1863年12月,发生于太平天国末期的苏州杀降事件,标志着太平天国在苏南根据地的覆灭,为清廷剿灭太平天国提供了有利的条件。但该事件的出现导致洋枪队统领戈登与李鸿章之间矛盾加剧,甚至引发西方列强的严厉谴责。此事件在李鸿章统兵经历中占有重要位置,厘清事情原委对于太平天国史的研究,对于李鸿章的评价都有较大价值。

Near the end of the Taiping Rebellion, in December, 1863, Li HongZhang killed Taiping captives in Suzhou, marking the destruction of the Taiping's Sunan base and facilitating the Qing government's destruction of the movement. But this event also intensified the conflicts between the foreign commander, Charles Gordon and Li, and even triggered a severe condemnation by the foreign powers. Clarifying the facts surrounding this event will make an invaluable contribution to the historical evaluation of Li Hongzhang and research into the Taiping Rebellion. There has been a great deal of research on this topic, but the author has studied the relevant historical data and has new thoughts and his reconstruction of this incident identifies the real reason for the killing．