Chinese Cash Coin, 1628 - 1644, Ming Dynasty(S1231) Chongzhen

China - 1 Cash Coin

Ming Dynasty

Ch'ung-Chen / Chongzhen Emperor

Coins were not minted with dates, but this form was used between 1628 AD to 1644 AD.

The Ming Dynasty, sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. It was preceeded by the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some historians as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1662..

The Chongzhen Emperor(old spelling: Ch'ung-cheng)(6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644) was the 16th and last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. He reigned from 1627 to 1644.
Over the course of his 17 year reign, Chongzhen executed 7 military governors, 11 regional commanders, replaced his minister of defense 14 times, and appointed an unprecedented 50 ministers to the Grand Secretariat (equivalent to a modernd day cabinet). Despite a reputation for hard work, Chongzhen's paranoia, impatience, stubbornness and lack of regard for the plight of his people doomed his crumbling empire.

Executing the famous general Yuan Chonghuan on extremely flimsy grounds was regarded as the decisively fatal blow. At the time of his death, Yuan was supreme milatary commander of all Ming forces in the northeast, and had just rushed from the borders to defend the capital against a surprise Manchurian invasion. For much of the preceding decade, Yuan had served as the Ming Empire's bulwark in the north, where he was responsible for securing Ming borders at a time when the Empire was suffering humiliating defeat after defeat. His unjust death destroyed Ming military morale and removed one of the greatest obstacles to the eventual Manchurian conquest of China.

In April 1644, with the capital surrounded, much of the empire experiencing popular uprisings and the ever present threat of the Manchu led invasion. Rather than face capture, humiliation and probable execution at the hands of the newly proclaimed Shun Dynasty, Chongzhen gathered all members of the imperial household except his sons. Crying "Why must you be born into my family?", he proceeded to kill them with his sword. All died except his second daughter, 16-year-old Princess Chang Ping, whose attempt to block the sword blow resulted in her left arm being severed by her father.

Still wearing his imperial robes, Chongzhen then fled to Jingshan Park behind the palace and committed suicide by hanging himself from the "Guilty Chinese Scholar tree", leaving behind a death note on his robe that read:
“I am insufficient in virtues and weak in conducts, hence the heavenly punishment, and the ministers also failed me. Having no dignity to face my ancestors, I would undress my crown and cover my face with hair. Mutilate my body as you wish, but do not harm a single civilian."

The Obverse reads: "CH'UNG-CHEN T'UNG-PAO". The reverse has a star/dot at the top.

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