Battle of Shanhai Pass

The 1644 battle at Shanhai Pass in which Qing forces and Ming commander Wu Sangui defeated Li Zicheng’s Shun army, enabling the Qing conquest of China.

Wu Sangui: A Ming general who defected to the Qing and fought Li Zicheng’s forces at Shanhai Pass. His alliance with the Qing brought their army through the pass against Li Zicheng.
Ming–Qing transition: The period in the seventeenth century when the Qing replaced the Ming as China’s ruling dynasty. The battle became a turning point in this transition.
Qing dynasty: A dynasty founded by the Manchus that ruled China from 1644 to 1912. The victory enabled Qing forces to occupy Beijing and establish dynastic rule.
Battle of Sarhu: A 1619 battle in which Later Jin forces defeated a Ming-led coalition in Manchuria. Unlike Shanhai Pass, Sarhu marked an earlier Qing predecessor’s victory over Ming forces.
Dorgon: A Qing prince and regent who directed Qing forces during the conquest of China. He led the Qing army that joined Wu Sangui at Shanhai Pass.
Li Zicheng’s rebellion: A peasant uprising that helped topple the Ming dynasty and established the Shun regime in 1644. The rebellion’s seizure of Beijing left Wu Sangui facing Li’s forces.
Qing conquest of the Ming: The military campaigns through which the Qing subdued Ming territories and rival regimes in China. The battle opened the conquest’s route into the former Ming capital and beyond.
Battle of Ningyuan: A 1626 battle in which Ming forces under Yuan Chonghuan repelled Nurhaci’s attack on Ningyuan. It contrasts with the 1644 alliance in which a Ming general fought alongside Qing forces.
Li Zicheng: A rebel leader who founded the Shun dynasty and briefly ruled Beijing in 1644. His army’s defeat at the pass ended its immediate hold on Beijing.
Later Jin: A Jurchen state founded by Nurhaci that preceded the Qing dynasty. Its expansion laid the foundations for the Qing army that entered the battle.

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