Li Zicheng

(1606–1645) was a Chinese rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty and ruled over China briefly as emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty. Li, initially a shepherd, advocated the slogan of ‘dividing land equally and abolishing the grain taxes payment system’. The Ming government was unable to stop his rebellion, as most of its military force was involved in the battle against the Manchurians in the north. In 1644, Li’s rebels sacked the Ming capital of Beijing, and the Chongzhen emperor committed suicide. Li proclaimed himself as Emperor of the Shun dynasty. He fled from Beijing to his base in Shaanxi, when his army was defeated in the same year by the combined forces of the Ming general Wu Sangui and the Manchurians. After a number of defeats, Li Zicheng disappeared.