Tomb of Chen Yucheng

Tomb of Chen Yucheng

The Tomb of Chen Yucheng is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

Chen Yucheng, originally named Peicheng, was born in 1837 into a poor farming family in Xiwang Village, Teng County, Guangxi. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his uncle Chen Chengrong. At the age of 14, he joined the Jintian Uprising with his uncle and was enlisted as a child soldier, demonstrating remarkable intelligence and bravery in battle. At 18, he led troops into combat, achieving repeated military successes, and was promoted to the positions of Thirty-First Commander of the Right Battalion and Winter Chancellor.

In early 1856, when the Taiping forces in Zhenjiang were besieged by Qing troops, Chen Yucheng led a small elite unit and sailed down from Tangtou straight to Zhenjiang in a small boat. Qing naval forces surrounded them from all sides on the southern bank, unleashing fierce artillery fire. Undaunted, Chen Yucheng fought his way through left and right, successfully breaching into the city. He then joined forces with the defending general Wu Ruxiao to sally out from within, launching a pincer attack with the Taiping troops outside the city. They broke through sixteen Qing camps in succession and lifted the siege of Zhenjiang. In the autumn of the same year, following the Tianjing Incident that caused disunity among the Taiping ranks, the 21-year-old Chen Yucheng was appointed as the Right Commander-in-Chief during this critical time, becoming an important leader of the Taiping Army.

In July 1858, Chen Yucheng captured the strategically important northern bank town of Luzhou, advanced toward Wuyi, and decisively defeated the Qing Dynasty’s Jiangbei Camp Imperial Commissioner Dexing’a. He restored the vital communication route between Tianjing and the northern bank, thwarting the enemy's attempt to seize Tianjing.

In 1859, recognizing Chen Yucheng’s repeated military achievements, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan conferred upon the 22-year-old general the title of Prince Ying. It was also officially proclaimed that “for unresolved matters outside the capital, consult Prince Ying.”

After being elevated to Prince Ying, Chen Yucheng won several more impressive victories. In October, he attacked the Qing forces at Pukou, breached over fifty enemy camps, killed the Qing Governor-General of Hubei Zhou Tianpei, and reclaimed Pukou. The following March, he crushed the Qing’s Jiangnan Camp outside Tianjing, subsequently capturing Changzhou and Suzhou. At this time, Zeng Guofan launched a full-scale offensive against Anqing. As the last defensive stronghold protecting Tianjing, defending Anqing became a crucial campaign for the Taiping Rebellion. In 1860, Prince Ying Chen Yucheng and Prince Zhong Li Xiucheng launched a two-pronged attack on Wuchang to relieve the siege on Anqing. However, British imperialism intervened — British Navy Admiral Hope arrived with a fleet at Hankou to block the Taiping Army’s advance on Wuchang, sabotaging their plan to save Anqing. Coupled with Hong Xiuquan’s insistence on following the erroneous strategy proposed by Hong Rengan, Anqing fell in July 1861. Chen Yucheng’s forces were nearly wiped out, forcing him to retreat to Luzhou.

In 1862, when enemy forces attacked Luzhou, Prince Ying found himself with insufficient troops and no supplies. With no other options, he sought refuge in Shouzhou to meet with Miao Peilin, who once owed him a favor. But Miao had secretly surrendered to the Qing court and, under the orders of Qing Imperial Commissioner Senggelinqin, was luring Chen Yucheng into a trap. Upon arriving in Shouzhou, Chen Yucheng was arrested. Despite his capture, he remained defiant and unyielding. Miao Peilin ordered his nephew to persuade Chen to surrender, but Chen cursed Miao as “a shameless scoundrel,” declaring that “a man of honor can be killed but not humiliated.” He was then sent to Senggelinqin’s camp. When Senggelinqin demanded that Chen kneel, Chen rebuked him angrily: “You are a useless, traitorous minister of the Qing. I am a founding hero of the Heavenly Kingdom. How dare you ask me to kneel to you? What arrogance!” Finding no success in his tactics, Senggelinqin then tried to persuade Chen with wine and food. Chen firmly refused, saying: “A true man dies standing — why waste words?” He was eventually sent to Beijing. Upon hearing the news, Lai Wenguang, the Prince of Zun of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, hurriedly led his troops into Henan, and the Nian Army also marched toward Luoyang in an attempt to intercept the prison transport. Alarmed, the Qing government hastily ordered Chen Yucheng’s execution at Yanjin. On April 22, 1862, at the Jade Guan Yu Temple in the Western Drill Ground of Yanjin, Chen Yucheng died a heroic death at the age of 26. The people of Yanjin, moved by his virtue, secretly buried his body, built a mound tomb, and offered incense in tribute for months.

To honor the martyr’s legacy, the People’s Government of Yanjin County erected a memorial stele at the site of Chen Yucheng’s execution on April 5, 1958. It is now a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

In 1990, Chen Yucheng’s great-grandson Chen Jiunian and great-granddaughter Chen Qingquan visited Yanjin County to pay respects. They offered wine, laid flowers, bowed, and took photos at the monument to honor their ancestor’s spirit. It turned out that Chen Yucheng married Jiang Guiniang in 1860. After their marriage, they lived in the Prince Ying Mansion and had a son named Tianbao a year later. Following the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Jiang Guiniang escaped in disguise from Tianjing and returned to her hometown. Their son Tianbao later had a son named Chen Shenchu. In 1990, their descendants came to offer sacrifices to Chen Yucheng.