A single lingzhi mushroom sparked a bloody crime: the “backbone of the Qing Dynasty” repaid kindness with enmity, revisiting an embarrassing past.

Release date:

2023-06-18

Since ancient times, Hunan has been home to many men of loyalty and righteousness; Zuo Zongtang, a prominent statesman of the late Qing dynasty and a key figure in quelling the rebellion in Xinjiang, is one of their most celebrated exemplars. It was said that “the nation cannot do without Hunan for a single day, nor can Hunan do without Zuo Zongtang.” Meanwhile, Guo Songtao, a pioneer of Chinese diplomacy and China’s first envoy to a foreign country, was also a fellow native of Hunan. As the saying goes, “one mountain cannot harbor two tigers,” and these two pillars of the nation reportedly fell out over a single lingzhi mushroom.
It is said that in the third year of the Tongzhi era, a lingzhi mushroom sprouted at the Xiangyin Confucian Temple. Guo Kun’ao wrote to his elder brother, Guo Songtao, who was then the Governor-General of Guangdong: “The Confucian Temple has produced a lingzhi—surely this is an auspicious sign for our family.” This may have been a jest, but Zuo Zongtang, also a native of Xiangyin, was deeply displeased upon hearing it. Having just been ennobled as a first‑rank count for suppressing the Taiping rebels in Zhejiang, he scoffed: what was a mere governor-general compared to such a rare treasure? If there was an omen, surely it must be “because of my own peerage—what business has it with the Guo clan?” Consequently, he penned a letter to Guo Songtao, disputing whether the lingzhi had arisen on account of him or not. The two thus fell out and became bitter enemies, their rift growing over such a trivial matter into a profound estrangement.
Moreover, the two had long enjoyed a close relationship. As fellow provincials, they had known one another for years. In 1848, when a flood struck Xiangyin, they joined forces to aid the victims, accomplishing many good deeds together. On the eve of the Taiping Rebellion, in order to escape the massacres perpetrated by the Taiping army, they even chose a secluded retreat and lived side by side. Later, Zuo Zongtang’s elder brother, Zuo Zongzhi, and Guo Songtao became in-laws, making Guo Songtao Zuo Zongtang’s son-in-law. Yet Guo was far more than that—he was also Zuo Zongtang’s great benefactor, having once offered counsel that saved his life. This story begins with the case in which the Hunan provincial governor impeached Fan Xie, the commander‑in‑chief of Yongzhou.

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