The Three Feudatories (Chinese: 三藩; pinyin: sān fàn) were territories in southern China bestowed by the early Manchu rulers on three Chinese generals (Wu Sangui, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin). In the second half of the 17th century, these generals revolted against the Manchu Qing Dynasty. This rebellion came as the Qing rulers were establishing themselves after their conquest of China in 1644, and was the last serious threat to their imperium until the 19th century conflicts that ultimately brought about the end of the dynasty in 1912. The Revolt was followed by almost a decade of civil war which extended across the breadth of China. Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell(ing) and yin means sound(s)). This article describes the most common variant called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... One of the Qianlong Emperors Manchu bodyguards (1760), notice the distinctive hat The Manchu (Korean 만주, Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: 满族; Traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: MÇŽnzú) are a Tungusic people who originated in Korea, an area known in English as Manchuria. ... Wu Sangui (Chinese: 吳三桂; pinyin: Wú Sānguì; WG: Wu San-kuei) (1612 - October 2, 1678) was a Ming Chinese general who opened the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhai Pass to let Manchu soldiers into China proper. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: 清朝; Pinyin: QÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China, expanded into China and the surrounding territories, establishing the Empire... // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Background

In 1655, the Qing government granted Wu Sangui, a man to whom they were indebted for the conquest of China, both civil and military authority over the province of Yunnan. In 1662, after the execution of Zhu Youlang, the last Ming claimant to the throne, Wu was given jurisidiction also over Guizhou. In the next decade he consolidated his power and by 1670 his influence had spread to include much of Hunan, Sichuan, Gansu and even Shaanxi. Two other powerful defected military leaders also developed similar powers: Shang Zhixin in Guangdong and Geng Jingzhong in Fujian. They ruled their "feudatories" as their own domains and the Qing court had virtually no control over the provinces in the south and southwest. Events March 25 - Saturns largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christian Huygens. ... Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; Hanyu pinyin: ) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Events February 1 - The Chinese pirate Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege. ... Zhu Youlang (朱由榔), the Yongli Emperor, was the last serious claimant to the emperorship of the Ming Dynasty. ... The Míng Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; Pinyin: Míng Cháo) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. ... Guizhou (Simplified Chinese: 贵州; Traditional Chinese: è²´å·ž; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. ... 1670 was a common year beginning on a Saturday in countries using the Julian calendar and a Wednesday in countries using the Gregorian calendar. ... Hunan (Chinese: 湖南; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning south of the lake). Hunan is sometimes called 湘 (pinyin: Xiāng) for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province. ... (Chinese: 四川; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Gansu (Simplified Chinese: 甘肃; Traditional Chinese: 甘肅; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shaanxi (Simplified Chinese: 陕西; Traditional Chinese: 陝西; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shensi, pronounced like Shahn-shee) is a north-central province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling... Guangdong (Simplified Chinese: 广东; Traditional Chinese: 廣東; Pinyin: GuÇŽngdōng; Wade-Giles: Kuang-tung; Postal System Pinyin: Kwangtung or Canton Province, Jyutping: gwong2 dung1), is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... (Chinese: 福建; Pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ...

By 1672 the young Kangxi Emperor had determined that the feudatories were a threat to the Manchu regime. In 1673 Shang Zhixin submitted a memorial requesting permission to retire and in August of the same year a similar request arrived from Wu Sangui, designed to test the court's intentions. Kangxi went against the majority view in the Council of Princes and High Officials and accepted the request. News of Wu's rebellion reached Beijing in January 1674. Events England, France, Munster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is know as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands. ... The Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: 康熙; Pinyin: Kāngxī; Wade-Giles: Kang-hsi; May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was the third Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over all of China, from 1661 to 1722. ... Events January 22 - Impostor Mary Carleton is hanged in Newgate prison in England for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation March 18 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Quakers. ... Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese Navigators in Lisbon, Portugal Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg by David Ascalon (1994) A memorial is an object served as a memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event. ... Beijing (Chinese: ; pinyin: Běijīng; ; IPA: ), a city in northern China (formerly spelled in English as Peking or Peiking), is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Events February 19 - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster. ...

Opening moves

The same day, Zhu San taizi, a pretender to the Ming throne, led a revolt of several hundred household slaves at the capital. As chaos spread and a majority of the southern bureaucracy defected, the Kangxi Emperor hurriedly organised a pacification plan. He sent a vanguard at top speed to hold Jingzhou in the Middle Yangtze to press down Hunan and ordered the Xi'an garrison to move to Sichuan. At the end of the month, two staging areas had been established, one in Yanzhou, Shandong to handle logistics in eastern China and another at Taiyuan, Shaanxi, for Shaanxi, Sichuan and the southwest. Prince Lergiyen, son of the great Lekedehun and direct descendant of Nurhaci, was named commander-in-chief of the Qing armies. Jingzhou (Simplified Chinese: 荆州; Traditional Chinese: 荊州; pinyin: ) is a city in the Hubei province of the Peoples Republic of China, on the banks of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ... Nickname Changan Location Location of Xian Government City Shaanxi Mayor Sun Qingyun Geographical characteristics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 9,983 km² 9,983 km² 0. ... Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东; Traditional Chinese: 山東; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Location within China Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Tai-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in China, capital of the Shanxi province. ... Also known as Taizu Emperor, Nurhaci or Nuerhachi (Chinese: 努爾哈赤; Manchu: ) (1558-September 30, 1626; r. ...

In early 1674 the Qing forces suffered a number of setbacks. Wu Sangui captured most areas south of the Yangtze and in the west pushed through Sichuan. In Gansu, General Wang Fuchen revolted and took Gansu and much of western Shaanxi into the rebel camp. Sun Yanling, who had ordered to hold Guangxi, also revolted, along with Geng Jingzhong's Fujian feudatory. Only Shang Zhixin in the far south remained loyal to the Qing. Gansu (Simplified Chinese: 甘肃; Traditional Chinese: 甘肅; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

In the spring of 1675, the Mongol leader Burni revolted in Manchuria and led an army on Shenyang. A federation of Mongol tribes was coordinated by Mala, a director from the Court of Colonial Affairs, against Burni. An ad-hoc army under generals Oja and Tuhai was also sent against the northern threat. They managed to route Burni and he was killed by the Korchin Mongols. Events January 5 - The Battle of Turckeim June 18 - Battle of Fehrbellin August 10 - King Charles II of England places the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London - construction begins November 11 - Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: Mǎnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Shenyang (Simplified Chinese: 沈阳; Traditional Chinese: 瀋陽; pinyin: Shěnyáng; English formerly Mukden) is the capital of Liaoning province in China. ... The Malas are a large geographically dispersed caste found in Andhra Pradesh and several other states of India. ...

Turn of the tide

Around the spring and early summer of 1675, the Kangxi Emperor became increasingly disillusioned with the performance of Manchu commanders. The pacification campaigns were bogged down in Zhejiang, Shaanxi and Ningxia. The third feudatory, Shang Zhixin, rebelled in Guangdong, and one of the Emperor's most vaunted generals, Chen Fu, was killed in a mutiny in Ningxia. Then, with startling suddeness, the course of the war turned. Without coherent administration and leadership, the rebels fragmented and fought among themselves. Wang Fuchen returned to Qing allegiance and his troops were used by Kangxi in western China. In November, Geng Jingzhong surrendered to General Giyesu in Fujian, and his troops were sent to Jiangxi. Shang Zhixin surrendered in January 1677, and later that year Wu Sangui had Sun Yanling murdered because it was believed he too was about to surrender. Thus, the only major threats remaining to the Qing forces were Wu Sangui himself in the southwest, and Zheng Jing, son of the Ming loyalist general Zheng Chenggong, who threatened the southwestern coastline from Taiwan. Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Che-chiang; Postal System Pinyin: Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏; Pinyin: Níngxià; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia; Postal Pinyin: Ningsia), full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏回族自治区; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏回族自治區; Pinyin: Níngxià Huízú ZìzhìqÅ«), is a Hui autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess... Events First performance of Racines tragedy, Phèdre Sarah Churchill marries John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough Battle of Cassel, Philippe I of Orléans defeats William of Orange Mary II of England marries William of Orange English Statute of frauds is passed into law Battle of Landskrona Elias... Zheng Jing (鄭經, pinyin: Zhèng Jīng, 1642_1681) was the son of Zheng Cheng_Gong. ... Koxinga (Traditional Chinese: 國姓爺; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Taiwanese: Kok-sèng-iâ/Kok-sìⁿ-iâ) is the popular name of Zheng Chenggong (Traditional Chinese: 鄭成功; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng Cheng-kung; Pe̍h-oÄ“-jÄ«: Tēⁿ Sêng-kong) (1624 - 1662), who was a military leader at the end of the...

Victory and aftermath

The last four years of the war saw a steady series of Qing victories. Wu Sangui died of natural causes in 1678 and his grandson Wu Shifan committed suicide in Yunnan in December 1681. Zheng Jing was defeated near Xiamen (Amoy) in 1680 and forced to withdraw to Taiwan, dying there in 1681. Geng Jingzhong was sentenced to death by slicing and his head displayed in public. Many who surrendered in good faith in the belief that they would receive amnesty from the throne were likewise executed. Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... View of Xiamen Xiamen (Simplified Chinese: 厦门; Traditional Chinese: 廈門; Pinyin: Xiàmén; Wade-Giles: Hsiamen) is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ...

The final victory to round off the wars of the three feudatories was the conquest of Taiwan. As soon as the war on the mainland was over, the Kangxi Emperor chose Shi Lang, a man who had been admiral to the Zheng family fleets during the early 1640s, to lead an amphibious operation against Taiwan. Shi Lang insisted on having independent command, from the Governor-General of Fujian, Yao Qisheng, and the Governor-General of Guangxi and Guangdong, Wu Xingzuo. He assembled a fleet of three hundred vessels and defeated the Zheng family's leading naval commander Liu Guoxuan on a major engagement near the Pescadores. A few weeks later, in October 1683, the last members of the Zheng family in Taiwan surrendered. Antique stone statue of Shi Lang at Yakou village, where he was born. ... The Pescadores Islands (Chinese: 澎湖群島; Wade-Giles: Peng-hu; Pinyin: Pénghú, from Portuguese, fishermen) are an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. ... Events June 6 - The Ashmolean Museum opens as the worlds first university museum. ...

The Kangxi Emperor had finally succeeded in securing his place on the throne and reunified the empire. He cemented this with policies to integrate members of the Chinese literate elite into the Qing state and to reduce the protracted bitterness of south China.