Hartill 21.8 Ming Rebellion Zhang Xianzhong Da Shun Tong Bao, Gong board of Works mint 1644 AD
ANCIENT CHINA Ming Rebellion Zhang Xianzhong Da Shun Tong Bao, Gong board of Works mint 1644 AD Nice coin! Authenticity guaranteed for all items! Reference: Hartill 21.8 Gong Below, the board of works mint 工 Weight: 3.7 grams; Size: 26 mm Dashun (大順): 1644-1646 AD
Zhang Xianzhong or Chang Hsien-chung (September 18, 1606 – January 2, 1647), nicknamed Yellow Tiger, was a leader of a peasant revolt from Yan'an, Shaanxi Province and he later conquered Sichuan in the 17th century. His rule in Sichuan was brief and he was killed by the invading Manchu army. He is commonly associated with the massacres in Sichuan which depopulated the region, however the extent of his killings is disputed.
CHANG HSIEN CHUNG Chang Hsien Chung was known as an extremely evil man. Fortunately, he did not last very long. His coins are fairly large and robust, and are used as charms by seafarers. Some of his coins bear mint marks for the Board of Works and Board of Revenue. As Peking was under the control of his rival Li Tzu-ch'eng, these mints were not available to Chang. It is more likely that he was using the same mint names in his capital of Ch'eng-tu. Other Ming rebels seem to have used the same practice. Reign title: TA-SHUN, AD 1644 S-1327. Bronze 1 cash. Obverse: "TA-SHUN T'UNG-PAO".
MING REBELS In AD 1644 the Chinese were once again conquered by foreigners as the Manchurians took control of much of China to establish the Ch'ing Dynasty, but reaching that point was a long drawn out process, starting about 70 years earlier and they did not gain full control for another 40 years. This was a period of turmoil during which a series of pretenders and rebels controlling small (some sometimes not so small) regions fought a series wars and rebellions at first against the Ming, later against the Ch'ing, and sometimes between each other. These people are referred to as the Ming Rebels and it is a fairly complex period in Chinese history. The order in which Schjoth lists these rules does not give a sense of this history, and I am working on sorting out presentation that hopefully will do so, but I am not there yet. This is a section I am just now beginning to again work on, so hopefully there will be a better presentation here soon.
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