The Manchus are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Qing (1636–1912) dynasties of China were established and ruled by the Manchus, who are descended from the Jurchen people who earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in northern China.
The Eight Banners were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu society. Created in the early 17th century by Nurhaci, the banner armies played an instrumental role in his unification of the fragmented Jurchen people and in the Qing dynasty's conquest of the Ming dynasty.
The House of Aisin-Gioro was a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chiefs of the Jianzhou Jurchens, one of the three major Jurchen tribes at this time. Qing bannermen passed through the gates of the Great Wall in 1644, conquered the short-lived Shun dynasty and the Southern Ming dynasty. The Qing dynasty later expanded into other adjacent regions, including Xinjiang, Tibet, Outer Mongolia, and Taiwan, gaining total control of China. The dynasty reached its zenith during the High Qing era and under the Qianlong Emperor, who reigned from 1735 to 1796. This reign was followed by a century of gradual decline.
The Jianzhou Jurchens were one of the three major groups of Jurchens as identified by the Ming dynasty. Although the geographic location of the Jianzhou Jurchens changed throughout history, during the 14th century they were located south of the Wild Jurchens and the Haixi Jurchens, and inhabited modern-day Liaoning and Jilin provinces in China. The Jianzhou Jurchens were known to possess an abundant supply of natural resources. They also possessed industrial secrets, particularly in processing ginseng and the dyeing of cloth. They were powerful due to their proximity to Ming trading towns such as Fushun, Kaiyuan, and Tieling in Liaodong, and to Manpojin camp near Korea.
Li Chengliang was a Ming dynasty general.
Taksi or posthumously titled as Emperor Xuan was a Jurchen chieftain and father of Nurhaci, founder of the Later Jin dynasty, and the fourth son of Giocangga. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he was killed in an attack on Gure by a rival Jurchen chieftain Nikan Wailan in 1583.
Fuman was Chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens and an ancestor of the future Qing dynasty emperors. His father was Sibeoci Fiyanggū. His family name was Aisin Gioro (愛新覺羅).
The Wanyan clan was among the clans of the Heishui Mohe tribe living in the drainage region of the Heilong River during the time of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. Of the Heishui Mohe, the clan was counted by the Liao dynasty among the "uncivilized Jurchens" (生女真) indicating that the clan was not subject to the direct rule of the Liao emperors. Those Heishui Mohe clans ruled by the Liao dynasty were referred to as "civilized Jurchens" (熟女真). The Wanyan clan later founded the Jin dynasty.
De-Sinicization refers to a process of eliminating or reducing Chinese cultural elements, identity, or consciousness from a society or nation. In modern contexts, it is often used in tandem with decolonization and contrasted to the assimilation process of Sinicization.
The Haixi Jurchens were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming dynasty. They inhabited an area that consists of parts of modern-day Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia in China.
Cuyen was a Manchu prince and eldest son of the Later Jin ruler Nurhaci, the early patriarch of the Qing dynasty. An accomplished warrior, Cuyen was instrumental in the consolidation of Nurhaci's authority among rival Jurchen clans. He also served as the primary civil administrator for intermittent periods in the regime founded by Nurhaci. However, he eventually lost favour with his father because he tried to cast sorcery spells against other princes. He was placed in solitary confinement and died in captivity a few years later.
Taizu Mishi is a 2005 Chinese television series produced by You Xiaogang. The series is the third instalment in a series of four television series about the history of the early Qing dynasty. It was preceded by Xiaozhuang Mishi (2003) and Huang Taizi Mishi (2004), and followed by Secret History of Kangxi (2006), all of which were also produced by You Xiaogang.
Nurhaci, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned as the founding khan of the Later Jin dynasty of China from 1616 to 1626.
Manchu names are the names of the Manchu people in their own language. In addition to such names, most modern Manchus live in China and possess Chinese names.
Identity in China was strongly dependent on the Eight Banner system prior to and during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). China consisted of multiple ethnic groups, of which the Han, Mongols and Manchus participated in the banner system. Identity, however, was defined much more by culture, language and participation in the military until the Qianlong Emperor resurrected the ethnic classifications.
Nikan Wailan was a Jurchen leader affiliated with the Ming dynasty and a rival of Nurhaci.
The Jurchen unification were a series of events in the late 16th and early 17th centuries that led to the unification of the Jurchen tribes under Nurhaci, a Jianzhou Jurchen leader who had an antagonistic relationship with the Ming dynasty due to their involvement in events early on in his life that led to the death of his father and grandfather. From 1583 to the early 1600s, Nurhaci led a series of military and influence campaigns that led to the unification of the majority of the Jurchen tribes. In 1616, Nurhaci established the Later Jin dynasty and ruled as its founding khan.
Hitara, earlier known as Hitan, was a clan of Manchu nobility belonging to the Manchu Plain White Banner. Due to the marriage of Empress Xuan to the Jurchen chieftain Taksi, the clan was called "Old Maiden House". Their ancestral homes were located in the Changbai Mountains, Niyaman Mountains and Dong'e valley, from the beginning of Ming dynasty. After the demise of the Qing dynasty, descendants of this clan changed their surnames to Zhao (赵), Tu (图), Wen (文), Qi (齐/祁), Sun (孙), Zhu (祝), Xi (希/喜/奚), Liu (刘), Xian (线) and other names.
Hetu Ala was the first capital of the Later Jin (1616–1636) state, the predecessor of the Qing dynasty of China. It was the capital from 1616 to 1622. It was renamed to Xingjing in 1634.
