Editing Li Zicheng

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{other uses}}
{{short description|17th-century Chinese rebel leader}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Li Zicheng<br/> {{nobold|{{lang|zh|李自成}}}}
| image = 李自成雕像.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption =
| title = 
| succession = [[Shun dynasty|Emperor of the Shun dynasty]]
| predecessor =
| successor = Li Zijing
| succession1 = [[Emperor of China]]
| moretext1    = (disputed)
| predecessor1 = [[Chongzhen Emperor]] ([[Ming dynasty]])
| successor1 = [[Shunzhi Emperor]] ([[Qing dynasty]])
| birth_name = Li Hongji<br>(李鴻基)
| birth_date = 22 September 1606
| birth_place = Li Jiqian Village (李繼遷寨), [[Yan'an]] prefecture, northeast [[Shaanxi]], [[Ming dynasty]]
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1645|1606}}
| death_place = border of [[Hubei]], [[Hunan]] and [[Jiangxi]], [[Qing dynasty]]
| full name = Li Zicheng<br>(李自成)
| reign = 1644–1645
| coronation = 8 February 1644<br>[[Xi'an]]<br>3 June 1644<br>Hall of Martial Valor, [[Shuntian Prefecture]]
| cor-type = Enthronement
| reign1 = 1644–1645
| house = Li
| dynasty = [[Shun dynasty|Shun]]
| spouse = [[Gao Guiying]]
| era name = Yongchang (永昌)
| era dates = 1644–1645
| temple name = 
| posthumous name = 
| regnal name = 
}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Li (李)|Li]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Chinese|c=李自成|p=Lǐ Zìchéng|w=Li<sup>3</sup> Tzŭ<sup>4</sup>-ch'eng<sup>2</sup>|mi={{IPAc-cmn|l|i|3|-|zi|4|.|ch|eng|2}}|altname=Li Hongji|t2=李鴻基|s2=李鸿基|p2=Lǐ Hóngjī|w2=Li Hung-chi|altname3=Dashing King|t3=闖王|s3=闯王|p3=Chuǎng Wáng|w3=Ch'uang Wang}}

'''Li Zicheng''' (<!-- DO NOT add the Chinese characters for his name here. They are already in the name box on the right side of this page. -->22 September 1606 – 1645<ref>The [[Chinese Wikipedia]] article on [[:zh:李自成|Li Zicheng]] gave his death date as 17 May 1645.</ref>), born '''Li Hongji''', also known by his nickname, the  '''Dashing King''',<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Cultural Centrality and Political Change in Chinese History : Northeast Henan in the Fall of the Ming|last=Des Forges|first=Roger V.|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8047-4044-5|location=Stanford, California|pages=206, 209}}</ref> was a Chinese [[Late Ming peasant rebellions|peasant rebel]] leader who helped overthrow the [[Ming dynasty]] in April 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the '''Yongchang Emperor''' ({{zh|c=永昌帝|p=Yǒngchāng Dì}}) of the short-lived [[Shun dynasty]] before his death a year later.

==Biography==
Li Zicheng was born in 1606 as Li Hongji to an impoverished family of farmers in Li Jiqian village, [[Yan'an]] prefecture, northeast [[Shaanxi province]]. Li Zicheng had a brother who was 20 years his senior and raised Li Zicheng alongside his son and Zicheng's nephew, Li Guo. While Li Zicheng was literate, the source of his education is disputed. Over the course of his late adolescence and early adulthood, Li worked on a farm, in a wine shop, in a blacksmith's shop, and as a mailman for the state courier system.

According to folklore, in 1630, Li was put on public display in an iron collar and shackles for failing to repay loans to a usurious magistrate. The magistrate, a man by the name of Ai, struck a guard who tried to give Li shade and water. A group of sympathetic peasants freed Li from his shackles, spirited him to a nearby hill, and proclaimed him their leader. Although they were only armed with wooden sticks, Li and his band managed to ambush a group of government soldiers sent to arrest them, and obtained their first real weapons.<ref name=":0" />

By the late Ming dynasty era, the government had been weakened financially, and struggled to deal with the economic issues, environmental problems, and widespread disease (smallpox and possibly the plague) that afflicted peasant populations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Troubled Empire : China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties|last=Brook|first=Timothy|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-674-04602-3|location=US|pages=249–253}}</ref> In 1639, an epidemic that would later become known as the [[Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty|Chongzhen Great Plague]] hit the Yangzi region and spread across the north. Famine and drought compounded the social discontent caused by the epidemic. Environmental disaster, disease, and the failure of the Chongzhen government to protect its people led to major peasant uprisings across Northern China beginning in 1628, with the Shaanxi province as an epicenter of rebellion.<ref name=":1" /> Li Zicheng and [[Zhang Xianzhong]], also from Shaanxi province, were two of the major leaders in the peasant rebellions during the late Ming dynasty.

In 1633, Li joined a rebel army led by Gao Yingxiang (高迎祥), nicknamed "the Dashing King.” He inherited Gao's nickname and command of the rebel army after Gao's death.<ref name=":0" />

Within three years, Li succeeded in rallying more than 30,000 men to his cause. They attacked and killed prominent government officials such as [[Sun Chuanting]] in [[Henan]], [[Shanxi]], and [[Shaanxi]]. As Li won more battles and gained more support, his army grew larger. Historians attribute this growth in numbers to Li's reputation as a [[Robin Hood]]-style figure who showed compassion to the poor and only attacked Ming officials.<ref name=":0" />

Li advocated the slogans of "dividing land equally" and "abolishing the grain taxes payment system" which won great support from the peasants. The song, "Killing cattle and sheep, preparing tasty wine and opening the city gate to welcome the Dashing King" was widely spread at the time.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

The [[1642 Kaifeng flood]], caused by breaches of the [[Yellow River]] dikes by both sides,<ref>Lorge, Peter Allan ''War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China, 900–1795'' Routledge;  (2005) {{ISBN|978-0-415-31691-0}}    [https://books.google.com/books?id=SE2Gw8rjuXQC&dq=1642+flood+++Ming+Kaifeng&pg=PA147 p.147]</ref> ended the siege of [[Kaifeng]] and killed over 300,000 of its 378,000 residents.<ref>[[Xu Xin (Judaic scholar)|Xu Xin]] ''The Jews of Kaifeng, China: history, culture, and religion'' Ktav Pub Inc (2003) {{ISBN|978-0-88125-791-5}} p. 47</ref> After the battles of Luoyang and Kaifeng, the Ming government was unable to stop Li's rebellion, as most of its military force was involved in the battle against the [[Manchu]]s in the north.

In 1643, Li captured [[Xiangyang]] and proclaimed himself "King of Xinshun" (新順王).

Titling himself "Prince of the New Discipline", he established a capital at Xi'an.<ref name=":Ma&Kang">{{Cite book |last=Ma |first=Xinru |title=Beyond Power Transitions: The Lessons of East Asian History and the Future of U.S.-China Relations |last2=Kang |first2=David C. |date=2024 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-55597-5 |series=Columbia Studies in International Order and Politics |location=New York}}</ref>{{Rp|page=118}}

[[File:Southern Ming.png|thumb|upright=1.4|The situation as of November 1644]]
In April 1644, Li and 300,000 troops marched on the Ming capital of Beijing.<ref name=":Ma&Kang" />{{Rp|page=118}} They captured Beijing (the gates of which were opened from inside) and the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] hanged himself.<ref name=":Ma&Kang" />{{Rp|pages=118-119}} Li proclaimed himself the emperor of the [[Shun dynasty]].<ref name=":Ma&Kang" />{{Rp|page=118}} Li, as all contenders for the throne were required, claimed to have the Mandate of Heaven bestowed upon him. Firstly, Li was [[Han Chinese]] and hailed from the Shaanxi province of China, which strengthened his legitimacy to the throne versus the foreign Manchus. Li also gained the support of scholar officials which was important in ruling over the people of China as a Confucian state. The name of the dynasty is translated to mean "Obedient to Heaven".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Imperial China : 1350–1900|last=Porter|first=Jonathan|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2016|isbn=978-1442222939|location=US|pages=119–121}}</ref>

Li's army was eventually defeated on 27 May 1644 at the [[Battle of Shanhai Pass]] by the combined forces of the Manchurian Prince [[Dorgon]] and the Ming general [[Wu Sangui]] who had defected to his side. The Ming and Manchu forces captured Beijing on 6 June and [[Fulin]] ascended to the throne to establish the [[Shunzhi Emperor|Shunzhi]] reign with Dorgon as his regent.<ref name=":2" />

When Wu Sangui and Prince Dorgon took control of Beijing, Li fled to Xi'an<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=China's Last Empire : The Great Qing|last=Rowe|first=William T.|publisher=First Harvard University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-674-03612-3|location=US|pages=19}}</ref> in Shaanxi. It is not known how or if Li died during his flight, and there are multiple accounts of his death which vary and some of them have been exaggerated. However, across multiple sources, the year of his death is said to have been 1645. One account states that in the summer of 1645 Li went to raid a village in search of provisions with his remaining followers and was killed by soldiers guarding the village.<ref name=":3" />  Another theory is that Li Zicheng became a monk and died in 1674.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lizicheng.com/ |title= 奉天玉和尚 |access-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120013552/https://www.lizicheng.com/ |archive-date=20 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lin Qing, the leader of the [[Eight Trigrams uprising of 1813]] by the Tianli sect (天理教) of the [[White Lotus Societies|White Lotus]], proclaimed that he was the reincarnation of Li Zicheng.<ref name="Religious History in the Qing Dynasty">{{cite book |author1=Li Shi |title=Religious History in the Qing Dynasty |url=https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/religious-history-in-the-qing-dynasty |access-date=25 April 2024 |language=En |quote=saying that he was the reincarnation of Li Zicheng and}}</ref>

== Historiography ==
Although the success of the [[Ming-Qing transition]] was attributed to the weakening of the [[Ming dynasty]] (exacerbated by Li Zicheng's rebellion), official historiography during the [[Qing dynasty]] regarded Li as an illegitimate usurper and outlaw. This view sought to discourage and demonize notions of rebellion against the Qing government, by propagating that the Manchus put an end to Li's illegitimate rule and restore peace to the empire, thus receiving the [[Mandate of Heaven]] to rule China.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

In the ''[[History of Ming]]'', Li Zicheng was described as having high cheekbones, deep-set eyes and a jackal-like voice.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Li Yan, a semi-mythical advisor of Li Zicheng who was thought to have died in 1644, has been suspected to be a metaphor for the rise and fall of Li Zicheng’s rebellion, as historians doubt his existence in real life.<ref name="The Mythistorical Chinese Scholar-Rebel-Advisor Li Yan A Global Perspective, 1606-2018 (Leiden in Comparative Historiography, 12)">{{cite book |author1=Roger V. Des Forges |title=The Mythistorical Chinese Scholar-Rebel-Advisor Li Yan A Global Perspective, 1606–2018 (Leiden in Comparative Historiography, 12) |date=2020 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004421066 |language=En}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[File:李自成行宫.png|thumb|Monument of Li Zicheng on Mount Panlong, [[Mizhi County]]]]
Li appears as a bandit in [[Baifa Monü Zhuan]], a wuxia novel by [[Liang Yusheng]], where the heroine comments he is worthy of being a king.
Li is featured as a character in some of the works of Hong Kong ''[[wuxia]]'' writer [[Jin Yong]] (Louis Cha). Li's rebellion against the [[Ming dynasty]] is featured in ''[[Sword Stained with Royal Blood]]'' and his personality is analysed from the point of view of [[List of Sword Stained with Royal Blood characters|Yuan Chengzhi]], the protagonist. In ''[[The Deer and the Cauldron]]'', set in the [[Qing dynasty]] during the early reign of the [[Kangxi Emperor]], Li is revealed to have survived and fathered a daughter, [[List of The Deer and the Cauldron characters|A'ke]], with [[Chen Yuanyuan]]. Li is also briefly mentioned by name in ''[[Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain]]'' and ''[[The Young Flying Fox]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

Li is the main character of the historical epic novel ''Li Zicheng'' by [[Yao Xueyin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.danwei.org/books/an_updated_li_zicheng_for_cont.php |title=A tragic peasant rebellion, abridged for today's readers |first=Joel |last=Martinsen |publisher=Danwei |date= 17 January 2008}}</ref>

Li also makes an appearance in the visual novel {{Interlanguage link|The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty|zh|饿殍：明末千里行}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=噔噔咚！他来了。——《饿殍：明末千里行》李闯将美术设计展示 - CnGal 中文GalGame资料站 |url=https://www.cngal.org/articles/index/3205 |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=www.cngal.org}}</ref> 

== In folklore ==
There are many stories and folklore attributed to Li Zicheng. One such story claims that when Li Zicheng was young he killed one of his classmates and was promptly disowned by his family and shunned by his community.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite ECCP|title=Li Tzŭ-ch'êng}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060426164934/http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/sheji/sj-mq.html Maoist era propaganda posters glorifying Li Zicheng]

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Shun dynasty|House of Li]]|22 September|1606||1645|name="Dashing King"}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Chongzhen Emperor]] ([[Ming dynasty]])}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Emperor of China]]|years=1643–1645|dynasty=[[Shun dynasty]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shunzhi Emperor]] ([[Qing dynasty]])}}
{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Zicheng}}
[[Category:1606 births]]
[[Category:1645 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yan'an]]
[[Category:Assassinated revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Deaths by edged and bladed weapons]]
[[Category:Chinese revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Qing dynasty people]]
[[Category:Ming dynasty rebels]]
[[Category:Emperors of China]]
[[Category:17th-century Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:Politicians from Yulin, Shaanxi]]
[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:Shun dynasty]]
[[Category:Founding monarchs]]
[[Category:People assassinated in the 17th century]]
[[Category:17th-century farmers]]