Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty
The Great Plague in the late Ming dynasty (), also known as the North China Plague in the late Ming dynasty (), or the Great Plague of Jingshi (), was a major plague epidemic between 1633 and 1644, the last phase of the Ming dynasty in China, during the Chongzhen Emperor's reign (1627–1644). The epidemic started in Shanxi Province in 1633, and reached Beijing in 1641, where the plague caused the deaths of more than 200,000 people in 1643, directly contributing to the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644. History In 1633, during the sixth year of Chongzhen’s reign, the plague epidemic started in Shanxi Province. In 1641, the plague arrived in Beijing, capital of the Ming dynasty. At the same time, historical records indicate that more than half of the population in northern Zhejiang fell ill in 1641, and 90% of the local people died in 1642. In 1643, the epidemic reached its peak, killing more than 200,000 people in Beijing alone, accounting for 20%-25% of the local population. The “pimple plague” and “vomit blood plague,” recorded in Chinese literature at the time, were possibly bubonic plague and pneumonic plague. In March 1644, Beijing was under siege by