History

Historical background

In April 1644 the last Ming emperor to rule all China committed suicide as a rebel army entered Beijing. Six weeks later, on 5 June, the army of the Manchus, a people from beyond the Great Wall, entered the city and proclaimed the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing. In the following two years, as the Qing extended their control over northern China, the remaining Ming loyalists attempted to regroup in the south, but in rapid succession the Hongguang, Longwu, and Shaowu emperors were captured and executed.

Campaigns in southern China

Zhu Youlang became "Caretaker of the State" on 20 November 1646, following the death of the Longwu emperor. When Longwu's brother then declared himself emperor with the reign-title Shaowu, Youlang himself ascended the throne (24 December 1646) as Yongli emperor. A brief war between the two emperors ended a month later when the Qing captured and executed Shaowu.

Zhu Youlang succeeded to the throne with approval by his fathers widow and principal wife Empress Dowager Wang (Southern Ming), who was his own adoptive mother, and during his first five years of reign, she acted as his adviser, and it was said that she was "...versed in letters, aware of current events, analytical about tasks and clear in her reasoning. After the Emperor assumed the throne there was nothing in which he did not follow her wishes."

The continuing military pressure of the Qing forced Youlang to withdraw further into the south and west, first to Guilin in Guangxi, then to Jiangxi and Hunan, then south again to Nanning in Guangxi. He had a number of experienced and devoted followers, but became increasingly reliant on the military support of local warlords and bandit chieftains. The best and most effective of these was Li Dingguo, who for five years was highly successful in enlarging Southern Ming territories in the southwest. This success, however, caused the Qing to place the entire region in the hands of the extremely capable Hong Chengchou, who was named governor-general of five provinces. By 1658 Youlang had been forced back into Yunnan, on the very edge of China's southwestern frontier.

Flight and exile in Burma

In 1658 Zhu Youlang retreated to Kunming in Yunnan, from where he sought refuge under the protection of Pindale Min (1608–1661), ninth king of the Taungoo dynasty of Burma. Pindale gave him permission to live at Sagaing, near the Burmese capital of Ava (both near the modern Burmese city of Mandalay), provided his men surrendered their weapons. He finally fled into Burma in 1661.

It soon became apparent to the Burmese that Zhu Youlang intended to carve himself a kingdom in Burma, and war broke out between the exiled prince and his hosts. The Chinese devastated the land around Ava but failed to capture it, thanks to the defence offered by Pindale's mercenary Portuguese artillery (led by a mysterious Mi-thari Kattan, which might be a Burmese attempt at an otherwise unknown "Mister Cotton"). Pindale's attempt to profiteer from the resulting famine led to his overthrow by his brother and chief general, Pye Min (meaning "Prince Pye"), in May 1661. Pye broke the siege and demanded that all the Chinese, with the exception of Youlang himself, swear allegiance to the king of Ava, after which they would be dispersed through the kingdom. The ceremony at which this was to be carried out turned into a disaster, with the Chinese, fearing that the plan was to murder them all, turning on the Burmese. Pye now ordered all the Chinese, again with the exception of Youlang, to be put to death.

At this point, in December 1661, a Qing army of 20,000 under Wu Sangui entered Burma and demanded the surrender of Youlang. Pye summoned his advisors, who pointed out that both the Burmese and the Chinese had previously delivered up persons to each other. In addition, Wu Sangui's army was large, and the Burmese had already suffered enough from the presence of their guest. Accordingly, on 22 January 1662, the last monarch of the Southern Ming, together with his sons and grandsons, were put on boats and forwarded to Wu Sangui's camp near Ava. Thinking that he was being taken to his longtime military protector Li Dingguo, the forlorn emperor only realized his real destination when he arrived at Wu's camp.

Death

Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui and last serious claimant to the Ming throne, was delivered into the custody of Wu Sangui, a Chinese general who had once served the Ming, and Manchu prince, general, and high minister of state, Aisingga. He was transported to Yunnanfu, the capital of Yunnan, where in June he was personally strangled by Wu Sangui. Wu had played a major role in the overthrow of the dynasty, having opened the gates in the Great Wall to the Qing and later leading the Qing campaign against the Southern Ming. It is said that Youlang scorned Wu in his last moments, saying that he betrayed his people and country, and urged Wu to kill him faster because he was disgusted to see "a traitor's face."

The last Ming dynasty Princes who held out against the Qing after Zhu Youlang were the Prince of Ningjing Zhu Shugui and Prince Zhu Hónghuán w:zh:朱弘桓 who accompanied Koxinga to Taiwan. Zhu Shugui acted as his representative in the Kingdom of Tungning and performed rites in his name until 1683.

人物生平

即位

朱由榔是明神宗之孫，明思宗堂弟，生於天啟三年十月初九日（1623年11月1日）。崇禎年間封永明王，其父為桂端王朱常瀛，是明神宗第七子，封湖南衡陽，天啟七年九月二十六日就藩，弘光元年（1645年）十一月初四日病死於梧州。第三子安仁王朱由承嗣。隆武帝稱帝後不久病重。不久朱由榔被封桂王，在1646年隆武帝被俘後，於當年十月初十（一說十四日）稱監國於廣東肇慶。

朱由榔於1646年（清順治三年）農曆十一月十二日東返肇慶，十八日在肇慶正式稱帝，年號永曆，史稱永曆帝。曾道唯、顧元鏡、王應華等人都入閣，梁朝鍾在十天之內升官三次。

永曆帝在中後期倚仗張獻忠之餘部李定國、孫可望等人在西南一帶抵抗滿清，並且得到包括延平王鄭成功在內的各反清力量的支持，是為反清的精神領袖和天下共主。1652年，李定國在桂林逼死定南王孔有德，又在衡州斬殺敬謹親王尼堪，取得大捷，一度收複湖南西部、四川（除了保寧）、廣東（李成棟倒戈取得全部地區，後來僅保有沿海）、江西（金聲桓、王得仁反正）等地。

殉國

1660年，清軍攻入雲南，永曆帝流亡緬甸東籲王朝首都瓦城，獲國王莽達（平達力）收留。後來，吳三桂攻入緬甸，莽達之弟莽白乘機發動兵變，殺死其兄奪位。1661年8月12日，莽白發動咒水之難，殺盡永曆帝侍從近衛。

永曆帝得到清軍進入緬境的消息後，曾寫信給吳三桂，到1662年1月22日（永曆十五年十二月初三），莽白將永曆帝獻給吳三桂，南明滅亡。

1662年6月1日（永曆十六年四月十五望日，清康熙元年），永曆帝父子及眷屬25人在昆明篦子坡遭弓弦勒死，終年40歲。其身亡處時人稱為逼死坡，即今天的昆明市五華區的華山西路，辛亥革命後蔡鍔等人在當地豎立「明永曆帝殉國處」石碑。死後廟號昭宗，謚號應天推道敏毅恭儉經文緯武體仁克孝匡皇帝。

陵墓

至今未發現永曆帝之墓。僅貴州都勻大坪鎮有永曆帝的衣冠塚。當地扶姓人家說，是他們先人明朝大學士扶綱派人搜集衣冠而葬的，為隱其真，只傳是桂王墳，不留碑記。扶綱是因明亡不願降清而回鄉隱居的。帝墓左邊是編修涂弘猷的髮塚，右邊是節愍侯鄔昌琦的衣帶塚。民國十年都勻縣奉令修史，查實桂王墳乃永曆墓，才為其樹碑立傳，省長任可澄、省志總陳炬、知縣竇全曾都為之寫了碑記，碑文「大明永曆皇帝陵」幾個字，墓碑及碑記是時任四川綦江縣縣長張瑞徵寫的（張系都勻人），還修了些亭閣楹聯，帝墓才初顯規模。墓高3米、徑6米，碑高1.62米，寬0.81米、厚0.13米，碑字陰刻正楷，字筆工整秀麗。涂弘猷和鄔昌琦二人，是咒水之難42大臣之二，墳比帝墳小得多。「文革」中被盜，帝墳從前到後挖了一個大坑，碑斷為兩截仰臥墳前土中。1996年都勻市人民政府公布大明永曆皇帝陵為市級文物保護單位，著手修複帝陵。墳用青石砌邊，水泥勾縫，碑文由書法家蘆如平書寫，前邊加修了上下山的雙向百級石階，供遊人參觀。

家族

• 祖父：明神宗

• 堂哥：明熹宗，明思宗，明安宗

• 父：明禮宗（追封）

• 生母：昭聖太后馬氏

• 嫡母：孝欽端皇后呂氏，孝正皇太后王氏

后妃

• 孝剛匡皇后王氏，生皇三子（永曆二年四月），皇四子（永曆三年五月庚午），皇六子沔殤王慈熠（永曆八年九月廿六）

• 妃竇氏，竇民望妹

• 妃某氏，永曆六年賜自盡

• 貴人戴氏，生皇五子涪悼王慈煒（永曆八年三月）

• 貴人楊氏，生皇七子澧沖王慈焯（永曆八年十二月八日）

• 貴人劉氏，咒水之難時自縊死

• 貴人楊氏，咒水之難時自縊死，是否即生澧沖王的貴人楊氏無考

• 宮嬪某氏

• 常在郭良璞，永曆六年十一月被殺

兄弟姊妹

兄弟

• 世子 朱由？，早亡

• 桂閔王 朱由？（本為世子，追諡），早亡

• 桂恭王 朱由𣜬，繼位為桂王，後薨于廣西。

• 永興王 朱由榐，死于亂軍

• 新田王 朱由？，死于亂軍

• 江華王 朱由？，下落不明

• 嘉善王 朱由榮，夭折

姊妹

• 安化公主

• 第二女（1626年3月9日－1627年3月20日）

• 廣德公主

子

• 懷愍太子朱慈爝（1645－？），清兵進軍廣東，永曆帝逃離肇慶時朱慈爝西奔貴陽並失蹤。後追封

• 悼愍太子朱慈䇅（1646－？），肇慶失守與乳母陷于清，不知所終。

• 哀愍太子朱慈煊，與永曆帝一同在昆明被吳三桂縊死。

• 沅哀王朱慈，早殤

• 涪悼王朱慈煒，早殤

• 沔殤王朱慈熠，早殤

• 澧衝王朱慈焯，二歲而殤