CHANG HSIEN-CHUNG

born 1606, Yenan-wei, Shensi Province, China died Jan. 2, 1647, Hsi-ch'ung, Szechwan Province Pinyin Zhang Xianzhong, byname Yellow Tiger Chinese rebel leader at the close of the Ming dynasty (13681644). Following a disastrous famine in the northern province of Shensi in 1628, Chang became the leader of a gang of freebooters. Using hit-and-run tactics, he and his men plundered widely throughout North China. Although his forces were bought off several times and were defeated by government troops, they retreated into the hills, regrouped, and continued their raids. In 1644, the year of the fall of the Ming dynasty, Chang advanced into Szechwan Province in west-central China with about 100,000 men and enthroned himself as the ta hsi kuo wang (king of the western kingdom). He coined money and set up an examination system to recruit talented men. Despite these attempts to establish a civilian government, he was chiefly concerned with military control, which he pursued with utter ruthlessness. The officially published Ming History reports that 600,000,000 persons were put to death under his rule. Obviously a gross exaggeration, the figure is nevertheless indicative of the great suffering under his rule. Chang met his end soon after the Manchu tribes of Manchuria established the Ch'ing dynasty (16441911/12) in North China. In 1647, when they advanced into southwest China, they attacked and defeated him and then put him to death.