Xie Zuantai

Xie Zuantai, originally named Xie Zantai, courtesy names Sheng'an and Chong'an, literary name Kangru, was a Chinese-Australian revolutionary, businessman, journalist, comic pioneer and aviation pioneer. In 1887, Xie moved with his father to British Hong Kong and studied at Central School. In 1892, he co-founded the Furen Literary Society with Yang Quyun and others (considered the first anti-Qing revolutionary organization in modern China), and later joined the Revive China Society in 1895, ranking third in importance after Yang Quyun and Sun Yat-sen, handling the organization's foreign affairs. Xie was involved in planning the 1895 Guangzhou Uprising, and after its failure, remained in Hong Kong to handle the aftermath.

In 1898, Xie created the first modern Chinese political cartoon, titled "Current Affairs Map," which exposed the threat of China's partition by foreign powers and was widely circulated. From 1894, Xie began developing airships, designing the "China" airship in 1899 — the earliest airship blueprint in Chinese history.

In 1902, Xie, together with Li Jitang and Hong Quanfu, formed the "Great Ming Shuntian Nation," aiming to launch an uprising in Guangzhou, which ultimately failed due to betrayal. In 1903, Xie co-founded the *South China Morning Post* with Cunningham and served as editor. After the founding of the Republic of China, Xie was appointed honorary advisor to the Provisional Meritorious Service Bureau, but later left politics to focus on agriculture and mining.

In 1924, he published *The Secret History of the Republic of China Revolution* in the *South China Morning Post*, criticizing Sun Yat-sen.

Life

Xie Zuantai’s father, Xie Richang, was a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom general and elder of the Hongmen Society’s second branch, Hongshuntang. After the fall of the Taiping regime, he fled with remnants to Sydney, Australia, where Xie Zuantai was born. Influenced by his father’s anti-Qing views, he embraced revolutionary ideals from youth. In 1887, they moved to Hong Kong where he studied at Central School (precursor to Queen's College), and later worked nearly a decade as a clerk in the Hong Kong Public Works Department, also serving as comprador and manager in foreign firms.

In 1890, Xie co-founded the Furen Literary Society in Hong Kong, later joined the Revive China Society, and became a pioneer of Chinese political cartoons with his "Current Situation Map." He also co-founded the English-language *South China Morning Post*.

In 1894, he designed and successfully tested the "China" airship, making him China’s first airship designer. The airship featured propulsion at both ends, three timed-deck thrusters, and retractable steel wings for steering.

In 1917, he authored *Genesis Outline and Origins of the Chinese Yellow Race*, linking the origins of the Chinese people to the Biblical *Genesis*. He claimed Eden was in Xinjiang's Taklamakan Desert, Noah was China's goddess Nüwa, and Adam, Cain, Seth were the Three Sovereigns. He also asserted that yellow peoples of America, Asia, and Australia were Chinese descendants, and Chinese were the offspring of Shem (Noah’s eldest son, equivalent to the Flame Emperor), a people who worshiped the same God as Christianity.

In 1924, he published *The Secret History of the Republic of China Revolution* in English, which heavily criticized Sun Yat-sen. Despite his early revolutionary role, he was virtually erased from Nationalist Party history. Xie died on April 4, 1938, in his residence on Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Family Members

Xie’s younger brother, Xie Zuanye, fled to South Africa after the failed "Great Ming Shuntian Nation" uprising. His granddaughter, Xie Aiming, said that after witnessing the plight of Chinese laborers in South Africa, he wrote *Travel Notes in South Africa* advocating for their rights. The letter is preserved in the First Historical Archives of China.

Family Avoided Politics

After the Republic's founding, Xie Zuanye ran a shipping company. In 1933, after a Kuomintang banquet in Shanghai, he suddenly lost his voice and died of liver and gallbladder rupture three days later. His family believed it was connected to an English magazine reprinting *The Secret History* and his photo. Since then, the family has avoided all political affiliation.

Xie’s descendant, retired professor Xie Aiming of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, has worked to recover family history. She told *Asia Weekly*: “Xie and Yang were gentlemen who served the people. Yet some have tried to erase them from history. We must restore the truth: the anti-Qing revolution in Hong Kong was led by Hongkongers — not others.”

In 2003, introduced by Hung Siu-lin of Cheung Kong Holdings, she met Yang Xing’an, a descendant of Yang Quyun. They bonded instantly. In 2008, they visited Hsin An Temple to find Yang Xiuxia’s grave, but only found overgrown weeds after the site was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

Later that year, Xie Aiming visited Taipei’s Martyrs’ Shrine to pay respects to Yang Quyun. She said, “Though it’s just a wooden nameplate, it at least recognizes him as a founding martyr. Hong Kong and the mainland have nothing — that’s regrettable.”

See Also

• Hong Quanfu
• Li Jitang