The Collapse of the Ming and the Birth of the Southern Ming

The fall of Beijing in 1644 marked the end of the Ming Dynasty’s central authority, but not its complete demise. As peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng toppled the capital, loyalist officials turned to Zhu Yousong, a cousin of the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, to establish a new regime in Nanjing. Proclaimed as the Hongguang Emperor, this Southern Ming court faced an existential threat—not from the peasant rebels who had sacked Beijing, but from the rising power of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, which had already crossed the Great Wall.

The Hongguang Emperor, however, proved disastrously unfit for leadership. More interested in wine and pleasure than governance, he relied on corrupt officials like Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng, who prioritized personal gain over national survival. In a critical misstep, they exiled the one competent leader willing to resist the Qing—Shi Kefa, the Minister of War—to Yangzhou, leaving the Southern Ming vulnerable.

Shi Kefa and the Last Stand at Yangzhou

Shi Kefa (1602–1645), a man of integrity and resolve, accepted his posting to Yangzhou despite knowing the odds were against him. He fortified the city, reconciled feuding generals, and inspired volunteers to join his cause. In December 1644, Qing forces advanced from Shandong, capturing Suqian. Shi Kefa counterattacked and reclaimed the city, but the Qing regrouped and launched a devastating offensive in 1645.

As the Qing closed in, the Southern Ming court was paralyzed by infighting. General Zuo Liangyu marched on Nanjing under the pretext of purging corrupt officials, forcing Shi Kefa to abandon his defenses. Though Zuo died before battle commenced, the distraction allowed the Qing to seize key cities and besiege Yangzhou.

Shi Kefa rushed back to organize a desperate defense. For days, his forces repelled Qing assaults, even as cannon fire shattered the walls. When the city finally fell on May 20, 1645, Shi Kefa refused surrender. Captured and brought before the Qing commander Dodo, he declared, “My head may be severed, but my knees will never bend.” He was executed, and Yangzhou was subjected to a brutal massacre. His body was never found, but his legacy endured—his clothes were buried at Meihua Ridge, and a shrine was erected in his honor.

The Jiangnan Resistance: “Surrender the Head, Not the Hair”

The Qing’s infamous “Queue Order” of 1645—forcing Han Chinese to adopt the Manchu hairstyle or face execution—sparked widespread rebellion. In Jiangyin, a small but fiercely independent city, the order was met with defiance. When the new Qing magistrate, Fang Heng, enforced the decree, the people revolted on July 22, 1645, rallying behind local officials Chen Mingyu and Yan Yingyuan.

For 81 days, Jiangyin held out against overwhelming Qing forces. Yan, a former military scholar, organized defenses, rooted out spies, and led daring counterattacks. When the Qing offered surrender, Yan retorted, “There are surrendering generals, but no surrendering magistrates!” The siege ended in a bloodbath on October 10, with most defenders dying in the streets. Jiangyin’s resistance became a symbol of Han defiance.

Zheng Chenggong: The Pirate King Who Liberated Taiwan

Born in 1624 to the pirate-merchant Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong (known in the West as Koxinga) became a Ming loyalist after his father defected to the Qing. Operating from Xiamen, he waged guerrilla campaigns along China’s coast. By 1661, he set his sights on Taiwan, then occupied by Dutch colonizers.

After warning the Dutch to leave, Zheng landed with 25,000 troops. With local support, he besieged Fort Zeelandia for nine months. On February 1, 1662, the Dutch surrendered, ending 38 years of colonial rule. Zheng established a Ming-loyalist regime, promoting agriculture and integrating Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. His sudden death in 1662 at age 39 cut short his vision, but his triumph remains a landmark in anti-colonial history.

The Qing Consolidation: Emperor Kangxi’s Reunification

The young Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662–1722) inherited a fractured empire. His reign saw the suppression of the “Three Feudatories” revolt (1673–1681), the annexation of Taiwan (1683), and the defeat of the Dzungar Mongols, securing China’s borders. Culturally, he sponsored encyclopedias like the Kangxi Dictionary and commissioned the first comprehensive maps of the Qing realm.

Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s Alliance with the Qing

In Tibet, the 5th Dalai Lama forged ties with the Qing, receiving official recognition in 1653. The Qing later institutionalized the system of recognizing both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, ensuring Beijing’s influence over Tibetan Buddhism.

Legacy: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Making of Modern China

From Shi Kefa’s martyrdom to Zheng Chenggong’s liberation of Taiwan, these stories reflect a tumultuous era where loyalty, identity, and resistance shaped China’s transition from Ming to Qing. Their struggles—against foreign invasion, internal corruption, and cultural erasure—resonate in modern debates over nationalism and unity. The Qing’s eventual consolidation under Kangxi demonstrated the cost of division and the power of recentralization, leaving a complex legacy that still informs China’s historical consciousness today.