Wu Sangui
| Wu Sangui | |||||||||||||
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| Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty | |||||||||||||
| Reign | March 1678 – August 1678 | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | None, Kangxi Emperor as Emperor of the Qing Dynasty | ||||||||||||
| Successor | Wu Shifan | ||||||||||||
| Prince of Zhou (周王) |
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| Reign | 1674-1678 | ||||||||||||
| All-Supreme-Military Generalissimo | |||||||||||||
| Reign | 1673-1674 | ||||||||||||
| Prince Who Pacifies the West | |||||||||||||
| Reign | 1644-1678 | ||||||||||||
| Born | 1612 Gaoyou, Jiangsu, China |
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| Died | 2 October 1678 (aged 65-66) Hengyang, Hunan, China |
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| Spouse | Chen Yuanyuan | ||||||||||||
| Issue | Wu Yingxiong | ||||||||||||
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| House | Great Zhou dynasty | ||||||||||||
| Father | Wu Xiang | ||||||||||||
| Mother | Lady Zu | ||||||||||||
| Full name | |
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| Wu Sangui (吳三桂) |
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| Posthumous name | |
| Emperor Kaitiandadaotongrenjiyuntongwenshenwugao (開天達道同仁極運通文神武高皇帝) |
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| Temple name | |
| Emperor Taizu of Zhou 周太祖 |
Wu Sangui (Chinese: 吳三桂; pinyin: Wú Sānguì; Wade–Giles: Wu San-kuei; courtesy name Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯); 1612 – 2 October 1678) was a Chinese military general who was instrumental in the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644. Considered by traditional scholars as a traitor to both Ming, and ultimately, Qing, Wu in 1678 declared himself Emperor of China and ruler of the "Great Zhou", but his revolt was eventually quelled by the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Wu was born in Gaoyou, Jiangsu province to Wu Xiang and Lady Zu. 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.
Wu was one of the generals in 1640 at the Battle of Songjin, in which Qing forces defeated the Ming armies, but he escaped capture.
On 27 May 1644, Wu opened the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhai Pass to let Qing forces into China proper, forming an alliance with the Manchus. Wu ordered his soldiers to wear a white cloth attached to their armor, to distinguish them from Li Zicheng's forces.
Wu Sangui did not side with the Qing Dynasty until after the defensive capability of the Ming Dynasty had been greatly weakened and its political apparatus virtually destroyed by the rebel armies of Li Zicheng's Shun dynasty. After capturing the Ming capital Beijing and taking Wu's family there into custody, Li Zicheng sent a message to negotiate Wu's defection. When Wu took too long to reply, however, Li interpreted his lack of response as a refusal to surrender. Li then executed thirty-eight members of the Wu household, including Wu's father, whose head was displayed from the city wall. Enraged, Wu contacted the Qing regent, Dorgon, to negotiate an alliance. Wu agreed to open the gates of Shanhai Pass and surrender to the Qing. Together, Wu's army and the Qing forces fought Li Zicheng at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, defeating the Shun rebels. Having defeated Li's main army, the Qing marched into Beijing unopposed and enthroned the young Shunzhi Emperor in the Forbidden City.
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Wikipedia