Jiashen Incident

This article is about the 1644 battle. For a list of other battles also called "Battle of Beijing", see Battle of Beijing.

The Jiashen Incident (simplified Chinese: 甲申之变; traditional Chinese: 甲申之變), also known as the Battle of Beijing, took place in 1644 in the areas surrounding Beijing, and was fought between forces of the incumbent Ming dynasty and the Shun dynasty founded by peasant rebel leader Li Zicheng. It eventually resulted in the collapse of the Ming dynasty. Remnants of the Ming imperial family, whose regime is known as the Southern Ming dynasty in historiography, would continue to rule parts of southern China until 1662.

Jiashen Incident
Part of the Ming–Qing transition
20th-century illustration showing Li Zicheng's army burning and looting Beijing
Date 22–25 April 1644 Location Beijing, China Result Ming dynasty overthrown Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide Shun dynasty occupied Beijing
Belligerents
Ming dynasty	Shun dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Chongzhen Emperor †	Li Zicheng
Strength
250,000 (excluding 100,000 reinforcements)	1,300,000
Casualties and losses
40,000 killed (included 25,000 Jinyiwei agents)

Li Zicheng led his rebel army to attack the Ming capital Beijing from two directions (north and south). The eunuch official Du Zhizhi (杜之秩) ordered the Ming forces defending Beijing to open the city gates and let Li Zicheng's army in. After the fall of Beijing, the last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree near the Forbidden City.^[1] No actual battle was fought in Beijing itself as the rebels marched into the capital unopposed, and even after occupying Beijing, the rebels did not face any resistance. Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun dynasty would be subsequently defeated by forces of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, which would go on to rule China proper until its fall in 1912.

See also

• Juyongguan
• Battle of Shanhai Pass
• History of Beijing

References

1. Xu, Shuofang; Sun, Qiuke (2021). A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty. Springer Nature. p. 340. ISBN 978-981-16-2490-2.