The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was the last imperial dynasty of China and ended with the death of its last ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor in 1644. It is widely accepted that the Ming dynasty ended with the military coup by Li Zicheng and his peasant rebels in Beijing which was soon followed by the capture of Beijing by Manchu forces. This event later became known as the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
The weakening of the Ming dynasty is said to have started in 1628 after the passing of the Wanli emperor, who had reigned since 1572. Before this, the Wanli emperor had grown increasingly detached from political matters, retreating into seclusion while neglecting many important administrative duties. This left a vacuum of leadership which the bureaucracy and the eunuchs had been only too happy to fill. As a result, they grew ever more powerful, while corruption, factionalism, and incompetence ran rampant. In addition, the increasing costs of maintaining a large civil service, along with ineffective tax collection and a high level of public debt, further weakened the country’s economic and military strength.
In the 1630s, a series of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, famines, and epidemics led to widespread discontent among the peasants and laborers who formed the bulk of society. The imperial court’s refusal to address these grievances, coupled with the growing power of the eunuchs and the corrupt bureaucracy, helped to create an atmosphere of unrest and discontent among both the elite and the commoners.
Between 1627 and 1644, various peasant rebellions broke out all over China. The most significant of these revolts, and the one which ultimately led to the fall of the Ming, was the revolt led by a former Buddhist monk named Li Zicheng. Starting in Shaanxi province in 1628, Li’s forces grew quickly in numbers, and eventually reached Beijing in 1644 where they captured the city.
With Beijing under rebel control, the Ming government fell apart. On April 25, 1644, the Chongzhen emperor, the last of the Ming rulers, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. The death of the emperor marked the end of the Ming dynasty.
After the fall of the Ming, the Manchus took control of the area. The Manchu conquest of China was led by the Kangxi emperor, and in 1683, the Qing dynasty was officially established. The Manchu rulers were able to solidify their rule by repressing local rebellions and by introducing new policies which allowed them to integrate both Manchu and Chinese cultures. The Qing Dynasty would remain in power until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, which marked the end of the Qing and the beginning of the Republic of China.