The Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty (), also known as the North China Plague in the late Ming dynasty (), or the Great Plague of Jingshi (), was a major

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

between 1633 and 1644, the last phase of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

in China, during the

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

's reign (1627–1644). The epidemic started in

Shanxi Province Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level ...

in 1633, and reached

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...

in 1641, where the plague caused the deaths of more than 200,000 people in 1643, directly contributing to the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644.

Brief history

In 1633, during the sixth year of

Chongzhen Chongzhen () (5 February 1628 – 25 April 1644) was the era name of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Chongzhen was also the Ming dynasty's final era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with C ...

’s reign, the plague epidemic started in

. In 1641, the plague arrived in

, capital of the

. At the same time, historical records indicate that more than half of the population in northern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...

fell ill in 1641, and 90% of the local people died in 1642. In 1643, the epidemic reached its peak, killing more than 200,000 people in Beijing alone, accounting for 20%-25% of the local population. The “pimple plague” and “vomit blood plague,” recorded in Chinese literature at the time, were possibly

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well ...

and

pneumonic plague Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection caused by the bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. Symptoms include fever, headache, shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing. They typically start about three to seven days after exposure. It is one o ...

. In March 1644, Beijing was under siege by

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-liv ...

's troops, whereas the defending force in Beijing weakened significantly due to the plague, with some 50,000 soldiers left–down from the original 100,000. Soon, Li won the

Battle of Beijing Battle of Beijing may refer to multiple battles fought in what is now Beijing: * Battle of Gaoliang River (979), between the Liao and Song dynasties * Battle of Zhongdu (1215), between the Mongols and the Jurchen Jin dynasty * Battle of Dadu (1368), ...

and the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide, marking the end of the Ming dynasty.

Wu Youke Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county i ...

(1582–1652) developed the idea that some diseases were caused by transmissible agents, which he called ''Li Qi'' (戾气 or pestilential factors) when he observed various epidemics rage around him between 1641 and 1644. His book ''Wen Yi Lun'' (瘟疫论，Treatise on Pestilence/Treatise of Epidemic Diseases) can be regarded as the main etiological work that brought forward the concept.

References

{{Epidemics Second plague pandemic 17th-century epidemics

Brief history

See also

References