Four of the events in China's modern history resulted in the death of a large number of people, three of which have been forgotten
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Tuke Rebellion broke out in Guangdong, the Taiping Rebellion in Jiangnan, the Yunnan Rebellion in Western Yunnan, and the Shaanxi-Gansu Rebellion in Shaanxi and Gansu. After these four civil strife, the population of the late Qing Dynasty increased from 3200 million plummeted to 200 million in the Tongzhi period.
The Guangdong Tuke armed fighting originated from the armed conflict between the Cantonese people and the Hakka people fighting for land resources. The Taiping Army was determined to overthrow the late Qing Dynasty and restore the Chinese Dynasty, but as time went by, Hong Xiuquan's greed for comfort led to frequent infighting and even cannibalism, and finally lost its original ambition. The Western Yunnan Rebellion was a rebellion in which Du Wenxiu attempted to occupy Yunnan first, and then launched an attack on Guizhou and Sichuan, and finally established a Muslim state. The Shaanxi-Gansu Hui Rebellion was launched by Ren Wu and Hemingtang, who tried to divide the two provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu and their vast lands, slaughter the people in the northwest, and establish a Muslim state.
Of these four civil strife, the Taiping Rebellion was the only one that has not been forgotten by history. The other three civil unrests have been forgotten.
1. Guangdong Tuke Arms Fight.
The origins of the Tuke fighting in Guangdong can be traced back to 1854, when the Hakka and Cantonese people clashed over land resources. The Hakka people originated from Jiangxi and Fujian, while the Cantonese people came from the Central Plains and other southern regions, and the two merged in Guangdong and gradually formed two major communities. However, due to the continuous increase in the population of Guangdong, land resources are becoming increasingly strained. This situation prompted a fierce conflict between the Hakka and Cantonese people. As a result, the two sides fought each other with weapons, using farm tools and homemade ** to confront each other, triggering a thirteen-year armed fight between Turks and Guest.
During the Tuke fight, the local ** rarely intervened, and even sometimes deliberately sided with one side, especially the Cantonese people. They hope to achieve a certain goal by allowing the struggle to exacerbate the contradictions between the Turks and the Turks. It was not until the situation deteriorated to the point that it was beyond control that the local ** reported the situation to the late Qing court.
The late Qing court was shocked when it learned of the Tuke weapon fight, and ordered the local ** to quell the infighting by force. Eventually, the local government used the army to quell the thirteen-year-long fight. Solutions include forcing Hakka people to return to their places of origin, or to migrate to other regions, such as Guangxi or Southeast Asia.
The fighting lasted for thirteen years, causing a lot of ** and property damage. Although the specific number of people cannot be accurately counted, it is estimated that nearly one million people have suffered varying degrees of harm as a result, which has had a serious impact on Guangdong's economy.
2. The three massacres of the city during the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion by Zeng Guofan.
The internal strife of the Taiping Rebellion caused it to lose its original goal, and Zeng Guofan was ordered to go south to suppress the Taiping army. However, after Zeng Guofan led his army south, he did not act in accordance with the claimed Confucian morality, but carried out several massacres of the city.
After the capture of Jiujiang City, Zeng Guofan connived at the Qing army to massacre the people in the city, causing the death of tens of thousands of innocent people. A similar situation also occurred during the capture of Anqing City and Nanjing City, where innocent people were subjected to a large-scale attack by the Qing army.
Zeng Guofan's army caused heavy losses in personnel and property in the three massacres of the city, and innocent people suffered immensely. These events have not only claimed the lives of a large number of people, but have also led to displacement.
The Western Yunnan Rebellion was a rebellion that lasted for 18 years, starting in the 6th year of Xianfeng (1856) and ending in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873).
The leader of the rebels, Du Wenxiu, advocated the "alliance of Hui, Han, and Yi", forcing people of all ethnic groups to join the rebels, and those who did not want to obey were brutally slaughtered. His power gradually expanded to western Yunnan and spread eastward.
The rebellion spread to southern and eastern Yunnan, and leaders such as Ma Rulong, Ma Dexin, and Xu Yuanji captured many cities. Ma Rulong and others once united with the rebels in western Yunnan, and later rebelled to the Qing army, and then launched a rebellion again.
Cen Yuying of the Qing army and later Yang Yuke led the army to counterattack and regained the areas occupied by the rebels. Du Wenxiu tried to seek foreign help, but was refused, and eventually committed suicide in despair.
The remnants of the rebels in the Western Yunnan Rebellion were completely wiped out, avenging the victims.
The Shaanxi-Gansu Rebellion began in the first year of Tongzhi, with rebel leaders including Ren Wu, He Mingtang, Bai Yanhu and others intending to establish a Muslim state in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, resulting in the massacre of a large number of innocent people. The crimes of these rebels are recorded in the county annals:
According to the Lintong County Chronicle, more than 300,000 people were killed in seven years, and no one was spared in the villages north and south of the Wei River.
According to the Fuping County Chronicle, the population decreased from 250,000 in 1855 to 120,000 in 1876.
According to the Sanyuan County Chronicle, the population was about 160,000 before the rebellion, and only about 40,000 remained after the pacification.
According to the Gaoling County Chronicle, the population was nearly 70,000 before the rebellion, and only half remained after the pacification.
The Weiyuan County Chronicles describes the slaughter of a large number of living beings, and none of the officials and civilians in the city were spared.
Pingliang County Chronicles recorded hundreds of thousands of deaths of officials and civilians.
According to the Huating County Chronicle, the county was left empty after the unrest, and only a few refugees returned after the event.
The Qing troops such as Duolonga and Zuo Zongtang successively quelled the rebellion, but Duolonga was wounded and martyred due to the rebels' sneak attack. Zuo Zongtang led the Chu army and others to the west, first clearing the remnants of the rebels in Shaanxi, and then recovering the Gansu region and eliminating the rebels in various places, including Bai Yanhu and others. Zuo Zongtang's feat allowed Shaanxi and Gansu provinces to be stabilized.
After Zuo Zongtang recovered the vast territory north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, Bai Yanhu led the remnants of the rebels to flee to Tsarist Russia. Cixi repeatedly urged Tsarist Russia to hand over Bai Yanhu, but was firmly refused. Bai Yanhu and his rebel descendants are now Dungan people in eastern Central Asia, scattered in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.