Years of service 1830–1856 Allegiance Qing dynasty | Name Xiang Rong Rank Field Marshal,1854 Unit Army group | |
Commands held Chief commander of the Jiangnan Battalion Battles/wars First rout the Army Group Jiangnan,18531856 Awards created the royal BATURU(Manchu：the Brave) in 1853
created Imperial yellow jacket(黃馬褂) in 1857
buried in the Nanjing Pantheon. Died August 9, 1856, Danyang, Jiangsu, China Similar People Yang Xiuqing, Shi Dakai, Li Xiucheng, Nurhaci | ||
Battles and wars Battle of Jiangnan | ||
Xiang Rong (Chinese: 向榮; 1801 – 9 August 1856) born in Wuxi County, Chongqing, was a general promoted from the rank of a foot soldier during the later years of the Qing dynasty (1611–1912). He was involved in early military operations against the Taiping Rebellion in Henan from 1850 onwards. From then he was a Senior Colonel，after one year the military promoted him be the tidu (提督) of Guangxi, even though he failed, he made the Taiping believers flee Guangxi.
Continuing after Guangxi, Xiang Rong never gave up and tracked the Taiping rebels across three province to Jiangnan in southern China. His Jiangnan Battalion (part of the Green Standard Army) was constantly defeated by the Taiping rebel army outside Nanking. The Taiping rebel army broke through his various encirclements and occupied Wuhan and Nanking, giving rise to a huge civil war.
Wounded
He and his vice commander Zhang Guoliang commanded a 90,000 man force together from April 1853.
In 1856, Xiang Rong's army fought against Qin Rigang for one month and was defeated by Qin Rigang's militia, Xiang Rong was wounded and died after several days in Danyang City.