#350 - Taiping 25: Rings Within Rings

In the summer of 1861, the strangest siege of the war took shape on the banks of the Yangtze. As Heaven itself sent forth cosmic signs – of victory or disaster, no one could be quite sure – an imperial army had a rebel city completely surrounded.Only for a different rebel army to surround that imperial ringing army.But they were, all of them, deceived... for somewhere out past the hills, another ring was made...Inside the walls, the gardens were planted, the rations were holding, and the markets were open for business.They would stay open to the very end…Time Period Covered:Apr.–Sept. 1861 CEMajor Historical Figures:The Qing:The Xianfeng Emperor [1831–1861]Yixin, Prince Gong [1833–1898]Imperial Commissioner Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]Zeng Guoquan, commander of the siege of Anqing [1824–1890]Zhu Hongzhang, commander of the Guizhou divisionCommander Bao Chao [1828–1886]Duolonga, Manchu cavalry general [1817–1864]Zuo Zongtang, general holding Jingdezhen [1812–1885]Hu Linyi, Governor of Hubei [1812–1861]The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]Hong Rengan, the Shield King [1822–1864]Chen Yucheng, the Brave King [1837–1862]Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King [1823–1864]Li Shixian, the Attending King [1834–1865]Lai Wenguang, commander at Huangzhou [1827–1868]Liu Canglin, commander at the Jixian PassYang Fuqing, commander of the last relief armyCheng Xueqi, the Brave King's vanguard commander; defected to the Qing [1829–1864]The British:Frederick Bruce, British Minister to China [1814–1867]Harry Parkes, interpreter & negotiator [1828–1885]Major Works Cited:Fairbank, John K., ed. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10: Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Part 1.Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.