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. It is commonly believed that he led to the ultimate destruction of the Ming Empire and the establishment of the Qing Empire, but the fact was that he did not surrender to the Manchu until after Ming Empire was destroyed by the armies of Li Zicheng. His courtesy name was Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯). Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... The Míng Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. ... Location of the Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Pinyin: ; literally 10,000 Li¹ long wall) is a Chinese fortification built from 3rd century BC until the beginning of the 17th century, in order to protect the various dynasties from raids by Mongol... First Gate Under Heaven, under repairs in 2003. ... The Manchu (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: 满族; Traditional Chinese: 滿族; Hanyu pinyin: ) are a Tungusic people who originated in Northeastern Asia, collectively known in English as Manchuria. ... China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China in the context of that paradigm which contrasts these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (including sections of Inner Asia and other regions). ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daiching gurun(warrior country in Mongolian language); Chinese: 清朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by the Manchu - a nomadic nation of over two million people. ... Lǐ Zìchéng (李自成) (September 22, 1606 - 1644), born Li HóngjÄ« (鴻基), was a rebel in late Ming Dynasty China who proclaimed himself ChuÇŽng Wáng (闖王), or The Roaming King. Born in Mizhi District (米脂縣), Yanan Subprefecture (延安府), Shaanxi, Li grew up as a shepherd. ... Cha can also refer to a Latin American dance, also called the Cha-cha-cha. ...

Wu was born in Gaoyou (高郵), Jiangsu Province to Wu Xiang (襄). He was rewarded the position of Pingxi King (平西王) in Yunnan by the Manchu imperial court, after he conquered the region from the remnants of Ming loyaltists. It was previously extremely rare for someone outside of the royal family especially a non-Manchu to be granted the title of Wang (King/Prince, 王), and those being awarded the title of Wang who were not members of the royal family were called Yi Xing Wang (异姓王，literally means kings whose surnames are different from that of the emperor). It was believed Yi Xing Wangs didn't usually have good ends, largely because they were not trusted by emperors as members of emperors' own family were. Gaoyou (Simplified Chinese: 高邮; Traditional Chinese: 高郵; pinyin: ; lit. ... Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... 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. ...

Wu Sangui was not trusted by the Manchu Imperial Court, both he and the Manchus knew this, though he was still be able to rule his land with little or no interference from the Imperial Court largely due to the fact that the Manchus needed time to recover and settle down after prolonged campaign to conquer China. Wu Sangui had foreseen the eventual clash with the Imperial court, so he spent the years of peace consolidating his power in the region and building up his armies. Later in the year of 1674, he revolted against the Qing Empire and started the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, declaring himself the "All-Suppress-Military Generalissimo" (天下都招討兵馬大元帥 Tianxia-dou-zhaotao-bingma Dayuanshuai). The following year, he declared himself the Emperor of Zhou (周帝), with the era name of Zhaowu (昭武), and capital in Dingtianfu, which was Hengzhou (衡州, now Hengyang, Hunan). He died a few years later of natural causes, and the remnants of his armies were defeated soon thereafter. 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). ... See also: ERA (disambiguation page). ... The four major cities of Hunan Province, including Hengyang Hengyang (Simplified Chinese: 衡阳; Traditional Chinese: 衡陽; pinyin: ) is the second largest city of Chinas Hunan Province. ... 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. ...

His concubine was Chen Yuanyuan. He died of illness in Hengzhou, Hunan province, and was succeeded by his grandson Wu Shifan (吳世藩). Chen Yuanyuan (Chinese: 陳圓圓; pinyin: Chén Yuányuán; WG: Chen Yüan-yüan) (1624 - 1681), born Xing Yuan (邢沅), a Ming Chinese, was a concubine of Wu Sangui, who broke into the fortress of Li Zicheng to rescue her. ...

Wu Sangui's son, Wu Yingxiong, married the fourteenth daughter of Shunzhi Emperor. The Shunzhi Emperor (March 15, 1638–February 5, 1661?) was the second emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper from 1644 to 1661. ...

Wu Sangui's reputation in contemporary China is as a traitor and opportunist, due his betrayal of both the Ming and the Qing.

His early life and military career were portrayed in the CCTV TV Show "Jiangshan Fengyuqing" (江山风雨情, which could be loosely translated to "The turmoil and love stories of the late Ming Dynasty").