Zhang Xianzhong - The Dream of the Great West Emperor

Author: Tian Wenyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: This is the fourth historical novel by Tian Wenyi, a writer renowned for excelling in portraying major events and significant figures, achieving remarkable success. "Heaven provides all things for man to sustain life, yet man has nothing to repay Heaven. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"—It is said that this was the "Seven Killing Stele" left by Zhang Xianzhong, a rebel leader of equal renown to Li Zicheng during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, in Chengdu—the capital of his short-lived Daxi Kingdom, established in 1644 (the 17th year of the Chongzhen era), some 350 years ago. The "Seven Killing Stele" is well-known to many; it stood in Chengdu's Shaocheng Park (now People's Park) from the early Qing dynasty until the early days of the People's Republic of China. Although Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi Kingdom was short-lived, its influence was profound. When Zhang Xianzhong led his army out of Chengdu, the city—once a prosperous metropolis since the Tang dynasty and one of the five most vibrant cities in China—was reduced to ashes overnight. The productivity of Sichuan, the "Land of Abundance," was devastated, and its population plummeted, leading to the "Huguang Filling Sichuan" migration that spanned over a century from the early Qing dynasty. The author focuses on this historical period, beginning with Zhang Xianzhong's conquest of Chengdu and the establishment of the Daxi Kingdom, and ending with his death on Fenghuang Mountain in Xichong, as well as the four of his sworn sons turning their allegiance to the Ming dynasty and fighting against the Qing in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Amidst the intense turmoil and division, Li Dingguo persevered until the very end, passing away in the dense forests of the southwestern frontier. Thousands of sworn brothers who followed Zhang Xianzhong and Li Dingguo in their campaigns for years lie buried on the Chinese side of the Yunnan-Burma border. The narrative is grand and tragic.