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Message:: [QUOTE="Milesofwho, post: 4531697, member: 91469"]9. Chong Zhen Tong Bao The last Ming emperor came to the throne at a terrible time. Large peasant revolts were sweeping the country, and the Manchu to the north were becoming more aggressive. He was not helped by his execution of competent generals and failure to find good ministers. In 1636 the Manchu declared a new Chinese dynasty, the Qing, making their aspirations clear. The peasant revolts succeeded in conquering large tracts of land, and one of them even was marching on Beijing in March 1644. During this time the emperor vacillated about sending his best general, Wu Sangui, away from the Great Wall and to the capital. In addition, he did not move the capital back to Nanjing nor did he send away the Crown Prince. In April he recalled Wu, but it was too late. By that point the rebels had already broken through. Seeing no alternative on April 24 he killed his empress and one of his daughters and hanged himself from a tree. The Qing reached the capital later that month, joined by Wu Sangui, who had let them in. The Shunzhi emperor was enthroned as the new ruler of China.[ATTACH=full]1122372[/ATTACH]This coin was cast between 1627 and 1644. Cast coins dropped heavily in quality and weight during this era. The average weight was 0.5 qian. The ratio between silver and cast coins grew accordingly. By 1643 it was over 3,000 coins to a liang (10 qian) of silver.[/QUOTE]