Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Re-examination of the Taiping Founding Story

In China's modern history, there are indeed many similarities between Hong Xiuquan, the heavenly king who founded the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", and Chairman Mao Zedong, who later founded the "People's Republic". Both Hong and Mao are talented, but frustrated and resentful traditional rural intellectuals and reckless heroes.Xiuquan failed the exams, and after failing many times, was depressed and fell ill. Finally, he was called by God to "ascend" to meet Jesus, so he decided to give up the right path and take a slant.Mao Zedong failed to enter the university, and when he was "eavesdropping" at Peking University, he was humiliated by a group of high-spirited young intellectuals at that time, so he gritted his teeth and went "underground" to learn from Marx, Enlais, and kept him as a ignorant all his life. The half-toned foreignism, come to "prosper without destroying capital".Started as bandits and led peasant riots, both of them later became "emperors".After becoming emperors, both of them pretended to know what they didn't know, promoting their own assumptions and misleading the common people.In his later years, he became more suspicious and suspicious, and killed all the heroes; until he became psychopathic, lustful, and erotic.But the fate of the two of them ended up very different.At the end of his life, Mao was put into a crystal coffin, exhibited publicly, and allowed to be worshiped or reviled.Hong committed suicide in fear of misfortune, was wrapped in yellow silk, thrown into the gutter, and allowed to be whipped or sighed.

In short, the two are both reckless romantic figures and reckless heroes who disregard human life; they are both half-informed rural intellectuals, elementary school teachers, and private school teachers, but there is a huge gap between luck and misfortune!Why is it so natural?For the time being, I will leave Mao Gong in the second part, and now I will discuss the success or failure of Hong Gong, so as to be wise. First of all, if we use the principles of modern social science to analyze the history of the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", we will know that the Hongyang Revolution has absolutely no possibility of success.The reason is that "the era sets limits", which cannot be forced by manpower.

What do you mean by "age-setting"?The reckless heroes in the history of our country competed in the Central Plains when the world was in chaos. The highest goal they pursued was just a simple "change of dynasty"-they wanted to overthrow a corrupt court and destroy a corrupt society.Then, on the ruins where kings and stones were burned together, the government was changed without changing the system, and the gourd was painted in the same way, and it was painted for another two or three hundred years, and then let others overthrow it. Unfortunately, since the "Opium" War (1842), the west wind has spread to the east, and the history of mankind has entered the "modern" from the "middle ages".my country's original "traditional system" of politics, economy, society, ethics, etc., cannot continue intact under the challenge of the "modern system" of the West.Therefore, the requirements of "time" and "history" for our new generation of heroes in the Central Plains are not limited to "changing the dynasty", they must also have some insight and ability to "change the dynasty"-"change the system", Not just replace the "emperor" in the noun with "chairman" or "president"; replace "commander" with "commander".They also need to be a little "qualitative".Not only Hong Yang does not have the knowledge and ability to engage in "qualitative change".The "presidents" and "chairmen" who are decades behind them are still unchanged!

Furthermore, the "qualitative change" of a country or a society—especially the ancient empire like China, which has not changed for two or three thousand years—is not a "mutation" that can be "fulfilled in one battle" by one person in one generation. .It is "slow", "cumulative" experience, and "gradual" progress in "stages".If you are poor, you will change, and if you change, you will succeed.The procedure is tortuous, with gains and losses, blood and sweat, and finally a new system of long-term stability can be found; only then can it take turns to sit on the throne with "advanced countries" in the world political arena and create a "Post-Western" (Post-Western) , "Super Modern" (Post-Modern) situation.

Therefore, the sages of Hong Yang who came to act on behalf of the heavens in the mid-nineteenth century only had the talent to "reform the dynasty", but lacked the knowledge to "change the system".Forgive me for repeating, even if they have the knowledge to change the system like Mr. Sun Yat-sen later, they don't have the opportunity to "change the system".Xi Zhe said: "The system is the joint birth of wisdom and luck."Neither of them is dispensable. If there is "wisdom" but no "luck", it is the fantasy of philosophers; Before the "opportunity" arrives, if you "wait and wait" to do it, you will often become a "foresight" martyr.There are more than thousands of "martyrs" in the modern history of our country.Mr. Lei Zhen from Taiwan is the latest one.The time gap between his "wisdom" and the "luck" he should have is only twenty years.

【Notes】 躐 (lie) etc.: beyond the level, not in order. Looking at it from another direction: If there is "opportunity" but no "wisdom"; if you are in the position, but you can't manage your government with knowledge and insight, you will harm the country and the people, and the problem will be serious.On the mainland today, the place of pampering is better than the "Eight Elders" in the deep palace of Zhongnanhai, and "possible" falls into this category.Here is the author's evaluation of the "eight elders".Only dare to use the word "possible" (probable or possible in English).It is also "possible" for the evolution of history in the future and for historians to make positive comments on them.

Those who dare to say it today are based on a historical "inevitability"-this inevitability is the "Tiananmen Incident" of June 4th, which will be "inevitably rehabilitated" in future history books.After June Fourth was "inevitably rehabilitated", how will historians install the "eight elders"?Therefore, the author dares to say it first without waiting for the yarrow tortoise. [Remarks] The text in the previous paragraph begins with "I am the one who dares to dare to dare to dare to be bold in the next day". Don't wait for yarrow (shi) tortoise: In ancient divination, yarrow and tortoise shells were used to predict good or bad luck.So this idiom refers to the metaphor that things are obvious.

Taking the present as a lesson from the past, let’s get down to business, let’s take a look at Hong Yang’s changes: We readers of history, if we spread out the historical materials and historical books that have been discovered during the fourteen years of the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" and calmly review and review them, we will feel that they are not perfect in terms of "wisdom" and "luck". "Wisdom" only had some negative effects on them; and "opportunity" was only half positive to them--in Hong Yang's era, they only had a great opportunity to "change the regime", And there is no opportunity for "replacement".Hong Xiuquan has been doing it for fourteen years, relying on this half of "luck".If done well, he might be able to establish a short-lived court.However, he cannot solve the problem of "system change" in modern Chinese history. If the problem of "replacement" is resolved, then his court will not be able to last too long.Later, Sun, Yuan, Jiang, Mao, and Deng Wugong couldn't solve the problem of "changing the system", what's the matter with Hong Yang?This is what the author calls "the time limit".

【Note】President Lee Teng-hui can be said to have partially solved the problem of "replacement" in modern Chinese history.Congratulations too.However, the advancement of this "stage" of system replacement was not due to Li Gong's personal efforts, but also due to "times" and "opportunity".Don't make a wrong move and go crazy! But having said that, Hong and Yang Ru are really heroes. They should be able to grasp the half of the opportunity to "reform the dynasty". The emperor's addiction for several decades (such as "Chairman Mao").If you can't do this, and you end up filling the ditch with corpses and being defeated by yourself, that would be too useless.

In this short essay, the author has no intention of imitating Jia Sheng, and writing "Guohong Lun", I just want to give a few examples of the big ones, so as to see the reasons for the rise and fall of peace. [Notes] 荦荦大者 (luo luo da zhe): 荦荦 means obvious, referring to an obvious and important aspect. According to the opinion of the author's family, the biggest fatal injury of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement is their half-knowledge, but self-confidence, and all kinds of fanatical religion.Prosperity is up to him, and defeat is up to him. Hong Xiuquan himself was really not a revolutionary leader who led peasant uprisings and resisted the feudal system, as praised by ordinary historians.On the contrary, he was only the "cult leader" of a fanatical Christian sect in Christianity from beginning to end.Coincidentally, when his fanatical sect was formed, it happened to catch up with the opportunity of the change of dynasty in the late Qing Dynasty from Guangxi.The Hong family and some fanatical believers were involved in this epochal political vortex; thus they were forced to go to Liangshan, turning religious belief into political power. One of the heroes of "Rivaling the Central Plains".It eventually led to the great tragedy of the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" with tens of millions of deaths.

"Religion" was originally one of the most important links in human civilization.Due to many special reasons, although it has not experienced too many disasters in the history of our country, in the history of all other nations, those so-called "religious wars" that have killed people have happened hundreds of times. !It is needless to mention the big history such as the rise of Islam, the Crusades, and the miracle of Joan of Arc.Let's take one or two small examples that are close to the present for comparison, and then we can generalize the rest. As recently as 1978, there was a Christian pastor named Jim Jones (Jim Jones, 1931-1978) in San Francisco, USA.Unknowingly, he suddenly had telepathy, which turned him into a doctor with miraculous healing powers.He can treat patients with some rare diseases, including lung cancer.It became famous for a while, and there were four episodes of The Believer.The crowd increased, and Jones claimed to be the "Reincarnation of Jesus" (Reincarnation of Jesus); even said that he himself was "God" (God); and called himself "Caesar" (Caesar).Known as the savior of the suffering people and the great protector of socialism.He also organized a people's commune called "People's Temple".Private property is abolished in the temple, and all believers eat, live and work together.Jones regards all his believers as the children of God; all the "sons and daughters" also call Jones "Dad" (Dad).Everyone destroyed their homes to relieve difficulties and donated to each other.The neighborhood of San Francisco was thrown into chaos by this group of believers of the Living God.The residents and the government couldn't bear it, so they ganged up to drive it out.Jones finally had no place to stay in the United States, so he led his believers to flee to the southern part of Guyana in Central America, in the inaccessible tropical jungle, and built his own "Jones-town" (Jones-town), designated land and ruled the country, not subject to the United States. legal constraints.However, Jones himself and the vast majority of his followers are American citizens, and the US government cannot let them do whatever they want.The "National Broadcasting Corporation" (NBC), one of the three major television stations in the United States, also wants to grab this strange news and go to find out the truth.In mid-November 1978, Congressman Leo J. Ryan led a team on a small plane to inspect.Unexpectedly, the fanatical rebels in the "People's Temple" thought that the four members of the Ruan family were government spies, and shot them dead in one fell swoop. Since the disciples of the People's Temple caused great disasters, Jones knew that the government's encirclement and suppression were inevitable.At the same time, he also believed that the time limit for him and all his believers had come, so he decided to martyrdom collectively—911 people (also known as 913 people) of the whole temple members descended from "father", and they died in November. Between the eighteenth and one night, all of them committed suicide by taking poison.When the news came, the whole world was shocked.On TV, there are corpses of men, women and children lying around—some died while their families hugged each other; After witnessing it with my own eyes, the author turned off the TV, sighed deeply, and couldn't help but ask: Why is it so natural? That, dear reader, is "religion."Fortunately for our nation, there is a cultural tradition of "not talking about strange powers and confusing gods".Therefore, this kind of "religious madness" that has been written all over the world is rare in the history of our country.Occasionally, it cannot be understood and accepted by our intellectuals (including ancient and modern historians).And some careerists, religionists, and revolutionaries have never succeeded in Chinese history if they want to use the power of religion to become a treasure and seize power. [Note] Do not talk about strange powers and chaotic gods: that is, "Zibu talked about strange powers and chaotic gods", which is generally interpreted as "Zibu talked about monsters, power, chaos, and gods." That is, "Confucius did not talk about weirdness, bravery, rebellion, and ghosts and gods." However, there is also an explanation that it should be judged as "the son does not speak, strange power and confusion." That is, "Confucius stopped talking, lest he would use force to distract and affect his concentration." It does not seem right, just for reference. Therefore, when traditional historians in our country write straightforwardly about this type of historical records, they do not curse them for "demonic rumors and confusing cases" (such as red eyebrows, yellow scarves, white lotus religion, and Tiandihui); , "Agrarian Revolution", "anti-imperialist and anti-feudalism" (such as the research on "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" in the mainland today), engaging in religion is just "pretending" or "pretending". Both traditional and modern writers in our country have completely ignored this extremely important aspect of "religious madness", because this history is in the history of other nations (including those who practice Judaism, Jesusism, Hinduism, and Islam). ), although it is commonplace, it happens too rarely in the history of our Chinese nation—our historians have no experience in writing about this historical fact, so when they encounter religious problems, they often refer to Wang Gu. Unfortunately, what our "Hong Tianwang" engages in is precisely the set of religious fanatics of "Jones Caesar".Singing "The sky is dead, the yellow sky should stand", Hong Xiuquan is also the most successful one in the history of our country. Let me give another small example: Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, is another fanatical Christian sect that still legally exists in the United States and has frequent activities and hates Hedgehogs. Said he had seen Moses, Jesus, Gautama and Muhammad and talked to each of them separately? You say he is talking nonsense, but Pastor Wen, a Korean guy, can designate tens of thousands of American young men and women to collectively "blindly marry" in New York City's "Madison Square Garden".He later went to Seoul, South Korea to engage in collective blind marriages on a larger scale.This is the United States and South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s!The young people of this era can be said to be the most rebellious and rebellious generation in the ten thousand years of human history, and the least obedient to the orders of their parents and the words of matchmakers!What kind of magic does Pastor Wen have that can appoint tens of thousands of him (her) to marry blindly?According to the latest news, Moon Myung-sung has entered the Soviet Union, and it looks like he is going to come to Moscow again to have his blind marriage. This is "religion"!Mao Zedong, Hitler, and Stalin couldn't compete with it's "religion"! Knowing this, we can think more than half of what Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, the two "He Naishi" did more than a hundred years ago. [Note] He Naishi: A position or religious title used by Yang Xiuqing. This strange name is actually a split of the word "Xiu" in "Hong Xiuquan", but it does not mean "Mr. Hong Xiuquan" or "National Teacher". .But the meaning of the military division. The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan has his own way.But after all, he was just a tutor from the "Sanjia Village" in the autocratic era. Guangzhou has always been a gathering place for humanities in South my country, and it is extremely difficult to test a scholar there.That talented scribe later became the traitor Wang Jingwei.He was a scholar who was born in the Guangzhou scientific examination and college entrance examination.We want to read the well-known poems in "Shuangzhaolou" such as "Using a sword to make a quick success, and living up to the youth's head J", and then go to Hong Xiuquan's "holding three feet to fix mountains and rivers, and drink together for the whole world" (" "Sword Poetry"); vulgar poems such as "Dragon dives into the cape to fear the heavens, and jumps in the abyss for a while" ("Dragon Qian") and other vulgar poems, you can know why Hong Xiuquan can be a "king of heaven" but not a "scholar". Mao Zedong was also a Tushu teacher. His old poems, such as "the tiger dominates the dragon and the present is worse than the past, the world is turned upside down and generous", are not fluent enough, and Hong Shushi is far inferior to him.Hong Xiuquan's literary talent is roughly between Mao Zedong and his wife.Mrs. Mao Jiang has a poem saying: "There are green peaks on the river. Hidden in the clouds and mists, they are usually invisible, and occasionally exposed." Although Hong Xiuquan has no literary talent, he obviously has a very deep "religious sense"; or even has the so-called "supernatural power" that is so popular today.Therefore, when he was twenty-five years old, in 1837 (the seventeenth year of Qing Daoguang? The special function is activated. The children of poor families in the imperial era of our country wanted to get lucky, and it was originally an investment business for the whole family or even the clan.Often the whole family puts their meager assets and collective hopes on a bright boy.Once he's on the list.Even if the family is in the first place, the whole family will ascend to heaven.But on the contrary, if you are repeatedly frustrated in the examination field, and everyone falls behind, the heavy blow will be unimaginable.Therefore, Xiuquan returned to Huaxian's home after being defeated twice, and it is completely understandable that she can't live or die.He had been ill for more than forty days, and in a coma, he had a telepathic vision (vision)—he saw the solemn "God" in black robes, golden beards.God said that Xiuquan was his "second son"; and introduced him to his "brother" Jesus; Hong Xiuquan's experience in this kind of illness is simply nonsense and absurdity in the writings of our traditional scholar-bureaucrats who do not speak strangely.Similarly, in the books of the modernist revolutionary historians, it is also considered unbelievable. In their view, Xiuquan is just "pretending" superstition to win over the workers and peasants and participate in the revolution.In fact, the interpretations of Hong Xiuquan by the historians of the old and new schools, which have the same goal by different routes, are all due to being immersed in a godless cultural tradition, and the result of experience in the history of religion and theology—taking a history of religion with gods as a godless one. History of ideas dealt with. In fact, the vision of Xiuquan is commonplace in any society with a Zongjiu tradition.writers on the history or theology of religion, and divide the supernatural into several categories.Generally, those who receive the "edict" of the gods in a coma, and who can remember it vividly after waking up, and can follow the "edict" to do things or spread rumors, are often included in the category of "prophet" (prophet).As for those who can speak to gods and ghosts in a coma (mostly using rhymes and poems), but they themselves know nothing about themselves after waking up, Westerners call them "shamans" (shaman). ).In fact, the difference between "prophet" and "wizard" is only the difference in the way of speaking for ghosts and gods.Of course, prophets and wizards are also true and false.The real ones do have their "miracles"; the fake ones are some "magicians". Classified according to the above.Hong Xiuquan (if what he said is true) should belong to the list of "prophets".The giants of the prophets such as Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad are all too.Muhammad was originally illiterate.It is said that his "Koran" is the holy will of "God" (Allah), dictated by Mohammed, and written down in one breath by Muhammad's well-educated rich widow wife who is ten years older than her husband. --Believe it or not. As for the "Ten Commandments" of Moses and the "Holy Scriptures" of Jesus, of course they came directly from the mouth of God.The above three are super "Messiah" (Messiah) preached for God in Western religious history and theology.After that, there are "saints" (saints) of various religions and "cult leaders" (cult leaders) who are suspected of being obsessed.Our "Messiah", "Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan", who claimed to be "Son of God" and "Brother of Jesus", who was ordered to save the world and eliminate demons, and the most recent "self-proclaimed God" and "Incarnation of Jesus", descended to the earth to defeat capitalism The "Messiah" and "Caesar Jones" who practiced socialism belonged to the same type of "leader".In the history of religion, both of them belonged to the low level of obsession. Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui may belong to the latter type of shaman (wizard, shaman).Both of them were in an "ecstatic trance" and lost their ego.Yang Ze was "possessed by Heavenly Father (God)", while Xiao was "possessed by Heavenly Brother (Jesus)".In this way, the two of them entrusted the heavenly father and the heavenly brother to deliver the decree, and the "king of heaven", who was the third person under the father and brother, had to bow his head to listen to the edict. Yang and Xiao Yuan were both Hong Xiuquan's disciples, and in that religious fanatic atmosphere, they might have both become "ghost boys".This happened in the spring and autumn of 1848, that is, before their joint rebellion.Since Hong Xiuquan believes in his own "spirituality", he may also sincerely believe in the "spiritual possession" of Yang and Xiao. Mystery often makes people have to believe it.The miracles of Yang and Xiao may not have been magic performances in the early days.But when they hit the handsome man in Nanjing, the "Heavenly Father" still had to use Xiuqing's mouth to "forcibly seal Long Live" to the Heavenly King as the East King, and also used excuses to flog the Heavenly King and spank the Heavenly King's ass. Fake," that's another question. It seems to be true that Hong Xiuquan possessed some "supernatural powers".There are indeed similarities between him and the Reverend Jones who can cure strange diseases, or even the Jesus Physician in the New Testament.According to the information from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Ze Xiuquan did have the ability to "make the mute speak, become paralyzed, and heal upon belief" (see "Hong Rengan's Self-Report").The materials of the Qing Dynasty also recorded the story that "Wei [Changhui]'s wife was critically ill, the medicine was ineffective, and Hong Ni ruled her and she was cured" (see "The Documentary of the Yue Bandit Uprising" by Banwo Layman). These spells of Hong's can be proved by the healing performances of "qigong masters" and "acupuncturists" who are popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait today, and Indian "yogis" who were once popular in the United States. They may be true.A few years ago, when a yogi performed tricks such as drinking nitrate water and chewing glass bottles in New York, a Nobel laureate in physics among the audience admitted that he was "an open challenge to science" (an open challenge to science).This is true for the world's top scientists in the 20th century, let alone the poor and lower-middle peasants in the countryside of the Qing Empire in the 19th century. Since he had this unique skill with him, at the age of 31 (1843), after failing three times in Guangzhou, Xiuquan abandoned his fame and devoted himself to his religion.Sure enough, he was frustrated in the examination field, but he was proud of it in the teaching field.After he and Feng Yunshan organized the "God Worship Association" in Zijing Mountain, Guiping, Guangxi, there were a lot of followers in the past year, and they came back from far and near. 【Notes】Period (ji): Refers to the cycle of time. Originally, setting up mass organizations in the countryside was forbidden by the government in any dynasty in China (including the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party).Don't you see that Deng Xiaoping and others in the court today are all relying on qigong masters to keep their health and save their lives; but they are about to issue a ban on the surging folk qigong organizations. Why is "Qigong" so harmful? "Gathering crowds" is also illegal.Because in China's tradition from "family world" to "party world", "gathering the crowd" is bound to "provoke trouble."Those who cause minor troubles will inevitably fight collectively, rob houses, shovel the rich and help the poor, eat big households, rob warehouses, kill officials and gentry, cause student riots... and even revenge for injustice and revenge for injustice.In order to prevent problems before they happen, the officials strictly prohibit gathering crowds to cause trouble.The text cannot be banned, and the use of force is used to suppress it.Machine guns and tanks.Kill him a bloody way, and the troublemakers will scatter, and reunite when the opportunity arises.If there are no machine guns, no tanks, and no way to recruit security, then rise up, kill officials, occupy the city, and become the king and hegemony. Furthermore, when Hong Xiuquan "ascended to heaven" in the year of Dingyou (1837), the great prince wearing a black robe and with a golden beard on his chest, and his son may be from the Chinese novel "The Story of the Black Pot". It is also unknown whether there is Baogong in Li, or Guan Yunchang in Li and his sons Guan Ping or Guan Xing-Hong Luodi scholar, and he did not know who he was at the time. When he read Liang Fa's "Good Words to Exhort the World" in his collection six years ago, he suddenly realized that this great god is the "God" in Liang Fa's book; the son of that great god is Jesus.Poor our Hongshu teacher hadn't read the "Bible" at that time, didn't know that God is "invisible and bodiless", and didn't know that Jesus is God's "only Son".But Hong obviously has full self-confidence. He has been to "heaven" and met "God", and God introduced him to meet his "eldest son" Jesus.Therefore, after reading the "New and Old Testaments" (New and Old Testaments), Hong believed that the records in the "Bible" were wrong, so he changed more than 70 articles of the "Bible" as the second son of God.When the European and American missionaries in China heard the uproar, the second prince Hong also issued an edict to personally conquer, and fought with them verbally and in writing.He thinks these morons only know one thing and not the other... You haven't been to heaven, so how do you know what's going on in heaven?You should really close your bird's beak... This is a later story, and I will talk about it in detail in the next article. In short, there is no doubt that Hong became a devout and fanatical Christian after he "ascended to heaven" and became enlightened.After he and his friend Feng Yunshan, who was also his first believer, organized the "God Worship Association", he decided to be a lifelong professional missionary, which should be a matter of course. However, when Hong and Feng began their missionary work, what they taught in Guangxi was roughly a very primitive "monotheism"—only worshiping the "only true God" and not "evil gods."However, when Hong returned to Hua County at the end of 1844 to continue his career as a school teacher, his religious thoughts and theories became increasingly sophisticated.It is said that in the next two years (1845-1846), he actually wrote "more than fifty sheets" of persuasive poems.Its three excellent articles, we may also call them "Hong Xiuquan's old three articles"!They are: "Original Dao Salvation Song" "The Original Dao Awakens the World" "Original Daojue World Training" Although he has written so much, Xiuquan obviously still thinks that he does not have a deep understanding of Dao.Therefore, he went to Guangzhou again in 1847 and studied for another three months with the American Baptist missionary, Issachar J. Roberts.Unfortunately, Luo Shi was a hard-headed and reckless man, and the Chinese believers he hired were very jealous of Hong, so Xiuquan failed to be "baptized" as he wished and returned to Guangxi to continue preaching with his old Taoism. The author carefully read Xiuquan's religious works at this time, especially the three old ones listed above, and felt that they should not be underestimated.On the contrary, I think they are a big milestone in the "history of Chinese religion". ——Three shocking works. The reason is this: Our "Chinese national culture" has a history of more than 3,000 years. Since Confucius's advocacy of "not talking about strange powers and confusing gods" and "respecting ghosts and gods and staying away", we are a nation that claims to have no religion.In fact, we have been "good ghosts in Yin", to "alchemists" in the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, and later became monks and Taoists who prayed to gods and Buddhas in society, but our secular religious beliefs have sunk into a very low-level "Pantheism" (Pantheism). ); it can also be said to be a low-level superstition, but it actually dominates our social life, especially the social life of the middle and lower classes. (Buddhism, which transcends things, is a different matter. But "Buddhism" really doesn't have much to do with our social life.) Without a high-level monotheistic religion ruling, our society is full of ghosts and gods.Confucian literati "respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance", but ghosts and gods neither let them go, nor can they "stay away" from ghosts and gods.Originally a "godless" Buddhism, in terms of social role, it has also been dragged into the water. Like Taoism, it has made ghosts everywhere, and it can't be duplicated. But now it's all right, the "Heavenly Father, the Lord God", who is the sole ruler of all things in the world, suddenly sent his "second son" to come down to earth as an oriental Messiah.He wants to ban all "evil gods" and only worship "God"——to "save" the Chinese nation from a pantheistic superstitious fire pit.This is the essence of Hong Xiuquan's old three articles. Under the rule of Hong Tianwang, the people of the whole country were only allowed to worship one "true god" God. , Niu Tau Ma Mian, Sending Avalokitesvara, God of Wealth Bodhisattva, Fox Fairy and Water Ghost, Shan Jing He Bo... and even general fortune-telling, geomancy and geomancy, yin and yang and five elements, three teachings and nine streams... In short, other than "God", all ghosts, ghosts and snake gods are forbidden List! Although Hong's "old three articles" did not jump out of the category of Moses' "Ten Commandments" (see "Old Testament. Exodus"), it is the "Sinicization" of the "Ten Commandments".His "article of heaven" has its religious "primitiveness": its rich "religious sense" is also resounding. Our country’s traditional Confucian historians (such as the recently deceased Professor Qian Mu) sneered at it (see Qian’s "Outline of National History", page 634), and left-wing revolutionary historians believed that it was "pretending religion" to agitate the masses, It's all prejudices that only know one thing and don't know the other thing. ——Hong Shi's "Old Three Articles" are actually milestones in the history of Chinese religions, from pantheism to monotheism.It is a revolutionary declaration of religious reform; it is also a code of ethics, which prohibits smoking, drinking, whoring and gambling. Koranic scholars who deal with "Muslim theology" believe that the Prophet Muhammad is the savior sent by God to turn the Arab nation from "pantheism" to "the only true God"—as Moses influenced Judea; Jesus It also affects white Europeans.By analogy, Hong Xiuquan is the Muhammad of the yellow race.Unfortunately, the "Zeng Yao" that Hong Xiuquan encountered was far stronger than the heresy that the Mu family encountered in Mecca, so the Taiping "Heavenly Kingdom" was not as lucky as the Ottoman "Empire". [Note] Ottoman Empire: the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Some Taiping historians believe that Xiuquan had never read the "Old and New Testaments" before learning Taoism from the American missionary Luo Xiaoquan in 1847.The author also disagrees with this point.Needless to say, the above-mentioned three old articles "Xiuquan's Works in 1845 and 1845 and 1866" cannot be written without the foundation of the Old and New Testaments. I still recall that the author participated in the "Essentials of Chinese Cultural History" project edited by Columbia University in the early 1950s Translate historical materials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.In Taiping's "Children's Poems", I came across the verse "Whether there is a cut or no cut, who is not born of God".I don't know why.Then check another edition of "Children's Poetry" (in "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Poetry and Wenchao", the book has "Jiang Zhongzheng Preface"), and it is changed to "knowledge and ignorance".I was translating at the time, which was difficult and easy, but I felt that the word "cut" was the original text, and the word "zhi" was tampered with.After several twists and turns, the word "cut" was translated into (circumcise). circumcise, the circumcision of the male genitalia is also. Based on the social customs of the ancient Jewish nation, it is really an extremely grand religious ceremony for men to circumcise the tip of the reproductive organs in "infancy" or "before marriage".Therefore, in Judaism, "circumcised" and "uncircumcised" are two different kinds of human beings; males who have not had the "Circumcision" stipulated in the "Fifteen Laws of Moses" are It is very difficult to become a "chosen people of God". "You Xue Shi" is an early document of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.The poem presents a strong Confucian morality.As the section "Wife Ways" said: "The way of a wife lies in three obediences, and there is no violation of her husband's master. The rooster is like a morning, and she asks for family hardship." What it emphasizes is the Confucian "three obediences and four virtues" and the big man. doctrine.But it is quite deep in the teachings of Christianity-Christian teachings do not discriminate against "uncircumcised people".So Xiuquan had already learned many strange teachings in Western religions before Wu Luo Xiaoquan. Therefore, the author is not superficial, and believes that the leaders of Taiping, especially Hong Xiuquan, are basically religious fanatics and fanatic leaders, and they are of the same type as Jim Jones.What Jones is after is also a "Kingdom of Heaven". ——A place free from the interference of secular authority, allowing him and his believers to live the free communist religious life—the life of "Jones Hall". What Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan pursued in the early days was obviously only a "Jones Hall" or "Xiuquan Hall".Therefore, as soon as the two of them arrived at Zijing Mountain, they wrote a "Memorial", praying that "the Heavenly Father, the Lord, the Emperor God, choose a dangerous place to live in" (see "Taiping Tianri").They did not have the ambition to compete with the Manchurian emperor. Later, Yang Xiuqing and others joined the God Worship Association and wanted to build a "little paradise", which may still mean this.However, the old saying goes: "There is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below." When it comes to building a "little paradise" in the world with "the smallest and most humble silk and satin, men wear dragon robes and women arrange flowers", they may start to envy the golden triangle of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Ningxia. . ——"Little Paradise" is not "Great Empire" after all.What they imagined was a "Jones Hall" style, a peaceful "heavenly kingdom" that's all. So the name "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" turned out to be just a "little paradise" in the dream, a religious term.This term may have appeared long before Uranus ascended the throne. Let's look at the famous "Jintian Uprising" in modern history books of our country.According to the "confession" written by the loyal king Li Xiucheng Yiqian: at the beginning of the Taiping Army, apart from Hong Xiuquan, only the "six people" including Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, and Qin Richang knew very well that "the heavenly king wanted to establish the country."Neither the other cadres nor the general congregation knew anything about it. 既然数千会众奉教主之命齐集金田村来“团营”，而又不知团营的目的何在，则团营在会众心目中，实在只是一种宗教活动罢了。其实李秀成的话是事后说的。在“金田团营”的当时，纵使他们七位开国元勋，也未必就有此乘势造反打天下的大志。团营原是一种宗教活动，团营以后的发展是顺水推舟一步步逼上梁山的。 但是团营以后，又怎样的一步步造起反来呢？ 原来广西省在上个世纪，四〇年代的末季，贫农、教门（如“天地会”、“三合会”械斗成习，聚众滋事，早巳弄得全省骚然。清代广西省的政治区划原分“十一府”及若干“州”、“厅”。在洪杨金田起义之前，据清方官书报导这种打家劫舍、杀官绅、占城池的暴乱已遍及“五府一州”甚或“七府一州”（见《钦定剿平粤匪方略》）。 地方官吏如巡抚郑祖琛等无力应付，只得隐瞒“贼情”，设法招抚。孰知愈招愈炽——这时武装暴动的群众，也早已目无官府。 清廷得报，不得已乃起用干吏林则徐，并自各省调兵。笔者的母省安徽也被调去了一千名。精兵四集，官方乃决心用武力镇压。林则徐不幸道死之后，清廷乃另检大员接替，始有李星沅，继有赛尚阿，以“钦差大臣”头衔赴桂。其后并提升布政使劳崇光，以替郑祖琛为广西巡抚，协同提督向荣，认真督剿。他们最初的目标原是“三合会”、“天地会”一类更严重的“教匪”。尤其是已经占领县城的天地会首领陈亚溃（贵）、杨捞家、徐亚明诸大股。据王定安著《湘军记》所载：“时粤匪二十余股，多为劳崇光所殄，惟秀全等独存”云云，也确是当时的实际情况——当时的官方，原没有把“洪秀全”这位落第秀才的“聚众滋事”，看得太严重。可是等到其它各股一一散灭，四方“零星敌匪”无枝可栖，乃纷纷投向洪氏。其著者如平南一带的天地会领袖罗大纲之投洪，即其一例。各方豪杰来归，秀全坐大，官军对洪乃开始弹压，孰知在金田、江口一带数度接战，官军一再挫败之后，才知道他们有眼不识泰山——秀全这一股之凶狠，实远非陈亚贵等所能望其项背。官军之畏葸无用，和会党临阵之英勇，也大大地鼓励了秀全的党羽，他们益发不把官军看在眼内，而企图大举了。 【附注】 陈亚溃的原名是“亚贵”，正如孙中山原名孙文，清廷官书多写成“孙汶”，以示贬斥。 【附注】 畏葸（xi）：害怕，畏惧。 因此所谓“金田起义”者。事实上只是客观形势，积渐而成。一方面是大群贫苦人民在搞一种狂热的宗教活动。人多势大了，难免就有些铲富济贫、吃大户、抗官军的激烈行为。另一面则是一个腐化专制的政府。它认为这群人民，误信邪教，聚众滋事，目无官府，需调军警弹压。双方冲突已久。只是在一八五〇年（道光三十年）十二月初在一次重大的反弹压行动中打死了清军副将伊克坦布，并伤毙官军三百人。这一下革命群众信心大增，乃藉教主三十八岁生辰（道光三十年十二月初十?公元一八五一年一月十一日），来个“恭祝万寿起义”（洪仁玕语），庆祝一番。——所谓“万寿起义”，事实上也是事后追封的。 作为教主的洪秀全也就乘兴写了“五条纪律”，什么遵条令、别男女、秋毫莫犯、公心和傩（粤语和睦）、同心合力，作为对官军再度接战的准备，如此而已。 【附注】 傩（nuo）：（1）行走姿态柔美，如“佩玉之傩”；（2）古代腊月驱逐疫鬼的仪式——傩舞。傩戏（中国地方戏曲剧种之一，演员戴木面具，多用反复的、大幅度的程式动作表现请神驱邪、祈福及简单的战斗故事）。傩神（传说中驱除瘟疫的神灵）。 洪秀全是位多产作家，也是位欢喜写“诏谕”的教主。但在这段所谓“金田起义”时期，却没有留下任何像<北伐誓师辞>或<讨武曌檄>、<讨粤匪檄>一类的文字。所以所谓“金田起义”这个荣衔实在是洪杨诸人在打下半壁江山之后才回头追封的。其情况盖如今日中共之“八一建军节”。——一九二七年八月一日贺龙叶挺在南昌“暴动”，叛离国民党的国民革命军。谁又想到二十余年之后，竟被封为人民解放军的建军节呢？ 【附注】 曌：同“照”，武则天为自己名字造的字。 “金田起义”既没个确切地点，而且没个确切日期，也没一张正式文告。因此它不像是个有计划的革命发难的行动。洪仁歼事后追述说：“本不欲反，无奈官兵侵害，不得已而相抗也。”我想这句话，大致是可信的。 总之，金田团营，乃至后来的男女分行、财产归公的“圣库”制，都与在近年美洲发生吉姆?琼斯型的宗教狂，有其极其类似之处。只是客观环境不同，使他们各走各路罢了。 一八五一年春，洪杨在金田起义之后，和清室官军在桂平、武宣、象县一带，纠缠了几个月。这一时期官军的表现实在太窝囊，而此时又民心思乱，太平军的裹胁则愈来愈大，越战越勇。宗教热愈沸腾，“越寒天、越退衣”，简直到了疯狂境界。三月二十三日（阴历二月二十一日），洪秀全竟在武宣县东乡镇，与天兄耶稣同时“登极”，自封为“天王”，自称为“朕”，群下对天王则称“主”。 同年九月二十五日，天王乃率众窜占永安州城（蒙山县治），一占数月。永安之失，足使北京朝廷震动。朝廷在痛惩疆吏失职之余，更增调大军围剿。 洪杨既占永安，也自知“骑虎难下”（杨秀清语）。一不做二不休，乃逐渐化宗教为政治，改组军队，重编会众，以应付此一不能自了之局，遂有“永安封王”之举。 太平军于一八五一年九月（本文均用阳历）窜入永安至翌年四月突围，在永安共驻了八个月。这八个月中最大举动便是一八五一年十二月十七日的分封诸王了。史学界朋友们总把这“永安封王”视为洪杨军政组织的起步，笔者却不以为然。“水安封王”还是一群狂热教门的宗教行为。且看洪秀全的<封五王诏>。他说天父上主皇上帝权威大于一切，“无所不知，无所不能，无所下在”。一切但听命上帝可也（这是洪氏自称）。分封五王者实只是“姑从凡间歪例”才勉行之也。原文是： 今特褒封左辅正军师（杨秀清）为东王，管治东方各国；褒封右弼又正军师（萧朝贵）为西王，管治西方各国；衰封前导副军师（冯云山）为南王，管治南方各国；褒封后护又副军师（韦昌辉）为北王，管治北方各国；又褒封达胞（石达开）为翼王，羽翼天朝。以上所封各王，俱受东王节制。另诏（天王）后宫称娘娘；（诸王）贵妃称王娘。 其实太平军窜入永安州时，男女老幼不过两三千人（笔者另有考据），史传三四万人皆非也。在两三千的乌合之众中，封出五位二十来岁的王爷（达胞那时可能还不足二十），来管治四方“各国”，岂非形同儿戏！但是我辈生长于传统中国农村之中。看惯佛道二教的什么“设坛”、什么“打醮”等等，就知道没啥奇怪之可言。且看那些奇装异服的道士和尚，扛着招展的旌旗，什么“十方大菩萨”、“十殿阎王”等等，就知道这些狂热的“拜上帝”教徒，所搞的也正是这一套。 不幸的是上个世纪的五〇年代，满清的气数将尽，全国，尤其是广西；在广西，尤其是久经“土、客”械斗磨练的“客家”农民，正蠢蠢欲动。经过洪杨这一有组织的狂热的宗教活动，聚众滋事、弄假成真，就造起反来了。 太平军盘据永安八个月之后，广西官军约一万四千人在北京三令五申之下，乃把叛军团团围住。面对“数倍之敌”，洪扬之众便不得不突围以自保了。据参加此次突围的老长毛事后回忆，他们三二干人，置妇孺于全军中段（客家妇女皆天足），青壮前后簇拥，一举冲出重围。既出重围，他们前逃，清军尾追，其情势就变成我国历史上所屡见不鲜的“流寇”了。 传统流寇的作战方式，多为裹胁农民，钻隙流窜，飘怱如疾风暴雨；其锋不可当。撄其锋者，无不粉身碎骨。因此官军追剿亦有一套不成文法。他们照例是以邻为壑，只追不堵。堵则自取灭亡，有百害无一利；追则可以趁火打劫，随地报功请赏，有百利无一弊。正面官军如躲避不了，也只死守城池和险要，或旁敲侧击，绝不正面堵截。在这一公式之下，则流寇一起，便滚起雪球，如入无入之境。尾追官军也就养寇自重，呼啸相从，绝不放松。好在中国太大，大家都可无限制的玩其走马灯，所以黄巢、张献忠等起义时，都有“拖死官军”之名言；官军亦乐得被拖死而不疲也。提督向荣的下断升迁就是个好例子。 三〇年代中期“朱毛赤匪”自江西瑞金突围“长征”时，追逃双方所运用的，还是这一传统公式。追的“中央军”和逃的“红军”，相距往往只是“一日之程”。在红军过境之处，指挥官军堵剿的地方将领如湖南何键、广东陈济棠、广西李白、云南龙云、四川刘湘、西北诸马……都只守不堵，“赤匪”过境而去，便皆大欢喜。 倒霉的是我们那位不失赤子之心的少帅张学良。他少不更事，奉命堵剿，便真的去直撄其锋，既堵且剿。因而犯了兵家大忌，弄得丢盔卸甲，“得不到补充”而牢骚满腹。少帅那时如已开始研究《明史》，读一篇<张献忠传>，就不会吃那个大亏了。 我们历史公式里的“洪杨发贼”，永安突围之后，无人敢堵。他们乃沿途裹胁（李秀成便是被裹胁者之一），直迫省会桂林。围城一月不克，乃窜入全州，长驱入湘。湘人本好武，见新朝崛起，贫农矿工船夫会党赴义如云，一时声威大振。 太平军八月克郴州，九月迫长沙。围城八十余日不克，乃舍长沙、渡洞庭北上。十二月克汉阳；翌年（一八五三）一月乃攻克武昌。二月舍武昌、掳民船、挟众七万五千人（号称五十万），顺流而下，克九江、安庆、芜湖，然均不守；三月十九日乃破城攻入南京。自此太平军占领南京，改名天京凡十一年零三个月，乃形成太平天国在长江下游的割据之局。更在下游的镇江、扬州则变成时得时失的外围据点。 洪杨自“永安突围”至“奠都天京”为时尚不足一年；其行动之快、发展之速，不在七十年后国民党“北伐”之下。然国民党之北伐是先有“革命根据地”的两广，然后才“誓师北伐”的有计划的政治扩张。洪杨北窜则是占一城丢一城的流寇行为。所以国民党于一九二七年奠都南京时已占有半壁河山；而洪杨奠都南京时，只有南京、镇江、扬州孤城三座而已。 洪杨如真是英雄人物，则应并此三城而舍之，倾巢北上。以他们那时的气势，要一鼓作气打下北京是绝无问题的。因为此时北京已风声鹤唳，贵族重臣家族逃亡一空。咸丰皇帝亦已准备迁都热河，而太平义师，朝气正盛，弱点未露。全国人民与各路英雄均仰望旌麾以解倒悬，神州正可传檄而定。谁知洪秀全基本上只是个“琼斯型”的教主，只管“天情”，不谙“世事”，而太平军实际总指挥杨秀清，则是一只狗熊。富贵对他来得太快了。四年前还只是一个赤贫的烧炭工，如今叱咤风云，锦衣玉食，做了“东王九干岁”，一头栽入“六朝金粉”里去，他就不能自拔了。 对这群来自落后地区的贫下中农来说，那个三月江南、六朝金粉的“小天堂”，真是“得此已足”，再也不想离开了。想想那“燕都”是“沙漠之地”；“直隶”是“罪隶之省”（这都是天王诏书上的话），北上争雄的劲头也就完全消失了。 太平流寇既然不想倾巢而出，尾追而来的钦差大臣向荣的官军，也就于南京东郊的孝陵卫，自建其“江南大营”；另一钦差琦善，也于扬州郊外建其“江北大营”。两两对峙，彼此慢慢扯皮，就胜负难分了。