Hong Rengan (20 February 1822 – 23 November 1864) was an important leader of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a distant cousin of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Hong Xiuquan. His position as the Gan Wang ("the Shield King") resembled the role of a prime minister. He is a noted figure in history because of the sweeping reforms attempted under his rule, and because of his popularity in the West. Hong worked as a village teacher in Guanlubu Village, Hua County, Guangdong. Although educated, he was unable to pass the imperial examinations. He was among the first of Hong Xiuquan's converts. In 1847, he accompanied Hong Xiuquan on his trip to Guangzhou and briefly studied the Bible there with Hong Xiuquan and Issachar Jacox Roberts.