Wu Sangui () (1612 – October 2, 1678) was a Ming Chinese general who opened the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhai Pass to let Manchu soldiers into China proper.

It is commonly believed that he led to the ultimate destruction of the Ming Empire and the establishment of the Qing Empire, although he did not surrender to the Manchus until after the defensive capability of the Ming Empire had been greatly weakened by the armies of Li Zicheng. His courtesy name was Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯).

History

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Wu was born in Gaoyou, Jiangsu Province to Wu Xiang (襄). He was rewarded the position of Pingxi Wang (平西王) in Yunnan by the Qing imperial court, after he conquered the region from the remnants of Ming loyalists. It was previously extremely rare for someone outside of the royal family, especially a non-Manchu, to be granted the title of Wang (king), and those being awarded the title of Wang who were not members of the royal family were called Yixing Wang (异姓王，literally meaning "kings whose surnames are different from that of the emperor"). It was believed Yixing Wangs didn't usually have good ends, largely because they were not trusted by emperors as members of the emperors' own family were.

Wu Sangui was not trusted by the Qing imperial court, as both he and the Manchus knew, though he was still be able to rule his land with little or no interference from the Imperial Court largely due to the fact that the Manchus needed time to recover and settle down after the prolonged campaign to conquer China.

Wu Sangui had foreseen the eventual clash with the Imperial court, so he spent the years of peace ììconsolidating his power in the region and building up his armies. In 1674, he revolted against the Qing Empire and started the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, declaring himself the "All-Supreme-Military Generalissimo" (Tiānxià Dōuzhāotǎo Bīngmǎ Dàyuánshuài 天下都招討兵馬大元帥). In 1678, he declared himself the emperor of a new Zhou Dynasty, with the era name of Zhaowu (昭武), and made his capital at Dongtianfu (洞庭湖), which was formerly Hengzhou (衡州) and is now Hengyang, Hunan. He died there that same year of natural causes and was succeeded by his grandson Wu Shifan and the remnants of his armies were defeated soon thereafter.

Wu Sangui's concubine was Chen Yuanyuan.

Wu Sangui's son, Wu Yingxiong (吳應熊), married the fourteenth daughter (建寧公主) of Manchu emperor Hung Taiji.

In modern culture

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Wu Sangui's reputation in contemporary China is as a traitor and opportunist, due his betrayal of both the Ming and the Qing.

His early life and military career were portrayed in the China Central Television show Jiangshan Fengyuqing (江山风雨情, which could be loosely translated as "Turmoil and love stories of the late Ming Dynasty").

Zhou Dynasty (1678 – 1681)

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Convention: use personal name
Temple names	Family name and first name	Period of reign	Era name
	Wú Sānguì (吳三桂)	March 1678 – August 1678	Zhāowǔ (昭武)
	Wú Shìfán (吳世璠)	August 1678 – 1681	Hónghuà (洪化)

Chinese rebellions | Great Wall of China | 1612 births | 1678 deaths | Ming Dynasty generals

Wu Sangui | 오삼계 | 呉三桂 | Wu Sangui | 吴三桂