Hong Chengchou or Hung Cheng-chou (Chinese

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

: 洪承疇; Pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Hóng Chéngchóu; born 1593 - died 1665) was a Military commander from Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

.

Biography

Hong Chengchou was a native of Fujian who rose to the top military post by leading campaigns against the rebels in the 1620s. He was also a leading thinker on military strategy and a proponent (like Yuan Chonghuan

Yuan Chonghuan

Yuan Chonghuan was a famed patriot and military commander of the Ming Dynasty who battled the Manchus in Liaoning. A commander of Cantonese origin, Yuan Chonghuan was known to have excelled in artillery warfare and successfully incorporated Western tactics with those of the East...

, Xu Guangqi

Xu Guangqi

Xu Guangqi , was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of...

 and Sun Yuanhua) of the adoption of European cannon by the Ming army.

Fighting Rebels

Hong Chengchou was the Governor of Shannxi and Sanbian, responsible for fighting Li Zicheng and other rebels. He was successful in defeating Li at the Battle of Tongguan Nanyuan in 1638, after which Li fled with only 18 men. After the battle, he was transferred to the North to fight the invading Manchus.

Battle of Shanhai Pass

The Manchu raids into China brought them treasures, food, and live stocks, but the logistical difficulties along the circuitous invasion route through the Inner Mongolian deserts (in order to bypass the Ming garrisons of Shanhaiguan, Ningyuan, and Jinzhou along the Bohai littoral) made it difficult for the Manchus to hold onto their territorial conquests.

The Shanhaiguan

Shanhai Pass

Shanhai Pass , or Shanhaiguan, along with Jiayu Pass and Juyong Pass, is one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei. In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a site of China First Class National Cultural Site.It is a popular tourist destination,...

 corridor remained the best invasion route for the Manchus and therefore Huang Taiji needed to eliminate those Ming fortresses, the first one being Jinzhou. To save the vital fortress, the Ming court sent an army of over 130,000 men under Hong Chengchou to lift the siege. Unfortunately, in a series of skirmishes, Huang Taiji's Manchus massacred the flower of the Ming Army. First, Manchu cavalry raided the Ming's granary in the rear, and when the Ming Army retreated after it ran out of food, Huang Taiji placed ambush forces along the Ming Army's retreat routes and massacred the retreating Ming soldiers at night.
Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 in 1642, after being captured in the siege of Songshan (Battle of Songshan

Battle of Songjin

The Battle of Songjin in 1640 was fought at Songshan and Jinzhou , hence the name "Song-Jin". It spelled the end of the Ming Dynasty. Hong Chengchou's 130,000 elite troops, which was sent to break the siege of Jinzhou, were crushed by the Eight banner armies of the Qing Dynasty at Songshan...

). Prior to his surrender, he was the governor-general of northeastern Zhili

Zhili

Zhílì was a northern province in China from the Ming Dynasty until the province was dissolved in 1928 during the Republic of China era.-History:...

 and Liaodong. He was attempting to assist Ming General Zu Dashou

Zu Dashou

Zu Dashou was a Ming General under Grand Secretary Sun Chengzong, Marshal Yuan Chonghuan and eventually Marshal Hong Chengchou. He later surrendered to Qing when he was surrounded and the Imperial Ming army commanded by Marshal Hong Chengchou sent to rescue Zu's garrison was defeated.-References:...

 who was besieged in the city of Jinzhou

Jinzhou

Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...

. Hong was assigned to the Chinese bordered yellow banner. A fake report of his death reached the Ming Emperor (Chongzhen Emperor

Chongzhen Emperor

The Chongzhen Emperor was the 16th and last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. He reigned from 1627 to 1644, under an era name that means "honorable and auspicious".- Early years :...

) who ordered a temple be built to honour his name.

Hong's capture was the third big disaster for the Ming military since the execution of Yuan Chonghuan, and the defection of Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi

Shang Kexi

Shang Kexi was a chinese general of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. His family had migrated to Liaodong in 1576 and his father, Shangxue Li, served in the army guarding the northeast frontier. As his father did, Shang Kexi joined the army and guarded the frontier against the attack of the Jurchens...

 to the Manchus (which also led to the execution of Sun Yuanhua as a scapegoat).

Service to Qing

After his surrender, Hong was made an official only after the Qing occupied Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. In 1645, Hong was sent to Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 with the title Pacificator of Jiangnan. His real role in the military was to ship supplies, nonetheless he suppressed many Ming officials and members of the Southern Ming imperial family.

Hong was several times accused of having secret relations with the Ming. He was in 1651 chastised for sending his mother back to Fujian and in 1652 was not allowed to return to his native Fujian to mourn his mother death. Although appointed governor-general of 5 provinces of Huguang

Huguang

Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. It was partitioned in the late Qing Dynasty, becoming the provinces of Hubei and Hunan....

, Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

, Guangxi

Guangxi

Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...

, Yunnan

Yunnan

Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

 and Guizhou

Guizhou

' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...

, his real task again was to provide for the army.

In 1659, he was recalled to Beijing after he declined to press the war in Yunnan to capture Yongli Emperor from Southern Ming Dynasty who had fled to Burma. Wu Sangui

Wu Sangui

Wu Sangui was a Ming Chinese general who was instrumental in the succession of rule to the Qing Dynasty in 1644...

, which previous was the Ningyuan garrison commander and one of Hong Chengchou's eight subordinate generals, replaced him.

Hong Chengchou was given a minor hereditary rank perhaps due to distrust by some quarters of the Court, who suspected him of sympathesing with the Ming.

Death

Hong Chengchou died shortly after requesting permission to retire because of old age and almost full blindness. He died by natural causes in Nan'an

Nan'an

-China:* Nan'an District , Chongqing* Nan'an, Fujian , county-level city of Quanzhou, Fujian* Nan'an, Dayu County , town in Dayu County, Shanxi* Nan'an, Wenshui County , town in Wenshui County, Shanxi-Others:...

, Fujian province on 1665. His tomb is unknown.

Reference

• China Forum History, "Fan Haomin" July 2007.
• History of China Defense, "Showdown on ShanhaiGuan" ; The Northeast and the Enigmatic Wu Sangui. (By cao cao)
• The Life and Career of Hung Ch'Eng-Ch'Ou, 1593-1665: Public Service in a Time of Dynastic Change (Monograph and Occasional Paper Series) ISBN 978-0924304408