Wu Sangui (Chinese: 吳三桂; pinyin: Wú Sānguì; Wade-Giles: Wu San-kuei; styled Changbai 長白 or Changbo 長伯) (1612 – October 2, 1678) was a Ming Chinese general who was instrumental in the succession of rule for the Qing Dynasty in 1644. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Wade-Giles (ˌweɪdˈʤaɪlz) sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system (phonetic notation and Transcription) for the Mandarin A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name ( zì) is a given name to be used later in life Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China Considered by some to be a traitor to both the Ming and the Qing dynasties, Wu declared himself Emperor of China as ruler of the Zhou Dynasty in 1678, but his revolt was quelled by the Kangxi Emperor. The Emperor of China ( refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of The Kangxi Emperor ( Mongolian Enkh Amgalan Khaan, May 4, 1654 &ndash December 20, 1722) was the third Emperor of
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Early life and service under Ming
Wu was born in Gaoyou, Jiangsu Province to Wu Xiang (吳襄). Gaoyou ( lit "high post (stop" also called Qinyou ( " Qín post stop" is a cultural city with a long history in China's Jiangsu ( Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country Under the patronage of his father Wu Xiang and maternal uncle Zu Dashou, He quickly rose to the rank of full General (Zong Bing) at the young age of 27. Zu Dashou ( Chinese: 祖大壽 Pinyin: Zǔ Dàshòu ? - 1656 was a Ming General under Grand Secretary Sun Chengzong, Marshal Yuan Chonghuan
He was one of the Generals at the Battle of Songjin. The Battle of Songjin ( Chinese: 松錦之戰 in 1640 spelled the end of the Ming Dynasty. He escaped capture.
Defection to Qing
In 1644, Wu opened the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhai Pass to let Manchu soldiers, enemies of the Empire which he served, into China proper. The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th Shanhaiguan or Shanhai Pass ( literally "Mountain and Sea Pass" is a part of the city of Qinhuangdao, in Hebei province People's Republic The Manchu people ( Manchu: Manju;, Mongolian: Манж Russian: Маньчжуры are a Tungusic people who originated in China proper (also known as Inner China) refers to the historical lands of China where the Han Chinese are the majority Ethnic group, in contrast
He did not surrender to the Manchus until after the defensive capability of the Ming Empire had been greatly weakened and political apparatus destroyed by the armies of Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng ( ( September 22, 1606 - 1644 born Lĭ Hóngjī (鴻基 was one of the major figures in the rebellion that brought down the Ming Dynasty China Wu was about to join the rebel forces of Li, who had already sacked Beijing, when he heard that his concubine Chen Yuanyuan had been taken by Li. Chen Yuanyuan (Chinese 陈圆圆 1624–1681 born Xing Yuan (邢沅 lived near the end of the Ming Dynasty, and was a Concubine of Wu Sangui Enraged, he contacted and negotiated with the Manchu and their leader Dorgon, resulting in the opening of the gates of the Great Wall. Dorgon ( Manchu:;) ( November 17, 1612 &ndash December 31, 1650) also known as Hošoi Mergen Cin Wang, the Prince
It is commonly believed that this act led to the ultimate destruction of the Ming Empire and the establishment of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China
Loyalty and revolt
He was rewarded with the position of Pingxi Wang (平西王) in Yunnan by the Qing imperial court, after he conquered the region from the remnants of Ming loyalists. It had been extremely rare for someone outside of the royal family, especially a non-Manchu, to be granted the title of Wang (king). Those being awarded the title of Wang who were not members of the royal family were called Yixing Wang (异姓王, literally meaning "kings whose surnames are different from that of the emperor"). It was believed that Yixing Wangs didn't usually have good ends, largely because they were not trusted by emperors as members of the emperors' own family were.
Wu Sangui was not trusted by the Qing imperial court, but he was still able to rule his land with little or no interference from the imperial court, largely because the Manchus, an ethnic minority, needed time after their prolonged conquest to figure out how to impose the rule of a dynasty of minority people on the vast Han-Chinese society they held in their hands. In fact, as a semi-independent ruler in the distant southwest, he was seen as an asset to the Qing court, and for much of his rule he received massive annual subsidies from the central government. This money, as well as the long period of stability, was spent by Wu Sangui in bolstering his army in the southwest, in preparation for an eventual clash with the Qing.
In 1674, he revolted against the Qing and started the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, declaring himself the "All-Supreme-Military Generalissimo" (Tiānxià Dōuzhāotǎo Bīngmǎ Dàyuánshuài 天下都招討兵馬大元帥). The Three Feudatories ( were territories in southern China bestowed by the early Manchu rulers on three Chinese generals ( Wu Sangui, Geng Jingzhong In 1678, he went further and declared himself the emperor of a new Zhou Dynasty, with the era name of Zhaowu (昭武). A Chinese era name ( is the Era name, reign period or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese He made his capital at Hengzhou (衡州), which is now Hengyang, Hunan. Hengyang ( is the second largest city of China 's Hunan Province Hengyang ( is the second largest city of China 's Hunan Province ( is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning He died there in the same year of natural causes and was succeeded by his grandson Wu Shifan. The remnants of his armies were defeated soon thereafter.
Wu Sangui's son, Wu Yingxiong (吳應熊), married the fourteenth daughter (建寧公主) of Manchu emperor Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji ( November 28 1592 &ndash September 21 1643; reigned 1626 &ndash 1643 also transliterated as Hung Taiji
In modern culture
Wu Sangui in contemporary China was regarded as a traitor and opportunist, due to his betrayal of both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.
His early life and military career were portrayed in the China Central Television show Jiangshan Fengyuqing (江山风雨情, which could be loosely translated as "Turmoil and love stories of the late Ming Dynasty"). China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV ( is the major television broadcaster in Mainland China
Zhou Dynasty (1678 – 1681)
| Convention: use personal name | |||
| Temple names | Family name and first name | Period of reign | Era name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tai Zu (太祖) | Wú Sānguì (吳三桂) | March 1678 – August 1678 | Zhāowǔ (昭武) |
| Wú Shìfán (吳世璠) | August 1678 – 1681 | Hónghuà (洪化) | |
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