Site of the Dacheng Kingdom’s Royal Palace

　　The Site of the Dacheng Kingdom’s Royal Palace is located within the campus of Guiping Town Central School in Guiping City, now the urban area of Guiping. It is the site of the government institution of the peasant regime established by the Dacheng Army, led by Chen Kai and Chen Wenmao, after the Jintian Uprising marched northward during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty.

　　After the Jintian Uprising in 1851, people across the region responded en masse. In June 1854, Chen Kai, a boatman from Heshan County, Guangdong, led an armed uprising in Foshan, joining forces with over fifty boats including those of Cantonese opera artist Li Wenmao and more than 50 others. They sailed up the West River, joined by Liang Peiyou, Wu Bai, and Wu County, occupied the estuary of the Dahong River, and laid siege to Xunzhou Prefecture (Guiping County). On August 16, 1855, they captured Xunzhou, taking prisoner Liu Tishu, the prefect of Xunzhou, and Li Qingfu, the magistrate of Guiping, among others. The Dacheng Kingdom was established in Xunzhou, with the reign title Hongde. The former Xunzhou Prefecture government office was made the Dacheng Kingdom’s Royal Palace (Guiping Town Central School), and Xunzhou was renamed Xiujing, while Guiping County became Yongxiu County. Chen Kai initially declared himself the King of Zhennan, then later changed his title to the King of Pingxun, also known as the King of Hongde. Liang Peiyou was titled the King of Pingdong, Ou Run the King of Pingxi, Liang Dachang the King of Dingbei, and Yao Xinchang the Grand Marshal of the Northern Route. New fiscal and economic measures were implemented, including taxation and coin minting—issuing “Hongde Tongbao” and “Pingjing Shengbao” coins.

　　The original Xiujiang Royal Palace of the Dacheng Kingdom had a main hall, with a 100-meter-long, 2-meter-wide pathway facing east. The pathway featured stepped platforms for civil and military officials to pay homage, along with stone staircases and two large stone lions placed on either side of the palace gate. In addition to fortifying the city walls, artillery batteries were built along the banks of the Qian and Yu rivers, equipped with several large iron cannons, and hundreds of warships were stationed on the river. The couplet on the stone pillars of the old City God Temple was also altered to read: “Owing to the temple overseeing the changes of Yin and Yang, its resplendent spirit governs all; the city restored above the moat discerns good and evil, clearly revealing karmic retribution.” These iron cannons and couplets and other cultural relics were preserved until they were successively destroyed in 1958 during the Great Leap Forward’s steel-smelting campaign and in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution.

　　Chen Kai (1822~1861)　　Chen Kai (1822–1861) was a native of Heshan County, Guangdong. As a child, his family was poor, and he made a living by cutting grass for fish farming and doing odd jobs with his father. Later, after his parents died early, he went to Foshan in his teens to work as a shop assistant at Tongmao Grocery Store, opened by his fellow townsman Feng Riri on Taipingfang. Initially valued by the shop owner, he was eventually dismissed because he frequently associated with local secret societies, and the owner feared being implicated. Thereafter, Chen Kai made a living as a carpenter, floating timber rafts, and working as a boatman. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a rural secret society in the south called the Tiandihui, active in the southeastern provinces, known as the “Hongmen.” Chen Kai, who “had a long-standing fondness for associating with chivalrous figures,” became one of the leading figures of the Tiandihui in the Guangzhou area.... Details+

　　Li Wenmao (?～1858)　　Li Wenmao (?–1858) was a native of Heshan County, Guangdong, and one of the main leaders of the Tiandihui uprising in Guangdong during the Taiping Rebellion. Originally a renowned Cantonese opera performer, he enjoyed fame on stages in Guangzhou and Foshan. The Tiandihui, also known as the Sanhehui, was a large-scale secret society during the Qing Dynasty. During the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng eras, Guangdong was the central hub of its activities. It advocated for “overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming.” In July of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), Li Wenmao rose in rebellion in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou, joining forces with Gan Xian, who had rebelled in Yahu. They established a main camp at Fuling Market (now east of Xinximarket in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou) and set up bases in Shijing and Jiangcun, gathering a large number of followers... Details+

　　Liang Peiyou (?～1875)　　Liang Peiyou (?–1875) was a native of Shangsheng Toutouqiao, Gula Town, Heshan County, Guangdong Province. He joined the Tiandihui early on and became the leader of the Tiandihui forces on the Xijiang River. In March 1855, he joined forces with Chen Kai and Li Wenmao’s Hong Army in Zhaoqing. In mid-May, under attack by Qing forces, the three leaders, commanding over 40,000 troops, abandoned the city and retreated westward by boat with more than a thousand vessels, repelling pursuing Qing troops along the way. Entering Guangxi, they attacked Wuzhou, captured Tengxian, passed through Pingnan, and arrived in Xunzhou. Anti-Qing militias in the vicinity rallied to their cause, greatly strengthening their forces. They established the Dacheng Kingdom, with Liang titled the King of Pingdong. In March 1875, while traveling from Daniao Market in Pingnan to Liaodong Fort to meet allied forces, he was ambushed by local militias and was fatally wounded by a cannon shell.... Details+

　　Yao Xinchang (1827~1866)　　Yao Xinchang (1827–1866), originally named Yao Dayu, was from Luoxiu Han Tang Village (now Xintong Village). He lost both parents at the age of eight and was raised by his paternal aunt. At age 12, he worked as a child laborer for a landlord. At that time, Guangxi suffered continuous natural disasters, corrupt governance, and widespread suffering. The Taiping Rebellion and Tiandihui launched uprisings one after another. In the spring of 1854 (the fourth year of Xianfeng), Yao Xinchang, together with his kinsmen Yao Daguang (nicknamed Yao Lanshi) and Yao Daying (Yao Shiliu), initiated the Tiandihui in Zhonghe and Zhongduan, forming a group of over a hundred members. Based in Dongxin Village, they led attacks on landlords’ fortified villages, opened grain storehouses to distribute food, and stationed troops in nearby market towns to openly collect... Details+