Hong Xuanjiao (Chinese: 洪宣嬌, born c. 1830 - fl. 1856), also known as Yang Yunjiao (Chinese: 楊雲嬌) and Yang Xuanjiao (Chinese: 楊宣嬌), was a Chinese general and rebel leader during the Taiping Rebellion. She was said to be the younger sister of the leader of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan, and is the wife of Xiao Chaogui, the West King. She led women into the battlefield against the Qing dynasty for the Taiping cause.
Life
Hong Xuanjiao is believed to have been born around 1830 to a man named Huang Quanzheng (黃權政) in Luoludong (羅淥峒), Wuxuan county, Guangxi province.[1] She was later adopted as a sister of Yang Xiuqing, the East King, who claimed the Heavenly Father willed that Xuanjiao should bear the surname Yang as she is his sixth daughter. Some time after her wedding to Xiao Chaogui, on 30 January 1850, Xiao claimed that Jesus Christ specified him as a brother-in-law equivalent to Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, and Yang Xiuqing. It is in this manner that Xuanjiao became a sister of Hong Xiuquan and became known as Hong Xuanjiao.[2] In some sources, Xiao Chaogui's wife is named Yang Yunjiao; it is most likely that Yang Yunjiao and Hong Xuanjiao were the same person, and that Yang Yunjiao changed her name to Xuanjiao to avoid a naming taboo with the South King Feng Yunshan.[3]
As a commander of the female soldiers in service of the Taiping army, she led hundreds of female soldiers and she herself was trained in martial arts. She was described as being extraordinarily valiant and extraordinarily beautiful, and also was responsible for the women who took part in the battle under the banner of the Taiping rebels. She distinguished herself in battle and achieved significant feats.[4]
She last appeared in the historical record in 1856 in the lead-up to the Tianjing incident, where she, alarmed by the arrogance of her adoptive brother Yang Xiuqing, pleaded Hong Xiuquan to eliminate Xiao as a potential threat, but Hong Xiuquan, mindful of their former camaraderie, refused her pleas.[2] Taiping Rebellion ended in failure when Nanjing was captured by Qing forces in 1864. Hong Xuanjiao's fate remains unknown.
^Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800 99 (2010)
^Biographies of Prominent Women in the Homeland featured a biography of Hong Xuanjiao. It described her as follows: "Hong Xuanjiao, known as Xiao Wang Niang within the military ranks, was the elder sister of the Heavenly King and the wife of the Western King, Xiao Chaogui. She was under thirty years of age, extraordinarily beautiful, and possessed exceptional bravery. Leading a contingent of several hundred female soldiers, she excelled in battle and achieved significant feats. Xiao Wang Niang and her female soldiers hailed from Guangxi and were deeply influenced by Hong Xiuquan's teachings. Before each battle, they would offer prayers to the Heavenly Deity. She would appear on the battlefield with minimal makeup, brandishing dual swords with a commanding presence. Riding a crimson horse and wrapped in a white woolen cape, she had a tall and fair complexion. Her clothing blended shades of green and white. As she waved her fair wrist in the wind, she directed the female troops, creating a harmonious symphony of clinking armor. She seemed almost ethereal. In the heat of battle, Xiao Wang Niang would disrobe, mount her horse, and charge into the ranks of the Qing Dynasty troops. Underneath, she wore apricot-colored silk, and her swordplay was incredibly swift. Her attire seemed to change colors magically, leaving the enemy troops in awe."
