Dynasties of ChinaMing dynastyMing dynasty lineage
Chongzhen · Reign 1627—1644
He ascended the throne at the age of seventeen and eradicated Wei Zhongxian. He was diligent and thrifty but headstrong and suspicious. He suffered from internal and external troubles. Finally, when Li Zicheng broke the city, he hanged himself in Meishan.
Zhu Youjian is the fifth son of Guangzong. His biological mother, Liu Shunu, died young and wrote to the king in 1622. In 1627, Xizong died of illness and had no children. He was ordered to succeed him and ascended the throne in August at the age of seventeen. After he ascended the throne, he quietly cut off Wei Zhongxian's wings and forced Wei Zhongxian to hang himself on the way to Fengyang. He appointed Yuan Chonghuan to supervise Ji Liao, looking forward to "reviving Liao in five years".
However, the situation has become irreversible. Shaanxi experienced successive years of drought, which led to the rise of hungry people and unpaid border soldiers, which turned into a peasant uprising sweeping the north. Later Jin Dynasty continued to detour through Mongolia to break through the border and enter the fortress. In 1629, troops arrived in Beijing, and Yuan Chonghuan was executed for treason. In order to raise military pay, the imperial court imposed expropriation pay and training pay in addition to the Liao pay, and the people were in dire straits. In 1636, Hong Taiji changed the name of the country to the Qing Dynasty. In the Battle of Songjin from 1641 to 1642, the elite Ming army was wiped out, and Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
Emperor Chongzhen was diligent and frugal, but he was also headstrong, suspicious, and unprofessional in employing people. During his seventeen years in power, he replaced fifty academicians in his cabinet and killed or forced to death many governors and governors. On March 19, 1644, Li Zicheng invaded Beijing. He hanged himself in Meishan. The eunuch Wang Chengen also died. In his suicide note, he said, "Let the thieves divide, and no one will be harmed." He and Zhouhuanghou were first buried in the tomb of Concubine Tian. Qing Dynasty reburied them with imperial rites and called them Siling.
Emperor Chongzhen was diligent in political affairs and lived frugally. When he came to the throne, he decisively eradicated Wei Zhongxian and had great ambitions for rejuvenation. However, what he inherited was a mess of financial bankruptcy, frequent civil commotions, and strong enemies suppressing the situation. He was also headstrong, suspicious, and eager for success. He frequently changed cabinet ministers and governors, unjustly killed Yuan Chonghuan, and sent three additional pays to destroy the people's hearts. He sacrificed his life for the country, and was more righteous than the previous kings who had lost their country. However, as his suicide note said, "all the ministers misunderstood me" were not the reason for Ming's death. His own mistakes were also to blame.
PoliticsEradicate Wei Zhongxian
At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he held back and accepted impeachment when the time was right. In November, Wei Zhongxian was demoted to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum.
SocietyHungry people in northern Shaanxi revolt
Shaanxi suffered from severe droughts for consecutive years, and the land was bare for thousands of miles, but the government continued to press for levies. Fugu Wang Jiayin, Ansai Gao Yingxiang and other hungry people and frontier soldiers who were unpaid started to revolt one after another, which opened the prelude to the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong later joined it.
PeopleYuan Chonghuan Platform Calling
In July, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yuan Chonghuan, the new governor of Jiliao, on the platform. Yuan Chonghuan promised to "restore Liao in five years." Emperor Chongzhen gave Shang Fang a sword and entrusted him with full power.
PoliticsThe imperial verdict
In March, the eunuch party rebellion case was announced, and the officials who attached to Wei Zhongxian were convicted according to the severity of their crimes. More than 200 people were involved, and they were either executed, exiled, or dismissed. They also rehabilitated the Donglin ministers who were killed during the Tianqi period.
PoliticsAbolish the inn
In order to save money, the imperial court adopted Liu Maozhi's proposal to cut down the post stations and dismiss the postmen. This saved hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year, but caused a large number of postmen to lose their livelihood. It is reported that Li Zicheng was originally a postman in Yinchuan, but he lost his job and joined the rebel army.
Science & technologyOpen a calendar game
The Qintian Supervisor's calculations of solar eclipses were often inaccurate. Emperor Chongzhen ordered Xu Guangqi, the Minister of Rites, to open a calendar bureau and invited the Jesuits Deng Yuhan, Tang Ruowang, Luo Yagu, etc. to participate in the revision of the calendar using Western methods. In 1634, the Chongzhen Almanac was compiled.
Lasting legacyIn the early Qing Dynasty, the Constitutional Calendar was promulgated based on this, and the twenty-four solar terms were changed to the Dingqi method. This method is still used in today's lunar calendar.
MilitaryChanges in Ji Si
In October, Hong Taiji detoured to Mongolia, broke through the Great Wall pass and entered the fortress, and marched to Beijing. Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to return for reinforcements and fought outside Guangqumen, but was jealous of Emperor Chongzhen and imprisoned. In August 1630, Yuan Chonghuan was executed by Lingchi for collaborating with the enemy and other crimes.
MilitaryWuqiao Mutiny
Kong Youde's troops, who were ordered to aid the Liao Dynasty, mutinied in Wuqiao, Shandong and captured Dengzhou. Most of the Western artillery and gunners that Denglai governor Sun Yuanhua had worked hard to manage fell into the hands of the rebels. In 1633, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming brought artillery across the sea to surrender to Hou Jin, which greatly enhanced Hou Jin's artillery power.
PoliticsHong Taiji changed the country's name to Qing Dynasty
In April, Hong Taiji proclaimed himself emperor in Shengjing, changed the country's name to Qing Dynasty, and changed it to Yuan Chongde. In the same year, the Qing army once again broke through the pass and entered the fortress, going deep into the capital to plunder. Ming Dynasty was already facing a rival empire outside the pass.
Science & technology"Tiangong Kaiwu" is published
Song Yingxing, a native of Fengxin, Jiangxi, wrote "Tiangong Kaiwu" and published it with the help of his friend Tu Shaoxuan. The book consists of three volumes and eighteen chapters, with more than 120 pictures, systematically recording production technologies such as farming, textiles, salt production, ceramics, smelting, casting, boats and vehicles, and weapons.
EconomyThree additional payments
In addition to the Liao pay that was launched in the last year of Wanli, there was an additional levy to suppress the peasant army in 1637, and an additional levy to train troops in 1639. The three pays totaled more than 16 million taels per year. The people were overwhelmed and joined the rebel army one after another.
Science & technology"Agricultural Policy Encyclopedia" is published
The masterpiece on agriculture compiled by Xu Guangqi during his lifetime was compiled and published by Chen Zilong and others. The book has sixty volumes, summarizing traditional agriculture, introducing sweet potato cultivation and Western water conservancy technology, and systematically discussing strategies for famine management and disaster relief.
MilitaryLuoyang and Xiangyang fell
In the first month of the first month, Li Zicheng conquered Luoyang, killed King Zhu Changxun of Fu, opened a warehouse to help the hungry people, and gained great momentum; in the second month, Zhang Xianzhong attacked Xiangyang and killed King Xiang. Supervisor Yang Sichang was frightened after hearing the news and died in the army.
MilitaryBattle of Songjin
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, led an army of 130,000 soldiers from the Eighth Army to rescue Jinzhou. However, the Qing army cut off the grain route in Songshan and was defeated. In 1642, Songshan City was broken, Hong Chengchou was captured and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Jinzhou Guard Zu Dashou also surrendered, and Ming Dynasty lost all his elite troops outside the Pass.
SocietyGreat epidemic in the capital
North China suffered from drought and locusts for many years, and the plague was prevalent. In 1643, a major epidemic broke out in Beijing. It was said to be the plague. The dead were everywhere, and the soldiers who defended the city also died of the disease in large numbers, leaving the capital's defenses even more empty.
PoliticsMeishan died for his country
In the first month of the first month, Li Zicheng established the Dashun regime in Xi'an and immediately began his eastern expedition. On March 19, the Dashun Army invaded Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, and the eunuch Wang Chengen died. Zhouhuanghou had hanged himself in the palace before, and Ming Dynasty perished.
Lasting legacyThe place where Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself is on the east slope of Jingshan Park in present-day Beijing. There is a stone tablet "Where Sizong Martyred His Country in the Ming Dynasty".
A native of Dongguan, Guangdong, he is famous for Ningyuan and Ningjin. In the early years of Chongzhen, he was the commander of Ji Liao, and he was good at killing Mao Wenlong, the general of Dongjiang. He returned to aid the capital during the Jisi Rebellion, but was suspected of being imprisoned and executed for collaborating with the enemy. Later generations believed that he died as a result of Hong Taiji's counterintuitive plot.
A native of Shanghai, he co-translated "Elements of Geometry" with Li Madou, presided over the revision of the calendar, compiled the "Agricultural Policy Complete Book", and advocated the introduction of Western artillery. Xujiahui, Shanghai, is named after the descendants of the Xu family settled here.
He put forward the encirclement and suppression strategy of "four righteousnesses, six corners, and ten sides of the net", advocated the negotiation of peace with the Qing Dynasty and dedicated efforts to pacify the peasant army, and advocated additional levies, suppressions, and training. Later, the commander-in-chief Huguang died of fear due to the fall of Luoyang and Xiangyang one after another.
He led the army with civil servants and repeatedly defeated the peasant army, so he was known as the "King of Hell". He advocated resisting the Qing Dynasty and opposed peace negotiations, but was hampered by Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian. When the Qing army entered the fortress, they fought hard at the Julu Haoshui Bridge and died for their country.
In 1636, Gao Yingxiang was captured in Heishui Valley and later imprisoned due to a disagreement with Yang Sichang. In 1643, he was forced to rush out of the pass to fight against Li Zicheng, but was defeated and died in the battle. From then on, there was no force in Guanzhong that could resist Li Zicheng.
He once served as the governor of the three sides to suppress the peasant army, and was later transferred to the governor of Jiliao. He was defeated in the Battle of Songjin and was captured and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. After that, he served as the Qing dynasty to pacify the south of the Yangtze River and manage the southwest. He was an important Han minister in the early Qing Dynasty.
During the period of King Xin, he married Zhu Youjian and lived a frugal life, often spinning in the palace himself. On the eve of the destruction of Beijing, he committed suicide by hanging himself on the orders of Emperor Chongzhen.
Gao Yingxiang, a native of Mizhi, Shaanxi, was born as a postman. After his death, Gao Yingxiang was promoted as King Chuang, and he called on the hungry people to "equalize the land and avoid grain." Dashun was established in 1644 and captured Beijing in March, but was immediately defeated by Wu Sangui and the Qing army at Shanhaiguan.
The eighth son of Nurhaci, he succeeded to the throne in 1626. He detoured through Mongolia many times and entered the fortress. In 1636, he changed the country's name to the Qing Dynasty. The Battle of Songjin destroyed Ming Dynasty's main force outside the pass. He died suddenly in 1643.