NOTES ON FRIENDS AND RELATIVES OF TAIPING LEADERS
133
Gützlaff ever met each other in 1848 when Feng returned from Kwangsi and stayed in his native place for a short period to wait for the return of Hung Hsiu-ch'üan. I cannot see how the fable started. It may be that some members of the Union did join the Taiping army and recognized superficially the similarity of the organizations of Feng and Gützlaff with practically the same contents in their teachings, thus misunderstanding the identity of the two groups; and thus, Feng was mistaken for a fellow-member of the Union. All in all, this problem needs further study and intensive research before a conclusive answer can be obtained.
(2) Li Tsin-kau ($£$)
According to Hamberg's account, Li Ching-fang (***) was Hung Hsiu-ch'üan's cousin who lived in Lien Hua Tang (##) in Hua-hsien where Hung taught. The Tai P'ing pamphlet T'ai Ping T'ien Jih (***ŋ) identifies him. Hung first studied Liang Fa's pamphlets seriously with him.
W. Oehler, Die Taiping-Bewegung (1923), asserts that Ching-fang was the grandfather of Li Tsin-kau. For certain reasons I believe Ching-fang was more likely the father, as Tsin-kau was seemingly too young to befriend and discuss such serious matters with Hung.
The late Rev. Chang Chu-ling (✯✯✯) told me a very amusing anecdote about Li Tsin-kau. After establishing his capital in Nanking, Hung Hsiu-ch'üan ordered Tsin-kau to recruit followers in Kwangtung. Tsin-kau failed in this mission but went north personally. When he arrived at Shanghai on the way to Nanking, he heard that the God whom Hung saw in his visions years ago wore a black robe. He thought that God, the True God, should be dressed in white, and therefore what Hung had seen was really the Devil. The result was that he turned back to Hong Kong immediately without attempting to see Hung again. (See my Taiping Tienkuo Chuan-shih, pp54-55, notes pp58-59) This story corroborates with the account Carl Smith found (p. 124), but the call to come to Nanking might be from Hung Jen-kau rather than from Hung Hsiu-ch'üan.
(3) Hung Jen-kau (Shield King †1##)
At last, the question 'who financed Hung Jen-kau's trip to Nanking?' is solved with Carl Smith's finding that the London
NOTES ON FRIENDS AND RELATIVES OF TAIPING LEADERS
133
Gützlaff ever met each other in 1848 when Feng returned from Kwangsi and stayed in his native place for a short period to wait for the return of Hung Hsiu-ch'üan. I cannot see how the fable started. It may be that some members of the Union did join the Taiping army and recognized superficially the similarity of the organizations of Feng and Gützlaff with practically the same con- tents in their teachings, thus misunderstanding the identity of the two groups; and thus, Feng was mistaken for a fellow-member of the Union. All in all, this problem needs further study and inten- sive research before a conclusive answer can be obtained.
(2) Li Tsin-kau ($£$)
According to Hamberg's account, Li Ching-fang (***) was Hung Hsiu-chüan's cousin who lived in Lien Hua Tang (##) in Hua-hsien where Hung taught. The Tai P'ing pamphlet T'ai Ping T'ien Jih (***ŋ ) identifies him. Hung first studied Liang Fa's pamphlets seriously with him.
W. Oehler, Die Taiping-Bewegung (1923), asserts that Ching-fang was the grand father of Li Tsin-kau. For certain reasons I believe Ching-fang was more likely the father, as Tsin-kau was seemingly too young to befriend and discuss such serious matters with Hung.
The late Rev. Chang Chu-ling (✯✯✯) told me a very amusing anecdote about Li Tsin-kau. After establishing his capital in Nan- king, Hung Hsui-ch'üan ordered Tsin-kau to recruit followers in Kwangtung. Tsin-kau failed in this mission but went north per- sonally. When he arrived at Shanghai on the way to Nanking, he heard that the God whom Hung saw in his visions years ago wore a black robe. He thought that God, the True God, should be dressed in white, and therefore what Hung had seen was really the Devil. The result was that he turned back to Hong Kong immediately without attempting to see Hung again. (See my Taiping Tienkuo Chuan-shih, pp54-55, notes pp58-59) This story corroborates with the account Carl Smith found (p. 124), but the call to come to Nan- king might be from Hung Jen-kau rather than from Hung Hsiu- ch'üan.
(3) Hung Jen-kau (Shield King †1##)
At last, the question 'who financed Hung Jen-kau's trip to Nanking?' is solved with Carl Smith's finding that the London
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.