| Li Shixian | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Giant |
| Born | 3 December 1834 Tengxian, Guangxi, Qing Empire |
| Died | 23 August 1865 (aged 31) Guangdong, Nanjing, Qing Empire |
| Allegiance | Qing Empire (to 1849) Taiping (to 1864) |
| Years of service | 1852–1865 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars |
Eastern Front
Western Front
|
| Awards | King of Shi |
Li Shixian (simplified Chinese: 李世贤; traditional Chinese: 李世賢; pinyin: Lǐ Shìxián) (1834 – 23 August 1865) was a pre-eminent military leader of the late Taiping Rebellion. He was the cousin of military leader Li Xiucheng and was known for being very tall (200 cm tall) for a native of Guangxi province. During his military tenure, he was given the title of King of Shi (侍王) (meaning "Servant Prince"). In the latter part of the Taiping rebellion, he led Taiping forces to many military victories, though he was eventually assassinated by a traitor in Guangdong. Later in his life, he invited an aging Wei Yuan to live in his home and was known to hold counsel with the famous scholar.
Contents |
Army Group Jiangnan (江南大營) of the Qing empire had encircled the Taiping capital of Nanjing twice, laying siege in an attempt to end the war. The second siege consisted of nearly 200,000 Qing soldiers by March 1858, but they were routed when Li Shixian's Taiping force broke out of the capital in May 1860. With the Qing routing, Li Shixian was able to occupy all of the rich Zhejiang Province.
In 1862, the Qing ordered Zuo Zongtang to attack Li Shixian in Zhejiang province. The Qing were successful, and after a number of hard-fought battles they recaptured all of Zhejiang. Li Shixian's rebel forces were reduced from about 350,000 at the outset of the campaign to around 200,000 in 1864, when the Taiping capital of Nanjing fell. When the capital fell, Li Shixian again successfully broke out with his remaining army and escaped along the coast to Fujian Province.
At last, Li remained 40,000 came back to eastern Guangdong, the Guangdong was many Taiping forces of the first generation (The Old brothers) homeland left from 1850, Zuo Zongtang ordered six major generals lead 70,000 Qing army sieged them in Jiaoling County May 1, 1865, 20,000 Taiping forces surrender. Li made up a monk and escaped, on May 23 he came back to Taiping forces he had led and blamed his subordinate and want to retake this army; they betrayed and killed him.
These Qing generals and 20,000 Taiping forces surrender attended the Sino-French War in 1883.