Who was Zeng Guofan?

Zheng Guofan (November 26, 1811 – March 12, 1872) lived as an intellectual, military commander, and statesman. He fought and defeated the largest and most brutal rebellion in history. While as a statesman, he dedicated his life to his country’s revival and hoped for a better China, one capable of defending itself from imperialism.

Early Life

Zheng Guofan, born on November 26, 1811, came from Xiangxiang (modern-day Shuangfeng), Hunan Province. He came from a poor yet ambitious peasant family. His grandfather Zheng Yu pushed for their family’s elevation in society by having kins pass the civil service exam. The young Zheng Guofan then delved with the classics, studying at the Yuelu Academy in Shanhua, Hunan to prepare for the exams. During his time in the academy, his eyes open in the paradigm shift in administration, from the expertise of Confucian classics to practicality and realpolitik.

In 1833, Zheng Guofan passed the prefectural examinations, a year after his father passed as well. Then in 1834, he also scored well in the provincial examination. The exams in Beijing that he took in 1835, however, proved to be too much and he failed. It took him about 3 years before finally passing the exams and gleefully attained the coveted Jinshi degree.

Early Career

Zeng Guofan then began to work for the government after obtaining his Jinshi Degree. He came in at a time when the court descended into chaos opening the period known as the century of humiliation. But, a death in the family thrust him into the forefront of the unfolding decline.

Hanlin Academy. Reign of Qianlong Emperor

His early career as a scholar-official concentrated on the continuous study of the classics. In June 1838, he entered the Hanlin Academy devoting much of his time and energy to studying revered Confucian works at the behest of the imperial court. He stayed throughout the 1840s gaining a credential of a traditionalist. In 1849, he finally received a new highly regarded appointment as Junior Vice President of the Board of Ceremonies (or Rituals). This then followed by series of appointment as Vice President to the Board of Defense, Board of Works, Board of Justice, and Board of Finance. All of which taught him the ways of politics and administration. He learned to draft memorials that positively appealed to the Emperor. Skills he all later used to become an efficient and well-regarded official.

Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taipings

In 1850, he witnessed the court’s chaos amidst the arrival of grim reports from central China. A Chinese Christian sect known as Taiping rose up in rebellion. The Taiping rebellion that lasted from 1850 to 1871 exposed the internal weakness of China. The rebels successfully defeated the traditional imperial armies, the Eight-Banner Armies and the Green Standard Army. Soon, the rebels held vast sways of land and threatened the foundations of the ruling Manchu Qing Dynasty. In all of this, Zeng criticized failed imperial policies that led to the rebellion.

In 1852, Zeng received the appointment of a proctor of the provincial civil service examination in Jiangxi Province when he later received sad news from home. His mother passed away and it forced him to go on leave, return home, and observe the traditional 3-year mourning period. Upon his homecoming, he found his province of Hunan embroiled in a battle against advancing Taiping forces.

Military Career

Under dire circumstances, local militia groups replaced the Eight-Banner and Green Standard soldiers as vanguards against the rebels. The court observed and recognized this, thus encouraged the formation of similar units throughout the embattled regions. Zeng, a prominent official, received a request from the Emperor to lead the militias to fight against the rebels. Zeng’s colleagues also urged him to take up the mantles of leadership. The Hunanese scholar-official, however, declined with his mourning as the primary reason. Nevertheless, the continuous urging and encouragement made Zeng reluctantly agree to lead and organize the local militias.

Zeng then led the local militias that grew to become the celebrated Xiang or Hunan Army or some others dubbed as the Hunan Braves. Zeng saw training and motivations as key factors in building an army strong enough to fight the Taiping rebels. Firstly, Zeng believed that to build a motivated military force, it must be loyal. Developing loyalty to Emperor, however, takes time and the disastrous rebellion already made it harder. Zeng sacrificed loyalty to the Emperor for loyalty to himself. He also tapped regionalism and familial affinities to serve as a cause to fight for as well as the basis for raising units for his army. Fighting for the safety of one’s village or family seemed a greater motivation for troops than fighting for an Emperor miles away never been seen and tucked inside the Forbidden City. Zeng recruited commanders locally and tasked these commanders to recruit their troops locally as well. Thus, the dismissal of a commander also led to the disbandment of his unit. His army’s personal loyalty, however, led to unintended disastrous consequences as soldiers began to fight for their general rather than their nation sowing the seeds of the Age of Warlordism in the late 1910s and 1920s – an age that dismembered China.

Chinese Imperial Army Troops, 1867

Besides motivation and loyalty, Zeng also focused on his forces training. He established training camps to further elevate the capacity of experienced militiamen. He also set up recruitment offices in every district to levy men. He sent his units to fight local bandits to gain combat experience as well as to secure supply lines and re-establish law and order in government-controlled regions. Despite the Emperor’s demands for Zeng to send his forces to the frontlines immediately, he refused to send half-baked troops and bought time until the training ends. He also built a riverine fleet along with the marines to support land forces in fighting the Taipings in cities and towns along the Yangtze River. Moreover, Zeng’s forces also began to train in modern weapons. After seeing the efficiency of modern firepower by the foreign powers during the Opium War as well as the foreign Ever Victorious Army defending Shanghai. Zeng, a traditionalist, saw the practicality of using the latest weaponry. With training and modern weaponry, Zeng’s Hunan army numbered 120,000 men ready and able to fight the Taiping rebels.

In 1854, Zeng’s Hunan Army saw action. The initial battles that the army fought, however, ended in defeat. Zeng disappointed with his army’s flop debut on the battlefield contemplated suicide. But in July 1854, his luck turned for the better with his forces capturing the city of Yuzhou. Since then, his forces effectively battled the Taipings. In February 1857, his father passed away forcing him out of the battlefront to undergo once again the traditional 3-year mourning period. Despite his absence, his forces stood well.

Despite advances in the front, Zeng continued to face hurdles in financing and supplying his forces. Initially, the task of funding the Hunan Army fell to the imperial treasury, but the war in the tax-rich Central Plains which also the main theater of the Taiping Rebellion resulted in dismal revenue. This then turned to inadequate pay for Zeng’s army who in response relied on voluntary donations. Only in 1860 with his appointment as Viceroy of Liangjiang and as Imperial Commissioner to fight the Taiping did Zeng secured the badly needed funds.

In 1861, fighting flared up again with increasing ferocious Taiping attacks in various provinces. Zeng received numerous pleas for assistance and threatened to overwhelm the Hunan Army. Furthermore, the crescendo of the Second Opium War distracted the imperial government so much so the Emperor fled the Forbidden City for the safety of the traditional hunting grounds of Jehol. Zeng decided to establish 3 military districts under the command of his trusted and abled colleagues. He himself took the Anhui Province, while he assigned the Zhejiang Province to Zho Zongtang, and the Jiangsu Province to his protégé Li Hongzhang. Each built their forces based on the Hunan Army to battle the Taipings. By September 5, 1861, Zeng’s forces captured Anqing after which they drafted plans for the capture of Nanking.

Imperial force retaking Nanjing

In March 1864, Zeng’s Hunan Army began their attack on the capital of the Taipings Nanking. For several months the battle raged until July when the defenders capitulated. The fall of Nanking marked the end of the bloody Taiping Rebellion that claimed 25 million lives. As a reward for his exceptional contributions, Zeng Guofan received the peerage of Marquis of Yiyong, the first civil servant to receive such honors.

With the war over, Zeng disbanded the Hunan Army to calm any concerns of a strong military force that might be used against the dynasty demonstrating his loyalty to the Emperor. He then supervised the reconstruction of Central China.

Later Career and Self-Strengthening Movement

During and after the Taiping Rebellion, Zeng received a wave of high ranking appointments. From 1860 to 1864, he served as Viceroy of Liangjiang. 1867, he received the appointment of Grand Secretary and in 1868 became the Viceroy of Zhili in 1868 which he held until 1870. He then received his 2nd appointment as Viceroy of Liangjiang and held the position until 1872.

Zeng’s military career, however, continued when in May 1865, he received his appointment as Commander of the imperial forces fighting the Nian Rebels. In this stint, however, he failed to make significant gains and decided to resign in October 1866 in favor of his talented protégé Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang

Besides military and civil administration positions, Zeng also supported the so-called Self-Strengthening Movement, an initiative by many local officials to promote education, translation, industrialization, and military modernization. To this end, in 1864 and 1865, he established printing offices in Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Wuchang to reprint Chinese classics and histories becoming known as “the 5 Official Printing Offices.” He also rehabilitated the local education system by restoring the civil service examination which ceased due to the Taiping Rebellion. Lastly, he listened to the advice of western-educated Yale-graduate Yung Wing’s proposal to send students to study overseas. On August 18, 1871, with Li Hongzhang they submitted a memorial proposing the sending of students abroad.

In terms of military modernization and rearmament, Zeng’s support played a vital role in the establishment of the biggest and well-known arsenals of the Self-Strengthening Movement. Even during the time of the Taiping Rebellion, Zeng ordered the establishment of small arsenals near Shanghai to provide modern weapons for imperial forces. After the rebellion, he sent Yung Wing to purchase machines overseas and his memorials resulted in the foundation of the Jiangnan Arsenal that became China’s largest military-industrial complex that continued operation until the 1930s and became the home of China’s first built steamship. He also supported Zho Zongtang in his efforts for the establishment of the Fuzhou Shipyard that became a center of the Chinese navy’s modernization.

Demise

In 1870, Zeng oversaw the handling of the Tianjin Massacre that threatened conflict between France and China. French Consul Henri Fontanier shot dead a Chinese resulting in massive riots that claimed the lives of 10 French Catholic nuns, 2 priests, as well as a handful of foreigners. Aware of Chinese military weakness and the overwhelming French military might, Zeng moved to punish the perpetrators to the dismay of the people and many conservatives. His actions led to his retirement being succeeded by Li Hongzhang who continued his work.

On March 12, 1872, Zeng Guofan passed away in Nanjing without a tremendous wealth living in simplicity, humility, and frugality. He became a role model official devoted to the service of the country giving much of his salary to his relatives rather than amassing wealth like his protégé Li Hongzhang. His humility became legendary founded on self-awareness strengthened by his practice of recording his mistakes every night. In his death, the court honored him with the titles Grand Tutor and Wenxiang “the Learned and Accomplished.”

Summing Up

Zeng Guofan stood a giant amidst the declining years of the imperial China. He delayed for several decades the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and achieved a victory against the largest rebellion that China faced for centuries. Despite his glories and military might, he remained humble disbanding his army and concentrating on his administrative duties. His frugality and proposals demonstrated his devotion to his service to the country becoming an ideal Confucian official.

See also:

Zhang Zhidong

The Self-Strengthening Movement

Bibliography:

Book:

Hail, William James. Tseng Kuo-fan and the Taiping Rebellion, With a Short Sketch of his Later Career. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1927.

General References:

Teng Ssu-Yu. “Tseng Kuo-fan.” Eminent Chine of the Ch’ing Period (1644-1912), Volume 2. Edited by Arthur Hummel. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1944.

“Zheng Guofan.” Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture. Edited by Dorothy Perkins. New York, New York: Routledge, 1999.

Li Xiaobing. “Zheng Guofan (Tseng Kuo-fan).” China at War: An Encyclopedia. Edited by Xiaobing Li. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012.

Websites:

"Tseng Kuo-fan." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on December 5, 2020. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/tseng-kuo-fan

Hsieh, Shan-Yuan. “Zeng Guofan.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed December 5, 2020. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zeng-Guofan