Tianjing Incident

The Tianjing Incident (Chinese: 天京事變; pinyin: Tiānjīng Shìbiàn) was a major internal political conflict within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occurring during the late Qing dynasty from September 2 to October 1856. The conflict itself took place in the Taiping's capital city Tianjing. A few key leaders of the Taiping Rebellion were killed: the East King Yang Xiuqing, the North King Wei Changhui and the Yan King Qin Rigang. More than 27,000 other opposition rivals including soldiers perished in the conflict as well. The Tianjing Incident was said to be one of the factors which led to the eventual failure of the Taiping Rebellion, as well as the turning point in its fate.

Historical background

In 1851, the Taiping Rebellion's leader Hong Xiuquan conferred the title of 'King' on five of his most loyal followers and placed them under the jurisdiction of the East King Yang Xiuqing. After the deaths of the South King Feng Yunshan and the West King Xiao Chaogui, most of the power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fell into the hands of Yang Xiuqing.

In the early years of the Taiping Rebellion, the real power of the military was in the hands of the Military Advisor (軍師), the military East King Yang Xiuqing, who gained more power following the deaths of the South and West Kings. Hong Xiuquan declared in 1848 that the spirit of the 'Holy Wind of the Heavenly Father' (天父) would possess Yang Xiuqing and give him orders through Yang. This had allowed Yang to become even more influential and placed him in a position higher than Hong, as Yang often gave orders to Hong, who was supposed to be his superior, in the name of the 'Holy Father'.