. . "The Xiang Army (Chinese: \u6E58\u8ECD; pinyin: Xi\u0101ng J\u016Bn) was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan (\u66FE\u570B\u85E9) from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian (\u5718\u7DF4) to contain the Taiping rebellion in China (1850 to 1864). The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed to the centralized Manchu-led Qing Dynasty."@en .