I just reread the story of Zhang Xianzhong, a truly thought-provoking figure at the very end of the Ming Dynasty. This man stands 185–190 cm tall, with a powerful, muscular build, swordlike eyebrows and tiger-like eyes, large earlobes, and skin with a slight yellowish tone—he looks extremely imposing and majestic. He didn’t resist the Ming from the start; rather, circumstances pushed him into it.

During the Chương trình reign, Shaanxi suffered a major natural disaster. Taxes were not reduced. Zhang Xianzhong was imprisoned due to disputes over military households. After he was released, he turned into a bandit, and from then on began his path of armed resistance. He led his troops from Shaanxi southward, fighting in Huguang and Jiangxi. He repeatedly received invitations from the Ming court, but he was betrayed again and again. In the end, he completely cut ties with the imperial government. Ming histories described him as capricious, but in reality, it was just helplessness in chaotic times.

In 1644, when Li Zicheng broke through Beijing and Chương trình took his own life, Zhang Xianzhong seized the opportunity to return to fight in Sichuan. The next year, he captured Chengdu. In 1645, at age 39, he proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu and established the Great Western regime. After ascending the throne, Zhang Xianzhong understood that the Qing forces would certainly invade, so he both consolidated defenses and planned a withdrawal. But he had a tendency to be suspicious; he was not at ease with the troops under his command.

In 1646, he used the pretext that the Sichuan army was unstable to order a crackdown and rectification. Liu Jinzhu, the military leader of Sichuan, recognized the danger. During the night, he fled and, by chance, ran into Qing troops belonging to Prince Haoji (Su Shenwang). Liu Jinzhu immediately surrendered and became a guide, determined to lead the Qing troops straight to Zhang Xianzhong’s camp.

That November, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops moving north to prepare to retreat back to Shaanxi. Because of the dense fog and the difficult mountain roads, he had absolutely no preparedness for a sudden surprise attack. A chaotic mêlée erupted. Ming records say that he was struck by an arrow, fell off his horse, hid in a pile of grass, and was then captured and executed. After Zhang Xianzhong’s death, Chengdu fell into chaos, and the Great Western regime collapsed.

His death was not only the end of one individual—it also marked the end of the peasant wars at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Xianzhong was neither a virtuous ruler nor a cruel tyrant; he was a tough man swept into a time of turmoil. With sharp judgment and improvisational ability, he had risen to the peak, but because, in the end, he trusted the wrong person, he lost everything. He had never been defeated by outside enemies in his life, yet in the end he died because of betrayal—truly pitiful.

Betrayal is always the sharpest sword that pierces the human heart, and Zhang Xianzhong’s story proves it.