Wu Sangui

• Chinese: 吳三桂 (Wú Sānguì)

Wu Sangui was a high-ranking Ming Dynasty general, charged with the defense of the northeast and of the Shanhaiguan pass in particular. He is known for having joined up with the Manchu armies of the Qing Dynasty, allowing them to pass through the Pass to Beijing, in order to oust the rebel Li Zicheng; this led directly to the Qing taking Beijing, and terminating the Ming Dynasty.

Though a more basic simplification of the events of 1644 might make Wu appear a traitor who aided the Manchus to fell a Chinese dynasty, historian Jonathan Spence represents him as a more upright and practically-minded general who was caught between two difficult options. Li Zicheng took Beijing in April of 1644, and the last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, killed himself mere days later, as Li's men ransacked the city. Wu thus found himself caught between a Han Chinese rebel group that had already shown its violent, destructive, and chaotic character, beyond even the control of Li himself, and a non-Han, "barbarian" group which was well-consolidated, well-organized, and boasted at least some of the central features of "civilized" Chinese government. Spence does not directly address whether the Ming military was completely scattered or defeated, or whether any legitimate Ming heir might still be found - that is, whether the restoration of the Ming was at all possible. Some stories also suggest that Li Zicheng had captured Wu's father, giving him reason to hold off on opposing Li (for fear his father might be killed, as he later was), and/or that Li had captured and had his way with Wu's favorite concubine, thus giving Wu reason to have anger and a desire for vengeance against Li. In the end, whatever his reasons may have been, Wu chose to side with the Manchus, allowing them through the Shanhaiguan Pass (and thus, past the Great Wall), leading them to Beijing, and fighting off a detachment Li sent against him.

Li declared himself to be of imperial status on June 3, 1644, but abandoned the city the following day, taking most if not all of his men, and a vast wealth of loot, off to the west. The Manchus entered the city two days later, and placed the young son of Hong Taiji on the throne, naming him the Shunzhi Emperor, and in so doing claiming themselves the legitimate ruling imperial dynasty of China.

References

• Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China, Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 32-33.