S01E25 Taiping Rebellion: Hong Rengan

Chinese Revolutions: A History Podcast

S01E25 Taiping Rebellion: Hong Rengan

Today we're looking at the re-emergence of Hong Rengan, younger cousin of Taiping leader Hong Xiuquan. Hong Rengan was one of the earliest converts, but he was cut off from the main Taiping group early and he had to run away to British Hong Kong to survive the Qing purges of Taiping supporters and sympathizers.

Meeting Theodore Hamberg

A convert of missionary Theodore Hamberg found Hong Rengan and brought Hong to meet Hamberg in Hong Kong in 1852. Hong Rengan knew a surprising amount about the Bible and Christian teachings, and he left Hamberg with the startling story of the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion.

Hong came back a year later (1853) and received formal Protestant baptism and started to receive instruction in orthodox Protestant doctrines. Hamberg was thinking to send Hong Rengan to the Taiping to straighten out their doctrines, to make them actually Christian.

He gave money for Hong Rengan to go up to Shanghai, to hopefully link up with the Taiping in Nanjing.

Hong Kong sojourn, life with James Legge

Hong Rengan didn't get past Shanghai, so after some time there, he went back to Hong Kong. Theodore Hamberg had died, but his connection with that missionary helped him connect with other missionaries.

He spent years with missionary James Legge, even assisting a number of translations of core pieces of Chinese literature into English, assisting with scholarly interpretation.

Being in Hong Kong helped Hong Rengan learn a ton about life outside China. Later he would become a key link between the Taiping and foreign powers, evaluating whether to support the Taiping or the ruling Qing Dynasty.

When James Legge was away on home leave, other missionaries funded a second attempt for Hong Rengan to go back to Nanjing. This time, it would work.

Hong Rengan—A Missed Opportunity?

The Taiping weren't quite Christian enough to gain foreign support, and they weren't quite Chinese enough to neatly replace the ruling dynasty. They weren't going so far as to replace the dynastic system, and they didn't get beyond the visions and the teachings of their founder.

Hong Rengan may have been someone who could have pushed the Taiping movement to being a more effective revolutionary force, but as we'll see in future episodes, that didn't quite happen.

If You'd Like to Support the Podcast

1. Subscribe, share, leave a rating.
2. Give once, give monthly at www.buymeacoffee.com/crpodcast
3. Subscribe to the substack newsletter at https://chineserevolutions.substack.com/

Also...

Please reach out at [e-mail] and let me know what you think!