Li Tzu-Ch'eng (ca. 1606-1645) was a Chinese bandit whose rebellion was the last major popular uprising in imperial China. It also caused the downfall of the Ming dynasty, the last Chinese ruling house of the Middle Kingdom.

A native of Shensi, Li Tzu-Ch'eng spent his youth as a post-station messenger, skilled in horsemanship and archery and fond of quarrels and combats. Toward the end of the Ming dynasty, official corruption and maladministration caused general economic breakdown and sowed the seeds of popular uprisings. In 1628 a great famine occurred in Shensi, and bandits became rampant. One band was led by Li's uncle Kao Ying-hsiang, who styled himself Ch'uang-wang, or "Dashing Prince." By 1631 more than 200,000 people in Shensi and the neighboring Shensi provinces were engaged in bandit activities. In this year Li joined the band, styling himself "Dashing General," and soon commanded an independent force. In mid-1634, after plundering Honan...