Li Tzu-cheng
Li Tzu-cheng
(lē dzo͞o-chŭng), 1605–45, Chinese rebel leader who contributed to the fall of the MingMing, dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644. The first Ming emperor, Chu Yüan-chang (ruled 1368–98), a former Buddhist monk, joined a rebellion in progress, gained control of it, overthrew the Mongol Yüan dynasty, and unified all of China proper.
..... Click the link for more information. dynasty. With the help of scholars he organized a government in S Shanxi prov., proclaimed a new dynasty, and sought popular support by giving famine relief and spreading songs and stories lauding his heroic qualities. By 1643 he held much of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi provs., and in 1644 he captured Beijing, finding the last Ming emperor dead by suicide. Advancing to Shanhaiguan, a strategic pass on the Great WallGreat Wall of China,
series of fortifications, c.3,890 mi (6,260 km) long (not including trenches and natural defensive barriers), winding across N China from Gansu prov. to Liaoning prov.
..... Click the link for more information. , Li confronted the Ming general Wu San-kuei. Rather than surrender to a Chinese rebel leader, Wu preferred to collaborate with the Manchus. Li was driven from Beijing, and within a year he was killed and his forces were crushed. The new Manchu Ch'ingCh'ing
or Manchu
, the last of the Imperial dynasties of China. Background
The Ch'ing dynasty was established by the Manchus, who invaded China and captured Beijing in 1644, and lasted until 1911.
..... Click the link for more information. dynasty rewarded Wu with an independent satrapy in Yunnan and Guizhou provs.
Li Tzu-Ch’eng
Born 1606; died 1645. A leader of the Peasant War of 1628–45 in China. The son of a peasant.
Li Tzu-ch’eng served as a postal courier. Joining the insurgents at the beginning of the war, in 1636 he became head of the peasant army that became the main force of the antifeudal movement in the north of the country. In 1644, in the city of Sian, he was proclaimed emperor. On Apr. 25, 1644, his troops occupied the imperial capital, Peking. Feudal lords in alliance with enemies from outside, the Manchus, forced the rebels out of North China. Li Tzu-ch’eng perished in the south of Hupeh Province.