The Sack of Yuanmingyuan: A National Humiliation

In October 1860, British and French expeditionary forces descended upon Beijing’s Haidian district, guided by local bandits and ruffians from Tianjin and the capital region. Their target was the magnificent Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace), the most opulent imperial garden of the Qing Empire. The destruction wrought by the Anglo-French troops became one of the most painful episodes in China’s century of national humiliations.

The looting and burning of Yuanmingyuan shocked even some Western observers. A British engineering captain wrote in his diary: “You can hardly imagine the beauty and magnificence of the palaces we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to destroy them.” Ironically, this officer – Charles George Gordon – expressed regret not out of moral outrage, but because his technical support unit arrived too late to share in the plunder. This same Gordon would later develop a complex relationship with China that would span decades.

From London to Beijing: Gordon’s Early Career

Born into a military family in London, Gordon received his education at the Royal Military Academy. Known for his fiery temper – he reportedly fought with both instructors and classmates – Gordon was ultimately steered away from artillery toward the Royal Engineers. For six years, he worked on construction projects in Wales, siege trenches outside Sevastopol, and surveying outposts in Turkey. Had the Second Opium War not intervened, Gordon might have spent his career as a professor at the Royal School of Military Engineering.

When Gordon finally arrived at the Dagu Forts as a volunteer, the Anglo-French forces had already secured their beachhead. He missed the pivotal Battle of Baliqiao and his only notable action was participating in the burning of Yuanmingyuan. With the signing of the Convention of Peking, Western powers gained concessions in Tianjin, where Gordon’s engineering skills found practical application in surveying and road construction. His work impressed British commander Charles Staveley, who would later recommend Gordon for a unique opportunity in China’s civil war.

Commanding the Ever Victorious Army

In 1862, when Li Hongzhang sought British officers to lead the “Ever Victorious Army” against the Taiping rebels, Staveley immediately suggested Gordon. The timing proved fortuitous – Li’s Huai Army found itself bogged down near Changshu, facing the formidable defensive network around Suzhou that Taiping commander Li Xiucheng had constructed.

Gordon’s professional military approach brought immediate results. During the 70-day Siege of Changshu, his strategic patience and use of heavy artillery eventually broke the Taiping defenses. Though Li Hongzhang initially criticized Gordon’s cautious approach, the British officer’s methods proved effective. After the victory, even Li had to acknowledge Gordon’s contributions, though the British officer likely cared little for the honorary Chinese military title he received.

The Turning Point at Suzhou

Gordon’s most controversial chapter in China came during the Suzhou campaign in late 1863. After months of fighting, eight Taiping commanders controlling three-quarters of the city’s forces surrendered after assassinating their leader Tan Shaoguang. What followed became infamous as the “Suzhou Massacre” – Li Hongzhang had the surrendered leaders executed and their troops slaughtered.

Gordon reacted with outrage, even attempting to arrest Li Hongzhang. The British government later characterized Gordon’s actions as impulsive moral indignation, but contemporary observers noted his apparent interest in incorporating the surrendered Taiping troops into his own force. Li, wary of Gordon’s growing power, had preemptively eliminated this threat.

The incident strained but didn’t sever their relationship. Within months, financial realities forced Gordon back into cooperation – the Ever Victorious Army depended entirely on Li’s funding. Their uneasy alliance continued through subsequent campaigns, though Gordon’s forces suffered heavy casualties at Jintan and Changzhou.

Legacy and Historical Significance

Gordon’s China service represents a complex intersection of Western imperialism, China’s internal conflicts, and the globalization of warfare in the 19th century. His military professionalism brought temporary success to Qing forces, while his moral qualms about the Suzhou Massacre – however self-interested – revealed the contradictions of foreign intervention.

The Ever Victorious Army demonstrated the effectiveness of Western military technology and organization, foreshadowing later Chinese military reforms. Yet Gordon’s ultimate failure to maintain control over his forces or prevent atrocities underscored the limitations of foreign advisors in China’s turbulent domestic affairs.

Historically, Gordon’s actions in China remain debated – was he a capable military advisor, a plundering opportunist, or a conflicted idealist? Perhaps all three. His subsequent fame as “Chinese Gordon” and eventual death at Khartoum cemented his legend, but his true legacy in China remains the ambiguous role Westerners played during the country’s century of humiliation and transformation.