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- Leader of the Taiping Rebellion Feng Yunshan, 1815
- North King of the Taiping Rebellion Wei Changhui, 1823
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Feng Yunshan (simplified Chinese: 冯云山; traditional Chinese: 馮雲山; 1815 – June 10, 1852) was an important leader during the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing government 1850 – 1864. Feng was a companion of Hong Xiuquan from the very earliest days of the rebellion. Feng was the founder of the "God Worshipers" during the 1840s. This was the very first form the Taiping Rebellion took. He was one of the first Taipings to be baptized and Hong publicly announced how Feng was a deep friend of his.
Feng assembled thousands of believers in Guangxi during the time Hong spent in Canton in 1847, founding the base of the Taiping Rebellion. Feng was later announced as the "South King" of the Taiping Rebellion.
On May 24, 1852 as the Taiping marched by Quanzhou with
no intention of invading, a Qing gunner fatally wounded
Feng as he sat in his sedan chair. Rallied by the news,
the Taiping surrounded Quanzhou and in the space of
2 days breached the walls and killed every citizen
who had not fled. Feng finally succumbed to his wounds in
June that year.
Wei Changhui (simplified Chinese: 韦昌辉; traditional Chinese: 韋昌輝) was the North King of the Taiping Rebellion.
During the early days of the movement during the 1840s, Wei was converted to Christianity by Feng Yunshan and Hong Xiuquan. Wei's family clan was in control of a market town named Jiantin in Guangxi which became a safe haven for the "God Worshippers" (the name given to the early Taipings).
As thanks for his help during the Thistle Mountain days of the movement, Wei became a leader of the Taipings and subsequently became the North King of the Rebellion. In 1856 Wei organised the killing of the East King Yang Xiuqing and his followers in Nanking (Tianjing's struggle Incident).
Wei was killed by Hong Xiuquan's elite bodyguard as repentance for Shi Dakai who was angered at the extent of the killings concerning Yang Xiuqing.