The Founding of the Qing Empire
4 min readThe Founding of the Qing Empire
The last native Chinese dynasty，the Ming，was in decline by the late 16th century.Successive famines and other naturaldisasters like floods，earthquakes and epidemics struck China.
The imperial court itself was in chaos，with eunuchs and corrupt officials forming cliques and planning intrigues against each other instead of working for the good of the country.A series of weak or child emperors contributed to the mess.Yet the government still undertook many large and expensive military expeditions，like the 1592 war in Korea.Taxes had to be raised to pay for these，further placing a heavy burden on the common people.That was the phenomenon of every Chinese Dynasty.
All this coincided with the rise of the Manchu state on China’s northern borders.Descendents of the Jin Dynasty of the 12th-13th centuries，they were ethnic Manchurians.Under their first leader Nurhaci ，they expanded their territory and became a real threat to the Ming Dynasty.Nurhaci proclaimed the founding of“Da Jin” ，or the Jin state，in 1616.It was later re-named“Qing” ，signifying clarity，by his successor Abahai ，or Huangtaiji.
The able Nurhaci saw that the declining Ming Dynasty was no match for his young and rising Jin state.In 1618 he moved into China，inflicting a crushing defeat on Ming forces at the battle of in Manchuria despite being outnumbered by four enemy armies.This was due to his superior military leadership and the incompetence and cowardice of the Chinese generals.Following this successful campaign，he moved the Jin capital to Shenyang City.
After a few years of consolidating his gains，he once again undertook a campaign against Ming China，attacking Ningyuan .However，the city was defended by the capable and resolute Ming general Yuan Chonghuan，who also had a secret weapon up his sleeve:cannons，provided by Jesuit missionaries.Nurhaci，who was always at the head of charge in battles，was badly wounded this time and died soon after，leaving the throne to his son Abahai.
For the most part，Abahai（Huangtaiji），consolidated his father’s gains，and only extended the borders up to the Great Wall，not going any farther and attacking China itself.
Nevertheless，the internal troubles were no less disastrousthan those of the external for the Ming Dynasty.In 1628，Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong started a revolt that quickly gained popular support.Under the able leadership of Li，these peasant forces defeated imperial armies under the personal direction of the emperor，and captured many important cities in north and central China.By the 1640s the rebels had control over most of China，and in April 1644 Li Zicheng entered Beijing，capital of the Ming Empire.He was unopposed by the Ming garrison，most of whom had died ordeserted.The last native emperor of China，Zhu Youjian ，by reign name-Chongzhen ，hang himself on a hill behind the imperial palace.The 276-year-old Ming Dynasty had come to an end.
One of Li Zicheng’s first acts was to send out messages to the various area commanders all over China，calling upon them to lead their armies and join him.One of these was the commander at Shanhai Pass ，Wu Sangui .
Upon receipt of the message he was about to lead his army to the capital when he received the news that Li Zicheng had seized his concubine Li Yuanyuan .Enraged，he decided to cooperate with the Manchus and overthrow Li instead.Thus，he sent a message to the Qing regent Dorgon offering to open the gates of Shanhai Pass to the Manchu armies，as well as the assistance of his own troops in conquering China，changing the whole course of Chinese history.Once again，you see the importance of a single woman to influence Chinese politics.
The strategic Shanhai Pass in north China is well-fortified and is a superb defensive position.It has defied would-be conquerors of China for centuries.Naturally，Dorgon was overjoyed on receiving Wu Sangui’s message.He immediately replied positively and led the Manchu armies to rendezvous with Wu.
The allied forces pressed on to Beijing.Upon hearing the news，Li Zicheng mustered his forces and battled the ChineseManchu army.Defeated，he fled back to Beijing and hastily declared himself emperor.The next day，after receiving newsof the enemy forces closing in，he fled，having occupied the capital for just 18 days.He was later hunted down and killed by remnant Ming forces in Hubei Province.He was one of the many shortly-lived emperors in Chinese history.
The armies of Dorgon and Wu Sangui continued advancing，eliminating the last pockets of Ming resistance.By the next year the dynasty was secure，and the son of Abahai，Shun Zhi ，became the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty.As he was still very young，Dorgon remained regent.
