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*''Chinese'': [[吳]]三桂 ''(Wú Sānguì)''

*''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.

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. He later led Manchu forces in hunting down the last of the [[Ming loyalists|Ming claimants to the throne]], and was rewarded with a fief, becoming one of the leaders of the [[Revolt of Three Feudatories]].

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?).

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?).

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.

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 province|Guangdong]] or neighboring provinces to hold as their personal fiefdoms.<ref>Spence, 42.</ref>

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 was given a significant swath of land - all of [[Yunnan province|Yunnan]] and [[Guizhou province]]s, as well as parts of [[Hunan province|Hunan]] and [[Sichuan province|Sichuan]] - to hold as his personal fiefdom, while two other prominent pro-Manchu former-Ming generals, [[Shang Kexi]] and [[Geng Jimao]], were given similar fiefs in [[Guangdong province|Guangdong]] and [[Fujian province]s.<ref>Spence, 42.</ref>

 

Wu, Shang, and Geng enjoyed considerable autonomy in their fiefdoms, keeping tax revenue for themselves, controlling trade, and so forth. They began to think about pushing for truer independence, even as the Qing Court began to worry about that eventuality, and began to consider trying to bring these provinces back under more direct central control. In [[1671]], Geng Jimao died and Shang Kexi fell ill, and both passed on their fiefs to their sons; whether the Qing originally intended these fiefs to be hereditary is unclear, but this development certainly worried them. Wu and the other two generals tested the waters of the Qing position in [[1673]] by petitioning to be permitted to give up their fiefs and to retire to [[Manchuria]]; they took the Court's enthusiastic response as an indication that the Court wanted to take away their lands, and so all three declared their independence and rose in revolt. Wu moved deeper into Hunan province, where he declared a new state, [[Wu Zhou|the Great Zhou]], though he did not name himself emperor initially, earning much popular support among southern Chinese by leaving that space open for any surviving Ming Imperial Prince to claim.<ref name=spence49>Spence, 49-53.</ref>

 

Scholars generally agree that, at the outset, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories had the potential to successfully separate southern China from the Qing Empire, or perhaps to even recapture the whole of China for the Han Chinese, ending Manchu leadership only decades after it began. However, for a variety of reasons including the fact that Wu, Shang, and Geng fought separately and did not coordinate their efforts with one another, the Revolt ended fairly quickly. [[Geng Jingzhong]] and [[Shang Zhixin]] surrendered in [[1676]] and [[1677]] respectively, and Wu Sangui died the following year, shortly after declaring himself emperor of his Great Zhou state. His grandson continued to fight for the Grand Zhou for three more years, before finally being cornered by Manchu forces and committing suicide in [[Kunming]] in [[1681]].<ref name=spence49/>

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