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. The Ming military quickly fragmented, with each of several hundred imperial princes drawing followers to himself, to attempt to be the one who would restore the Ming and claim the throne for himself. 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. If he were to lead his men to Beijing to combat the rebels, it would leave the Great Wall undefended, allowing the Manchus to flow through the pass; if he stood his post and defended the Wall against the Manchus, however, there would soon be no Ming left to defend (and which of the hundreds of claimants would he support, in such a situation?).

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. Wu commanded one of the largest and best-equipped forces in the entire empire, even before the fragmentation of the army; with perhaps as many as 100,000 men, armed with some number of the best artillery weapons in all of East Asia, Wu fought off a detachment Li sent against him, and allowed the Manchus through the Shanhaiguan Pass and led them to Beijing.

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.

Following the Qing conquest of Beijing, Wu continued to lead armies in support of their conquest of the remainder of China. In 1662, he pursued the last claimant to the Ming throne, the Prince of Gui, into Burma; after the Prince was taken hostage by the Burmese king, he was turned over to Wu, who brought the Prince into Yunnan province, where he executed the Prince and his son, bringing an end to any potential restoration of the Ming Dynasty. Once the Qing subjugated the southeast, Wu and a few other Han Chinese generals were given large areas in Guangdong or neighboring provinces to hold as their personal fiefdoms.

References

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