The Southern Ming Dynasty’s Precarious Position

In the turbulent autumn of 1647, the Southern Ming court under the Yongli Emperor Zhu Youlang faced existential threats from the advancing Qing forces. Following a series of defeats, the emperor had retreated to Liuzhou in Guangxi province, where his loyal minister Qu Shisi urgently advocated relocating the imperial court to Guilin. Qu argued that Guilin’s strategic location—protected by natural barriers and fortified defenses—made it an ideal base to reclaim lost territories in Hunan and Guangdong.

The military situation initially appeared stable: Chen Bangfu guarded Wuzhou to the south, Jiao Lian defended Yangshuo and Pingle, while He Tengjiao and Hao Yongzhong blocked Qing advances at Quanzhou and Xing’an. However, Zhu Youlang hesitated, preferring the perceived safety of Guangxi’s interior. Only after a victory against Qing general Geng Zhongming in December 1647 did the emperor finally move to Guilin—a decision that would soon prove disastrous.

The Collapse of Defenses

The Southern Ming’s fragile stability shattered when Li Chengdong, the Qing commander in Guangdong, crushed anti-Qing uprisings and marched westward. Chen Bangfu abandoned Wuzhou without resistance, allowing Qing troops to reclaim the city in November 1647. This triggered a chain reaction: Hao Yongzhong, fearing for his family and supplies in Guilin, withdrew from Quanzhou, followed by He Tengjiao’s forces.

The garrison at Quanzhou, left under Tang Wenyao and Wang Youchen, interpreted these retreats as abandonment. Upon learning of Wuzhou’s fall, they conspired with official Ma Mingluan to surrender to the Qing. Despite initial skepticism from Geng Zhongming, the defectors sealed their betrayal by murdering loyalist Zhou Zhen and presenting his head as a trophy. By December 17, Quanzhou—the gateway to Guangxi—was in Qing hands.

The Flight from Guilin

With Quanzhou lost, Qing forces advanced toward Guilin in early 1648. He Tengjiao’s panicked retreat from Xing’an and the annihilation of Hao Yongzhong’s cavalry left the capital vulnerable. At a tense council meeting on February 21, Qu Shisi pleaded for resistance, warning that further retreat would doom the Southern Ming cause. The Yongli Emperor, however, had already resolved to flee, coldly telling Qu: “You merely wish for me to die for the dynasty.”

Chaos erupted as the court prepared to depart. Soldiers looted the city, including Qu Shisi’s home, despite attempts to restrain them. Contemporary accounts—some likely exaggerated—describe Hao Yongzhong’s troops ransacking the imperial palace and Qu being stripped and humiliated. By dawn on February 22, the emperor and his retinue were en route to Yongfu, leaving Guilin to its fate.

The Cultural and Strategic Repercussions

The fall of Guilin exposed deeper flaws in the Southern Ming resistance:

– Leadership Failures: Zhu Youlang’s indecision and He Tengjiao’s cowardice contrasted sharply with Qu Shisi’s resolve, undermining military cohesion.
– Fragile Loyalties: Defections like those at Quanzhou revealed the tenuous allegiance of regional commanders, often motivated by self-preservation.
– Propaganda Wars: Exaggerated reports of looting (e.g., claims the emperor was dragged from his bed) were weaponized by both sides to discredit opponents.

Legacy of a Turning Point

This crisis marked the beginning of the Yongli court’s irreversible decline. Though sporadic resistance continued, the loss of Guangxi’s heartland forced the emperor into a nomadic existence, eventually fleeing to Kunming and later Burma. Qu Shisi’s martyrdom—he was executed after refusing to surrender Guilin in 1650—cemented his reputation as a symbol of Ming loyalism.

Modern historians view the 1647–48 collapse as emblematic of the Southern Ming’s structural weaknesses: factionalism, poor coordination, and overreliance on regional warlords. Yet the episode also highlights the tragic determination of figures like Qu Shisi, whose defiance resonates in Chinese narratives of resilience against overwhelming odds.

The Yongli Emperor’s flight from Guilin thus stands not merely as a military defeat, but as a poignant chapter in the Ming-Qing transition—one where courage and desperation collided on the precipice of dynastic collapse.