Shi Dakai Shi Dakai ( March 1831 – 25 June 1863 ) ( ) , born in Guigang , Guangxi , also known as Wing King ( 翼王五千岁 Lord of Five Thousand Years ) or phonetically translated as E - Wang , was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet . Shi was born into a moderately wealthy peasant family , of half - Hakka and half - Zhuang parentage . He headed the family at a young age after being orphaned , and was known in the local community for his hospitality , martial skills and justice in handling local affairs . Disillusioned with the corrupt Qing dynasty , he did not participate in the imperial examinations despite being accomplished in his studies . In 1849 , at the age of 16 , Shi was sought out by Feng Yunshan and Hong Xiuquan , and joined them in the leadership of the rebellion . Quickly distinguished by his brilliant tactics , skilled training of the troops and fair administration of the public funds : " The Holy Treasury " , Shi was made commander of his own army at the age of nineteen . In January 1851 , Hong Xiuquan and the five key leaders of the rebellion ( among who Shi was the youngest ) formally established the Kingdom of Heavenly Peace in Jintian , with about twenty thousand followers . In May , the Taiping army moved into Guangxi , followed by the Qing army , who launched a fierce attack . At Renyi ' s watergate , Shi used stealth strategy to win a decisive victory with three hundred men against the enemies ' five thousand . In August , after the Taiping conquered the city Yongan , Shi won wide admiration from the populace for his gentle rule and fair administration , people attracted by his reputation coming to join the rebellion in flocks . In October , Hong Xiuquan made the twenty - years old Shi E - Wang , " Lord of the Holy Lighting " . Shi later spearheaded the series of battles that won the city Nanjing for the Taiping , where they established their capital , to be known as Tianjing , or Heavenly Capital ( 天京 ) . Now legendary and avowed among the Qing army , Shi was also the only Taiping commander who fought through those battles without a single defeat . Both friend and foe noted his kindness in treating civilians , and folk songs that commemorated his victories became popular in the lands the Taiping moved through . While he did notable work fortifying the capital Tianjing , Shi ' s most famous political accomplishment was his reform of Anqing ( 安庆易制 ) . In 1854 , Shi arrived in Anqing and undertook military and civil affairs . He created compassionate decrees that encouraged agriculture , lightened taxes and stimulated commerce , and insinuated local talent to create an efficient and honest bureaucracy . He restored the badly neglected public security by encouraging civilians to report the misbehaviours of soldiers and handing out fair punishments . In a few months of Shi ' s administration Anqing became one of the most loyal and well - managed cities of Taiping , as well as one of the best fortified . Shi ' s battle of Hukou , in 1855 , was the most dramatic of Taiping ' s military victories . The Xiang marines ( 湘军水师 ) , led by Zeng Guofan , was considered the elite of Qing forces . Shi arrived on the battlefield in December , receiving command after Taiping had already suffered serious losses . Shi planned the battle meticulously , laying out airtight defenses and using small boats to continuously harass the enemy camps , then trapping the Qing ' s ships with secretly built dams and chopping the Xiang forces in half . Shi led a series of swift offenses securing decisive victories for Taiping , driving the Qing commander Zeng Guofan to attempt suicide ， and later calling Shi " the most cunning and strong amongst the Taiping . " Shi ' s personal life is the most austere of all Taiping leaders . His dwelling was the most modest and he was the only one who refused to tear down civilian homes in its construction . While the Taiping Kingdom ' s custom required leaders to have multiple wives , Shi was content with his wife Huang and repeatedly declined the beauties offered to him . The only additional wives he took were those commanded upon him by his superiors . These women and the female officers had the freedom of riding in and out of his dwelling , a liberty unheard of in the house of other Kings . In his youth , Shi ' s original wife Xiong left him when he decided to join the rebellion , carrying their unborn son with her . The child was born into Xiong ' s second marriage and later claimed back by Shi ' s aunt . He was Shi ' s only surviving issue . In 1856 , civil war broke out between the East King Yang Xiuqing and the North King Wei Changhui murdering tens of thousands , known as the Tianjing Incident . Hearing of the massacre , Shi returned to Tianjing attempting to mediate , but instead was forced to flee the city , and his entire family were murdered by Wei Changhui . Shi escaped to Anqing and summoned forces against the half - insane Wei Changhui , but upon learning that Qing armies threatened Huannan , he decided to put the Kingdom first and moved the forces to help the defense . This move won him further acclaim . In November , Hong Xiuquan ordered Wei Changhui ' s execution and requested that Shi return to Tianjing and take over the administration , whereupon he obeyed . He restored order to the city and rebuilt Taiping ' s broken morale , and the public support for Shi caused Hong Xiuquan to harbor deeper suspicion against him . Hong then handed power to his two brothers and gradually undermined Shi ' s administration , to the point where Shi realized that he must either leave or risk the eruption of another civil war While Shi left Tianjing , he was not separated from Taiping ' s command , for he still maintained communication with Hong Xiuquan and sent his forces to assist various Taiping commanders on other battle fronts . He did not completely give up hopes to return until Hong Xiuquan replaced his authority of command , upon which he began the expedition away from Tianjing . Over the course of the expedition , soldiers from various sources came to join Shi . He fought for six years throughout central China against the much larger armies of the Qing Dynasty . To this day , many legends about him are still told affectionately in the provinces that his army travelled through . As they were further and further from Tianjing , some of Shi ' s officers tried to persuade him to shed the name of Taiping and establish his own rule , which he repeatedly refused . Eventually some of the troops split from him and headed back toward Tianjing . During the course of the expedition , Shi ' s troops weaved in and out of the geographically harsh Sichuan province . In December 1862 , Shi ' s army crossed the Jinsha River ( River of the Golden Sand ) under heavy fire from the Qing , using a diversion to mislead the enemy . They set up plans to cross over the banks of the Dadu in order to reach their destination Chengdu . One of Shi ' s officers led a branch of the army across the river without difficulty , but by the time Shi and his main army arrived , a furious flood suddenly made the river impossible to cross . Several attempts were made with heavy losses , and the army was running out of rations . The Qing army followed a few days behind . On 13 June , Shi Dakai negotiated with the Qing to spare his men ' s lives if he turned himself in . He entered Qing camps with three followers , dressed in formal Taiping uniform , and spoke to the Qing fearlessly . He was questioned and imprisoned , and on the 25th he was executed by slow slicing in the Anshun Court . His enemies recorded that through the entire torturous execution Shi did not flinch , and never once cried out in pain . He was 32 years old . After his death , 4 , 000 men among Shi ' s troops were released , and the remaining 2 , 000 were executed . Many of Shi ' s former troops continued to battle the Qing , most notably the forces led by Lai Yuxin and Li Fuyou . While Shi Dakai was an accomplished poet , only three of his authentic works survive , along with two more probables . After his death , many romantic poems of the heroism style were written in his name , borrowing his prestige to encouraged more and more Chinese people to overthrow the Qing dynasty , something that eventually led to the creation of the Republic of China in 1912 .