She was said to be the younger sister of the leader of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan, and is the wife of Xiao Chaogui, the West King.
Hong Xuanjiao is believed to have been born around 1830 to a man named Huang Quanzheng (黃權政) in Luoludong (羅淥峒), Wuxuan county, Guangxi province.
Some time after her wedding to Xiao Chaogui, on 30 January 1850, Xiao claimed that Jesus Christ specified him as a brother-in-law equivalent to Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, and Yang Xiuqing.
[4] She last appeared in the historical record in 1856 in the lead-up to the Tianjing incident, where she, alarmed by the arrogance of her adoptive brother Yang Xiuqing, pleaded Hong Xiuquan to eliminate Xiao as a potential threat, but Hong Xiuquan, mindful of their former camaraderie, refused her pleas.
[2] Taiping Rebellion ended in failure when Nanjing was captured by Qing forces in 1864.