Modern Classic Novel: the Romance of Hong Xiuquan

"The Romance of Hong Xiuquan" is an important work in the history of modern Chinese novels. It is a novel that passionately praises the revolutionary history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom after the historical work "History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom". The author summarizes and tailors the Taiping Revolution, a major historical event with numerous facts and figures, to create a series of vivid characters, and uses artistic brushstrokes to depict the rise, growth, and decline of the Taiping Revolutionary Movement. Although the novel mainly depicts the history and characters of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it also writes about the Qing court that was opposed to it. Except for the ridicule and denigration of the so-called "famous officials of the Zhongxing Dynasty" such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, the novel is generally relatively objective and not vilified. It can be regarded as a superior work among historical novels. Therefore, since the publication of the single volume in 1908, it has had an extremely profound and widespread influence. "The Romance of Hong Xiuquan" not only truly reflects the author's ideological tendency at that time, but also is deeply marked by the era in which the author lived. The strong patriotism and revolutionary heroism shown in the novel still have a strong educational effect today.