The Devastation of Sichuan
The events surrounding Zhang Xianzhong's rule and afterwards devastated Sichuan, where he was said to have "engaged in one of the most hair-raising genocides in imperial history". Lurid stories of his killings and flayings were given in various accounts. According to Shu Bi (蜀碧), an 18th century account of the massacre, after every slaughter, the heads were collected and placed in several big piles, while the hands were placed in other big piles, and the ears and noses in more piles, so that Zhang Xianzhong can keep count of his killings. In one incident, he was said to have organized an imperial examination ostensibly to recruit scholars for his administration, only to have all the candidates which numbered several thousands killed. In another, to give thank for his recovery after an illness, he was said to have cut off the feet of many women; the severed feet were heaped in two piles with those of his favorite concubine placed on top, which were then doused in oil and set alight to be what he called "heavenly candles".
He was also reported to have ordered further massacres before he abandoned Chengdu in advance of the invading Manchus. The massacres, a subsequent famine and epidemic, as well as people fleeing from the turmoil and the invasion of the Manchus, resulted in the depopulation of Sichuan.
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Famous quotes containing the word devastation:
“It is in these acts called trivialities that the seeds of joy are forever wasted, until men and women look round with haggard faces at the devastation their own waste has made, and say, the earth bears no harvest of sweetness—calling their denial knowledge.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)