Background

The fall of the Ming and the Qing conquest that followed was a period of catastrophic war and population decline in China. China experienced a period of extremely cold weather from the 1620s until the 1710s. Some modern scholars link the worldwide drop in temperature at this time to the Maunder Minimum, an extended period from 1645 to 1715 when sunspots were absent. Whatever the cause, the change in the climate reduced agricultural yields and cut state revenue. It also led to drought, which displaced many peasants. There were a series of peasant revolts in the late Ming, culminating in a revolt led by Li Zicheng which captured Beijing in 1644.

Ming ideology emphasized authoritarian and centralized administration, referred to as "imperial supremacy" or huángjí. However, comprehensive central decision-making was beyond the technology of the time. The principle of uniformity meant that the lowest common denominator was often selected as the standard. The need to implement change on an empire-wide basis complicated any effort to reform the system, leaving administrators helpless to respond in an age of upheaval.

Civil servants were selected by an arduous examination system which tested knowledge of classic literature. While they might be adapt at citing precedents from the Zhou dynasty of righteous and unrighteous behavior, they were rarely as knowledgeable when it came to contemporary economic, social, or military matters. Unlike previous dynasties, the Ming had no prime minister. So when a young ruler retreated to the inner court to enjoy the company of his concubines, power devolved to the eunuchs. Only the eunuchs had access to the inner court, but the eunuch cliques were distrusted by the officials who were expected to carry out the emperor's decrees. Officials educated at the Donglin Academy were known for accusing the eunuchs and others of a lack of righteousness.

On April 24, 1644, Li's soldiers breached the walls of the Ming capital Beijing. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide the next day to avoid humiliation at their hands. Remnants of the Ming imperial family and some court ministers then sought refuge in the southern part of China and regrouped around Nanjing, the Ming auxiliary capital, south of the Yangtze River. Four different power groups thus emerged:

• The Great Shun (大順), led by Li Zicheng, ruled north of the Huai river.

• The Great Xi (大西), led by Zhang Xianzhong, controlled Sichuan province.

• The Manchu-led Great Qing (大清) controlled the north-east area beyond Shanhai Pass, as well as many of the Mongol tribes.

• The remnants of the Ming dynasty could only survive south of the Huai River, known retroactively as the Southern Ming.

Ming loyalist Muslims in the Northwest

In 1644, Muslim Ming loyalists in Gansu led by Muslim leaders Milayin (米喇印) and Ding Guodong (丁國棟) led a revolt in 1646 against the Qing during the Milayin rebellion in order to drive the Qing out and restore Zhu Shichuan, Prince of Yanchang to the throne as the emperor. The Muslim Ming loyalists were supported by Hami's Sultan Sa'id Baba (巴拜汗) and his son Turumtay (土倫泰). The Muslim Ming loyalists were joined by Tibetans and Han Chinese in the revolt. After fierce fighting, and negotiations, a peace agreement was agreed on in 1649, and Milayan and Ding nominally pledged allegiance to the Qing and were given ranks as members of the Qing military. When other Ming loyalists in southern China made a resurgence and the Qing were forced to withdraw their forces from Gansu to fight them, Milayan and Ding once again took up arms and rebelled against the Qing. The Muslim Ming loyalists were then crushed by the Qing with 100,000 of them, including Milayin, Ding Guodong, and Turumtay killed in battle.

The Confucian Hui Muslim scholar Ma Zhu (1640–1710) served with the Southern Ming loyalists against the Qing. Zhu Yu'ai, Prince of Gui was accompanied by Hui refugees when he fled from Huguang to the Burmese border in Yunnan and as a mark of their defiance against the Qing and loyalty to the Ming, they changed their surname to "Ming".

The Nanjing court (1644–1645)

When the news of the Chongzhen emperor's death reached Nanjing in May 1644, the fate of the heir apparent was still unknown. But court officials quickly agreed that an imperial figure was necessary to rally loyalist support. In early June, a caretaker government led by the Prince of Fu was created. By the time he arrived in the vicinity of Nanjing, the prince could already count on the support of both Ma Shiying and Shi Kefa. He entered the city on June 5 and accepted the title "protector of the state" the next day. Prodded by some court officials, the Prince of Fu immediately begin to consider ascending the throne. The prince had a problematic reputation in terms of Confucian morality, so some members of the Donglin faction suggested the Prince of Lu as an alternative. Other officials noted that the Prince of Fu, as next in line by blood, was clearly the safer choice. In any case, the so-called "righteousness" faction was not keen to risk a confrontation with Ma, who arrived in Nanjing with a large fleet on June 17. The Prince of Fu was crowned as the Hongguang emperor on June 19. It was decided that the next lunar year would be the first year of the Hongguang reign.

The Hongguang court proclaimed that its goal was "to ally with the Tartars to pacify the bandits," that is, to seek cooperation with Qing military forces in order to annihilate rebel peasant militia led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

Because Ma was the emperor's main supporter, he started to monopolize the royal court's administration by reviving the functions of the remaining eunuchs. This resulted in rampant corruptions and illegal dealings. Moreover, Ma engaged in intense political bickering with Shi, who was affiliated with the Donglin movement.

This displacement of troops facilitated the Qing capture of Yangzhou. This resulted in the Yangzhou massacre and the death of Shi in May 1645. It also led directly to the demise of the Nanjing regime. After the Qing armies crossed the Yangtze River near Zhenjiang on June 1, the emperor fled Nanjing. Qing armies led by the Manchu prince Dodo immediately moved toward Nanjing, which surrendered without a fight on June 8, 1645. A detachment of Qing soldiers then captured the fleeing emperor on June 15, and he was brought back to Nanjing on June 18. The fallen emperor was later transported to Beijing, where he died the following year.

The official history, written under Qing sponsorship in the eighteenth century, blames Ma's lack of foresight, his hunger for power and money, and his thirst for private revenge for the fall of the Nanjing court.

Zhu Changfang, Prince of Lu, declared himself regent in 1645, but surrendered the next year.

The Fuzhou court (1645–1646)

In 1644, Zhu Yujian was a ninth-generation descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang who had been put under house arrest in 1636 by the Chongzhen emperor. He was pardoned and restored to his princely title by the Hongguang emperor. When Nanjing fell in June 1645, he was in Suzhou en route to his new fiefdom in Guangxi. When Hangzhou fell on July 6, he retreated up the Qiantang River and proceeded to Fujian from a land route that went through northeastern Jiangxi and mountainous areas in northern Fujian. Protected by General Zheng Hongkui, on July 10 he proclaimed his intention to become regent of the Ming dynasty, a title that he formally received on July 29, a few days after reaching Fuzhou. He was enthroned as emperor on August 18, 1645. Most Nanjing officials had surrendered to the Qing, but some followed the Prince of Tang in his flight to Fuzhou.

In Fuzhou, the Prince of Tang was under the protection of Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese sea trader with exceptional organizational skills who had surrendered to the Ming in 1628 and recently been made an earl by the Hongguang emperor. Zheng Zhilong and his Japanese wife Tagawa Matsu had a son, Zheng Sen. The pretender, who was childless, adopted Zheng Zhilong's eldest son Zheng Sen, granted him the imperial surname, and gave him a new personal name: Chenggong. The name Koxinga is derived of his title "lord of the imperial surname" (guóxìngyé).

In October 1645, the Longwu Emperor heard that another Ming pretender, Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, had named himself regent in Zhejiang, and thus represented another center of loyalist resistance. But the two regimes failed to cooperate, making their chances of success even lower than they already were.

In February 1646, Qing armies seized land west of the Qiantang River from the Lu regime and defeated a ragtag force representing the Longwu emperor in northeastern Jiangxi. In May of that year Qing forces besieged Ganzhou, the last Ming bastion in Jiangxi. In July, a new Southern Campaign led by Manchu Prince Bolo sent the Zhejiang regime of Prince Lu into disarray and proceeded to attack the Longwu regime in Fujian. Zheng Zhilong, the Longwu emperor's main military defender, fled to the coast. On the pretext of relieving the siege of Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi, the Longwu court left their base in northeastern Fujian in late September 1646, but the Qing army caught up with them. Longwu and his empress were summarily executed in Tingzhou (western Fujian) on 6 October. After the fall of Fuzhou on 17 October, Zheng Zhilong defected to the Qing but his son Koxinga continued to resist. Through Zheng networks, the Southern Ming continued to enjoy a privileged diplomatic position vis-a-vis Tokugawa Japan, who exempted Southern Ming ships from the ban on exports of weapons and strategic materials, and from the ban on Japanese wives of Southern Ming Chinese men remaining in Japan. The Zheng were also able to recruit Japanese troops, particularly from their strongest sympathizers, the Satsuma and Mito domains.

The Guangzhou court (1646–1647)

The Longwu Emperor's younger brother Zhu Yuyue, who had fled Fuzhou by sea, soon founded another Ming regime in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, proclaiming the era of Shaowu (紹武) on 11 December 1646. Short of official costumes, the court had to purchase robes from local theater troupes. On 24 December, Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui established the Yongli (永曆) regime in the same vicinity. The two Ming regimes fought each other until 20 January 1647, when a small Qing force led by former Southern Ming commander Li Chengdong (李成棟) captured Guangzhou, causing the Shaowu Emperor to commit suicide, and sending the Yongli emperor fleeing to Nanning in Guangxi.

The Portuguese in Macao provided military aid in the form of cannons to the two courts established by the Princes of Gui and Tang in exchange for tax exemption, more land around Macao and conversions to Catholicism. The Empress dowager, the two Empresses and the crown prince converted to Catholicism, and the Jesuit missionaries carried letters to the Pope and the Portuguese asking for aid.

The Nanning court (1646–1651)

Li Chengdong suppressed more loyalist resistance in Guangdong in 1647, but mutinied against the Qing in May 1648 because he resented having been named only regional commander of the province he had conquered. The concurrent rebellion of another former Ming general in Jiangxi helped the Yongli regime to retake most of southern China, leaving the Qing in control of only a few enclaves in Guangdong and southern Jiangxi. But this resurgence of loyalist hopes was short-lived. New Qing armies managed to reconquer the central provinces of Huguang (present-day Hubei and Hunan), Jiangxi, and Guangdong in 1649 and 1650. The Yongli emperor fled to Nanning and from there to Guizhou. On 24 November 1650, Qing forces led by Shang Kexi – the father of one of the "Three Feudatories" who would rebel against the Qing in 1673 – captured Guangzhou after a ten-month siege and massacred the city's population, killing as many as 70,000 people.

Yunnan and Burma exile (1651–1661)

Though the Qing under the leadership of Prince Regent Dorgon (1612–1650) had successfully pushed the Southern Ming deep into southern China, Ming loyalism was not dead yet. In early August 1652, Li Dingguo, who had served as general in Sichuan under bandit king Zhang Xianzhong (d. 1647) and was now protecting the Yongli emperor, retook Guilin (Guangxi province) from the Qing. Within a month, most of the commanders who had been supporting the Qing in Guangxi reverted to the Ming side. Despite occasional successful military campaigns in Huguang and Guangdong in the next two years, Li failed to retake important cities.

In 1653, the Qing court put Hong Chengchou in charge of retaking the southwest. Headquartered in Changsha (in what is now Hunan province), he patiently built up his forces; only in late 1658 did well-fed and well-supplied Qing troops mount a multipronged campaign to take Guizhou and Yunnan. In late January 1659, a Qing army led by Manchu prince Doni took the capital of Yunnan, sending the Yongli emperor fleeing into nearby Burma, which was then ruled by King Pindale Min of the Toungoo dynasty. The last sovereign of the Southern Ming stayed there until 1662, when he was captured and executed by Wu Sangui, whose surrender to the Qing in April 1644 had allowed Dorgon to start the Qing conquest of Ming.

In the late summer of 1664, Li Lai-heng and his remaining followers were surrounded on one of these mountains. Unable to escape, Li gave orders to build a fire and then threw himself into the flames.

Kingdom of Tungning (1661–1683)

Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), son of Zheng Zhilong, was awarded with the titles: Marquis of Weiyuan, Duke of Zhang, and Prince of Yanping by the Yongli Emperor.

Koxinga then decided to take Taiwan from the Dutch. He launched the Siege of Fort Zeelandia, defeating the Dutch and driving them out of Taiwan. He then established the Kingdom of Tungning on the site of the former Dutch colony. The Ming princes who accompanied Koxinga to Taiwan were Zhu Shugui, Prince of Ningjing and Zhu Honghuan, son of Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu.

Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing dynasty in 1683 and was rewarded by the Kangxi Emperor with the title Duke of Hanjun and he and his soldiers were inducted into the Eight Banners. The Qing sent the 17 Ming princes still living on Taiwan back to mainland China where they spent the rest of their lives.

Zheng Zhilong wrote "Grand Strategy for ordering the country". He argued that for the Southern Ming to retake the country, they should do it through regional military commanders all across China's provinces and not in a centralized fashion. This brought him at loggerheads with the Longwu Emperor. Famine also struck after drought and corps failed all along the southeastern coastal region. This led to outbreaks of banditry. Ports under Zheng Zhilong's control were running out of raw silk due to the Yangzi river delta under attack by the Qing. The Longwu emperor wanted the take over Huguang and Jiangxi provinces which were major producers of rice to help boost the southern Ming. Zhilong refused to expand out of Fujian to keep his control over the movement.

Zheng tried to solve the problem by extorting and taxation and then seeking aid from Tokugawa Japan. He tried to solve the problem by extorting and taxation and then seeking aid from Tokugawa Japan. Sekisai Ugai said that Zheng Zhilong's brother had 1,000 musket armed Japanese mercenaries. The Tokugawa shogun received two requests for samurai mercenaries and weapons in Nagasaki in 1645-1646 from Zheng Zhilong. The Tokugawa Bakufu originally urged Japanese women who were married to Chinese men, to leave Japan when they enacted the maritime ban (after which was passed, they would not be allowed to leave Japan), but a lot of Japanese women who were married to Chinese men like Tagawa Matsu remained in Japan and did not leave when the ban was enacted. The Tokugawa allowed them to stay unlike how they violently ejected the Japanese wives and children of Europeans. After the ban was first passed five years elapsed until Zheng requested his Japanese wife Tagawa be allowed to come to China and they were unsure if they would let her come in violation of the maritime ban. The Tokugawa Shogunate decided to allow Tagawa Matsu, his Japanese wife to violate the ban, leave Japan and reunite with him in China. Zheng Zhilong and one of his underlings, Zhou Ghezhi, both had connections to daimyo and the bakufi after living in Japan. Zhou Hezhi sent a letter on the first request for help and the next one was sent to the Kyto-based Japanese Emperor and the Edo-based Tokugawa Shogun along with gifts from Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong informed the Tokugawa Bakufu on how his son Koxinga rose through the ranks of the Ming military and asked for ten slaves and ...... in waiting and Shichizaemon to be allowed to come to China from Japan to help take care of his wife Tagawa Matsu. Although the requests were rejected officially by the bakufu, a lot of Japanese in the Tokugawa government privately supported going to war against the Manchus and support the Ming. Samurai and daimyo were to be subjected to full scale mobilization and attack routes along the coast of China were planned by the Tokugawa shogunate. It was the Qing take over of Fuzhou in 1646 which caused the plans to be cancelled. Further requests came between 1645 and 1692. Food and financial shortage led to abandonment of the Jiangxi-Fujian and Zhejiang-Fujian mountain passes by Zheng Zhilong because he could not afford to pay salaries or feed his soldiers all over Fujian. His soldiers were sent to guard the coast. He started negotiations with the Qing and the Shunzhi Emperor officially appointed him as ruler over Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang as "King of Three Provinces". However it asked Zhilong to come to Beijing to meet Shunzhi.

Zheng Zhilong refused to go because he most likely though it was a trap. Zheng Zhilong commanded his army not to fight against the Qing as they took over Fuzhou after coming into Fujian in 1646. The Longwu emperor was either killed or escaped and was never again found as he tried to escape to Jiangxi. The Qing invited Zheng Zhilong to a banquet for negotiations. His son Koxinga and brother Zheng Hongkui cried and beseeched Zheng Zhilong not to go. He had 500 war junks and army which he could still use to rule. They also knew of the queue order.

Tagawa Matsu was ..... by the Manchus according to one account and she committed suicide. One confused Chinese account said that Koxinga cut out his mother's intestines and washed them, following the "barbarian" (Japanese) custom. This may have referred to sepukku. Koxinga referred to the queue order, saying "no person, wise or stupid, is willing to become a slave with a head that looks like a fly" and he wanted revenge against the Qing for the death of his mother. Koxinga was conflicted by filial piety and loyalty but never allowed himself to be used and used others. He gained control over thousands of men after originally having only 300. Koxinga's uncles Zheng Zhiwan and Zheng Hongkui pledged allegiance to him and his revenue came from the commercial network of his father Zheng Zhilong. He rallied in Anhai on the coast. Koxinga did not recognize the Prince of Lu as the Emperor and instead continued to use the reign title of the Longwu emperor in contrast to other coastal southeastern warlords. There was hostility between the prince of Lu and Longwu during their reigns and he did not want to have a powerful authority figure with him. He later pledged allegiance to the Yongli Emperor, Prince Zhu Youlang. Koxinga's goals were a Ming dynasty retaking control over China with himself as an autonomous feudal lord in control of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian on the coastal southeastern area. This may have been similar to the Tokugawa bakufu which controlled Japan while the emperor reigned and he was referred to as a feudatory by his followers and himself with the title "Generalissimo Who Summons and Quells" which was similar to the "barbarian-quelling generalissimo" title of the shogun. The Chinese mufu (tent government) was the model for the bakufu in Japan. Koxinga was an idealist who fought for restoring the Ming before 1651 but the disaster at Xiamen changed his tactics. Koxinga's uncles Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhiwan had allowed the Qing to attack and pillage Xiamen without a fight after the Qing threatened they would harm Zheng Zhilong and his family who were under house arrest in Beijing. This was directly disobeyed Koxinga's orders, while Koxinga was on his way to help the Yongli emperor. Because the uncles had their own command chain in their armies and they were of the older generation than Koxinga they decided they had the right to violate standing orders Koxinga's men forced him to turn back after they heard what happened to their homes and families in Xiamen so he returned. Zheng Zhiwan and his staff were executed by Koxinga and his own army absorbed Zhiwan's troops. Because Zheng Hongkui sided with Koxinga most of the time and was nice to him before he was not executed but he was scared and went into retirement, giving up control over his troops to Koxinga. He died in 1654 after living on an island for the rest of his life. Shi Lang had warned that Xiamen could be subjected to attack so Shi Lang's arrogance and habit of disobeying orders grew. Koxinga responded by jailing his brother, his father, and him on a ship in 1651 for violating orders. Shi Lang defected to the Qing after breaking out of the ship. Shi Lang's family was then executed by Koxinga. Koxinga then started the build up his organization and strengthening it and going through formal rituals to pay allegiance to the Yongli Emperor. Koxinga's underlings were people who used to work for his father and his family. They were very experienced at trading and sailing and familiar with the inlets and harbors of the coast of Minnan where they grew up and were merchants and military men. One of them was a pirate partner of Zhilong, Hong Xu. Wang Zhongxiao and Li Maochun, who were gentry of Minnan, and Xu Fuyuan, a bureaucrat in the Ming government were among the number of people in Koxinga's organization. Prince of Ningjing Zhu Shugui, the prince of Lu and other Ming princes came in 1652 with Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen, part of the anti-Qing resistance. A separate command chain was kept by Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen and the military men and merchants were looked down upon by the elites. There were regional rivalries between Koxinga's Minnan followers and the Zhejiang followers of the two Zhangs.

The Prince of Lu was also treated as their real ruler by the Zhejiang gentry leaders while Yongli was officially regarded as their emperor. In 1652 the Prince of Lu gave up his titles under Koxinga's pressure. Koxinga sent him to Penghu and did not reinstate his titles in 1659 when the Yongli emperor ordered that they be. The Tingzhou Hakka Liu Guoxuan, former Zhangzhou vice-garrison commander for the Qing, and the former Taizhou military commander for the Qing, northern Chinese Ma Xin defected to Koxinga's side. They rose to high ranks under Koxinga over his own Minnanese people because Koxinga held all power over them since they had no local base because they could not speak the dialects of coastal Fujian, where they were not born in. They were familiar with infantry war on land and knew how to fight the Qing. Most of his labor, taxpayers, sailors, and infantry troops were local Fujian coastal people. The Qing and Ming dynasty were based on the continent and stymied the activities of the coast while shipbuilding, cash cropping, sea trade, salt, and fishing were stimulated by Koxinga's rule. Koxinga, from his Jinmen and Xiamen island bases, went on the offensive, killing Zhejiang and Fujiang Qing governor-general Chen Jin, blockading Quanzhou, and taking over most of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou's counties in 1652. He controlled crucial coastal strips and islands on the Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang coast where maritime trade occurred. The Yongli court was earlier regarded as more threatening by the Qing but now their attention was turned to the southeast coast by Koxinga's victories. The Qing were in no way ready to build a navy because of a lack of money and time. The Shunzhi emperor was more open to negotiations after regent Dorgon died in 1652. A ceasefire was issued by Shunzhi in 1653 after negotiations were started. He then sent Koxinga edicts.

The Qing used Zheng Zhilong to send messages to his son and monitored the communications during negotiations. Koxinga rejected offers by the Qin, saying to his father "since my father has erred in front, how can I follow your footsteps?" The Qing offered him the status of Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi's Guangdong feudatories. He had to pay customs duties to the Qing while maintaining control of his maritime trading organization, the Qing would appoint civil officials in the four prefectures of Huizhou, Chaozhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou which he would take control of while he would still command his army. The Qing ordered him to adopt the queue if he wanted to receive this deal. Adopting the queue could trigger revolt in his army if he conceded. Koxinga rejected the queue order and said that he would accept the same status of Korea, maintaining their hair and clothing and to "adopt the Qing calendar ... if not for the sake of the land and its mortals, then to bend on behalf of my father." if the Qing wanted him to agree to the 4 prefectures deal. Koxinga also said that if the Qing gave him what they offered to his father, total control of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujiand, he would agree to adopt the queue. Negotiations were then terminated by the Qing after this counter-offer was rejected. European clothes were worn by Ma Xin when he fought. Koxinga held horseback riding and archery practice for coastal troops and naval practice for inland troops during training when they were not fighting. Confucian education and a stipend were provided for family of officers who died by the "Hall for Nourishing Descendants" in Xiamen. Koxinga implemented severe punishments and discipline for disobeying orders and other wrongs, like beatings, poisoning, forced suicide, and decapitation. If one of his underlings won a battle after they were given a suspended death sentence it could be lifted. There were also rewards which led to good battlefield performance. There was a dearth of food supply. Families of gentry, Ming princes, soldiers, and officers not engaged in work numbered 300,000 which he had to support with food. 1,500 soldiers in one southern Fujian town put a strain on food supply. They tried to solve the problem by looting Qing controlled prefectures for grain and raided Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian 44 times in 1649–1660. Zheng forbade .... of women and said the rich should be plundered first by his soldiers. "Voluntary offers", "donations" and bullion and grain tax were extracted from people he ruled by Koxinga. The payments were taken to Xiamen via Haicheng port. 750,000 taels were paid by Quanzhou while 1,080,000 tales were paid by Zhangzhou in 1654. In Quanzhou and Zhangzhou his own fields were subject to intensified farming and in eastern Guangdong more farms were started by his soldiers. Koxinga seized more land during negotiations through military force and talks to take over independent militias and more land surrounding Jinmen and Xiamen. Administrative government offices were founded in 1654 by Koxinga. He officially titled them as Ming extensions but he also created new offices or changed the functions of offices. His headquarters was based in Siming, the new name for Xiamen. The Zheng organization started the Six offices as a regional variation of the central Ming Six Boards with the Yongli emperor's permission, they were personnel, military, revenue, punishment, rites, and works. Yongli court held civil service exams in southwest China where Koxinga sent students to after they were educated at his Xiamen-based Confucian academy. A total of 200 junks in the Western Sea Fleet and Eastern Sea Fleet reported to the five sea firms, trust, wisdom, propriety, righteousness, benevolence, reporting to the five mountain firms, earth, fire, water, wood, gold, reporting to the warehouse for nourishing the country, which reported to the Celestial Pier (Koxinga himself) or his generals and relatives who reported to the revenue office. Pass system was under the warehouse for benefiting the people which reported to private merchants which reported to the revenue office. Officials and gentry made up the workers in most offices which were only symbolic since Koxinga's forces mostly engaged in military occupation. Koxinga's mercantile followers and family made up the Revenue and Military offices. Trade and economic activity was controlled by the Revenue Office. Koxinga had 10 firms which sold and purchased products for his Celestial Pier company, which relied on funding from silver deposits with interest from the Warehouse for Nourishing the Country. In Qing areas there were branch offices conducting trade for Koxinga's five Mountain Firms. One branch office was in Beijing, and Nanjing and Suzhou had the other three which were run by assistant managers, reporting to Zeng Dinglao, chief manager at its Hangzhou headquarters. They pretended to be normal stores which trading foreign products and sending to Xiamen porcelain and silk while in Qing controlled areas. Zheng organization used gold plated bronze talleys and flag tokens for its spies, using both Buddhist monks and merchants in these firms for its spying activities. They reported on army movements by the Qing.

The Ming regarded there to be two oceans, the Western Ocean and Eastern Ocean. Koxinga's firms had a fleet for each ocean made out of 60 ships, 12 junks per the 5 firms. Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Batavia, and Siam were traded with the Western Ocean Fleet, and Philippines, Dutch Taiwan, and Japan were traded with the Eastern Ocean Fleet. The junks operated in defensive quads of five or four and had cannons for defense. They two different fleets sometimes overlapped when going back. Koxinga's relative Zheng Tai owned the Dongli firm while leader of the revenue office after 1657 and his predecessors Hong Xu had the Xuyuan firm. Thousands of silver taels annually were gained through trade by Chen Yonghua. Koxinga also employed official merchants who worked for him like Zheng Tai, an adopted son of his family.

Travel distance and vessel size were factors in the price of Koxinga's permits which he sold to people who wanted to engage in overseas commerce like when Zheng Zhilong ruled. Private loans ere given out by the Xiamen Warehouse for Benefiting the People. The five Sea Firms lent out ships for rent and Zheng agents also provided cargo space on their ships for a fee to private merchants. Japan bound Zheng Tai's dongli vessels also carried Celestial Pier products from Koxinga. Private businesses were also engaged in by official merchants. There was a major Southeast Asia and Japan based diaspora of Chinese with Ming loyalists and traders among them. There were official representatives of Koxinga, agents, and private traders among them. They sold permits and bought products for Koxinga and communicated between the European rulers of the colonies and Koxinga. The Revenue Office received reports from the family and patronage networks which synthesized them with the traditional bureaucracy of China.

Koxinga created an economic unity of Chinese in Southeast Asia, Japan, and in the Qing. His five sea firms used its navy to escort merchants who bought his permits to avoid Dutch attacks on their ships. In China their relatives would be punished and fined if they were trading without a permit from Koxinga. Chinese merchants at ports overseas paid fees and bough licenses from his agents. There were some ships outside of his control like northern Chinese ships, Chinese, Macanese, and Portuguese in Macao, and Guangzhou based ships of Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi, feudatories of the Qing. The Japanese market and East Asian trade saw a struggle between the Dutch East India Company and Zheng organization. Japanese merchants were allowed to buy silk directly after the silk allotment guild was ended by the bakufu in 1655

In 1650-1662 Nagasaki annually received 50 Chinese ships most of which bought Koxinga passes or were his ships. They sold books, medicine, porcelain, textiles, gold, and silk. Koxinga brought animal hides from Southeast Asia, and gold and silk from Quang Nam Nguyen lord Vietnam and Tonkin Trinh Lord Vietnam. 1,563,259 silver taels worth of products were imported every year by Japan from Koxinga. Yongli coins and weapons required copper which Koxinga imported from Japan. He also imported resin, tar, cannons, muskets, armor, swords, knives, with the majority of imports at 70% being silver. Taels numbering 1,513,93 were profit out of the 2,350,386 taels Koxinga received from trading with Japan. Most of the Japanese products were used for his military or currency. They were also exported to Vietnam's civil war in Quang Nam and Tonkin. The Dutch tried to get a Chinese coastal base but could not, trying to get Chinese silk for themselves. The Zheng had a monopoly on Chinese silk and sold it at high prices to the Dutch. The Dutch obtained Tonkin silk by allying with the Trinh lords against the Nguyen Lords but it was not of consistent quality.

The Dutch Bengal factory found Bengali white silk and started export to Japan in 1655. However the Chinese silk always outsold it and Koxinga's revenue was more than half of the 708,564 taels worth of products the Dutch sold in Japan annually. Dutch Taiwan exchanged silver for gold from China brought by Zheng junks. Cloth and silk from India were bought with this gold by the Dutch. Spanish Manila used American silver to buy porcelain and silk from the Zheng which were taken to the Americas and the Philippines. Dutch were not allowed to trade in Manila. The Zheng sent the silver to China or to buy products in Taiwan, Philippines, Southeast Asian islands, Vietnam, Cambodian and Siam. Timber and rice were bought by the Zheng and so were rhinoceros horns, ivory, and sappanwood to be brought to Japan and China, while deerskins, spices, pepper, and sugar were bought by both the Dutch and Zheng. The Western Ocean received 20 or 16 vessels by the Zheng each year.

Violent Dutch efforts to try to undercut Zheng's organization were countered by Koxinga with alliances and diplomacy. The violence of the VOC was dampened by the laws of Tokugawa Japan. A new system of diplomatic relations was implemented by Koxinga with modifications to the tributary system used by Ming China. Japan and other maritime states with relations with Zheng organization were not previously part of the Ming system. He used "mutual dispatch of embassies according to a calendar of diplomatic ritual, cordial encounters, and equivalent treatment of these foreign rulers through regulation and practice." sizing up relations by power and status. Since the Yongli Emperor was the Zheng's overlord the Zheng organization itself could have equal diplomatic relations unlike the Ming with its tributary system placing itself at the top. Enemy states were treated as vassals as an insult by Koxinga in preparation for war. The Tokugawa Shogun Ietsuna received a diplomatic message of congratulations from Koxinga in 1651. The Zheng organization allied with Shogun Ietsuna. They were familiar with Japanese rules and were a united bloc of Chinese merchants under one leader. They served to balance against the Dutch. The Tokugawa bakufu gave asylum to Ming refugees, and allowed into Nagasaki to trade "only those Chinese merchants under anti-Qing auspices" after the Manchu invasion since the majority of Japanese were pro-Ming and supported Koxinga. A fake uncle-nephew protocol was used by Ietsuna according to Chinese accounts with Koxinga.

Xiamen received the money from permits sold in Japan. To make it so he would take most of the trade he sold a maximum annually of 10 new permits. Payment of permits was enforced by Japanese Nagasaki magistrates. Zheng agents received custody of Wang Yunsheng after he tried using a 10 year old expired permit in Nagasaki in 1653. Wang was pardoned by Koxinga after Koxinga's brother Shichizaemon asked him to. The Japanese bakufu helped protect the Zheng network from Dutch violence through its law. Japanese Nagasaki magistrates received cases involving Dutch attacks on Koxinga ships, with Koxinga receiving help from his brother Shichizaemon in filing the cases. At the Malay peninsula around Johor, Chen Zhenguan, a Zheng agent whose junk was headed to Japan, was attacked by several Dutch ships in June 1657. The Dutch were heading for Taiwan with Chen's crew as prisoners but the Dutch ship Urk was blown to Kyushu in Japan by a storm. The Chinese sprang out and filed a case at the magistrates in Nagasaki on 23 August to the bakufu in Edo. They won the case and Japan threatened to kick out the Dutch if they attacked Japan bound junks and forced the Dutch to pay compensation to Chen. A silver tael payment of 20,000 was ordered by Japan to be paid to Chen by the Dutch in 1661. The Revenue Officer in Xiamen after 1657 was Zheng Tai, who also had been to Nagasaki and dealt with commerce related to Japan.

South East Asia

The Ming loyalist Chinese pirate Yang Yandi (Dương Ngạn Địch) and his fleet sailed to Vietnam to leave the Qing dynasty in March 1682, first appearing off the coast of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. According to the Vietnamese account, Vũ Duy Chí (武惟志), a minister of the Vietnamese Lê dynasty came up with a plan to defeat the Chinese pirates by sending more than 300 girls who were beautiful singing girls and prostitutes with red handkerchiefs to go to the Chinese pirate junks on small boats. The Chinese pirates and northern Vietnamese (Tonkinese) girls had sex but the women then wet the gun barrels of the pirates ships with their handkerchiefs which they got wet. They then left in the same boats. The Trinh Lords navy then attacked the Chinese pirate fleet which was unable to fire back with their wet guns. The Chinese pirate fleet, originally 206 junks, was reduced to 50–80 junks by the time it reached South Vietnam's Quang Nam and the Mekong delta. The Chinese pirates having sex with north Vietnamese women may also have transmitted a deadly epidemic from China which ravaged the Tonkin regime of north Vietnam. French and Chinese sources say a typhoon contributed to the loss of ships along with the disease. The Nguyễn court of southern Vietnam allowed Yang (Duong) and his surviving followers to resettle in Đồng Nai, which had been newly acquired from the Khmers. Duong's followers named their settlement as Minh Huong, to recall their allegiance to the Ming dynasty.

時代背景

西方學者普遍認為，明帝國覆亡跟大清軍入關是明朝腐敗落後、禍國殃民咎由自取的結果。自1620年到1710年，中國經歷了一段極端寒冷的天氣。許多西方學者將15世紀下半葉和十六世紀上半葉這一時期全球氣溫的下降與蒙德極小期相關聯，據天文學家對太陽活動歷史的分析，公元1645年到1715年出現了一段沒有太陽黑子的延長時期。這種極端的氣候變化降低了農業作物的產量，並由此減少了明朝的國家財政收入。不僅如此，明朝耕地因此面臨大部分乾旱，許多農民流離失所。這在一定程度上解釋了為什麼在明朝末期，大規模地方農民會逐漸脫離地方政府領導，爆發一次次規模甚大的農民起義。

明朝時期，統治階級強調意識形態專制和中央集權管理，被稱為「帝王至上」或「皇極」。然而，當時落後的通訊和交通技術使得這一超前設想並不能得到完全實現。皇權至上的原則使得明朝的行政官員們理論上地位處于平等狀態，例如司禮監和內閣成員的關係。二者的平衡使得皇權得到鞏固，但是，面臨在整個帝國範圍內實施變革的需要日益迫切的時候，這種權力制約卻使任何嘗試改革政府官員的努力都變得更加複雜（也有例外，例如張居正主導下的萬曆年間的改革，但這一改革的前提是張居正內閣和馮保率領的司禮監之間的私人關係在嘉靖年間就很密切），讓身處于中央政府和帝國人民之間的地方官員們在動蕩的時代無能為力，大多數官員們只能夠低效率辦事，這使得地方的統治循環逐漸脫離了中央政府，皇帝的權威並不能有效下放到地方中。

明朝的公務員是通過科舉考試這一項艱巨的考試系統選出的，該考試系統的測試內容主要是儒家經典里的文學知識。很顯然，通過科舉考試選拔出來的官員們已經習慣于引用來源于《周禮》等儒家典籍的先例，但在涉及實際的經濟、社會或軍事事務時，他們卻很少能夠如此博學，這使得皇帝不能夠完全放任明朝的內閣成員處理所有政務。

與前朝不同的是，明太祖朱元璋由于「胡惟庸案」而撤銷了「宰相」這一職務，由皇帝本人直接治理六部。這一鞏固皇權的措施給明太祖的子孫們留下了巨大的負擔。此後的明朝皇帝開始設立幫助皇帝處理政務的，由六部各官員組成的內閣，並由皇帝直接設置內閣的領導人，也就是相當于宰相的內閣首輔。後來，皇帝逐漸不信任權力逐漸變大的內閣各官員，于是設立了能夠直接進入內廷，幫助皇帝批示文件的，由宦官組成的機構——司禮監。有了這兩個機構，皇帝也就不必再直接參與政務。

當一個年輕的、尚且不能處理政務的皇帝退居內廷享受他的妃子的陪伴時，皇帝的權力就會自然下放給了能夠給內閣呈遞的票擬批紅的、以司禮監為首的明朝宦官們。在明朝的政治架構中，只有宦官可以進入內廷，他們主要負責執行皇帝的旨意。但是，如果一個較為年輕的皇帝臨朝的時候，內閣官員們往往想從皇帝那裡得到更多的權力，而直接能夠接觸皇帝的宦官集團們逐漸地不受內閣官員們的信任並由于明太祖設計的祖制「宦官不得幹預朝政」而屢遭排擠。在儒家世界的中國，臣子不能指責皇帝，只能直接將權力爭奪的矛頭對準宦官集團。而且，在東林書院受過教育的官員（被稱為「東林黨」）以指責太監和其他人缺乏正義而聞名。這便引發了明末宦官集團和士大夫階層之間的衝突公開化，權力紛爭使得明朝中央政府對地方的控制逐漸弱化，客觀上也促進了農民起義誕生的可能性。

隨著權力紛爭的持續和地方政府機器低效率的運轉，明朝皇權日趨衰落。地方農民起義此起彼伏，終于在1644年4月24日，「闖王」李自成的士兵們攻破了明朝首都北京的城牆。次日，崇禎皇帝明思宗朱由檢為免屈辱而自縊于煤山。明朝皇室的殘餘成員和一些宮廷大臣們隨後撤退到南方尋求庇護，並在長江以南的明朝輔都南京附近重新集結。于是在中國地區，出現了四個不同的權力集團：

• 以李自成為首的大順政權統治秦嶺、淮河以北的陝西、甘肅、北直隸、山東和河南部分地區。

• 張獻忠的大西政權控制了四川。

• 滿族領導的後金暨大清政權控制了山海關以外的東北地區，以及許多蒙古部落。

• 明朝的殘部退居于淮河以南生存，被普遍稱為南明。

歷史

甲申國變

明崇禎十七年（1644年）正月，李自成在西安稱帝，建國「大順」，之後向北京進兵，三月十九攻克北京，崇禎皇帝朱由檢殉國，明朝宗室及遺留大臣多輾轉向南遁走。此時李自成的「大順」政權大體據有淮河以北原明朝故地，張獻忠於八月一日成立的「大西」政權則據四川一帶，清朝政權則據有山海關外的現今東北地區，且控制蒙古諸部落，而明朝的殘餘勢力則據有淮河以南的半壁江山。

此時明朝留都南京的一些文臣武將決計擁立朱家王室的藩王，重建明朝，然後揮師北上；但具體擁立何人則發生爭議。根據「皇明祖訓」，有嫡立嫡、無嫡立長，在當時明神宗長子光宗一脈（其後繼者是熹宗天啟皇帝和思宗崇禎皇帝）已無人能繼位，而次子朱常漵甫生即死，三子朱常洵雖已被李自成所殺，但他的長子朱由崧仍健在的情況下，按照兄終弟及的順序，第一人選為福王朱由崧；而錢謙益等東林黨人由於之前的「國本之爭」事件，心存芥蒂，違背了東林黨在國本之爭中的立場，以立賢為名擁立神宗弟弟朱翊鏐之子潞王朱常淓；史可法則主張既要立賢也要立親，擁立神宗七子桂王朱常瀛。但最終福王朱由崧在盧九德的幫助下，獲得了南京政權主要武裝力量江北四鎮高傑、黃得功、劉良佐和劉澤清，以及中都鳳陽總督馬士英的支持，成為最終的勝利者。五月初三，朱由崧監國于南京，五月十五(1644年6月19日)日即皇帝位，改次年為弘光，是為明安宗。南明時代自此開始。弘光帝的基本國策以「聯虜平寇」為主，謀求與清軍連合，一起消滅以李自成、張獻忠為代表的民變勢力。

南明政權的分化

明朝南渡前後，大順已被多爾袞與吳三桂的聯軍擊潰，李自成先後丟失北京和西安，退往湖北。弘光元年（1645年）三月，多爾袞將軍事重心東移，命多鐸移師南征。此時弘光政權內部正進行著激烈的黨爭，爆發太子案，駐守武昌的左良玉不願與李自成正面交戰，以「清君側」為名，順長江東下爭奪南明政權。馬士英被迫急調江北四鎮迎擊左軍，致使面對清軍的江淮防線陷入空虛。史可法時在揚州雖有督師之名，卻實無法調動四鎮之兵。一月之中，清軍破徐州，渡淮河，兵臨揚州城下。四月廿五，揚州城陷，史可法不屈遇害。隨後，清軍渡過長江，攻克鎮江。弘光帝出奔蕪湖。五月十五眾大臣獻南京投降清兵；五月廿二弘光帝被虜獲，送往北京處死，弘光帝在位僅一年，即覆滅。

南京失陷後，又有杭州的潞王朱常淓（1645年）、金陵的崇禎太子朱慈烺（可能是貌似太子的王之明。1645年）、撫州的益王朱慈𤆃（1645年）、福州的唐王朱聿鍵（1645－1646年）、紹興的魯王朱以海（1645－1653年）、桂林的靖江王朱亨嘉（1645年）等監國政權先後建立，其中唐王朱聿鍵受鄭芝龍等人在福州擁立，登極稱帝，改元隆武，是為明紹宗。這時清朝再次宣佈薙髮令，江南一帶掀起了反薙髮的抗清鬥爭，清軍後方發生動亂，一時無力繼續南進。但南明內部嚴重的黨派鬥爭與地方勢力跋扈自雄，且隆武帝與魯王政權不但沒有利用這種有利形勢，發展抗清鬥爭，反而在自己之間為爭正統地位而形同水火，各自為戰，所以當1646年清軍再度南下時，先後為清軍所各自擊滅。魯王在張煌言等保護下逃亡海上，在沿海一帶繼續抗清；隆武帝則被清軍俘殺。

11月，在廣州和肇慶又成立了兩個南明政權：隆武帝之弟唐王朱聿（1646年）繼位於廣州，改明年為紹武元年；桂王朱由榔（1646－1662年）稱帝於肇慶，改元永曆，是為明昭宗。紹武、永曆二帝也不能團結，甚至大動幹戈，互相攻伐。紹武政權僅存在40天就被清軍消滅。揭陽的益王朱由榛（1647年）、夔州的楚王朱容藩（1649年）稱監國與永曆帝爭立。鄭成功也在南澳一度立淮王朱常清（1648年）為監國，後廢。永曆帝在清軍進逼下逃入廣西。

回民抗清

1648年，米喇印和丁國棟這兩位駐守于甘州的回族將領因對于清朝的一系列「重滿輕漢」以及歧視回民的政策不滿，于是起兵反清，並擁立延長王朱識𨩴為帝。他們得到了哈密總督巴拜汗和他的兒子土倫泰王子的支持。同時，這些忠于明朝的穆斯林也與漢族人和藏族人聯合了起來。經過激烈的戰鬥和談判，雙方在1649年達成了和平協議，米喇印和丁國棟宣誓效忠清朝，並被授予清朝的官職。然而不久之後，中國南方的其他明朝效忠者再次起義，清軍被迫從甘肅回撤與之作戰，米喇印和丁國棟也再次反叛。叛軍隨後被清政府鎮壓，包括米喇印、丁國棟和土倫泰在內的10萬人在戰鬥中喪生。

儒家回族穆斯林學者馬注為南明保皇黨效力，反抗清朝統治。明朝桂王朱由𣜬在回族難民的陪同下，從湖廣逃到雲南緬甸邊境，這些回民為了彰顯其反抗清和效忠明朝，他們大多改姓「明」。

民變軍歸順南明

正當南明政權一個接一個地覆亡，形勢萬分危急之際，大順軍餘部出現在抗清鬥爭最前線，挽救了危局。自李自成于1645年戰死于九宮山後（李自成的去向存疑，另有出家為僧的說法），他的餘部分為二支，分別由郝搖旗、劉體純和李過、高一功率領，先後進入湖南，與明湖廣總督何騰蛟、湖北巡撫堵胤錫聯合抗清。1647年，郝搖旗部護衛逃來廣西的永曆帝居柳州，並出擊桂林。年底，大敗清軍於全州，進入湖南。次年，大順軍餘部又同何騰蛟、瞿式耜的部隊一起，在湖南連連取得勝利，幾乎收復了湖南全境。這時，廣東、四川等地的抗清鬥爭再起，清江西提督金聲桓、清廣東提督李成棟、清廣西巡撫耿獻忠、清大同總兵姜鑲、清延安營參將王永強、清甘州副將米喇印先後反正回歸明朝，清軍後方的抗清力量也發動了廣泛的攻勢。一時間，永曆政權名義控制的區域擴大到了雲南、貴州、廣東、廣西、湖南、江西、四川七省，還包括北方山西、陝西、甘肅三省一部以及東南福建和浙江兩省的沿海島嶼，出現了南明時期第一次抗清鬥爭的高潮。

但永曆政權內部仍然矛盾重重，各派政治勢力互相攻訐，民變軍也倍受排擠打擊，不能團結對敵，這就給了清軍以喘息之機。1649－1650年，何騰蛟、瞿式耜先後在湘潭、桂林的戰役中被俘殺，清軍重新佔領湖南、廣西；其他剛剛收復的失地也相繼丟掉了。不久，李過之子李來亨等農民軍將領率部脫離南明政府，轉移到巴東荊襄地區組成夔東十三家軍，獨立抗清。這支部隊一直堅持到1664年。

綜觀1645－1651年間，南明軍與清軍作戰中，敗多勝少，大批南明的軍隊先後降清。先後丟失了江蘇、安徽、浙江、江西、福建、兩廣、兩湖等等領地，地盤盡失。直到以孫可望為主的大西軍加入，再次改變了整個局勢。

張獻忠于1646年戰死後，以其義子孫可望、李定國、劉文秀、艾能奇等人為主的大西軍殘部自1647年進佔雲南、貴州二省。1652年，南明永曆政權接受孫可望和李定國的聯合抗清建議，定都安龍。不久，以大西軍餘部為主體的南明軍對清軍展開了全面反擊。李定國率軍8萬東出湖南，取得靖州大捷，收複湖南大部；隨後南下廣西，取得桂林大捷，擊斃清定南王孔有德，收複廣西全省；然後又北上湖南取得衡陽大捷，擊斃清敬謹親王尼堪，天下震動。同時，劉文秀亦出擊四川，取得敘州大捷、停溪大捷，克復川南、川東。孫可望也親自率軍在湖南取得辰州大捷。東南沿海的張煌言、鄭成功等的抗清軍隊也乘機發動攻勢，接連取得磁灶大捷、錢山大捷、小盈嶺大捷、江東橋大捷、崇武大捷、海澄大捷的一連串勝利，並接受了永曆封號。一時間，永曆政權名義控制的區域恢復到了雲南、貴州、廣西三省全部，湖南、四川兩省大部，廣東、江西、福建、湖北四省一部，出現了南明時期第二次抗清鬥爭的高潮。

之後，劉文秀於四川用兵失利，在保寧戰役中被吳三桂僥倖取勝。而孫可望妒嫉李定國桂林、衡州大捷之大功，逼走李定國，自己統兵卻在寶慶戰役中失利。東南沿海的鄭成功也在漳州戰役中失利。所以明軍在四川、湖南、福建三個戰場上沒能擴大戰果，陷入了與清軍相持的局面。之後李定國與鄭成功聯絡，於1653年、1654年率軍兩次進軍廣東，約定與鄭會師廣州，一舉收復廣東，但鄭軍屢誤約期，加上瘟疫流行，導致肇慶戰役和新會戰役沒能成功。但鄭成功部隊並沒有閒著，1656年，鄭軍取得泉州大捷，1657年又取得護國嶺大捷。

南明滅亡

永曆十年（1656年），孫可望祕謀篡位，引發了南明內部一場內訌，李定國擁永曆帝至雲南，次年大敗孫可望，孫可望勢窮降清。孫可望降清後，西南軍事情報盡供清廷，雲貴虛實盡為清軍所知。永曆十二年（1658年）四月，清軍主力從湖南、四川、廣西三路進攻貴州。年底吳三桂攻入雲南，次年正月，下昆明，進入雲南，永曆帝狼狽西竄，竄入緬甸（東籲王朝）。李定國率全軍設伏於磨盤山，企圖一舉殲滅敵人追兵，結果因內奸洩密導致未能大獲全勝，南明軍精銳損失殆盡，此即磨盤山血戰。這時鄭成功趁清軍主力大舉攻擊西南之際，率領十餘萬大軍北伐，接連取得定海關大捷、瓜州大捷、鎮江大捷的勝利，一度兵臨南京城下，然而鄭軍中了清軍緩兵之計，最終失敗，撤回廈門。清軍派大軍圍攻廈門，企圖一舉殲滅鄭成功，但鄭成功沉著應戰，取得廈門大捷的勝利，穩定了東南沿海局勢。永曆十五年（1661年），吳三桂率清軍入緬威逼東籲王朝國王平達力（莽達）交出永曆帝，十二月莽達終屈服交人，次年四月永曆帝與其子哀愍太子朱慈煊等被吳三桂處死于昆明。七月，李定國在猛臘得知永曆帝死訊，不久即於憂憤中病逝。而同年五月，鄭成功亦於臺灣急病猝逝。

兩年後，大陸最後殘存的夔東十三家亦為清廷所剿滅，孤懸海外的明鄭亦未再擁立皇帝或朱氏監國，而是繼續奉永曆為正朔。1683年，延平郡王鄭克塽降清，寧靖王朱術桂自殺殉國，大明最後一個政權正式覆滅。

主要政權

弘光帝

崇禎十七年正月初一日（1644年2月8日），李自成在西安稱帝，建國「大順」，之後向北京進兵。崇禎十七年三月十九日（1644年4月25日）攻克北京，崇禎帝朱由檢自縊殉國，明朝宗室及遺留大臣輾轉向南走，他們打算和明朝留都南京一些文臣武將試圖擁立明朝宗室的藩王，重建明朝，然後揮師北上，恢復家國。此時李自成的大順政權大體據有秦嶺、淮河以北的明朝故地，張獻忠成立的大西政權則據四川一帶，清朝政權則據有山海關外的現今東北地區，且控制蒙古諸部落，而明朝的殘餘勢力則據有淮河以南的半壁江山。

1644年5月，崇禎帝駕崩的消息傳到南京，而太子朱慈烺的下落不明。由于清軍很快就要南下入關，宮廷官員很快就同意，需要一位帝國人物來凝聚來自地方官員忠誠的支持。6月初，福王朱由崧宣布開始領導新的明朝政府。當他到達南京附近時，他已經得到了馬士英和史可法的支持。他于6月5日進城，次日宣布「監國」。在一些朝廷官員的催促下，福王朱由崧立即開始考慮即位。一開始，監國的福王由于被指責在儒家道德方面的名聲有問題，因此東林派的一些成員建議將潞王朱常淓作為替代品。其他官員指出，監國的福王顯然是更妥當的選擇。無論如何，所謂的「正氣」派並不熱衷于與6月17日帶著大艦隊抵達南京的內閣首輔馬士英發生對抗。.崇禎十七年五月十五日（1644年6月19日），福王朱由崧在南京稱帝，是為弘光帝。以明年為弘光元年。

弘光政權的基本國策以「聯虜平寇」為主。其對手有兩個：大順的農民軍與清軍。由于弘光政權兵力有限，不兩線作戰難度很大。因此，不是聯寇抗清，就是「聯虜平寇」，二者必居其一。弘光則是採取聯虜平寇的政策。史可法與馬士英都是「聯虜平寇」方針的贊決者。。

由于內閣首輔馬士英是皇帝的主要擁護者，他開始通過恢復剩餘太監的職能來壟斷朝廷的行政管理。這導致了重新猖獗的腐敗和非法的政治交易。此外，馬士英與隸屬于東林運動的史可法進行了激烈的政治爭吵。

這時弘光政權內部正進行著激烈的黨爭，爆發太子案，駐守武昌的刺史左良玉不願與李自成正面交戰，以「清君側」為名，順長江東下爭奪南明政權。面對此種危急時刻，馬士英宣稱：「我和皇上寧可死在大清之手，也不願死在左良玉之手。」此時，清軍開始南下，占領徐州，準備渡淮。儘管如此，馬還是命令石指揮他的江邊部隊（準備對抗清軍的進攻）對付左良玉。

弘光政權軍隊的這種作戰方向客觀上促使清軍攻占揚州。這導致了1645年5月的揚州大屠殺和史可法被清軍所殺，也直接導致了南京弘光政權的滅亡。6月1日，清軍渡過鎮江附近的長江後，皇帝逃離南京。由多鐸率領的清軍立即向南京進發，弘光元年五月十五日（1645年6月8日）眾大臣獻南京投降清兵；弘光元年五月二十二日（1645年6月15日），弘光帝被清兵虜獲，並于弘光元年五月二十五日（1645年6月18日）被帶回南京。弘光帝後來被送往北京，隆武二年五月十九日（1646年7月1日）被處死，弘光帝在位僅一年，即覆滅。

南京失陷後，又有杭州的潞王朱常淓（1645年）、撫州的益王朱慈𤆃（1645年）、福州的唐王朱聿鍵（1645－1646年）、紹興的魯王朱以海（1645－1653年）、桂林的靖江王朱亨嘉（1645年）等政權先後建立，其中以魯、唐二王政權較有實力。

隆武帝

弘光元年（1645年）五月，唐王朱聿鍵赴廣西平樂途中，在蘇州得知清軍已攻陷南京，俘虜了明弘光帝，朱聿鍵遂至嘉興避難。弘光元年六月初十日（1645年7月3日），朱聿鍵至杭州，遇到潞王朱常淓，奏請其監國，不聽；請朝陳方略，不允。當時鎮江總兵官鄭鴻逵、戶部郎中蘇觀生至杭州，與朱聿鍵談及國難，泣下沾襟。後朱聿鍵被鄭鴻逵護送，前往福建。途中在浙江衢州聞得潞王朱常淓已在杭州降清，於是南安伯鄭芝龍、巡撫都御史張肯堂，與禮部尚書黃道周等商議，奉朱聿鍵為監國。弘光元年六月二十八日(1645年7月21日），朱聿鍵在福建建寧，以唐王的身分監國。弘光元年閏六月初七日（1645年7月29日），抵達福州，以「南安伯府」為行宮。弘光元年閏六月二十七日（1645年8月18日），朱聿鍵於福州稱帝，是為明紹宗。宣布從七月初一日起，改弘光元年為隆武元年。遙尊朱由崧為「上皇聖安皇帝」。

當時，在紹興還有魯王朱以海建立的小朝廷，也自稱「監國」。清軍攻紹興，魯王朱以海派信使赴福州，向隆武帝朱聿鍵求援兵。信上稱朱聿鍵為「皇伯父」，而未稱「陛下」，朱聿鍵怒，令殺魯王信使。

1646年2月，清軍從魯王政權手中奪取了錢塘江以西的土地，並在江西東北擊敗了代表明隆武帝的一支明軍。同年五月，清軍圍攻江西最後的明軍堡壘贛州。7月，清將博洛率領清軍攻滅紹興的魯王政權，開始進攻福州的隆武政權。鄭芝龍逃往沿海。1646年9月下旬，明隆武帝以解除贛南圍城為藉口，離開福州，清軍追上。隆武二年八月二十八日（1646年10月6日），汀州遭清軍攻陷，明隆武帝遇害身亡。鄭芝龍投降清朝，其子鄭成功繼續抗清。

紹武帝

隆武帝朱聿鍵死後，朱聿在隆武二年十一月初五（1646年12月11日）被大學士蘇觀生及廣東布政使顧元鏡等在廣州擁立為帝，年號紹武，後世史學家稱之為紹武政權，與肇慶的永曆帝朝廷互相抗衡。由於官服短缺，朝廷不得不從當地的粵劇劇團購買伶人戲服。隆武二年十一月十八日（1646年12月24日），桂王朱由榔稱帝於廣東肇慶，改元永曆，是為明昭宗。紹武、永曆二帝也不能團結，甚至大動幹戈，互相攻伐到隆武二年十二月十五日（1647年1月20日），由清朝將領李成棟率領的清軍攻陷廣州，紹武帝自縊而死，紹武政權僅存在40天就被清軍消滅，永曆帝在清軍進逼下逃入廣西南寧。

永曆帝

李成棟在1647年鎮壓了廣東更多的抵抗運動，但在1648年5月叛變反清，因為他不滿被任命為他征服的省份的唯一地區指揮官。江西另一名前明將軍的同時叛亂幫助永曆政權重新奪回了中國南部的大部分地區，讓清政府只控制了廣東和江西南部的一些飛地。但是這種忠誠者希望的復甦是短暫的。1649年和1650年，清軍設法重新征服湖廣、江西和廣東等中部省份。永曆皇帝逃往南寧，並從那裡逃往桂州。1650年11月24日，尚可喜在圍城十個月後占領廣州，屠殺全城人口，殺害多達7萬人。

儘管在攝政王多爾袞（1612-1650）的領導下，清朝成功地將南明擊退至中國的西南地區，但對明朝效忠的將領並未消亡。1652年8月上旬，李定國曾在大西皇帝張獻忠（死於1647年）手下擔任四川將軍，現在保護永曆帝，從清朝手中奪回桂林。一個月內，大部分支持清朝的廣西地區的軍閥又回到明朝一方。儘管在湖廣和廣東的軍事行動偶爾會取得成功。在接下來的兩年裡，李定國未能奪回重要城市。

1653年，清廷派洪承疇負責收復西南。總部設在長沙，他耐心地建立自己的力量；直到1658年底，清軍重整軍備才開始多管齊下攻占貴州和雲南。1659年1月下旬，信親王多尼率領的清軍攻占首都昆明（滇都），永曆帝竄往附近的緬甸東籲王朝，由彬德萊收留。永曆帝在此滯留至1662年，永曆十六年四月十五日（1662年6月1日），永曆帝與其子哀愍太子朱慈煊等被吳三桂正法於昆明。

夔東十三家

康熙元年( 1662 )，清政府組織四川、陝西、湖北三省力量圍剿夔東十三家。各路清兵約20萬分別在李家店、長坪等地與李來亨、郝搖旗等激戰。到康熙三年( 1664 )，清軍四面合圍李來亨的據點茅麓山，晝夜環攻。李來亨見勢已敗，焚其妻子，自縊而死。

顧誠認為夔東抗清基地的被摧毀，應當視為南明史的結束。理由是，永曆帝雖然在兩年以前被俘殺，以明朝為正朔的夔東抗清複明運動仍在繼續，他們有永曆朝廷委派的全權代表，有相當可觀的旗幟鮮明的軍隊，有地方政權，維護和行使明朝的制度。

明鄭

北伐

南明永曆十一年（1657年，清順治十四年），反抗清軍的各級將領官兵聚集在福建，選擇北伐目標。鄭成功選擇收複南京——這是洪武皇帝朱元璋建國時選擇的都城，自然會有大量的反清人口。南京同時也是一個重要的戰略要地。永曆十二年（1658年，清順治十五年）五月，鄭成功率領10萬陸軍、290隻船艦組成的水師，與駐軍于浙江東部海域的張煌言將軍會師一同攻打南京，留下一小部分兵力保衛廈門。

儘管鄭成功通過突襲奪取了大量郡縣，但他依然傳令給清軍首領在南京和清軍決戰，這提前給清朝準備充足的時間，因為他想要像他父親鄭芝龍成功對荷蘭的明荷料羅灣海戰一樣，和清軍一決雌雄。這種決策導致鄭成功丟掉了能夠發動突襲的主動權。根據1671年一位法國傳教士的記載，鄭成功如果對清朝占領的南京發動進攻，將切斷京杭大運河的補給線，可能導致北京出現饑荒，從而迫使滿族人考慮返回滿洲並放棄中國的中原地區。北京和南京的平民和官員都在等待獲勝的一方。從一位北京的官員給自己家人和相識的另一名在南京的官員往來的信件中可以看到，這位北京的官員在信中稱南京和北京之間的一切往來都已經被切斷，由于鄭成功及其軍隊在南京附近大規模且成功的軍事活動，清朝政府打算放棄南京和北京，將首都撤離到很遠的地區，這反映了清朝北京政府所感受到的嚴峻形勢。這位官員告訴他在南京的孩子們準備投奔鄭成功，而他自己也正準備投奔鄭成功。鄭成功的部隊截獲了這些信件，讀了這些信件後，鄭成功可能開始後悔自己故意拖延以準備與清軍的決戰的決定，而不是迅速進攻南京。鄭成功的軍隊經過台州，臨海，定海｜舟山，鎮江，與張煌言匯合共同進攻南京。大軍進入長江在羊山島附近海域發生了颶風，造成了8000多人的損失，40多艘軍艦沉沒，所有船隻都受到了不同程度的損失。鄭成功下令暫時停止軍事推進，並下令維修和整修艦隊，等待合適的攻擊時機。清政府要求加強崇明島、福建山區、泉州和鎮江周邊的防禦，在江面上鋪設一條長長的鐵鏈，並建造木筏駐紮士兵和大炮。鄭成功命令士兵用斧頭砍斷鐵鏈，並放火燒敵人的木筏。當鄭成功與張煌言在長江附近匯合時，清軍的防禦力量的抵抗是最小的，很快就攻克了南京。

然而，他卻落入了清軍的陷阱伏擊，相當一部分將領也戰死在了沙場上。在進攻南京時，鄭成功的明朝效忠者與占多數的漢族旗人清軍作戰，從8月24日開始，鄭成功對南京的圍攻持續了近三個星期。鄭成功的軍隊無法維持完全包圍，這使南京城能夠獲得補給甚至增援——儘管針對南京城的守城清軍的騎兵攻擊甚至在增援到達之前就成功了。鄭成功的部隊被擊敗並「退回」（Wakeman的短語原文為「slipped back」）到帶來他們的船隻上。在南京慘敗後，鄭成功最終決定撤回廈門。因為南京之戰後鄭成功再也沒有和清軍進行大規模作戰，因此中國歷史學家得出結論，南京之戰的失敗是鄭成功一生中最重要的一戰，原因被視為南京之戰嚴重破壞了他宏偉的反清決心。

東征臺灣

隨後，鄭成功決定從荷蘭手中攻取荷屬福爾摩莎。他于1662年發動了熱蘭遮城圍攻，打敗了荷蘭人並把他們趕出台灣。然後他在前荷蘭殖民地的遺址上建立了明鄭政權。追隨鄭成功前往台灣的明朝皇室成員包括寧靖王朱術桂和朱弘桓（監國魯王朱以海的兒子）。朱術桂以逝去的永曆帝朱由榔的名義行事。鄭成功則以"延平王"的身份實際上統治著大員。

開發台灣

國際貿易

鄭成功的兒子鄭經繼續持續抗清活動。1670年，日本人和中國人相繼在濟州島發現一艘擱淺的船隻。經過調查，這艘船屬于明鄭政權，原本準備駛往日本長崎。當時的日本德川幕府由于嚴格執行閉關鎖國政策，因此會對來往于日本唯一開放的港口之一——長崎的船隻進行嚴格調查和監視，因此被外界認為這艘船能夠來往于鎖國的日本，一定是得到了德川幕府的暗中支持（就像在明嘉靖年間的「倭寇」一樣）。外界認為是因為德川幕府是允許日本人加入明鄭政權以便幫助他們對抗清政府。一方面，德川幕府面對在國內持續製造麻煩的流浪武士，迫切希望讓這些武士們轉移注意力到其他地方以避免對德川幕府造成威脅；另一方面，由于清朝政府對朝鮮的征服，日本十分擔心清軍會渡海進攻日本，于是主張讓日本流浪武士去支持對抗清朝政府的勢力，在台灣島的明鄭政權無疑是很好的選擇。反對荷蘭的越南阮主政權（在今越南中部）也願意和在台灣的明鄭政權進行貿易，以獲得資金對抗荷蘭人和在東京（今越南河內）附近的鄭主政權。與阮主政權貿易的同時，明鄭政權也和對立的鄭主政權進行貿易，因為鄭主政權曾經給予鄭成功援助其收複台灣。

清政府表示：只要鄭經收編部隊，放棄台灣島上的據點回到大陸，清政府可以派遣使者與鄭經談判。鄭經表示自己打算在台灣島和附近的海域繼續建立中華，把大陸留給清政府，1667年，鄭經派遣的一名貿易官員陳德接受了朝鮮人的招待，席間陳德告訴迎接他的朝鮮官員：「大明已經在茫茫波濤中安穩下來……（大明）正在一塊遠離清國的土地上重新樹立統治」。

鄭經西征

鄭泰叛逃到清朝，與鄭經和鄭鳴駿就長崎唐通事辦事處（專門用于處理與中國貿易的外交兼翻譯部門）中的30萬兩白銀的存款發生爭執。1673——1681年的「三藩」之亂中，鄭經在接受了耿精忠的戰船之後，開始渡海西征，對清朝發動了新的攻勢，並奪回了福建的部分土地。鄭泰在北京的親屬再次叛逃打算回到鄭經身邊。鄭經重啟反清的軍事行動之後，德川幕府重新和鄭經談判，解決了鄭泰和鄭經之間的白銀糾紛，將銀子交給了鄭經。加入明鄭政權的日本武士幫助明鄭看守台灣北部的基隆島，鄭經也從長崎購買了更多的武器、劍和大炮。

降清覆亡

1681年鄭經病逝之後，明鄭政權出現動盪，監國世子鄭克𡒉被馮錫范殺害，立次子鄭克塽為延平王。1683年，施琅領清軍攻下澎湖，寧靖王朱術桂自盡殉國。幼主鄭克塽出降，康熙皇帝授予他"正黃旗漢軍公"稱號，他和他的士兵們被納入漢軍八旗。為了安撫台灣子民，清朝政府把仍住在台灣的17位明朝宗室子孫送回中國大陸並在那裡度過了餘生。

軍事

經濟

南明時期江南地區備受滿清軍隊蹂躪，經過清朝和南明軍閥之間的反覆爭奪，加之清軍的多次屠城，令昔日繁華的江南地區破敗不堪。

社會

江南士人深受儒家「華夷大防」的影響，十分抗拒滿洲人的征服戰爭，江南爆發多次反清起義，湧現出夏完淳等諸多抗清英雄。也有王夫之、顧炎武等在抗清失敗後被迫歸隱。

文化

明代中期以後江南經濟的發達，造就了南方戲曲的蓬勃發展。至明清之際江南城市與農村經濟雖已衰退，但因未遭流寇之亂，離北方又遠，新聞傳播之訊息遲緩，使士大夫與富室未覺世局已岌岌可危，而依舊樂衷於演戲。而百姓則面臨空前之災荒與時疫，只得透過演戲的方式以祈神禳災，並藉此抒發心中的不安全感，祭祀演劇的盛行遂成為普遍的現象，也使江南戲劇維持不墜。清軍南下時江南縱使有戰亂造成部份地區演劇短時間的中斷，然不久即恢復舊觀，故演劇之風仍持續，尤其是蘇州曲派的形成，造就了崑曲的另一高峰。此時湧現了諸如《桃花扇》等經典的文學作品。

宗教

明清易代的過程中，橫渡大洋遠道而來的天主教傳教士們為了為了保存在中國的傳教工作，分別和當時的三大割據勢力——滿清、農民軍以及南明朝廷合作。南明朝廷中的天主教官員更是數不勝數，畢方濟、瞿紗微、卜彌格都是南明朝廷的中流砥柱，幫助南明歷任政權和澳門葡萄牙當局建立聯繫。永曆帝還派出卜彌格神父作為使者，希望他能完成借兵歐洲的目標，1651年卜彌格自澳門乘船出發前往歐洲，歷經兩年時間到達了羅馬教廷。

人口

明末清初的多種史料，皆反映易代之際江南人口因戰禍而大量損失。按撰述松江一帶史事的筆記小說《閱世編》所記載，動搖明人統治根基的天災約始于崇禎十四年（1641），而水旱饑荒直至康熙十九年（1680）才漸漸消失。

範圍變遷

南明諸政權鼎盛時期北接李自成大順政權和張獻忠大西政權，但時間短暫，隨後即被南下的清軍打散，最後與農民軍餘部聯合抗清，活躍於浙江、江西、湖南、廣西、雲南和四川等省份，中國大陸有組織的抗清勢力延續到夔東十三家被滅亡。

外交

南明時期，安南、日本、琉球、呂宋、占城也曾派使者入貢。隆武元年也曾頒登基詔書予琉球，並記載於琉球《歷代寶案》一書。

南明弘光帝曾以對等的禮儀派使者左懋第詔諭，並稱順治帝為清國可汗。在詔書中，弘光帝提出四件事：要安葬崇禎帝及崇禎皇后、以山海關為界，關外土地給予清朝、每年十萬歲幣，並「犒金千兩、銀十萬兩、絲緞萬匹、犒銀三萬兩」、建國任便。意圖令南明和清朝共存，通好議和。不過左懋第到北京被囚，使事失敗。

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