Zeng Guofan

1811-11-26 - 1872-03-12 Contemporaries

Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (1811–1872), was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang Army to aid the Qing military in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion. Along with figures such as Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, he set the scene for the Tongzhi Restoration, an attempt to arrest the decline of the Qing dynasty.