Hong Rengan 洪仁玕 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shield King (干王) | |||||
Shield King of the Heavenly Kingdom | |||||
Reign | 1859–1864 | ||||
Heavenly King | Hong Xiuquan Hong Tianguifu | ||||
Born | 20 February 1822 Hua County, Guangdong, Qing China | ||||
Died | November 23, 1864 Nanchang, Jiangxi | (aged 42)||||
| |||||
Military career | |||||
Allegiance | Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | ||||
Commands | Taiping army | ||||
Battles / wars | Taiping Rebellion |
Hong Rengan (Chinese: 洪仁玕; pinyin: Hóng Réngān; Wade–Giles: Hung Jen-kan; 20 February 1822 – 23 November 1864) was an important leader of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a distant cousin of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Hong Xiuquan.[1] His position as the Gan Wang (干王, lit. "the Shield King") resembled the role of a prime minister. He is a noted figure in history because of the sweeping reforms attempted under his rule, and because of his popularity in the West.