The Changzhou Zhao Family During The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853-1860)

The literate families in Jiangnan area went through a catastrophe during the Taiping rebellion,Facing the different culture from the Taiping rebellion,most families resisted resolutely and paid a heavy price.As the famous cultural family in the late Qing Dynasty,the experience of Zhao family can be seen as a typical case.Zhao Family moved to Xigai(a Village of Changzhou area in Jiangsu province)in Yuan Dynasty.Later,it mainly divided into two branches,the main branch still lived in Xigai Village and the embranchment branch moved to the Guanzhuang village in the early Ming Dynasty.Many talented persons comed out in succession in Zhao family during the Ming and Qing Dynasty,such as Zhao Wan(the teacher of Emperor Yingzong of Ming),Zhao Yu(Supervising Censor),Zhao Jiding(he has been called "Jiangnan Old Teacher" honourably)and many other cultural celebrities,these celibrities made Zhao family become a famous local cultural family.And Zhao Family expanded its influence by the good performance in the imperial examinations and connections through marriage during this period,the members of the family also actively organized many local activities,such as established the societies to educate people to cherish Chinese characters,hold family birthday parties,and participated dragon boat races.With the continuous march of Taiping rebellion,Zhao Family consciously take up the responsibility to defend.Its members such as Zhao Qi,Zhao Zengxiang,Zhao Zhenzuo,Zhao Liewen and some other members of the family played an important role in Tuanlian(a local militia in Changzhou)which has fought against Taiping rebellion from 1853 to 1860.On the one hand they imposed materials with the Qing army to support the warfront,on the other hand,they actively maintained the local security.In 1860,Zhao Qi and Zhao Zhenzuo fought to death in the battle to revolt the Taiping army when the latter trying to conquer the Suzhou-Changzhou area.Zhao Liewen and Zhao Zengxiang had no choice but to escape from Changzhou,but they were keeping resisting the Taiping rebellion.Zhao Liewen's diaries recorded the refugees experience and some of them has been kept fortunately.After the war,the family returned to Changzhou,the members of the family actively took part in rebuilding their family,on the one hand,someone such as Zhao Shouren,Zhao Chenbing and Xu Xiaoxian set up to rebuild the Yue Garden,which carry the memory of the whole family,on the other hand,some members were trying to reconstruct the Family Tree to regain the family memory.With the completion of the restoration of Family Tree in 1886,Zhao family's post-war reconstruction is basically over.Throughout the period of Taiping rebellion,we can find out that Zhao Family abominated the God-worshipping Taiping rebels from beginning to end.Its post-war recovery and development shows that familial organizations were still important social groups in this period and they played a positive role in post-war stability.In a word,Zhao family in Changzhou springed from Changzhou and its state of a culture family was breeded by changzhou area even the whole area of Jiangnan,its family members also firmly defend the hometown to maintain its cultural family status.