The Xi dynasty (/ʃi/ SHEE; Chinese: 西朝; pinyin: Xī cháo), officially the Great Xi (大西; Dà Xī), was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that existed during the Ming–Qing transition from 1643 to 1647. The dynasty was established by the peasant rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong, by proclaiming himself king and later emperor of the Xi dynasty, similar to the contemporary Shun dynasty established by another rebellion leader Li Zicheng. The Xi dynasty was based at Chengdu since 1644 with the era name "Dashun" (大顺, "Great Shun") and ruled most of Sichuan province, after Zhang Xianzhong seized the control of the province from the late Ming dynasty. The regime's brief existence was followed by the devastation and depopulation of Sichuan, though Zhang's responsibility for this is still debated. The dynasty ended in 1647 after the death of Zhang Xianzhong, and its territory fell to the forces of the Southern Ming and the Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
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👉 Xi dynasty in the context of Zhang Xianzhong
Zhang Xianzhong (張獻忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), courtesy name Bingwu (秉吾), art name Jingxuan (敬軒), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant rebellion from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, Shaanxi province) during the Ming-Qing transition.
He conquered Sichuan in 1644, and named himself king and later emperor of the Xi dynasty. His rule in Sichuan was brief, and he was killed by the invading Qing army. He is commonly associated with the massacres in Sichuan that depopulated the region. The events which occurred during Zhang's rule as well as the events which occurred after it, resulted in the devastation of Sichuan, where he was said to have "engaged in one of the most hair-raising genocides in imperial history". However, the extent of his killings is disputed.
Xi dynasty in the context of House of Aisin-Gioro
The House of Aisin-Gioro is a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chiefs of the Jianzhou Jurchens, one of the three major Jurchen tribes at this time. Qing bannermen passed through the gates of the Great Wall in 1644, and eventually conquered the short-lived Shun dynasty, Xi dynasty and Southern Ming dynasty. After gaining total control of China proper, the Qing dynasty later expanded into other adjacent regions, including Xinjiang, Tibet, Outer Mongolia, and Taiwan. The dynasty reached its zenith during the High Qing era and under the Qianlong Emperor, who reigned from 1735 to 1796. This reign was followed by a century of gradual decline.
The house lost power in 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution. Puyi, the last Aisin-Gioro emperor, nominally maintained his imperial title in the Forbidden City until the Articles of Favourable Treatment were revoked by Feng Yuxiang in 1924. The Qing was China's last orthodox imperial dynasty.