How did the rebellion of Li Zicheng affect the Qing conquest of Ming China?

Answer 1

High taxes, caused by a corrupted government and crop yields declining because of harsh weather, led to peasant unrest. In the 1630s, a major epidemic greatly reduced the population in many areas. The suffering caused by the epidemic helped spark a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng. The revolt beginning in central China and later spread throughout China. In 1644, Li and his forces occupied the capital of Beijing. The overthrow of the Ming dynasty (the last Ming emperor committed suicide, hanging himself from a tree in the palace gardens) created an opportunity for the Manchus (farming and hunting people who lived northeast of the Great Wall in the area known today as Manchuria). The Manchus conquered Beijing, and Li Zicheng's army fell. The victorious Manchus then declared the creation of a new dynasty called the Qing (meaning "pure.") This dynasty, created in 1644, remained in power until 1911.