Chen Yucheng

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Chen Yucheng was from Xi'an Village, Dali Li, Teng County, Wuzhou Prefecture, Guangxi. His ancestors originally lived in Shanghang County, Tingzhou Prefecture, Fujian. In 1267, the third year of the Xianchun era of the Southern Song, they moved to Fengshujing in Wengyuan County, Shaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong, because they had “frequently suffered from years of famine and social upheaval.” During the Kangxi era of the Qing, Chen's tenth-generation ancestor Chen Xiang, dissatisfied with the unrest in his home area, moved from Wengyuan County in Guangdong to Guangxi. After several further relocations, the family settled at Xi'an Village beneath Xifeng Ridge during the generation of Chen Yucheng's great-grandfather Chen Wenyu. Chen Yucheng was born in this village in 1837, the seventeenth year of the Daoguang era.

Chen Yucheng was originally named Picheng. Hong Xiuquan later renamed him “Yucheng” in recognition of his “loyalty and courage.” His grandfather Chen Balan, grandmother Lady Jiang, father Chen Chaoli, and mother Lady Yao were all farmers. His parents died while he was still a child, and he was raised entirely by his grandparents. Chen Balan once sent him to a village school, but poverty forced him to leave shortly afterward. At about ten years old he worked for others, herded cattle, carried mud, rammed walls, and helped build houses. During this period he befriended Lu Haiping of Guzhi Village in the same county, later Lu Shunde, Prince Lai of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Li Yiwen of Xinwang Village, later Li Xiucheng, Prince Zhong. Meanwhile, a Hu family living at Gupanchong in Dali introduced the God Worshipping movement into the Dali mountain area through their relative Hu Yihuang in Pingnan, and the young Chen Yucheng became a member of the God Worshipping Society.

Joining the Army and Emerging as a Commander

In the twelfth month of the thirtieth year of the Daoguang era (January 1851), the Jintian Uprising broke out. Chen Yucheng and twenty-eight brothers, uncles, nephews, and other male relatives joined the Taiping movement. Chen was only fourteen and served as a “child soldier” in the Taiping army and as a guard to Luo Dagang, an important early Taiping commander. When Luo Dagang advanced north as a vanguard toward Yong'an, passing through Dali, Chen walked to meet him, served as a guide, and led the Taiping army from Dali Dong toward Yong'an Prefecture. Because of his youth, however, Chen did not participate in many battles before the army reached Jiangning, present-day Nanjing, which the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom renamed Tianjing.

In the fourth month of 1853, the third year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Guihao era, after the Taiping established its capital at Tianjing, Chen Yucheng was appointed Left Fourth Army Zhengdian Shengliang, an office equivalent to military supervisor, and placed in charge of grain supplies.

Winning Fame and Campaigning in the Western Expedition

In the fourth month of 1854, the fourth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Jiayin era, the Taiping Western Expedition divided at Hankou and Hanyang and advanced in two directions toward western and southern Hubei. Chen Yucheng was ordered to campaign alongside Wei Jun, a Guozong. After crossing the Yangtze, Wei Jun proposed that the two forces move south together to attack Xiangtan in Hunan. Chen, however, intended to remain in Hubei and instead joined the assault on Wuchang, which had been under siege for several months without falling. In late fifth month, he led his troops from Wuchang County into Liangzi Lake and circled toward the eastern side of the city. After personally reconnoitering with light cavalry, he concluded that repeated assaults had failed despite the defenders having exhausted their grain and become hungry and fatigued. On the second day of the sixth month, with support from the besieging forces, he led five hundred picked soldiers in a night attack. They threw prepared ropes over the wall, caught them on the battlements, climbed up, and raised banners and shouted from the wall. The Qing defenders collapsed, and Wuchang, after months of siege, fell to the Taiping army. Qing Hubei Provincial Administration Commissioner Yue Xing'e and Judicial Commissioner Cao Maojian were killed, while Governor Qinglin, Deputy Commander Kuiyu, and others fled. Chen's role made him famous within the Taiping army. When news reached Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing praised him highly and promoted him four ranks to Dianyou Sanshi Jiandian, placing him in command of the Thirteenth Rear Land Army and the Fourth Front Naval Battalion.

After taking Wuchang, Chen pressed on to Huangzhou and Xiaogan, then moved south to attack Yuezhou. Zeng Guofan led 17,000 soldiers of the Hunan Army into northern Hunan by land and water and fought Taiping forces under Shi Xiangzhen, Lin Shaozhang, and others. In the intercalary seventh month, Zeng Tianyang, the Qiuguan Youzheng Chengxiang defending Yuezhou, was defeated and killed. Chen returned to attack Yuezhou. Disguising himself as a Qing soldier, he led eighteen Taiping fighters into the Hunan Army's naval force and set fire to it, destroying more than three hundred vessels. Rain and a change of wind direction, however, allowed Qing land reinforcements to arrive and suppress the fires. The Taiping army lost more than fifty vessels and Chen was forced to withdraw.

In late eighth month, Qing forces retook Wuhan and the Taiping withdrew north of the Yangtze to Tianjiazhen. Chen reported the military situation to Prince Yan Qin Rigang and recommended assembling commanders from the various routes at Tianjiazhen to resist the Qing advance. From then on he garrisoned Qizhou and operated independently across the broad region north of the Yangtze. After taking Wuhan, Qing forces advanced eastward in three columns on both banks of the river. Yang Xiuqing ordered Qin Rigang to hold Tianjiazhen with the main force, mutually supporting Chen's troops at Qizhou. On the fourth day of the tenth month, the Taiping fought the Hunan Army at Tianjiazhen and Banbishan for ten consecutive days but were eventually defeated; Qin Rigang, Wei Jun, and others withdrew eastward toward Susong and Huangmei. Chen remained at Qizhou, fought fiercely, defeated forces under Qing Deputy Commander Kuiyu and General Yang Changsi at Caojiahe, and burned Qing camps at Sandaoqiao. Tianjiazhen fell on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, forcing Chen to abandon Qizhou and move through Guangji and Huangmei. While defending Huangmei he stabbed Ta Qibu in the face with a spear as the latter rushed toward the city wall. He then moved to Jiujiang and helped Dianyou Shier Jiandian Lin Qirong defend the city.

After the Taiping suffered defeat at Hukou, Yang Xiuqing ordered Shi Dakai and Luo Dagang to reinforce the theater from Anhui and Jiangxi respectively. In the twelfth month, Zeng Guofan brought the main land and naval forces of the Hunan Army against Jiujiang. Chen Yucheng and Lin Qirong held the city, waited for the attackers to exhaust themselves, and inflicted a major defeat. Soon afterward Chen was ordered back into Hubei to cooperate with Qin Rigang and Wei Jun. He retook Huangmei on the seventeenth day of the twelfth month, defeated the army of Huguang Governor-General Yang Pei at Guangji on the twenty-fourth, and on New Year's Eve routed Yang's main force with just over a thousand men. He then took Qizhou and Huangzhou in succession, forcing Yang Pei to flee to Hankou. Two days later, Chen and Qin Rigang combined their forces to take Hanyang. After this fourth Taiping capture of Hanyang, Chen led a separate force northward through northern Hubei, taking Hanchuan and Yingcheng and striking Yang Pei's main camp at De'an Prefecture. Yang fled to Suizhou. The Taiping pursued, retook Yunmeng, then attacked Suizhou from Yingcheng, defeating Xi'an Deputy Commander Chang Liang and acting Hubei Commander Naqin at Wangchenggang, killing Xi'an General Zhalafen, and taking Suizhou. The Qing court replaced Yang Pei with Jingzhou General Guanwen as governor-general of Huguang. In the fifth month of 1855, the fifth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Yirong era, Chen withdrew from Suizhou toward De'an. On the first day of the seventh month he struck out from De'an and defeated Qing Guyuan Commander Zhang Guangshun, acting Hubei Commander Naqin, and others at Pixiang in Yingshan. The Taiping thus gained great prestige in northern Hubei, and their positions around Wuhan and the upper Yangtze were consolidated.

Relief of Zhenjiang and the Tianjing Incident

In the autumn of 1855, Chen left northern Hubei to relieve Luzhou in Anhui and then moved to Wuhu to lift another siege. In the twelfth month he was ordered east to participate in relieving Zhenjiang. By then, after repeated military achievements, he had been promoted to Dongguan Zheng Chengxiang. His troops operated alongside forces led by Diguan Fu Chengxiang Li Xiucheng, Chunguan Zheng Chengxiang Tu Zhenxing, Xiaguan Fu Chengxiang Chen Shizhang, and Xiaguan You Fu Chengxiang Zhou Shengkun, all under the unified command of Prince Yan Qin Rigang and moving from Tianjing. The Taiping officer responsible for Zhenjiang's defense was Dianqian Zuo Wu Jiandian Wu Ruxiao. Qin Rigang convened a council of commanders and decided to send men through the Qing encirclement into the city so that the defenders and relief army could attack from inside and outside simultaneously. Chen volunteered to carry out the mission personally. With several trusted fighters he took a small boat toward the city through Zhenjiang's water gate. Qing naval gunboats converged from all directions and opened fire, but Chen led his men through the blockade, entered the city, and delivered the plan to the defenders.

On the twenty-sixth day of the second month of 1856, the sixth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Bingchen era, the Taiping attacked according to plan. After a full day and night of fighting they broke the Qing forces. Imperial Commissioner and Jiangning General Tu Ming'a fled, and Yangzhou was also occupied by the Taiping. This became known as the first destruction of the Jiangbei Camp. Chen and the others then turned south, crossed the Yangtze from Guazhou, occupied Huangnizhou at Zhenjiang, and launched a fierce attack on Jiangning Prefect Liu Cunhou's camp at Gaozi. Jiangsu Governor Jierhang'a brought troops from Jiuhua Mountain to reinforce it but was attacked from four sides; both Jierhang'a and Liu Cunhou were killed. On the eleventh day of the fifth month, Qin Rigang, Chen Yucheng, and others led the army from Zhenjiang through Xiashu, Gaozi, Dongyang, and Shibuqiao to camp around Guanyin Gate and Yanziji outside Tianjing. There they joined Shi Dakai's force arriving from Taiping Prefecture in Anhui and attacked Xiang Rong's Jiangnan Camp. The camp fell on the eighteenth day of the fifth month. Several days later Chen pursued the remnants and was wounded at Danyang.

In the eighth month of 1856, the Tianjing Incident broke out and was brought under control by Shi Dakai two months later. Chen's superior Qin Rigang was killed for his involvement. Thereafter Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng became commanders operating independently. During this period Chen moved into southern Anhui. In the twelfth month he joined Li Xiucheng at Zongyang for the first Zongyang conference, where they reorganized the army and divided their forces for renewed offensives. In 1857, the seventh year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Dingsi era, Chen campaigned throughout the borderlands of Hubei, Anhui, and Henan, keeping men and horses continuously in the field and repeatedly winning military successes. He refused to follow Shi Dakai when the latter left. Hong Xiuquan valued Chen highly, repeatedly promoted and rewarded him, elevated him to Quan Jun You Zheng Zhangshuai, granted him the title Chengtian Yu, and instructed him and Li Xiucheng to direct military affairs.

Victory at Sanhe and Enfeoffment as Prince Ying

In early 1858, the eighth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Wuwu era, Qing Imperial Commissioner He Chun and Jiangnan Commander Zhang Guoliang built strong fortifications and a “ten-thousand-li long trench” around Tianjing, re-establishing the Jiangnan Camp. In the seventh month Chen Yucheng reached Zongyang and joined Li Xiucheng, Huang Wenjin, Li Shixian, and others at the second Zongyang conference. They formulated a plan to recover northern Anhui and relieve Tianjing. Hong Xiuquan had restored the system of commanders of the Five Armies and appointed Chen commander of the Front Army. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Chen and Left Army commander Li Shixian combined forces to take Luzhou Prefecture, forcing Anhui Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Mengqun to retreat to Lu'an Prefecture. Rear Army commander Li Xiucheng advanced from Quanjiao toward Wuyi in Chuzhou and joined Chen's army. In the eighth month, the Chen-Li combined force defeated the cavalry of Qing Imperial Commissioners Dexing'a and Shengbao at Dongxi Ge, Wuyi, Xiaodian, and other places, advanced directly on Pukou, and again destroyed the Jiangbei Camp, restoring Tianjing's transportation and communications with the north bank.

While Chen was operating around Tianjing, Hubei Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Xubin entered Anhui from Hubei and, within a month, successively captured Taihu, Qianshan, Tongcheng, Shucheng, and other places before moving directly toward Anqing and besieging Sanhe. Sanhe was an important Taiping base for collecting grain and military supplies and provisioning Tianjing. The Taiping had built a large fortified town there with brick defensive works under Wu Dinggui. In late ninth month Chen, upon receiving news at the front that Sanhe was surrounded, immediately hurried back from Jiangsu, marching day and night by way of Chaoxian and Luzhou toward Baishishan and Jinniuzhen to strike Li Xubin's rear. He ordered Wu Ruxiao to cooperate with the Nian Army in cutting the Luzhou–Shucheng route and preventing Qing reinforcements from arriving. Li Xiucheng also brought troops from Baishishan into the battle. Chen judged that although the Qing attack was fierce, the force had advanced deep in isolation and could be destroyed by attacks from front and rear. On the ninth day of the tenth month the Taiping offensive began. Chen personally entered the enemy fortifications and led the main assault while the other forces attacked simultaneously. After five days and nights of intense fighting, Li Xubin's entire force was destroyed. More than six thousand Qing troops were killed in what became known as the Battle of Sanhe.

In 1859, the ninth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Jiwei era, Chen Yucheng was enfeoffed as “Prince Ying.” Together with Li Xiucheng he became one of the principal military pillars of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and he and Shi Dakai were described as the movement's two great “valiant princely commanders”.

Defense of Anqing, Defeat, and Capture

In the autumn of 1860, the tenth year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Gengshen era, Chen was ordered to attack Hubei in order to relieve Anqing. Early in 1861 he departed Anhui and, in a little more than ten days, captured Huangzhou near Wuhan. Qing forces around Wuhan were severely depleted at the time, but British officials in Wuhan asked Chen not to attack the city. He hesitated and, also considering that Li Xiucheng's force had not arrived on schedule, abandoned the attack and turned back to relieve Anqing. Over the following months he fought the Qing around Anqing, but the city eventually fell. Chen withdrew to Luzhou, present-day Hefei in Anhui, and did not dare return to Tianjing to report the defeat.

At the end of 1861, Chen sent Prince Fu Chen Decai and Prince Zun Lai Wenguang on an expedition to the northwest, further weakening his own strength. Qing forces soon attacked Luzhou. In May 1862 Chen broke out of the city toward Shouzhou, intending to join Miao Peilin, Prince Zou, and other allied forces for an attack on Henan. His subordinate Yin Xieqing warned him: “I hear that Miao Yusan [Miao Peilin] has already submitted to the demon Sheng [Shengbao]. This man is repeatedly treacherous, truly one of the worst petty men. In my foolish opinion, you absolutely should not go.” Chen ignored the warning and continued. On the seventeenth day he arrived at Dongjin Ferry with three or four thousand men. Yu Anding opened the gate to receive him, causing him to suspect nothing. When Chen entered Shouzhou, he stationed his guard outside the city and took only a small number of attendants in with him. On entering the hall and seeing shackles placed on a tea table, he suddenly understood and angrily cursed: “Miao Peilin truly is a treacherous petty man. After I die, your turn will come; are you not simply hurrying to your own death?” Chen and twenty attendants were then arrested. Shengbao had him sent in a prison cart toward Beijing. When word spread that Taiping forces were preparing a rescue, Qing authorities hurriedly executed Chen by lingchi at Yanjin in Henan in June. He was twenty-six. According to historical accounts, Shengbao urged him to surrender, to which Chen replied: “A true man dies if he must die. Why waste words?”

Major Activities

Military Contributions

Chen Yucheng was one of the most important commanders of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He joined the Jintian Uprising at fourteen and won fame by scaling the walls during the second capture of Wuchang. He later campaigned throughout Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang and repeatedly distinguished himself. He took part in the two destructions of the Jiangbei Camp and Jiangnan Camp and helped lift the pressure on Tianjing. He won major victories at Pukou and Sanhe; at Sanhe, the force under the Hunan Army commander Li Xubin, more than six thousand men, was annihilated, making it one of the most celebrated Taiping victories of the later period. Chen was flexible in his use of troops and skilled in surprise attacks. At Yuezhou he once led eighteen men disguised among the Hunan Army's naval forces, set them ablaze, and destroyed more than three hundred vessels.

Political Activities

After the Tianjing Incident, Chen became one of the major military pillars of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He refused to follow Shi Dakai when the latter departed and consequently enjoyed Hong Xiuquan's confidence. He was promoted to Quan Jun You Zheng Zhangshuai, elevated to Chengtian Yu, and later enfeoffed as Prince Ying. Together with Li Xiucheng he directed late Taiping military affairs and took part in two Zongyang conferences that established the strategic approach for relieving Tianjing.

Travels and Campaigns

Chen spent his life campaigning across much of China. He joined the uprising in Guangxi and marched north with the army to Nanjing, then campaigned westward through Hubei and Jiangxi, eastward to Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, and northward through Anhui and Henan. His movements covered seven provinces: Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

Relations with Contemporaries

Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng were the two principal military pillars of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and repeatedly fought together, winning major victories at Pukou, Sanhe, and elsewhere. Chen and Shi Dakai were described as two great “valiant princely commanders” of the movement. Chen also conducted joint operations with the Nian Army. He had a poor relationship with Wei Jun, who was eventually forced to surrender to the Qing. His dealings with Miao Peilin ultimately led to his capture and defeat.

Personal Relations

Family

• Grandfather: Chen Balan
• Grandmother: Lady Jiang
• Father: Chen Chaoli
• Mother: Lady Yao
• Uncle: Chen Chengrong
• Son: Chen Tianbao
• Grandson: Chen Shenchu

Teachers and Associates

• Luo Dagang: important early Taiping commander; Chen served as his guard
• Li Xiucheng: friend from the same home county and Prince Zhong of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; fought together with Chen repeatedly
• Lu Shunde: friend from the same county and Prince Lai of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Ruler–Subject Relations

• Hong Xiuquan: Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; renamed him “Yucheng” and enfeoffed him as Prince Ying
• Yang Xiuqing: Eastern King; promoted Chen by four ranks
• Qin Rigang: Prince Yan and Chen's early superior; killed during the Tianjing Incident

Conflicts

• Zeng Guofan: commander of the Hunan Army and a principal opponent during the defense of Anqing
• Miao Peilin: Nian leader who defected and lured Chen into capture
• Shengbao: Qing commander who interrogated and escorted Chen
• Wei Jun: Taiping Guozong who later surrendered to the Qing after conflict with Chen

Historical Assessment

Qing and Contemporary Assessments

• Fang Yurun recorded in Xinglie Riji: “Unless this rebel is destroyed, the two Hu provinces cannot be pacified.”
• Dai Dejian wrote in Penglaiguan Chidu that Chen was “exceptionally fierce and cunning” and that “few in recent times could equal him.”
• On hearing that Chen had been lured into capture by the defector Miao Peilin, Zuo Zongtang lamented: “The Four-Eyed Dog truly belongs in the company of Xiang Yu and Di Qing. Such a fierce rebel, rare in ancient or modern times—how could he have been defeated by the likes of Shengbao, mere clay chickens and earthen dogs? This too must have been fate.”
• Li Hongzhang informed Zeng Guofan: “Princes Zhong, Shi, Zhang, and Gan were all at odds with the Dog Rebel; outwardly they feared him, inwardly they hated him.”
• Hong Rengan lamented in Tianjing: “Once Prince Ying was gone, the army's momentum and prestige immediately collapsed, and everything fell apart.”

Taiping Assessments

• Hong Xiuquan renamed him “Yucheng” for his “loyalty and courage,” valued him highly, and repeatedly promoted and rewarded him.
• The Englishman Augustus Frederick Lindley, in Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh: The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution, described Chen Yucheng as the most handsome Chinese man he had seen.

Modern Research

• Zhong Wendian's “A Study of the Native Place of Chen Yucheng, Prince Ying of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom” identified his native place as Teng County, Guangxi.
• Modern historical scholarship generally regards Chen Yucheng as one of the most capable military commanders of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, on a level with Li Xiucheng, and the Battle of Sanhe as one of the most brilliant military victories of the movement's later period.