※Synopsis of The Southern Ming in Smoke and Clouds
Hu Sang
Where the singing ends, the sun has set,
Only the scent of fading blossoms drifts from beyond the courtyard wall.
Countless towers and terraces, countless weeds,
Idle talk and imperial ambitions alike have vanished into the distance.
The fall of the Ming began in the Wanli era. In the Jiashen upheaval, Chongzhen hanged himself. The Zhu dynasty collapsed with a thunderous crash. The realm lay in ruins, yet the struggle continued to the bitter end. Songs and dances were chosen, while people drank and dreamed their lives away. Infighting never ceased, and defeat followed defeat. Amid bitter winds and driving rain, people were left homeless and adrift.
Shi Kefa was at his wits’ end. Li Dingguo twice defeated the princes of the Qing. Zhang Huangyan pledged himself to a lonely loyalty. Zheng Chenggong raised the banner of rebellion. The Yongli Emperor fled to Burma, while the Shaowu Emperor followed Chongzhen’s example. In those troubled times, people were treated worse than dogs, struggling to survive beneath the iron hooves.
The Southern Ming in Smoke and Clouds recreates the turbulent decades from the Wanli era to the fall of the Southern Ming, retelling this tragic chapter of resistance by the people.
