that intelligence, virtue, law, and readiness were essential for generals remained widely quoted. He wrote: “If one can overcome temptation, one can become a hero; to resist temptation is to resist the enemy.”
Hong Rengan, while leading this expedition, combated old cultural and religious superstitions; he wrote the poem “禁拜坭木偶像” (Ban Idol Worship with Clay Figures) and drafted a large corpus of admonitions for the soldiers and civilians. He insisted that Taiping should not rely on foreign support but on revolutionary moral discipline and the unity of the army and people. He pressed the troops to fight against the forces of the Qing and to rely on the revolutionary cause.
When he embarked on the campaign, Hong Rengan felt strongly the tenacity and stubbornness of the old culture and offered many theoretical writings to propagate Taiping’s revolutionary ideology. He wrote: “Enlisting talent and recruiting men of virtue is essential to the Taiping revolution,” and urged officers to develop a high sense of moral integrity to ensure the revolutionary success. He wrote admonitions and sermons to inspire men to sacrifice themselves for the cause: to devote themselves to the national cause, and to avoid corruption and the seduction of personal gain. He also authored several poems praising and entreating loyalty to the Taiping state and the revolutionary cause, and urged people to give up feudal ways of life for a modern social order.
During the campaign, Hong Rengan was at the vanguard, working on a grand plan of “two-pronged offensive” to lift the siege around Tianjing. He had written lines to emphasize that the two-pronged offensive would strike a decisive blow to Qing troops and relieve the besieged capital. The expedition experienced multiple difficulties, including Li Xiucheng’s betrayals and strategic miscalculations; despite this, Hong explained the need for a shift in strategy and pressed to maintain a long-term vision. He argued that only by maintaining loyalty to the revolutionary cause and central leadership could the Taiping force survive and eventually win.
Hong Rengan’s leadership was instrumental in renewing the Taiping’s political and military strategy, but the political contradictions inside the Taiping leadership and Li Xiucheng’s factionalism, as well as the broader geopolitical context, ultimately led to the Taiping’s downfall. After multiple betrayals and fights, Tianjing fell, and Li Xiucheng’s feudal faction sought to preserve personal power by resisting the central government and aligning with Qing foreign powers. The Taiping regime’s collapse was not due to a lack of heroes but due to the historical limitations of the peasant class—lacking scientific world view, lacking a proletarian leadership, and lacking the political force to wipe out internal corruption. Despite its failure, the Taiping revolution permanently awakened the Chinese people’s consciousness of democracy and national independence and contributed to the later anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolution that would culminate in the Chinese Revolution. Hong Rengan’s life and writings left a lasting legacy. His last words on the battlefield declared the independence and sovereignty of the Chinese nation, and his dedication to the revolution left a powerful example for future generations hoping to build a truly just society.
Today, we remember Hong Rengan not only for his achievements but for his stubborn revolutionary spirit; we must learn from his example and move beyond the limitations of his era, toward a more thorough and scientific revolutionary path. Only under the leadership of a workers’ party, under a scientific Marxist theory, and by mobilizing and relying on the masses, can the revolution ultimately succeed.
[①] Hong Xiuquan, Original Way to Wake the World, 186]
[②] Han Shanyin, Taiping Tianguo Uprising Chronicle
[③] Hong Rengan, Hong Kong Farewell, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[④] Li Xiucheng—A Traitor’s Tale
[⑤] Li Xiucheng: Self-Report
[⑥] Hong Xiuquan, Proclamations on the Creation of a God-Worshipping Kingdom
[⑦] Chen Yucheng, English King
[⑧] Zhuge Liang: Outburst of Demonstrations
[⑨] Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑩] Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑪] Hong Rengan, On the Emperor’s Hero Return
[⑫] Hong Rengan, Legislative Proclamations
[⑬] Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑭] All sources cited from Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑮] Hong Rengan, Legislative Proclamations; The English King’s Order
[⑯] Hong Rengan, Legislative Proclamations; The English King’s Order
[⑰] Hong Rengan, Tianchao Statutes (Tianchao Zeli)
[⑱] All sources cited from Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑲] All sources cited from Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[⑳] All sources cited from Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[21] Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto
[22] Hong Rengan, Cited in The Taiping’s English Hero Return to Truth
[23] Hong Rengan, The Taiping’s God-Worshipping Ideology
[24] All sources cited from Hong Rengan, Zizheng Xinpian
[25] Hong Rengan, The Chronicles of the Military Records
[26] Hong Rengan, The Chronicles of the Military Records
[27] Hong Rengan, The English Hero Return to Truth
[28] Hong Rengan, Ban Idol Worship in Clay Figures, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[29] Hong Rengan, Admonitions for the Students and Scholars
[30] Hong Rengan, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[31] Hong Rengan, On Overturning the World’s View, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[32] Hong Rengan, The Four Military Principles; The King’s Edict on Military Affairs
[33] Hong Rengan, The Soldier’s Edicts; The Taiping Military Chronicles
[34] Hong Rengan, The Four Military Principles; The King’s Edict on Military Affairs
[35] Mao Zedong, Ditch Illusions, Prepare for Struggle
[36] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[37] Xiao Shengyuan, A Chronicle of Guangdong Bandits
[38] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[39] Xu Youchen, Strategies for Suppressing Guangdong Bandits
[40] Xu Yaoguang, Talks on Zhejiang
[41] Xu Yaoguang, Talks on Zhejiang
[42] Hu Linyi, Remnants of the Left Court
[43] Yao Ji, A Tiny Chronicle
[44] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[45] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[46] Li Xiucheng: Li Xiucheng Self-Report
[47] Zeng Guofan: To Wu Zhu Ru
[48] Zhao Liewen, Diary of a Calm Exile
[49] Li Xiucheng, Li Xiucheng Self-Report
[50] Hong Rengan, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[51] Hong Rengan, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[52] Hong Rengan, The Legislative Proclamations
[53] Wang Jiren and Wang Lantan, Preface to The Taiping Military Chronicles
[54] Hong Rengan, Three Poems on the Heavenly Pen and General’s Edict; The Taiping Military Chronicles
[55] Hong Rengan, Legislation and Edict
[56] Hong Rengan, On the Consumption of the Central Chinese Economy by Barbarians
[57] Hong Rengan, The Taiping Military Chronicles
[58] Hong Rengan, Edicts on Domestic and Foreign Affairs
[59] Wang Yinglin, Three Character Classic
[60] Hong Rengan, On Temptation and Defending the Nation
[61] Hong Rengan, Admonitions for Students
[62] Hong Rengan, Legislative Provisions
[63] Li Xiucheng, Li Xiucheng Self-Report
[64] Mao Zedong, Seven-character Poem: Winter Cloud
[65] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[66] Anonymous, Chen Yucheng’s Capture Memo
[67] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[68] Ling Shanqing, Taiping Heavenly History
[69] Ling Li: Taiping Heavenly Personal Records
[70] Gong Youcun, Self-Reflection Diaries
[71] Fu Li, Taiping Tianjing Travelogue
[72] Li Xiucheng, Li Xiucheng Self-Report
[73] Li Xiucheng, Li Xiucheng’s Six-Character Persuasion
[74] Gu Ru-yu, The Chaos in Haizhou
[75] Zhao Liewen, The Diary of a Contained Scholar
[76] Xue Huan, Strategy for Suppressing Guangdong Bandits
[77] Hong Xiuquan: Exhort Li Xiucheng on Fear of Enemies
[78] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[79] Hong Xiuquan, Overcoming Difficulties Proclamation
[80] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[81] Hong Rengan, Hong Rengan’s Autobiography
[82] Hong Rengan’s Dying Poem; Partial Annotations Missing
[83] Mao Zedong, Reform Our Studies
