erial force came to raise the siege, but fearful of meeting
Li's army, they cut through the dykes of the Yellow River, "China's
Sorrow," and flooded the whole country, including the city. The rebels
escaped to the mountains, but upwards of 200,000 inhabitants perished in
the flood, and the city became a heap of ruins (1642). From K'ai-feng Fu
Li marched against the other strongholds of Ho-nan and Shen-si, and was
so completely successful that he determined to attack Peking. A
treacherous eunuch opened the gates to him, on being informed of which
the emperor committed suicide. When the news of this disaster reached
the general-commanding on the frontier of Manchu Tatary, he, in an
unguarded moment, concluded a peace with the Manchus, and invited them
to dispossess Li Tsze-ch'eng. The Manchus entered China, and after
defeating a rebel army sent against them, they marched towards Peking.
On hearing of the approach of the invaders, Li Tsze-ch'eng, after having
set fire to the imperial palace, evacuated the city, but was overtaken,
and his force was completely routed.

Ta-ts'ing dynasty.

The Chinese now wished the Manchus to retire, but, having taken
possession of Peking, they proclaimed the ninth son of T'ien-ming
emperor of China under the title of Shun-chi, and adopted the name of
Ta-ts'ing, or "Great Pure," for the dynasty (1644). Meanwhile the
mandarins at Nanking had chosen an imperial prince to ascend the throne.
At this most inopportune moment "a claimant" to the throne, in the
person of a pretended son of the last emperor, appeared at court. While
this contention prevailed inside Nanking the Tatar army appeared at the
walls. There was no need for them to use force. The gates were thrown
open, and they took possession of the city without bloodshed. Following
the conciliatory policy they had everywhere pursued, they confirmed the
mandarins in their offices and granted a general amnesty to all who
would lay down their arms. As the Tatars entered the city the emperor
left it, and after wandering about for some days in great misery, he
drowned himself in the Yangtsze-kiang. Thus ended the Ming dynasty, and
the empire passed again under a foreign yoke. By the Mings, who partly
revived the feudal system by making large territorial grants to members
of the reigning house, China was divided into fifteen provinces; the
existing division into eighteen provinces was made by the Manchus.

All accounts agree in stating t