Biography

Background

Zhang was born in liushujian (literally 'willow spring', modern Dingbian, Shaanxi province), into a poor family. He was described as tall in stature, had a yellow complexion and a "tiger chin" (虎颔), and hence was given the nickname "Yellow Tiger". He served in the Ming army, and while in the army he was sentenced to death for violations of military rules, but was reprieved after an intervention by a senior officer who was impressed by his appearance.

As rebel leader

Towards the end the Ming dynasty, drought, famines and epidemics broke out in various part of China. In the late 1620s, peasants revolted in Shaanxi, resisting attempts by the Ming government to collect grains and taxes. They coalesced into rebel armies called "roving bandits" (liúkòu 流寇) because of their highly mobile nature, and spread into other parts of China. Zhang escaped from the army, joined the rebel forces in Mizhi County in 1630, and established himself as a rebel leader, styling himself Bada Wang (八大王, Eighth Great King). His mobile forces would conduct raids along the western edge of Shaanxi, plundering swiftly and hiding out in the hills. Later he moved into other provinces, moving from place to place raiding towns and cities. He was defeated at various times by the Ming forces; Zhang would also surrender when it was expedient for him to do so, for example in 1631 and 1638, but would then later regroup and resume rebellion.

In 1635 he joined a larger confederation of bandits that included another rebel leader, Li Zicheng (Li would later capture Beijing and end the Ming rule there). They devastated Henan and pushed into Anhui. After they had burnt the Ming ancestral temple at Zhongdu (Fengyang) in Anhui and ravaged the area, the rebel armies broke up and Zhang headed to Hubei. In 1637, joined by other rebels and with an army now reaching a size of 300,000 men, he again pushed into Anhui, then to Jiangsu, and almost down to Nanjing. But he was defeated there and he retreated back to Hubei. In 1638, he surrendered to Ming supreme commander Xiong Wencan (熊文灿) and was allowed to serve as a regional Ming commander. However, he reneged on the agreement in 1639 and rebelled, and later defeated the Ming forces led by the Ming general Zuo Liangyu (左良玉). In 1640, he suffered defeats at the hand of Zuo and had to flee with few followers into the mountains of Eastern Sichuan. In 1641 he emerged from Sichuan and attacked Xiangyang, capturing and executing the imperial prince there.

In 1643, he took Macheng in Hubei, and his army swelled to some 57,000 after incorporating the city's rebels. He then captured the provincial capital of Wuchang, killed the imperial prince there, and proclaimed himself "Xi Wang" (King of the West). Wuchang however was soon recaptured by Ming forces, and for a while Zhang stayed at Changsha where he controlled much of Hunan and part of Jiangxi.

Conquest of Sichuan

In 1644, Zhang decided to abandon Hunan and led 100,000 of his troops towards Sichuan. His army converged on Chongqing from two directions and surrounded the city. After several days of fighting, his army managed to blast a hole through the city wall and captured the city on 25 July 1644. He was said to have cut off the hands of the city's defenders and massacred a large number of people.

The conquest of some other parts of Sichuan was made easier after he promised not to harm the local population if they seized their officials, took possession of the storehouse and surrendered without resistance. He took Chengdu in 9 September 1644, and met no real opposition in the rest of Sichuan afterwards. He then set up court in Chengdu, which he renamed Xijing (西京, Western Capital), and declared himself king of the Daxi Dynasty (大西王朝, Great Western Dynasty). In the 10th lunar month of 1644 he declared himself as Emperor with the reign title Dashun.

Rule in Sichuan

In Sichuan he attempted to set up a civil administration and initially gained considerable support. According to an account by Gabriel de Magalhães, a Portuguese Jesuit who was working in Sichuan with another Jesuit Lodovico Buglio (but both pressed to serve as astronomers to Zhang), "he began his rule with such liberality, justice and magnificence by which he captivated all hearts that many mandarins, famous both in civic as in military affairs whom fear was keeping concealed, left their hideouts and flew to his side."

However, resistance to his rule did not cease, and Chongqing was retaken by Ming loyalists in the spring of 1645. Zhang then embarked on a campaign of terror, which was well under way by the middle of 1645, to stamp out the remaining resistance in Sichuan. In November 1645, according to de Magalhães, Zhang, after hearing that "a huge and powerful army was coming against him", announced that "the people of his kingdom had a secret pact with the enemy and planned an uprising; because of this he was determined to kill any suspected resistors". The Jesuits, who now "understood the evil of this man", reported that while they managed to save a few of their Jesuit brothers who were taken, the rest were killed. Zhang's policy of terror increased in intensity, especially in 1646 after he had decided to abandon Sichuan. By then, Zhang's government had virtually disintegrated, all but three of his principal officials had either committed suicide or were executed.

Death

The Manchu Aisin Gioro founded the Qing Dynasty in 1636 and advanced through the Great Wall after the fall of the Ming Dynasty to rebels of Li Zicheng in 1644. In 1646 the Qing sent out a force under the leadership of Haoge intending to attack Zhang's domain in Sichuan. In October 1646, Zhang decided to abandon Sichuan, and headed towards his homeland in Shaanxi. However, the Qing army was also approaching from Shaanxi, and in January 1647, Zhang and the Qing forces met in Xichong where Zhang had set up camp, and he was killed in the confrontation. According to one account, he was betrayed by one of his officers, a native of Sichuan named Liu Chin-chung (Liu Jinzhong) who resented his policy of terror in Sichuan. Zhang was alerted to their presence and decided to confront them with only 8 to 10 men. Liu pointed Zhang out to the Qing when Zhang rushed out from his tent on learning of the betrayal, and he was then shot and killed by a skilled Manchu archer. The Draft History of Qing has an entirely different account of his death and claims he was killed by Oboi during a battle.

Devastation of Sichuan

The events surrounding Zhang's rule and afterwards devastated Sichuan, where he was said to have "engaged in one of the most hair-raising genocides in imperial history". Lurid stories of his killings and flayings were given in various accounts. According to Shu Bi (蜀碧), an 18th-century account of the massacre, after every slaughter, the heads were collected and placed in several big piles, while the hands were placed in other big piles, and the ears and noses in more piles, so that Zhang could keep count of his killings. In one incident, he is said to have organized an imperial examination ostensibly to recruit scholars for his administration, only to have all the candidates, which numbered many thousands, killed. In another, to give thanks for his recovery after an illness, he was said to have cut off the feet of many women. The severed feet were heaped in two piles with those of his favorite concubine, whose feet were unusually small, placed on top. These two piles of feet were then doused in oil and set alight to become what he called "heavenly candles".

He was reported to have ordered further massacres before he abandoned Chengdu in advance of the Qing armies. The massacres, a subsequent famine and epidemic, attacks by tigers, as well as people fleeing from the turmoil and the Qing armies, resulted in a large-scale depopulation of Sichuan. The worst affected areas are believed to be Chengdu and its surrounding counties, and places on the path of Zhang's retreat from Chengdu to Shaanxi.

Seven Kill Stele

A popular account of his life has it that he erected in Chengdu a stele, which came to be known as the Seven Kill Stele (七杀碑), with the following inscription:

There are, however, considerable doubts that this account is accurate. In 1934, a stele thought to be this very one was found by a missionary – its reverse side contains an added inscription by a Ming general commemorating Zhang's numerous victims whose bones he had collected and buried in 1646. While the first two lines of the poem on this stele are similar, the line with the seven kills is absent in this stele. Instead the actual line reads: "The spirits and gods are knowing, so reflect on this and examine yourselves" (鬼神明明，自思自量). Many therefore considered the story to be a distortion from the Qing era.

Deaths

The actual number of people killed by Zhang is not known and is disputed. Official Ming Dynasty history Ming Shi recorded a figure of 600 million deaths due to Zhang's activities, an obvious exaggeration, since the total population of China at that time was less than 150 million, perhaps much lower. According to an assessment by a modern historian, "the death toll is reputed to have been enormous, possibly one million out of a total provincial population of three million, before he was eventually killed by the Manchus." The combination of deaths from the massacres and other causes as well as flight of people from the province resulted in a sharp drop in the population of Sichuan. The population has been estimated to have dropped by as much as 75%, with fewer than a million people left in Sichuan, most of whom were clustered in the periphery areas. The last Ming census figure for Sichuan in 1578 (more than 60 years before Zhang entered Sichuan) gave a population of 3,102,073. However, by 1661, only 16,096 adult males were registered in Sichuan, and Chengdu was said to have become a virtual ghost town frequented by tigers. A later figure for Sichuan was from the 1720s, which is over 70 years after Zhang's death and long after the resettlement of Sichuan had begun, and it recorded 634,802 households (which one estimate calculated to be around 2.5 million individuals).

Many, while acknowledging the massacres committed, do not believe that Zhang was responsible for the greater part of the population collapse in Sichuan, and thought that the greatest loss happened after his death due to the continuing turmoil, famine and diseases. Some argued that while a great many died, Sichuan did not become virtually depopulated as recorded. Some modern Chinese historians considered him a proto-revolutionary, maintaining that accounts of the massacres were exaggerated, or were committed by others including the Qing armies, that his victims were Ming nobles, rich landlords, and other "counter-revolutionary" elements, and that his heinous reputation was the result of "Qing slanders" and "reactionary propaganda".

Aftermath

Before he had abandoned Sichuan, Zhang divided his forces into four divisions, each led by one of his four generals (Li Dingguo, Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi). These remnants of his army, as well as Ming loyalists, held out in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou after Zhang's death, and most of Sichuan did not come under control of the Qing until a dozen years or so later, and fighting only finally ended in eastern Sichuan in 1664.

Resettlement of Sichuan

In order to fill up the depopulated regions of Sichuan, a massive resettlement program was initiated during the Qing Dynasty, starting around 1670 or 1671 and lasting more than two centuries. Millions of people from Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Shaanxi and other provinces were resettled in Sichuan. Some of the early migrants were those who returned after fleeing Sichuan (including the ancestors of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping), but some were also coerced. A large number of the migrants came from Huguang (now Hubei/Hunan), and the migration was therefore described by 19th century scholar Wei Yuan as "". By the 1720s, 70–80% of the population of Sichuan was reportedly non-native, and as much as 85% a century later.

生平

万历三十四年（1606年）九月十八日出生于陕西延安卫柳树涧堡（今陕西省榆林市定边县郝滩乡刘渠村），出身贫苦，初从军籍，担任过捕快、下级军吏，后因犯法被判死刑，虽然被陈洪范请求特赦，但也被免职处分。

明思宗崇祯三年（1630年），张献忠在米脂追随府谷人王嘉胤起事，自号八大王，以骁勇多力著称，又因体貌魁奇、面色微黄，得绰号「黄虎」。初属王自用，后自成一军，王死后改投高迎祥。高迎祥称闯王，张献忠、李自成号闯将。崇祯四年（1631年）六月，王嘉胤兵败被杀，张献忠受洪承畴招安，但隔年（1632年）又叛。

1635年张献忠参与荥阳之会，议决进取，与高迎祥等共攻略东方，攻破凤阳，焚明皇陵。不久张献忠与李自成因故分裂，张献忠率部攻长江流域，李自成攻黄河流域。崇祯十年（1637年）秋天，张献忠从河南进入湖广，向襄阳进攻。总兵秦翼明兵寡不敌，一路退败，湖广震动。明廷急调左良玉、马爌、刘良佐等合兵阻截，张献忠遭明军总兵官左良玉部的击败，部队严重受损，张献忠本人也受伤。退守湖北房、竹一带。

崇祯十一年（1638年），张献忠又在湖北谷城受兵部尚书熊文灿招安，被授予副将一职。驻地王家河，易名太平镇，以示休兵。崇祯十二年（1639年），杨嗣昌与五省军务总理熊文灿密谋，「出师关洛，趋会郧襄」，打算夹击张献忠，张献忠「杀知县阮之钿，隳谷城」，重举反明的大旗。转战四川境，巡抚邵捷春、参军廖大亨、阁部杨嗣昌等部队都拿他没奈何，献忠戏称；「前有邵巡抚，常来团转舞。后有廖参军，不战随我行。好个杨阁部，离我三天路。」1641年破襄阳，杀襄王朱翊铭，「发银五十万以赈饥民」，监军兵备副使张克俭、推官邝曰广、知县李大觉、游击黎安民等同死。祟祯十六年（1643年）据武昌，称大西王，将楚定王朱华奎溺死。

崇祯十七年（1644年）春，大西军「陷夔州，至万县，水涨，留屯三月，已，破涪州」六月，占领重庆，明瑞王朱常浩、四川巡抚陈士奇、重庆知府王行俭等被处死。八月（8月9日）攻破成都，巡抚龙文光、总兵刘佳胤、蜀王朱至澍及其嫔妃全部自杀身亡。张献忠号称60万大军，很快控制了四川大部分州县。8月16日，张献忠接受李自成封的秦王称号，十一月庚寅（12月4日）登基成为大西皇帝，改元大顺。以成都为西京。

顺治三年（1646年）清兵南下，清军到达川北之际，张献忠成都出兵以对抗清军时，将自己的妻妾幼子全部杀光，避免自己战败后其亲属被清军俘获。留守汉中的刘进忠投降清军。十一月己巳（1647年1月2日）张献忠于凤凰山（西充县与盐亭县交界处，西充县城东南15公里的多扶场西）多宝寺前太阳河畔侦察时被清肃亲王豪格的前锋刘进忠部射杀身亡。张献忠死后，他的四个义子李定国、孙可望、刘文秀、艾能奇率馀众联明抗清，转战贵州、云南。梓潼居民之前被张献忠以和文昌帝君同姓张的原因没有被全面屠杀，裴、贾族人更为张立庙塑像拜祭，清朝时被朝廷捣毁，复建至今仍在。

滥杀及屠蜀

历次屠杀记载

依据《明史纪事本末》记载，张献忠曾有如下屠杀行为：

• 崇祯十四年四月，张献忠、罗汝才合兵攻陷随州，知州徐世淳败死，全家被杀，官吏与百姓全部屠杀而不遗留，血流成沟渠。

• 崇祯十五年八月，张献忠再度攻陷六安，将州民全数砍断一臂，男左女右。

• 崇祯十五年十二月，张献忠再度东进，攻下桐城后屠城。

• 崇祯十六年五月，张献忠沿江而上，破汉阳后率军渡河，兵临武昌城下。楚王府新募兵为内应，开门迎接。楚王朱华奎被囚于笼中，沉江而死。屠杀士民数万人，投尸江中。尚馀数万人，驱赶出城，以铁骑围而逼入江中。剩馀民众数百人，多砍断手足，凿毁目鼻，无一全角者。

• 崇祯十六年八月，献忠在湘潭徵集船只数千艘欲北渡，忽然起大风，吹翻船只百馀艘，溺死数千人。因而再回岳州，尽杀所掠夺的妇女，投尸于江中。焚烧船只，火势延伸四十里，江水夜明如白昼。

• 崇祯十七年六月，张献忠攻陷涪州、泸州，蜀王朱至澍告急，请求救兵师于南都。左良玉兵屯德安。张献忠顺流而下攻陷佛图关，遂围重庆。官兵尽力守城，四日被攻陷，瑞王朱常浩全家受难，旧抚陈士奇也被杀。贼兵在重庆屠杀，抓取万馀壮丁，割去耳鼻，砍断一手，驱赶至各州县，告之若兵至不降，以此为鉴。

• 崇祯十七年八月，张献忠进陷成都，蜀王全家受难，巡抚龙文光暨道府各级官吏皆被杀。张献忠要求全蜀绅士至成都，全部杀害。随后公告科举取士，远近诸生争相前往。张献忠派兵包围，击杀数千人，蜀中文士皆亡。其后又大杀蜀中百姓。

屠蜀争议

四川盛传张献忠屠城无数，尤其屠蜀，立下七杀碑，两侧碑文分别为：「天生万物以养人，人无一物以报天」 ，中间有七字「杀杀杀杀杀杀杀」，不分男女老幼，逢人便是带到此碑之下斩杀。目前发现的张献忠屠蜀史料有：《张献忠陷庐州纪》、《流贼张献忠祸蜀记》、《孤儿吁天录》、《大西通纪》、《破山集》、《蜀难叙略》、《欧阳氏遗书》、《张献忠屠蜀记》、《客滇述》、《雅州受难记》、《汉嘉受害记》、《蜀记》、《纪事略》、《五马先生纪年》、《蜀破镜》、《荒书》、《圣教入川记》、《山城纪事》、《流离传》、《劫后录》、《绥寇纪略》、《续绥寇纪略》、《滇蜀纪闻》、《滟滪囊》、《老神仙传》、《广阳杂记》、《明季南略》、《井蛙杂记》、《罪惟录》、《蜀龟鉴》、《蜀碧》、各地方志、四川民间家谱等450馀种。

鲁迅在《晨凉漫笔》中说：「他（张献忠）开初并不很杀人，他何尝不想做皇帝，后来知道李自成进了北京，接著是清兵入关，自己只剩没落这一条路，于是就开手杀，杀......他分明感到天下已没有自己的东西，现在是在毁坏别人的东西了，这和有些末代的风雅皇帝，在死前烧掉了祖宗或自己所搜集的书籍古董宝贝之类的心情，完全一样。他还有兵，而没有古董之类，所以就杀，杀，杀人，杀......李自成已经入北京做皇帝了，做皇帝是要有百姓的，他要杀之他的百姓，使他无皇帝可做。」

南明和清朝人记载张献忠战死时川人已几乎被其屠尽，但此后清军仍然在四川和南明军队作战多年，张献忠于盐亭县凤凰山被流矢射杀身亡。张献忠死后，馀部继续转战四川各地。直到顺治十六年（1659年），清军攻陷南明渝城（重庆）后，才算占领四川。胡昭曦认为这些自相矛盾的记载证明屠蜀的真正主谋是南明地主阶级武装对四川劳动人民的反攻倒算，而非在公元1647年已死的农民革命领袖张献忠。

明史专家陈学霖教授批评相关学者基于政治需要及在阶级斗争意识型态的影响下，美化张献忠等人「农民起义」，但亦肯定相关史学家对纠正旧史记载的一些重叠错误，如厘清张献忠杀人的数字，及四川多少人及哪一类人如何被杀等争议性问题的贡献。

相关文献如《明季南略》和《客滇述》、明朝遗民顾山贞以及西方传教士等人的记述皆指出张献忠是屠川元凶：

• 计六奇《明季南略》记载：「献忠遂屠重庆，砍手三十馀万人，流血有声。」

• 《客滇述》：「献忠既陷成都，尽伐梨树，做宫室驰道，练兵于此。贼兵之樵采者，尽入城中，拆毁房屋以为薪。又发兵四出，搜各州县山野，不论男女老幼，逢人便杀；如是半载。八月，献忠毁成都城，焚蜀王宫殿，并焚未尽之民房。凡石柱亭栏，皆毁之；大不能毁者，更聚薪烧裂之。成都有大城小城，本张仪所筑，汉昭烈帝修之。以大石，贯以铁絙，壮丽甲天下。宫殿之盛，亦不减京师。至是，尽为瓦砾矣。献忠又令其大家遍收川兵杀之，及其妻子男异性，惟十时以下者仅留一、二。」

• 西方传教士利类思和安文思被张献忠封为「天学国师」，目击张献忠屠杀，1918年古洛东根据他们的原始记录写成的《圣教入川记》说：「残杀之后，成都为之一空。除少数官员外，别无居民。荒凉惨象，不忍瞩目。献忠剿灭成都后，命令各乡镇村民移居成都。」

在张献忠死后出现了清军跟南明军对峙的局面，清军的势力于川北保宁一带，而南明军队占据著四川境内大部分州县。根据《蜀龟鉴》的记载，经过张献忠军队的屠杀，川南的人口损失约50％，而川北的人口几乎损失殆尽。尽管川南和川北都遭到了张献忠的军队的屠杀，可是到了张献忠死后，南明与清朝对峙的时期，南明控制的川南，人口明显多于清朝控制的川北。川北遭受的破坏，比川南严重得多，由于各军事力量基本上都要经过川北入川，可见川北为主战场。因此，综上所述，清朝军队以十三年的时间才平定四川，并不是表示清军一直在屠杀四川人。

此外，明末清初四川人口的锐减，是多股势力混战的最终恶果，张献忠虽然不是主凶，但仍然是屠川元凶其中一原因

至于「不得已而动大兵剿之，民贼相混，玉石难分，或全城俱歼，或杀男留妇」，这份奏章的出处是顺治六年刑科给事中陈调元揭，是某个官员给清廷的奏章，汇报说一些入川的清军将领乱杀无辜的情况，而不是任何一种形式上的政府命令。网上流传的内容被人篡改为清朝屠四川的政府公告「民贼相混、玉石难分。大兵所到之处，或屠全城，或屠男而留女。」

相关

对学术的态度及相关见解

对天文及地理有兴趣的张献忠因怀疑两名传教士藏有天文著作不肯献出，不时大发雷霆之怒，欲置其于死地。实则司铎所藏之书为艾马禄尔（P. Emmanuelis）司铎所著之超性学书，讲明天主教诫律，与天文学无关。及二司铎解释全书「皆论管理人良心之事，教人知道当避罪恶，虽在罪恶危险之中，当独向正道，方得永福」。献忠闻之称赞，因此息怒：

张献忠在听到司铎天主教诫的解说之后，大为奇异，称赞其法律如此精详，管理人良心，诚为不二法门，认为欧洲各国风俗纯美，实由此圣律而来。不过他续言：「然此等法律为川人无益，伊等固执于恶，不从此圣教圣令，宁愿从我刀剑之下，不服圣律。故吾奉天地大主之命，殄灭此种僧党及世上恶人。凡仇尔等者，吾亦仇之」云云，故意将司铎的解说扭曲，作为殄灭僧党及世间定性为「恶人」的藉口及理据。

毁灭文物古迹

大西军在成都「入城樵采，凡先圣贤祠庙，民居屋宇，悉毁为薪，于是自东汉以来古迹，明太祖所颁图书彝器，至是皆尽」。明末的成都有寺庙94所，包括武侯祠在内，无一存者。川中各州县的情况「园亭寺庙无不焚毁」。

千船沉银

清顺治三年，张献忠在兵败时率军撤离成都，带宝物载船沿岷江南下，行至彭山双江河遭南明军官杨展伏击，所载之金银珠宝亦随船沉入江中。即历史上传说的江口沉银。2010年，眉山市人民政府将彭山区江口镇的江口沉银遗址，列为眉山市级文物保护单位。直到2015年，专家找出当年的沉船遗址，并顺利在2017年大规模封江开挖后，出土许多珍贵的文物，包含张献忠分封嫔妃的金册、银册，以及金银币、银锭、金戒指等，还有铁刀剑等兵器。

互联网文化

由于张献忠在历史上留下的是一个滥杀无辜的血腥形象，在当下矛盾重重的中国社会，其名号也成为一个互联网俚语，含义接近日语中的通り魔，意为出于报复社会等原因而大肆杀伤无辜民众的杀人狂。最早可能是刘仲敬赋予「张献忠」一词此番含义。

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