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135-441: The Nanjing regime lacked the resources to pay and supply its soldiers, who were left to live off the land and pillaged the countryside. The soldiers' behavior was so notorious that they were refused entry by those cities in a position to do so. Court official Shi Kefa obtained modern cannons and organized resistance at Yangzhou . The cannons mowed down a large number of Qing soldiers, but this only enraged those who survived. After

270-656: A Buddhist monastery and also resorted to begging for survival. In 1352, he joined the Red Turban Rebellion and quickly rose to a prominent position among the rebels. He defeated other rebel leaders and the Mongol troops of the Yuan dynasty , ultimately declaring himself emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1368. By 1381, he had successfully conquered the entire country. The dynasty were established by Zhu Yuanzhang (known as

405-400: A battle after they were given a suspended death sentence it could be lifted. There were also rewards which led to good battlefield performance. There was a dearth of food supply. Families of gentry, Ming princes, soldiers, and officers not engaged in work numbered 300,000 which he had to support with food. 1,500 soldiers in one southern Fujian town put a strain on food supply. They tried to solve

540-506: A book titled Lord Shi Zhongzheng's Collections ( 史忠正公集 ). Shi Kefa took the imperial examination and obtained a jinshi ( 進士 ) degree in 1628. He was appointed as an official in Xi'an , before subsequently serving as a yuanwailang ( 員外郎 ) and langzhong ( 郎中 ) in the Ministry of Revenue . In 1635 he followed the general Lu Xiangsheng ( 盧象昇 ) to suppress peasant revolts throughout

675-615: A centralized fashion. This brought him at loggerheads with the Longwu Emperor. Famine also struck after drought and corps failed all along the southeastern coastal region. This led to outbreaks of banditry. Ports under Zheng Zhilong's control were running out of raw silk due to the Yangzi river delta under attack by the Qing. The Longwu emperor wanted the take over Huguang and Jiangxi provinces which were major producers of rice to help boost

810-667: A classic of Chinese literature . The upheaval of this period, sometimes referred to as the Ming–Qing cataclysm , has been linked to a decline in global temperature known as the Little Ice Age . With agriculture devastated by a severe drought, there was manpower available for numerous rebel armies. The fall of the Ming and the Qing conquest that followed was a period of catastrophic war and population decline in China. China experienced

945-471: A godson, with his funeral arrangements, saying that he wished to be buried at Plum Blossom Ridge ( 梅花嶺 ) after his death. On the 24th day, Qing armies bombarded Yangzhou with cannon fire and the city fell that night. Shi Kefa attempted suicide by slitting his throat but failed. He then ordered Shi Dewei to kill him but Shi Dewei tearfully refused and did not dare to look up at his godfather. Shi Kefa then shouted "I'm Military Inspector Shi. Quickly kill me!" and

1080-716: A lack of righteousness. On April 24, 1644, Li's soldiers breached the walls of the Ming capital Beijing . The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide the next day to avoid humiliation at their hands. Remnants of the Ming imperial family and some court ministers then sought refuge in the southern part of China and regrouped around Nanjing , the Ming auxiliary capital, south of the Yangtze River . Four different power groups thus emerged: In 1644, Muslim Ming loyalists in Gansu led by Muslim leaders Milayin (米喇印) and Ding Guodong (丁國棟) led

1215-514: A messenger to request reinforcements. His subordinate Liu Zeqing ( 劉澤清 ) escaped north to Huai'an , while only Liu Zhaoji ( 劉肇基 ) came to Shi Kefa's aid. The Qing regent Dorgon wrote to Shi Kefa, asking for his surrender, but Shi declined. Shi Kefa's response, titled Reply to Dorgon's letter ( 復多爾袞書 ), was noted for its neither servile nor overbearing tone, and was circulated among later generations. Subsequently, Shi Kefa entrusted his subordinate Shi Dewei ( 史德威 ), whom he had adopted as

1350-625: A monopoly on Chinese silk and sold it at high prices to the Dutch. The Dutch obtained Tonkin silk by allying with the Trinh lords against the Nguyen Lords but it was not of consistent quality. The Dutch Bengal factory found Bengali white silk and started export to Japan in 1655. However the Chinese silk always outsold it and Koxinga's revenue was more than half of the 708,564 taels worth of products

1485-539: A navy because of a lack of money and time. The Shunzhi emperor was more open to negotiations after regent Dorgon died in 1652. A ceasefire was issued by Shunzhi in 1653 after negotiations were started. He then sent Koxinga edicts. The Qing used Zheng Zhilong to send messages to his son and monitored the communications during negotiations. Koxinga rejected offers by the Qin, saying to his father "since my father has erred in front, how can I follow your footsteps?" The Qing offered him

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1620-487: A period of extremely cold weather from the 1620s until the 1710s. Some modern scholars link the worldwide drop in temperature at this time to the Maunder Minimum , an extended period from 1645 to 1715 when sunspots were absent. Whatever the cause, the change in the climate reduced agricultural yields and cut state revenue. It also led to drought, which displaced many peasants. There were a series of peasant revolts in

1755-608: A permit from Koxinga. Chinese merchants at ports overseas paid fees and bough licenses from his agents. There were some ships outside of his control like northern Chinese ships, Chinese, Macanese, and Portuguese in Macao, and Guangzhou based ships of Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi, feudatories of the Qing. The Japanese market and East Asian trade saw a struggle between the Dutch East India Company and Zheng organization. Japanese merchants were allowed to buy silk directly after

1890-658: A privileged diplomatic position vis-a-vis Tokugawa Japan, who exempted Southern Ming ships from the ban on exports of weapons and strategic materials, and from the ban on Japanese wives of Southern Ming Chinese men remaining in Japan. The Zheng were also able to recruit Japanese troops, particularly from their strongest sympathizers, the Satsuma and Mito domains. The Longwu Emperor's younger brother Zhu Yuyue , who had fled Fuzhou by sea, soon founded another Ming regime in Guangzhou ,

2025-467: A revolt in 1646 against the Qing during the Milayin rebellion in order to drive the Qing out and restore Zhu Shichuan, Prince of Yanchang to the throne as the emperor. The Muslim Ming loyalists were supported by Hami's Sultan Sa'id Baba (巴拜汗) and his son Turumtay (土倫泰). The Muslim Ming loyalists were joined by Tibetans and Han Chinese in the revolt. After fierce fighting, and negotiations, a peace agreement

2160-505: A ship in 1651 for violating orders. Shi Lang defected to the Qing after breaking out of the ship. Shi Lang's family was then executed by Koxinga. Koxinga then started the build up his organization and strengthening it and going through formal rituals to pay allegiance to the Yongli Emperor. Koxinga's underlings were people who used to work for his father and his family. They were very experienced at trading and sailing and familiar with

2295-493: A typhoon contributed to the loss of ships along with the disease. The Nguyễn court of southern Vietnam allowed Yang (Duong) and his surviving followers to resettle in Đồng Nai , which had been newly acquired from the Khmers. Duong's followers named their settlement as Minh Huong , to recall their allegiance to the Ming dynasty. Shi Kefa Shi Kefa (4 February 1601 – 20 May 1645), courtesy names Xianzhi and Daolin ,

2430-495: A united bloc of Chinese merchants under one leader. They served to balance against the Dutch. The Tokugawa bakufu gave asylum to Ming refugees, and allowed into Nagasaki to trade "only those Chinese merchants under anti-[Qing] auspices" after the Manchu invasion since the majority of Japanese were pro-Ming and supported Koxinga. A fake uncle-nephew protocol was used by Ietsuna according to Chinese accounts with Koxinga. Xiamen received

2565-523: A young age. Other imperial sons were given the title of prince and were sent to different regions. The heir to the throne would hold the title, while the other sons were known as princes of commanderies ( 郡王 ; junwang ). In the following generations, male members of the family were granted titles in six decreasing levels ( 鎭國將軍 zhenguo jiangjun , 輔國將軍 fuguo jiangjun , 奉國將軍 fengguo jiangjun , 鎭國中尉 zhenguo zhongwei , 輔國中尉 fuguo zhongwei , and finally 奉國中尉 fengguo zhongwei ), with each male member of

2700-492: Is of the late Ming period style among other Ming literati, with a preference for long compositions in a flourishing manner. House of Zhu The House of Zhu was the imperial house that ruled the Ming dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. Rump states of the Ming dynasty (collectively known as the Southern Ming ) continued in the southern region until 1662, but the territory gradually decreased. The Ming dynasty

2835-656: The Great Rites Controversy , lasted for several years and was ultimately resolved by the emperor through force—including the execution and exile of protesting officials. This conflict greatly impacted the beginning of the Jiajing Emperor's reign. During the reign of the Wanli Emperor , a prolonged succession dispute occurred. Despite the customary practice and succession order, the emperor refused to appoint his eldest son, Zhu Changluo (later

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2970-643: The Hongwu Emperor during his reign) in January 1368 in the capital city of Nanjing . Prior to this, Zhu was the leader of the Red Turbans and had been appointed as the Duke of Wu ( 吳國公 ) by the emperor of the rebel Song dynasty, Han Lin'er , in 1361. (Wu was the name of an ancient state and later the region on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River .) On 4 February 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang declared himself

3105-481: The Jiajing Emperor ) was chosen as the new ruler. The ministers proposed that the Jiajing Emperor be adopted as the deceased emperor's son in order to maintain the succession of the imperial family in the father-son line. However, the Jiajing Emperor refused and instead insisted on posthumously appointing his father as emperor, in order to elevate his father's status to match his own. This disagreement, known as

3240-519: The Qing dynasty and was killed when Yangzhou fell to Qing forces in April 1645. After his death, the Southern Ming granted him the posthumous name "Zhongjing" (忠靖; means "loyal and peaceful"). Nearly a century later, the Qianlong Emperor of Qing granted Shi Kefa another posthumous name, "Zhongzheng" (忠正; means "loyal and upright".) His descendants collected his works and compiled them into

3375-574: The Southern Ming . For his effort, Ma Shiying won the appreciation of Hongguang and replaced Shi Kefa as the effective head of government. In the face of Li Zicheng's rebel forces and the Qing armies, Shi Kefa advocated the policy of allying with Qing to eliminate the rebels first, then driving the Qing forces back north. However, the officials in the Southern Ming imperial court were disunited as they were more interested in pursuing their personal interests. The Southern Ming gradually weakened under

3510-475: The Taichang Emperor ), as the crown prince. Instead, he favored his third son, Zhu Changxun , who was born to his favorite concubine. This dispute lasted for over fifteen years until the emperor finally yielded to pressure from officials and followed the proper succession rules. However, the stubbornness of both sides caused a rift between the emperor and the government, leading to significant damage to

3645-480: The Toungoo dynasty . The last sovereign of the Southern Ming stayed there until 1662, when he was captured and executed by Wu Sangui , whose surrender to the Qing in April 1644 had allowed Dorgon to start the Qing conquest of Ming . In the late summer of 1664, Li Lai-heng and his remaining followers were surrounded on one of these mountains. Unable to escape, Li gave orders to build a fire and then threw himself into

3780-412: The polygamy common among the upper classes of Chinese society, the number of male members of the house increased to one hundred thousand. However, except for the emperors and heirs to the throne, they were excluded from politics for the sake of government stability. From the late 16th century onwards, economic difficulties and the resulting peasant uprisings brought about a weakening of Ming power, which

3915-535: The " Three Feudatories " who would rebel against the Qing in 1673 – captured Guangzhou after a ten-month siege and massacred the city's population, killing as many as 70,000 people. Though the Qing under the leadership of Prince Regent Dorgon (1612–1650) had successfully pushed the Southern Ming deep into southern China, Ming loyalism was not dead yet. In early August 1652, Li Dingguo , who had served as general in Sichuan under bandit king Zhang Xianzhong (d. 1647) and

4050-552: The "barbarian" (Japanese) custom. This may have referred to sepukku. Koxinga referred to the queue order, saying "no person, wise or stupid, is willing to become a slave with a head that looks like a fly" and he wanted revenge against the Qing for the death of his mother. Koxinga was conflicted by filial piety and loyalty but never allowed himself to be used and used others. He gained control over thousands of men after originally having only 300. Koxinga's uncles Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Hongkui pledged allegiance to him and his revenue came from

4185-527: The Chinese pirate fleet which was unable to fire back with their wet guns. The Chinese pirate fleet, originally 206 junks, was reduced to 50–80 junks by the time it reached South Vietnam 's Quang Nam and the Mekong delta . The Chinese pirates having sex with north Vietnamese women may also have transmitted a deadly epidemic from China which ravaged the Tonkin regime of north Vietnam. French and Chinese sources say

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4320-418: The Chinese pirates by sending more than 300 girls who were beautiful singing girls and prostitutes with red handkerchiefs to go to the Chinese pirate junks on small boats. The Chinese pirates and northern Vietnamese (Tonkinese) girls had sex but the women then wet the gun barrels of the pirates ships with their handkerchiefs which they got wet. They then left in the same boats. The Trinh Lords navy then attacked

4455-594: The Chongzhen Emperor's death reached Nanjing, there was much debate on who would be the new Ming emperor. Even though Shi Kefa was effectively the leader of the Ming loyalists in Nanjing, he was unable to make a decision on the issue. In the fifth lunar month, Fengyang's Viceroy , Ma Shiying , and others supported the prince Zhu Yousong to take the throne, and Zhu became the Hongguang Emperor of

4590-610: The Dongli firm while leader of the revenue office after 1657 and his predecessors Hong Xu had the Xuyuan firm. Thousands of silver taels annually were gained through trade by Chen Yonghua. Koxinga also employed official merchants who worked for him like Zheng Tai, an adopted son of his family. Travel distance and vessel size were factors in the price of Koxinga's permits which he sold to people who wanted to engage in overseas commerce like when Zheng Zhilong ruled. Private loans ere given out by

4725-604: The Dutch ship Urk was blown to Kyushu in Japan by a storm. The Chinese sprang out and filed a case at the magistrates in Nagasaki on 23 August to the bakufu in Edo. They won the case and Japan threatened to kick out the Dutch if they attacked Japan bound junks and forced the Dutch to pay compensation to Chen. A silver tael payment of 20,000 was ordered by Japan to be paid to Chen by the Dutch in 1661. The Revenue Officer in Xiamen after 1657

4860-785: The Dutch sold in Japan annually. Dutch Taiwan exchanged silver for gold from China brought by Zheng junks. Cloth and silk from India were bought with this gold by the Dutch. Spanish Manila used American silver to buy porcelain and silk from the Zheng which were taken to the Americas and the Philippines. Dutch were not allowed to trade in Manila. The Zheng sent the silver to China or to buy products in Taiwan, Philippines, Southeast Asian islands, Vietnam, Cambodian and Siam. Timber and rice were bought by

4995-596: The European rulers of the colonies and Koxinga. The Revenue Office received reports from the family and patronage networks which synthesized them with the traditional bureaucracy of China. Koxinga created an economic unity of Chinese in Southeast Asia, Japan, and in the Qing. His five sea firms used its navy to escort merchants who bought his permits to avoid Dutch attacks on their ships. In China their relatives would be punished and fined if they were trading without

5130-592: The Hongwu Emperor justified his removal of Han Lin'er and his family from power. Finally, the emperor's pragmatic adoption of Mongol government practices was reflected in the choice of the dynasty name—the use of an abstract concept as a dynasty name was a non-Chinese tradition that originated with the Jurchens ( Jin dynasty , "Golden") and was later adopted by the Mongols ( Yuan dynasty , "Beginning"). Under

5265-808: The Jesuit missionaries carried letters to the Pope and the Portuguese asking for aid. Li Chengdong suppressed more loyalist resistance in Guangdong in 1647, but mutinied against the Qing in May 1648 because he resented having been named only regional commander of the province he had conquered. The concurrent rebellion of another former Ming general in Jiangxi helped the Yongli regime to retake most of southern China, leaving

5400-516: The King of Wu ( 吳王 ). Despite this, he did not take on the title of Emperor of the Wu dynasty, but instead chose the name Ming ( 明 )—meaning "Bright" or "Radiant"—as the name for his state and new dynasty, with the full name Da Ming ( 大明 )—meaning "Great Radiance". At the time, the name Ming held various political connotations in China. Its association with brightness and glow evoked the elements of fire,

5535-586: The Longwu Emperor heard that another Ming pretender, Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu , had named himself regent in Zhejiang , and thus represented another center of loyalist resistance. But the two regimes failed to cooperate, making their chances of success even lower than they already were. In February 1646, Qing armies seized land west of the Qiantang River from the Lu regime and defeated a ragtag force representing

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5670-564: The Longwu emperor in northeastern Jiangxi. In May of that year Qing forces besieged Ganzhou , the last Ming bastion in Jiangxi. In July, a new Southern Campaign led by Manchu Prince Bolo sent the Zhejiang regime of Prince Lu into disarray and proceeded to attack the Longwu regime in Fujian. Zheng Zhilong, the Longwu emperor's main military defender, fled to the coast. On the pretext of relieving

5805-474: The Ming dynasty, a title that he formally received on July 29, a few days after reaching Fuzhou . He was enthroned as emperor on August 18, 1645. Most Nanjing officials had surrendered to the Qing, but some followed the Prince of Tang in his flight to Fuzhou. In Fuzhou, the Prince of Tang was under the protection of Zheng Zhilong , a Chinese sea trader with exceptional organizational skills who had surrendered to

5940-471: The Ming had no prime minister. So when a young ruler retreated to the inner court to enjoy the company of his concubines, power devolved to the eunuchs . Only the eunuchs had access to the inner court, but the eunuch cliques were distrusted by the officials who were expected to carry out the emperor's decrees. Officials educated at the Donglin Academy were known for accusing the eunuchs and others of

6075-474: The Ming in 1628 and recently been made an earl by the Hongguang emperor. Zheng Zhilong and his Japanese wife Tagawa Matsu had a son, Zheng Sen . The pretender, who was childless, adopted Zheng Zhilong's eldest son Zheng Sen, granted him the imperial surname, and gave him a new personal name: Chenggong . The name Koxinga is derived of his title "lord of the imperial surname" ( guóxìngyé ). In October 1645,

6210-644: The Ming. Samurai and daimyo were to be subjected to full scale mobilization and attack routes along the coast of China were planned by the Tokugawa shogunate. It was the Qing take over of Fuzhou in 1646 which caused the plans to be cancelled. Further requests came between 1645 and 1692. Food and financial shortage led to abandonment of the Jiangxi-Fujian and Zhejiang-Fujian mountain passes by Zheng Zhilong because he could not afford to pay salaries or feed his soldiers all over Fujian. His soldiers were sent to guard

6345-537: The Prince of Lu gave up his titles under Koxinga's pressure. Koxinga sent him to Penghu and did not reinstate his titles in 1659 when the Yongli emperor ordered that they be. The Tingzhou Hakka Liu Guoxuan, former Zhangzhou vice-garrison commander for the Qing, and the former Taizhou military commander for the Qing, northern Chinese Ma Xin defected to Koxinga's side. They rose to high ranks under Koxinga over his own Minnanese people because Koxinga held all power over them since they had no local base because they could not speak

6480-624: The Qing dynasty in 1683 and was rewarded by the Kangxi Emperor with the title Duke of Hanjun and he and his soldiers were inducted into the Eight Banners . The Qing sent the 17 Ming princes still living on Taiwan back to mainland China where they spent the rest of their lives. Zheng Zhilong wrote "Grand Strategy for ordering the country". He argued that for the Southern Ming to retake the country, they should do it through regional military commanders all across China's provinces and not in

6615-596: The Qing forces alongside the peasant armies in southwestern China prior to his capture in Myanmar in 1662. The Prince of Ningjing , in the Kingdom of Tungning (based in present-day Tainan , Taiwan ) claimed to be the rightful successor to the throne of Ming until 1683, although he lacked real political power. The end of the Ming and the subsequent Nanjing regime are depicted in The Peach Blossom Fan ,

6750-418: The Qing in control of only a few enclaves in Guangdong and southern Jiangxi. But this resurgence of loyalist hopes was short-lived. New Qing armies managed to reconquer the central provinces of Huguang (present-day Hubei and Hunan ), Jiangxi, and Guangdong in 1649 and 1650. The Yongli emperor fled to Nanning and from there to Guizhou . On 24 November 1650, Qing forces led by Shang Kexi – the father of one of

6885-737: The Qing. The Ming regarded there to be two oceans, the Western Ocean and Eastern Ocean. Koxinga's firms had a fleet for each ocean made out of 60 ships, 12 junks per the 5 firms. Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Batavia, and Siam were traded with the Western Ocean Fleet, and Philippines, Dutch Taiwan, and Japan were traded with the Eastern Ocean Fleet. The junks operated in defensive quads of five or four and had cannons for defense. They two different fleets sometimes overlapped when going back. Koxinga's relative Zheng Tai owned

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7020-584: The Shaowu Emperor to commit suicide, and sending the Yongli emperor fleeing to Nanning in Guangxi . The Portuguese in Macao provided military aid in the form of cannons to the two courts established by the Princes of Gui and Tang in exchange for tax exemption, more land around Macao and conversions to Catholicism. The Empress dowager, the two Empresses and the crown prince converted to Catholicism, and

7155-623: The Southern Ming loyalists against the Qing. Zhu Yu'ai, Prince of Gui was accompanied by Hui refugees when he fled from Huguang to the Burmese border in Yunnan and as a mark of their defiance against the Qing and loyalty to the Ming, they changed their surname to "Ming". When the news of the Chongzhen emperor's death reached Nanjing in May 1644, the fate of the heir apparent was still unknown. But court officials quickly agreed that an imperial figure

7290-445: The Tianning Gate of Yangzhou. The Qing writer Quan Zuwang ( 全祖望 ) later wrote the Tale of Plum Blossom Ridge ( 梅花嶺記 ) to describe the event. The Shi Kefa Memorial, a shrine devoted to the memory of Shi Kefa, is located in present-day Yangzhou. Shi Kefa was said to have been an individual of great energy and integrity, qualities reflected in his calligraphy , frequently in cursive and semi-cursive style. Shi Kefa's calligraphy

7425-408: The Tokugawa Bakufu on how his son Koxinga rose through the ranks of the Ming military and asked for ten slaves and ...... in waiting and Shichizaemon to be allowed to come to China from Japan to help take care of his wife Tagawa Matsu. Although the requests were rejected officially by the bakufu, a lot of Japanese in the Tokugawa government privately supported going to war against the Manchus and support

7560-657: The Warehouse for Nourishing the Country. In Qing areas there were branch offices conducting trade for Koxinga's five Mountain Firms. One branch office was in Beijing, and Nanjing and Suzhou had the other three which were run by assistant managers, reporting to Zeng Dinglao, chief manager at its Hangzhou headquarters. They pretended to be normal stores which trading foreign products and sending to Xiamen porcelain and silk while in Qing controlled areas. Zheng organization used gold plated bronze talleys and flag tokens for its spies, using both Buddhist monks and merchants in these firms for its spying activities. They reported on army movements by

7695-426: The Western Sea Fleet and Eastern Sea Fleet reported to the five sea firms, trust, wisdom, propriety, righteousness, benevolence, reporting to the five mountain firms, earth, fire, water, wood, gold, reporting to the warehouse for nourishing the country, which reported to the Celestial Pier (Koxinga himself) or his generals and relatives who reported to the revenue office. Pass system was under the warehouse for benefiting

7830-609: The Xiamen Warehouse for Benefiting the People. The five Sea Firms lent out ships for rent and Zheng agents also provided cargo space on their ships for a fee to private merchants. Japan bound Zheng Tai's dongli vessels also carried Celestial Pier products from Koxinga. Private businesses were also engaged in by official merchants. There was a major Southeast Asia and Japan based diaspora of Chinese with Ming loyalists and traders among them. There were official representatives of Koxinga, agents, and private traders among them. They sold permits and bought products for Koxinga and communicated between

7965-451: The Yangzhou city fell in May 1645, the Manchus started a general massacre pillage and enslaved all the women and children in the notorious Yangzhou massacre . Nanjing was captured by the Qing on June 6 and the Hongguang Emperor was taken to Beijing and executed in 1646. The literati in the provinces responded to the news from Yangzhou and Nanjing with an outpouring of emotion. Some recruited their own militia and became resistance leaders. Shi

8100-463: The Yongli Emperor was the Zheng's overlord the Zheng organization itself could have equal diplomatic relations unlike the Ming with its tributary system placing itself at the top. Enemy states were treated as vassals as an insult by Koxinga in preparation for war. The Tokugawa Shogun Ietsuna received a diplomatic message of congratulations from Koxinga in 1651. The Zheng organization allied with Shogun Ietsuna. They were familiar with Japanese rules and were

8235-451: The Yongli Emperor, Prince Zhu Youlang. Koxinga's goals were a Ming dynasty retaking control over China with himself as an autonomous feudal lord in control of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian on the coastal southeastern area. This may have been similar to the Tokugawa bakufu which controlled Japan while the emperor reigned and he was referred to as a feudatory by his followers and himself with the title "Generalissimo Who Summons and Quells" which

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8370-407: The Zheng and so were rhinoceros horns, ivory, and sappanwood to be brought to Japan and China, while deerskins, spices, pepper, and sugar were bought by both the Dutch and Zheng. The Western Ocean received 20 or 16 vessels by the Zheng each year. Violent Dutch efforts to try to undercut Zheng's organization were countered by Koxinga with alliances and diplomacy. The violence of the VOC was dampened by

8505-436: The Zheng network from Dutch violence through its law. Japanese Nagasaki magistrates received cases involving Dutch attacks on Koxinga ships, with Koxinga receiving help from his brother Shichizaemon in filing the cases. At the Malay peninsula around Johor, Chen Zhenguan, a Zheng agent whose junk was headed to Japan, was attacked by several Dutch ships in June 1657. The Dutch were heading for Taiwan with Chen's crew as prisoners but

8640-402: The administration of the country. It was not until 1595, when the number of imperial family members had grown to tens of thousands, that they were allowed to participate in the civil service examinations , but they could not be appointed to positions in the capital city. During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor's successors, the eldest son was traditionally appointed as the heir to the throne at

8775-419: The administration of the empire. The emperor stopped meeting with ministers and refused to appoint new officials to vacant positions, further exacerbating the situation. The Hongwu Emperor appointed his eldest son, Zhu Biao, as his successor to the throne ( 太子 ; taizi ). His other sons were given titles of princes ( 親王 ; qinwang ; literally 'prince of imperial blood', also simply 王 ; wang ) and were sent to

8910-429: The anti-Qing resistance. A separate command chain was kept by Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen and the military men and merchants were looked down upon by the elites. There were regional rivalries between Koxinga's Minnan followers and the Zhejiang followers of the two Zhangs. The Prince of Lu was also treated as their real ruler by the Zhejiang gentry leaders while Yongli was officially regarded as their emperor. In 1652

9045-433: The authority to issue orders to the ministers on their own. Initially, the Ming emperors resided in the Forbidden City, a complex of palaces and buildings built in Nanjing , the capital of the country. However, the Yongle Emperor decided to move the capital to Beijing , and the Forbidden City there, covering an area of 72 hectares, was completed in 1420 when the emperor and his entire court relocated there. Zhu Biao ,

9180-457: The capital of Guangdong Province, proclaiming the era of Shaowu (紹武) on 11 December 1646. Short of official costumes, the court had to purchase robes from local theater troupes. On 24 December, Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui established the Yongli (永曆) regime in the same vicinity. The two Ming regimes fought each other until 20 January 1647, when a small Qing force led by former Southern Ming commander Li Chengdong (李成棟) captured Guangzhou, causing

9315-450: The coast. He started negotiations with the Qing and the Shunzhi Emperor officially appointed him as ruler over Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang as "King of Three Provinces". However it asked Zhilong to come to Beijing to meet Shunzhi. Zheng Zhilong refused to go because he most likely though it was a trap. Zheng Zhilong commanded his army not to fight against the Qing as they took over Fuzhou after coming into Fujian in 1646. The Longwu emperor

9450-434: The color red, and the south, all of which symbolized opposition to the ruling Yuan dynasty. This was because in the Chinese system of five elements , the similarity between the words yuan and xuan (dark) linked it to water, the color black, and the north. The geographical location of the Mongols in the north and the Chinese in the south further solidified this association. Additionally, the Hongwu Emperor partially adopted

9585-435: The commercial network of his father Zheng Zhilong. He rallied in Anhai on the coast. Koxinga did not recognize the Prince of Lu as the Emperor and instead continued to use the reign title of the Longwu emperor in contrast to other coastal southeastern warlords. There was hostility between the prince of Lu and Longwu during their reigns and he did not want to have a powerful authority figure with him. He later pledged allegiance to

9720-543: The continent. The second serious threat came from constant attacks by the Mongols in the north. To protect against these raids, the Great Wall of China was built and over five thousand kilometers of trenches were constructed. In January 1556, a strong earthquake struck the northern provinces of China, resulting in the deaths of approximately 830,000 people. This disaster had a significant impact on China's economy in

9855-408: The demise of the Nanjing regime. After the Qing armies crossed the Yangtze River near Zhenjiang on June 1, the emperor fled Nanjing. Qing armies led by the Manchu prince Dodo immediately moved toward Nanjing, which surrendered without a fight on June 8, 1645. A detachment of Qing soldiers then captured the fleeing emperor on June 15, and he was brought back to Nanjing on June 18. The fallen emperor

9990-481: The dialects of coastal Fujian, where they were not born in. They were familiar with infantry war on land and knew how to fight the Qing. Most of his labor, taxpayers, sailors, and infantry troops were local Fujian coastal people. The Qing and Ming dynasty were based on the continent and stymied the activities of the coast while shipbuilding, cash cropping, sea trade, salt, and fishing were stimulated by Koxinga's rule. Koxinga, from his Jinmen and Xiamen island bases, went on

10125-475: The dynasty holding at least the last title. In the year of the Hongwu Emperor's death (1398), there were 58 members of the family with titles. However, by the beginning of the 15th century, this number had increased to 127, and by the end of the century, there were over 2000 members with titles. These family members received ample support from the state treasury, as well as judicial immunity and various privileges based on their titles and status. Additionally, from

10260-413: The early 15th century, Ming China conquered Manchuria in the north and Vietnam in the south, which led to the revival of trade and diplomatic relations with Japan , India , and Southeast Asia. This was made possible by a large fleet of long-distance trading junks , which unfortunately became a target for Chinese and Japanese pirates in the mid-16th century. These pirates also attacked coastal cities on

10395-500: The eldest son of the founder of the dynasty, died before his father's death. As a result, the Hongwu Emperor appointed Zhu Biao's eldest surviving son, Zhu Yunwen (later the Jianwen Emperor ), as his successor. In 1398, a new government led by the young emperor took office and immediately began to aggressively intervene against the emperor's uncles. This ultimately led to the rebellion of the strongest uncle, Zhu Di , in 1399. In

10530-403: The emperor's death, the new government attempted to limit their influence, which provoked a rebellion by one of them—Zhu Di. The Yongle Emperor himself limited the power of the princes in the regions and after the unsuccessful rebellion of Prince Zhu Gaoxu in 1426, they lost their political significance. Apart from the aforementioned group, other members of the imperial family were excluded from

10665-527: The ensuing civil war, known as the Jingnan campaign , Zhu Di emerged victorious and in 1402, his troops captured the capital city of Nanjing . It is believed that the Jianwen Emperor perished in the fire that engulfed the imperial palace. The new emperor, Zhu Di, made efforts to erase the memory of his predecessor by denying his legitimacy and even retroactively canceling the era of Jianwen. During

10800-531: The entire nation. The Hongwu Emperor held power very tightly, but at the cost of massive purges in 1380. This also led to the dissolution of the Central Secretariat , whose leader served as the de facto prime minister. Subsequently, the emperor assumed full decision-making power for all matters beyond the jurisdiction of individual ministries. The third emperor, Yongle Emperor , personally oversaw both major and minor issues, and became agitated when he

10935-726: The flames. Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), son of Zheng Zhilong , was awarded with the titles: Marquis of Weiyuan , Duke of Zhang , and Prince of Yanping by the Yongli Emperor . Koxinga then decided to take Taiwan from the Dutch. He launched the Siege of Fort Zeelandia , defeating the Dutch and driving them out of Taiwan. He then established the Kingdom of Tungning on the site of the former Dutch colony. The Ming princes who accompanied Koxinga to Taiwan were Zhu Shugui , Prince of Ningjing and Zhu Honghuan, son of Zhu Yihai , Prince of Lu. Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to

11070-622: The following year, Emperor Yingzong was released from captivity and spent the next seven years under house arrest. In early 1457, the Jingtai Emperor fell ill and with no heir, Emperor Yingzong was able to stage a palace coup and reclaim the throne. Shortly after, the Jingtai Emperor died. After the death of the Zhengde Emperor in 1521, a serious conflict arose due to the lack of a direct heir. His cousin Zhu Houcong (later

11205-576: The functions of offices. His headquarters was based in Siming, the new name for Xiamen. The Zheng organization started the Six offices as a regional variation of the central Ming Six Boards with the Yongli emperor's permission, they were personnel, military, revenue, punishment, rites, and works. Yongli court held civil service exams in southwest China where Koxinga sent students to after they were educated at his Xiamen-based Confucian academy. A total of 200 junks in

11340-510: The inlets and harbors of the coast of Minnan where they grew up and were merchants and military men. One of them was a pirate partner of Zhilong, Hong Xu. Wang Zhongxiao and Li Maochun, who were gentry of Minnan, and Xu Fuyuan, a bureaucrat in the Ming government were among the number of people in Koxinga's organization. Prince of Ningjing Zhu Shugui, the prince of Lu and other Ming princes came in 1652 with Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen, part of

11475-520: The land. Two years later, he was promoted to yushi ( 御史 ) on the recommendation of the minister Zhang Guowei ( 張國維 ), and was also appointed as xunfu (巡撫; a type of regional governor) of Anqing , Luzhou (present-day Hefei ), Taiping (near present-day Wuhu City ), Chizhou ( 池州 ), and various counties in Henan , Jiangxi and Huguang provinces. In 1641, he was put in charge of the Caoyun system . In

11610-490: The late Ming, culminating in a revolt led by Li Zicheng which captured Beijing in 1644. Ming ideology emphasized authoritarian and centralized administration, referred to as "imperial supremacy" or huángjí . However, comprehensive central decision-making was beyond the technology of the time. The principle of uniformity meant that the lowest common denominator was often selected as the standard. The need to implement change on an empire-wide basis complicated any effort to reform

11745-504: The laws of Tokugawa Japan. A new system of diplomatic relations was implemented by Koxinga with modifications to the tributary system used by Ming China. Japan and other maritime states with relations with Zheng organization were not previously part of the Ming system. He used "mutual dispatch of embassies according to a calendar of diplomatic ritual, cordial encounters, and equivalent treatment of these foreign rulers through regulation and practice." sizing up relations by power and status. Since

11880-523: The majority of imports at 70% being silver. Taels numbering 1,513,93 were profit out of the 2,350,386 taels Koxinga received from trading with Japan. Most of the Japanese products were used for his military or currency. They were also exported to Vietnam's civil war in Quang Nam and Tonkin. The Dutch tried to get a Chinese coastal base but could not, trying to get Chinese silk for themselves. The Zheng had

12015-527: The maritime ban (after which was passed, they would not be allowed to leave Japan), but a lot of Japanese women who were married to Chinese men like Tagawa Matsu remained in Japan and did not leave when the ban was enacted. The Tokugawa allowed them to stay unlike how they violently ejected the Japanese wives and children of Europeans. After the ban was first passed five years elapsed until Zheng requested his Japanese wife Tagawa be allowed to come to China and they were unsure if they would let her come in violation of

12150-647: The maritime ban. The Tokugawa Shogunate decided to allow Tagawa Matsu, his Japanese wife to violate the ban, leave Japan and reunite with him in China. Zheng Zhilong and one of his underlings, Zhou Ghezhi, both had connections to daimyo and the bakufi after living in Japan. Zhou Hezhi sent a letter on the first request for help and the next one was sent to the Kyto-based Japanese Emperor and the Edo-based Tokugawa Shogun along with gifts from Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong informed

12285-419: The mid-15th century, they also began to acquire land ownership. According to late Ming authors, there were over 100,000 male descendants of the Hongwu Emperor during their time. It was not only sons who received titles and pensions, but also daughters of the imperial family and their husbands. As the number of dynasty members grew, the costs of their material security significantly increased, primarily affecting

12420-428: The money from permits sold in Japan. To make it so he would take most of the trade he sold a maximum annually of 10 new permits. Payment of permits was enforced by Japanese Nagasaki magistrates. Zheng agents received custody of Wang Yunsheng after he tried using a 10 year old expired permit in Nagasaki in 1653. Wang was pardoned by Koxinga after Koxinga's brother Shichizaemon asked him to. The Japanese bakufu helped protect

12555-424: The northern border to resist Zuo Liangyu from the east. Zuo Liangyu was eventually defeated by Huang Degong ( 黃得功 ) while his army surrendered. Xuyi also surrendered to Qing and Sizhou (present-day Tianchang ) fell to Qing. Shi Kefa moved back to Yangzhou and continued resisting the Qing invaders there. In the fifth lunar month of 1645, Qing forces led by the Manchu prince Dodo besieged Yangzhou. Shi Kefa sent

12690-479: The offensive, killing Zhejiang and Fujiang Qing governor-general Chen Jin, blockading Quanzhou, and taking over most of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou's counties in 1652. He controlled crucial coastal strips and islands on the Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang coast where maritime trade occurred. The Yongli court was earlier regarded as more threatening by the Qing but now their attention was turned to the southeast coast by Koxinga's victories. The Qing were in no way ready to build

12825-648: The people which reported to private merchants which reported to the revenue office. Officials and gentry made up the workers in most offices which were only symbolic since Koxinga's forces mostly engaged in military occupation. Koxinga's mercantile followers and family made up the Revenue and Military offices. Trade and economic activity was controlled by the Revenue Office. Koxinga had 10 firms which sold and purchased products for his Celestial Pier company, which relied on funding from silver deposits with interest from

12960-510: The pressure of internal political struggle and the resignation of several officials. After losing his influence in the imperial court, Shi Kefa requested to be dispatched north to supervise defenses on the northern border. Due to internal conflict among the Ming generals along the border, Shi Kefa was unable to establish a strong defense. In the fourth lunar month of 1645, Zuo Liangyu led an army from Wuhan to attack Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng . Ma Shiying ordered Shi Kefa to set up defenses at

13095-919: The problem by looting Qing controlled prefectures for grain and raided Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian 44 times in 1649–1660. Zheng forbade .... of women and said the rich should be plundered first by his soldiers. "Voluntary offers", "donations" and bullion and grain tax were extracted from people he ruled by Koxinga. The payments were taken to Xiamen via Haicheng port. 750,000 taels were paid by Quanzhou while 1,080,000 tales were paid by Zhangzhou in 1654. In Quanzhou and Zhangzhou his own fields were subject to intensified farming and in eastern Guangdong more farms were started by his soldiers. Koxinga seized more land during negotiations through military force and talks to take over independent militias and more land surrounding Jinmen and Xiamen. Administrative government offices were founded in 1654 by Koxinga. He officially titled them as Ming extensions but he also created new offices or changed

13230-401: The provinces with a large entourage and broad, primarily military, powers after reaching the age of about twenty. However, despite their titles, they did not rule over the regions as feudal princes; local officials continued to be subject to the central government. For the emperor, they represented a support for his personal power independent of the regular civilian and military hierarchy; after

13365-517: The queue could trigger revolt in his army if he conceded. Koxinga rejected the queue order and said that he would accept the same status of Korea, maintaining their hair and clothing and to "adopt the Qing calendar ... if not for the sake of the land and its mortals, then to bend on behalf of my father." if the Qing wanted him to agree to the 4 prefectures deal. Koxinga also said that if the Qing gave him what they offered to his father, total control of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujiand, he would agree to adopt

13500-615: The queue. Negotiations were then terminated by the Qing after this counter-offer was rejected. European clothes were worn by Ma Xin when he fought. Koxinga held horseback riding and archery practice for coastal troops and naval practice for inland troops during training when they were not fighting. Confucian education and a stipend were provided for family of officers who died by the "Hall for Nourishing Descendants" in Xiamen. Koxinga implemented severe punishments and discipline for disobeying orders and other wrongs, like beatings, poisoning, forced suicide, and decapitation. If one of his underlings won

13635-465: The reign of other emperors, the throne was passed down through the principle of primogeniture , where the oldest living son or closest male relative would become the new monarch. However, this system faced a problem in 1449 when Emperor Yingzong was captured by the Mongols. After some hesitation, the court decided to crown the emperor's brother, the Jingtai Emperor , as the new ruler. However,

13770-533: The royal court's administration by reviving the functions of the remaining eunuchs. This resulted in rampant corruptions and illegal dealings. Moreover, Ma engaged in intense political bickering with Shi, who was affiliated with the Donglin movement . This displacement of troops facilitated the Qing capture of Yangzhou. This resulted in the Yangzhou massacre and the death of Shi in May 1645. It also led directly to

13905-473: The rule of the new dynasty, China was able to recover from the damages caused by decades of warfare during the previous Yuan dynasty . The empire flourished and became a prosperous and wealthy state. By the mid-15th century, there was significant economic and cultural development, especially in the southern and coastal regions. Irrigation systems were built, cotton was cultivated, and the production of silk and cotton fabrics, glass, and porcelain expanded. In

14040-490: The second half of the 16th century, leading to numerous peasant uprisings. The weakened Chinese state was taken advantage of by the Manchus, who occupied the northern part of the country in 1644. After the conquest of northern China by the Qing dynasty , the Ming government continued to rule the southern part of the country for several decades until 1661. The remaining members of the Ming imperial family were chosen to govern

14175-636: The seventh month of 1643, he was appointed as the Minister of War in Nanjing . In the third lunar month of 1644, rebel forces led by Li Zicheng captured the Ming capital Beijing and the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide. The following month, Wu Sangui defected to the Qing dynasty and opened Shanhai Pass , allowing the Qing armies to seize control of Beijing from Li Zicheng's rebel forces and overrun most of northern China. When news of

14310-486: The siege of Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi, the Longwu court left their base in northeastern Fujian in late September 1646, but the Qing army caught up with them. Longwu and his empress were summarily executed in Tingzhou (western Fujian) on 6 October. After the fall of Fuzhou on 17 October, Zheng Zhilong defected to the Qing but his son Koxinga continued to resist. Through Zheng networks, the Southern Ming continued to enjoy

14445-678: The silk allotment guild was ended by the bakufu in 1655 In 1650-1662 Nagasaki annually received 50 Chinese ships most of which bought Koxinga passes or were his ships. They sold books, medicine, porcelain, textiles, gold, and silk. Koxinga brought animal hides from Southeast Asia, and gold and silk from Quang Nam Nguyen lord Vietnam and Tonkin Trinh Lord Vietnam. 1,563,259 silver taels worth of products were imported every year by Japan from Koxinga. Yongli coins and weapons required copper which Koxinga imported from Japan. He also imported resin, tar, cannons, muskets, armor, swords, knives, with

14580-631: The southern Ming. Zhilong refused to expand out of Fujian to keep his control over the movement. Zheng tried to solve the problem by extorting and taxation and then seeking aid from Tokugawa Japan. He tried to solve the problem by extorting and taxation and then seeking aid from Tokugawa Japan. Sekisai Ugai said that Zheng Zhilong's brother had 1,000 musket armed Japanese mercenaries. The Tokugawa shogun received two requests for samurai mercenaries and weapons in Nagasaki in 1645-1646 from Zheng Zhilong. The Tokugawa Bakufu originally urged Japanese women who were married to Chinese men, to leave Japan when they enacted

14715-444: The southern provinces, and this period is now known as the Southern Ming among historians. The last Ming emperor, Zhu Youlang , fled to Burma in 1661 and was killed there in early the following year. The Ming emperors were the ultimate leaders of the country and government, responsible for both military and civilian administration. In theory, the emperor held authority over all officials and generals, and his decrees were followed by

14850-475: The southwest. Headquartered in Changsha (in what is now Hunan province), he patiently built up his forces; only in late 1658 did well-fed and well-supplied Qing troops mount a multipronged campaign to take Guizhou and Yunnan. In late January 1659, a Qing army led by Manchu prince Doni took the capital of Yunnan, sending the Yongli emperor fleeing into nearby Burma , which was then ruled by King Pindale Min of

14985-432: The status of Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi's Guangdong feudatories. He had to pay customs duties to the Qing while maintaining control of his maritime trading organization, the Qing would appoint civil officials in the four prefectures of Huizhou, Chaozhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou which he would take control of while he would still command his army. The Qing ordered him to adopt the queue if he wanted to receive this deal. Adopting

15120-476: The system, leaving administrators helpless to respond in an age of upheaval. Civil servants were selected by an arduous examination system which tested knowledge of classic literature. While they might be adapt at citing precedents from the Zhou dynasty of righteous and unrighteous behavior, they were rarely as knowledgeable when it came to contemporary economic, social, or military matters. Unlike previous dynasties,

15255-487: The thousands of lives in Yangzhou!" Shi Kefa was then executed. Dodo was infuriated by the heavy casualties sustained by his army in conquering Yangzhou so he ordered that the entire city be put to the sword (the event is known as the Yangzhou massacre ). Twelve days after Shi Kefa's death, his remains could not be found. A year later in 1646, Shi Dewei buried Shi Kefa's headdress and garments at Plum Blossom Ridge outside

15390-492: The throne. The prince had a problematic reputation in terms of Confucian morality, so some members of the Donglin faction suggested the Prince of Lu as an alternative. Other officials noted that the Prince of Fu, as next in line by blood, was clearly the safer choice. In any case, the so-called "righteousness" faction was not keen to risk a confrontation with Ma, who arrived in Nanjing with a large fleet on June 17. The Prince of Fu

15525-400: The time and was nice to him before he was not executed but he was scared and went into retirement, giving up control over his troops to Koxinga. He died in 1654 after living on an island for the rest of his life. Shi Lang had warned that Xiamen could be subjected to attack so Shi Lang's arrogance and habit of disobeying orders grew. Koxinga responded by jailing his brother, his father, and him on

15660-639: The title of "Great King of Light" ( Da Ming wang ; 大明王 ) from Han Shantong , leader of the White Lotus sect. The term Ming was also used to refer to the Mingjiao , or the "Bright Religion", which was influenced by Manichaeism and played a role in the ideology of the White Lotus and the Red Turban rebellion. By claiming to embody the rebels' belief in the coming of Ming wang, the King of Light,

15795-587: Was Zheng Tai, who also had been to Nagasaki and dealt with commerce related to Japan. The Ming loyalist Chinese pirate Yang Yandi (Dương Ngạn Địch) and his fleet sailed to Vietnam to leave the Qing dynasty in March 1682, first appearing off the coast of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. According to the Vietnamese account, Vũ Duy Chí (武惟志), a minister of the Vietnamese Lê dynasty came up with a plan to defeat

15930-480: Was a government official and calligrapher who lived in the late Ming dynasty . He was born in Xiangfu (祥符; present-day Kaifeng , Henan ) and claimed ancestry from Daxing County, Shuntian Prefecture (順天府大興縣; in present-day Beijing ). He was mentored by Zuo Guangdou ( 左光斗 ). He served as the Minister of War in Nanjing during the early part of his career. He is best remembered for his defence of Yangzhou from

16065-742: Was a ninth-generation descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang who had been put under house arrest in 1636 by the Chongzhen emperor. He was pardoned and restored to his princely title by the Hongguang emperor. When Nanjing fell in June 1645, he was in Suzhou en route to his new fiefdom in Guangxi . When Hangzhou fell on July 6, he retreated up the Qiantang River and proceeded to Fujian from a land route that went through northeastern Jiangxi and mountainous areas in northern Fujian. Protected by General Zheng Hongkui, on July 10 he proclaimed his intention to become regent of

16200-558: Was agreed on in 1649, and Milayan and Ding nominally pledged allegiance to the Qing and were given ranks as members of the Qing military. When other Ming loyalists in southern China made a resurgence and the Qing were forced to withdraw their forces from Gansu to fight them, Milayan and Ding once again took up arms and rebelled against the Qing. The Muslim Ming loyalists were then crushed by the Qing with 100,000 of them, including Milayin, Ding Guodong, and Turumtay killed in battle. The Confucian Hui Muslim scholar Ma Zhu (1640–1710) served with

16335-494: Was captured as a prisoner-of-war. Dodo tried to persuade Shi Kefa to surrender and serve him, saying, "Previously we sent you a letter politely asking for your surrender, but you refused. Now that you've fulfilled your loyalty and righteousness, you should take on a new important responsibility – help me conquer Jiangnan ." Shi Kefa replied, "I fall together with the city. My decision will not change. Even if I'm torn to pieces, my feelings will be as sweet as maltose . But do not harm

16470-507: Was crowned as the Hongguang emperor on June 19. It was decided that the next lunar year would be the first year of the Hongguang reign. The Hongguang court proclaimed that its goal was "to ally with the Tartars to pacify the bandits," that is, to seek cooperation with Qing military forces in order to annihilate rebel peasant militia led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong . Because Ma was the emperor's main supporter, he started to monopolize

16605-537: Was directly disobeyed Koxinga's orders, while Koxinga was on his way to help the Yongli emperor. Because the uncles had their own command chain in their armies and they were of the older generation than Koxinga they decided they had the right to violate standing orders Koxinga's men forced him to turn back after they heard what happened to their homes and families in Xiamen so he returned. Zheng Zhiwan and his staff were executed by Koxinga and his own army absorbed Zhiwan's troops. Because Zheng Hongkui sided with Koxinga most of

16740-534: Was either killed or escaped and was never again found as he tried to escape to Jiangxi. The Qing invited Zheng Zhilong to a banquet for negotiations. His son Koxinga and brother Zheng Hongkui cried and beseeched Zheng Zhilong not to go. He had 500 war junks and army which he could still use to rule. They also knew of the queue order. Tagawa Matsu was ..... by the Manchus according to one account and she committed suicide. One confused Chinese account said that Koxinga cut out his mother's intestines and washed them, following

16875-407: Was later transported to Beijing, where he died the following year. The official history , written under Qing sponsorship in the eighteenth century, blames Ma's lack of foresight, his hunger for power and money, and his thirst for private revenge for the fall of the Nanjing court. Zhu Changfang, Prince of Lu , declared himself regent in 1645, but surrendered the next year. In 1644, Zhu Yujian

17010-478: Was lionized and there was a wave of hopeless sacrifice by loyalists who vowed to erase the shame of Nanjing. By late 1646, the heroics had petered out and the Qing advance had resumed. Notable Ming "pretenders" held court in Fuzhou (1645–1646), Guangzhou (1646–1647), and Anlong (1652–1659). The Yongli Emperor was the last and also the longest reigning Emperor of the dynasty (1646–1662) and managed to fight against

17145-473: Was necessary to have a broad consensus among court dignitaries before making any major decisions. After the Central Secretariat was abolished, there was no longer a position equivalent to the prime minister. The Hongwu Emperor explicitly forbade its reinstatement, making the emperor the sole authority above the ministers, Censorate, and military offices. The smooth functioning of the government

17280-427: Was necessary to rally loyalist support. In early June, a caretaker government led by the Prince of Fu was created. By the time he arrived in the vicinity of Nanjing, the prince could already count on the support of both Ma Shiying and Shi Kefa. He entered the city on June 5 and accepted the title "protector of the state" the next day. Prodded by some court officials, the Prince of Fu immediately begin to consider ascending

17415-416: Was not kept informed of even the most insignificant matters. The subsequent monarchs of the dynasty lacked the decisiveness of their predecessors, and their power was limited by traditional expectations. The emperors were not expected to take the lead in determining the direction of the country. Instead, they were presented with memoranda and demands that already included proposed solutions. The ruler's role

17550-517: Was now protecting the Yongli emperor, retook Guilin ( Guangxi province) from the Qing. Within a month, most of the commanders who had been supporting the Qing in Guangxi reverted to the Ming side. Despite occasional successful military campaigns in Huguang and Guangdong in the next two years, Li failed to retake important cities. In 1653, the Qing court put Hong Chengchou in charge of retaking

17685-551: Was similar to the "barbarian-quelling generalissimo" title of the shogun. The Chinese mufu (tent government) was the model for the bakufu in Japan. Koxinga was an idealist who fought for restoring the Ming before 1651 but the disaster at Xiamen changed his tactics. Koxinga's uncles Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhiwan had allowed the Qing to attack and pillage Xiamen without a fight after the Qing threatened they would harm Zheng Zhilong and his family who were under house arrest in Beijing. This

17820-736: Was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people . After its downfall, China was conquered by the Manchu -led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). The Han-led state was only restored after the fall of the Qing dynasty, with the establishment of the Republic of China as a nation state in 1912. Its founder was Zhu Yuanzhang , the leader of a major rebellion against the Mongol -led Yuan dynasty . He and his descendants lifted China to long-term economic prosperity and political stability. Over time, thanks to

17955-458: Was therefore dependent on the emperor's active participation. The emperor's secretaries, Grand Secretaries, or high-ranking eunuchs took on the role of coordinator at the top of the administrative apparatus. They were responsible for coordinating the interests of different departments and consulted with the emperor daily on matters under discussion. However, their actual power was dependent on the emperor's approval of their decisions. They did not have

18090-445: Was to either approve the proposed solutions or reach an agreement with the submitters on an alternative solution. Similarly, the emperor's appointments of officials and generals were based on proposals from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War . In the case of high dignitaries, the emperor was given a choice between two to three candidates. Important matters were discussed at official audiences or informal meetings, and it

18225-666: Was used by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in 1644 to seize power in the Central Plains . The founder and first emperor of the dynasty was Zhu Yuanzhang , born in 1328 to a poor Chinese peasant family in Zhongli County ( 鍾離 , present-day Fengyang County ) in Anhui , located in central China on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River . After losing his parents and two brothers to an epidemic in 1344, he spent time in

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