Revolt of the Three Feudatories

The Revolt of the Three Feudatories was a rebellion in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. The revolt was led by the three lords of the fiefdoms in Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces against the Qing central government.

Three feudatories
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, the central government's influence was not strong enough and the rulers were unable to control the provinces in southern China directly. The Qing government initiated a policy of "letting the Han Chinese govern the Han Chinese" (以漢制漢), which was to allow some surrendered generals from the former Ming Dynasty to help them govern the provinces in the south.

In 1655, Wu Sangui was granted the title of "Pingxi Prince" (平西王; "West Pacifying Prince") by the Qing government and granted governorship of the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming were granted the titles of "Pingnan Prince" and "Jingnan Prince" (both mean "South Pacifying Prince") respectively and were put in charge of the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. After Geng's death, his son Geng Jimao inherited his father's title and fiefdom, and Geng Jimao was later succeeded by his son Geng Jingzhong. The three lords had great influence over their lands and wielded far greater power than any other regional or provincial governors. They had their own military forces and had the authority to alter tax rates in their fiefs.

Zheng Jing, ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning in present-day Taiwan, also participated in the rebellion in the name of "opposing Qing to restore Ming" (反清復明).

Causes
The Three Feudatories occupied almost half of China and caused the division of the Qing empire. Wu Sangui was granted permission by the Shunzhi Emperor to appoint and promote his own personal group of officials, as well as the privilege of choosing warhorses first before the Qing armies. Wu Sangui's forces took up several million taels of silver in military pay, taking up a third of the Qing government's revenue from taxes. Wu was also in charge of handling the Qing government's diplomatic relationships with the Dalai Lama and Tibet. Most of Wu's troops were formerly Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's forces and they were well-versed in warfare.

In Fujian province, Geng Jingzhong ruled as a tyrant over his fief, allowing his subordinates to extort food supplies and money from the common people. As for the situation in Guangdong province, Shang Kexi ruled his fief in a similar fashion to Geng Jingzhong. In total, much of the central government's state revenue and reserves were spent on the Three Feudatories and their expenses emptied almost half of the imperial treasury. When the Kangxi Emperor came to the throne, he felt that the Three Feudatories posed a great threat to his sovereignty over the empire and wanted to reduce the three lords' powers.

Revolt
In 1667, Wu Sangui submitted a request to the Kangxi Emperor, asking for permission to be relieved of his duties in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, on the premise that he was ill, and Kangxi approved. In 1673, Shang Kexi asked for permission to retire, and in July, Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong followed suit. Kangxi called for a council to seek his subjects' views on the issue and received divided responses. Some thought that the Three Feudatories should be left as they were, while others supported the idea of reducing the three lords' powers. Kangxi went against the views of the majority in the council and accepted the three lords' requests for retirement, ordering them to leave their respective fiefs and resettle in Manchuria. The next year, Wu Sangui instigated the rebellion under the banner of "overthrowing Qing and restoring Ming" (反清復明). Wu's forces captured Hunan and Sichuan provinces. Geng Jingzhong followed suit in Fujian, while Guangdong remained loyal to the Qing. At the same time, Sun Yanling and Wang Fuchen also rose in revolt in Guangxi and Shaanxi provinces. Zheng Jing, ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning, led a 150,000 strong army from Taiwan and landed in Fujian to join the rebel forces. On the Qing government's side, the Kangxi Emperor rallied the imperial armies to crush the rebellions.

After 1676, the tide was in favor of the Qing forces, as Wang Fuchen surrendered after a three-year long stalemate, while Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin consecutively surrendered as their forces weakened. After conquering Hunan, Wu Sangui did not wait for a response from Wang Fuchen and moved his armies north, while the Qing forces concentrated on recapturing Hunan. In 1678, Wu proclaimed himself emperor of a Great Zhou Dynasty (大周) in Hengzhou (衡州; present-day Hengyang, Hunan province) and established his own imperial court. Wu died of illness in August (lunar month) that year and was succeeded by his grandson Wu Shifan, who ordered a retreat back to Yunnan. While the rebel army's morale was unstable, the Qing forces launched an attack on Yuezhou (岳州; present-day Yueyang, Hunan province) and captured it later, along with the rebels' territories of Changde, Hengzhou and others. Wu Shifan's forces retreated to Chenlong Pass. In 1680, the provinces of Hunan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Sichuan, previously captured by the rebels, were recovered by the Qing, and Wu Shifan retreated to Kunming in October.

In 1681, the Qing general Zhao Liangdong proposed a three-pronged attack on Yunnan, with imperial armies from Hunan, Guangxi and Sichuan. Cai Yurong, Viceroy of Yungui, led the attack on the rebels together with Zhang Tai and Laita Giyesu, conquering Mount Wuhua and besieging Kunming. In October, Zhao Liandong's army was the first to break through into Kunming and the others followed suit, swiftly capturing the city. Wu Shifan committed suicide in December and the rebels surrendered the following day.

Aftermath
Zheng Jing's forces were defeated near Xiamen in 1680 and forced to withdraw to Taiwan. Shang Zhixin was forced to commit suicide in 1680 while Geng Jingzhong was executed. The final victory over the revolt was the Qing conquest of the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan. Shi Lang was appointed as admiral of the Qing navy and led an invasion of Taiwan, defeating the Tungning navy under Liu Guoxuan in the Battle of Penghu. Zheng surrendered in October 1683, and Taiwan became part of the Qing Empire.

Literature
The revolt is featured in Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. The story tells of how the protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, helps the Kangxi Emperor suppress the rebellion.