MILITARY PERSONNEL

Wu Sangui

1612 - 1678

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Wu Sangui (Chinese: 吳三桂; pinyin: Wú Sānguì; Wade–Giles: Wu San-kuei; 8 June 1612 – 2 October 1678), courtesy name Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯), was a Chinese military leader who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is regarded as a disreputable Han Chinese traitor for his defection over to the Manchu invaders, suppression of the Southern Ming resistance and execution of the Yongli Emperor. Wu eventually double-crossed both of his masters, the Ming and the Qing dynasties. In 1644, Wu was a Ming general in charge of garrisoning Shanhai Pass, the strategic choke point between Manchuria and Beijing. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Wu Sangui is the 244th most popular military personnel, the 144th most popular biography from China (up from 165th in 2019) and the 11th most popular Chinese Military Personnel.

Wu Sangui is most famous for being the general who opened the gates of Beijing to the Manchu army, which led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS

Among military personnels, Wu Sangui ranks 244 out of 2,058Before him are Sun Jian, Hans von Seeckt, Lysander, Toyotomi Hideyori, Maximilian von Weichs, and Emmanuel de Grouchy, marquis de Grouchy. After him are Slobodan Praljak, Bai Qi, Jack Phillips, Pedro de Valdivia, Juan Pujol García, and Wilhelm Mohnke.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1612, Wu Sangui ranks 3Before him are Murad IV, and Dorgon. After him are Louis Le Vau, Saskia van Uylenburgh, Thomas Fairfax, Pierre Mignard, Antoine Arnauld, Samuel Butler, Peter Stuyvesant, Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, and Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma. Among people deceased in 1678, Wu Sangui ranks 2Before him is Jacob Jordaens. After him are Jan Brueghel the Younger, Anna Maria van Schurman, Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, François Pierre La Varenne, Erasmus Quellinus the Younger, Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Karel Dujardin, Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, Antoine III de Gramont, and Antonio de Pereda.

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In China

Among people born in China, Wu Sangui ranks 144 out of 1,610Before him are Sun Jian (155), 1st Dalai Lama (1391), Ziying (-300), Kumārajīva (343), Ei-ichi Negishi (1935), and Emperor Guangwu of Han (-5). After him are Emperor Ruizong of Tang (662), Edmond H. Fischer (1920), Bai Qi (-250), Zhengde Emperor (1491), Empress Lü (-241), and Emperor Huizong of Song (1082).

Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In China

Among military personnels born in China, Wu Sangui ranks 11Before him are Zhang Fei (167), Dong Zhuo (139), Zhou Yu (175), Yue Fei (1142), Sun Ce (175), and Sun Jian (155). After him are Bai Qi (-250), Han Xin (-231), Sun Bin (-401), Zhao Yun (168), Zhang Liao (169), and Xiahou Dun (155).