kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Shun dynasty

1644 CE – 1645 CE · capital Xi'an, Beijing

The dynasty of the rebel Li Zicheng, whose capture of Beijing in 1644 ended the Ming but opened the way for the Manchu conquest.

Origins

Li Zicheng, a dismissed courier from northern Shaanxi, became a rebel leader in the 1630s amid famine and military mutiny. Promising to cut taxes and redistribute land, he built a huge army, took Xi'an and early in 1644 proclaimed the dynasty of Great Shun there.

Rule and society

Shun set up ministries and appointed officials across the north, but it governed mainly by military occupation. When Li took Beijing in April 1644 and the last Ming emperor hanged himself, his troops tortured Ming officials to extract silver, and discipline broke down, alienating the elite.

Decline and legacy

The Ming general Wu Sangui at the Shanhai Pass allied with the Manchus, and their combined forces defeated Li in May 1644. He retreated from Beijing to Xi'an and then into Hubei, where he was killed in 1645. The Qing Empire inherited the north.

Lineage

Ming Empire 1368 CE – 1644 CEShun dynasty

Connections (1)

Shun dynasty was conquered by Qing Empire1645 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Shun dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/shun-dynasty
MLA: “Shun dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/shun-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Shun dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/shun-dynasty.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Shun dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/shun-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻