| Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty | |
|---|---|
| Disease | Plague |
| Bacteria strain | Yersinia pestis |
| Location | China |
| First outbreak | Shanxi |
| Index case | 1633 |
Deaths | 200,000+ (only in Beijing) |
TheGreat Plague in the late Ming dynasty (Chinese:明末大鼠疫;pinyin:Míngmò Dàshǔyì), also known as theNorth China Plague in the late Ming dynasty (明末华北鼠疫;明末華北鼠疫;Míngmò Huáběi Shǔyì), or theGreat Plague of Jingshi (京师大鼠疫;Jīngshī Dàshǔyì), was a majorepidemic between 1633 and 1644, the last phase of theMing dynasty in China, during theChongzhen Emperor's reign (1627–1644).[1][2] The epidemic started inShanxi in 1633 and reachedBeijing 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.[1][2][3]
Plague first broke out in Shanxi in 1633, corresponding to the sixth year of theChongzhen Emperor's reign .[2] In 1641, the plague arrived inBeijing, the Ming capital.[2] At the same time, historical records indicate that more than half of the population in northernZhejiang fell ill in 1641, and 90% of the local people died in 1642.[4]
In 1643, the epidemic reached its peak, killing more than 200,000 people in Beijing alone, accounting for 20–25% of the local population.[1][3] The “pimple plague” and “vomit blood plague” recorded in Chinese literature at the time, were possiblybubonic plague andpneumonic plague caused byYersinia pestis.[1][2]
In March 1644, Beijing was under siege byLi Zicheng'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.[3] Soon, Li won theBattle of Beijing and the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide, marking the end of the Ming dynasty,[1][2][3] although Li was subsequently defeated in theBattle of Shanhai Pass by the allied forces of the former Ming generalWu Sangui and the Manchu-ledQing dynasty.
Wu Youke (1582–1652) developed the idea that some diseases were caused by transmissible agents, which he calledLi Qi (戾气 "violentqi") when he observed various epidemics rage around him between 1641 and 1644.[5] His bookWen Yi Lun (瘟疫论, "Treatise on Pestilence") can be regarded as the main etiological work that brought forward the concept.