Story 84. The Jurchen Tribe's War of Unification: The Founding of the Great Jin (大金, Later Jin 後金).

 Story 84. The Jurchen Tribe's War of Unification:

The Founding of the Great Jin (大金, Later Jin 後金).

 Heroes are not always just and possess immense power. Before expanding their influence and achieving grand ambitions, it is necessary to humble themselves and act submissively to those in power. Subservience can sometimes be a disguise, concealing grand ambitions and misleading enemies into believing they are one. Nurhachi was well aware of this.

Nurhaci entrusted those who submitted to him with important positions and formed marriage alliances. In the 16th year of Wanli (1588), the Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain of the Sowanbu (蘇完部), Su Erguo (索爾果), led his tribe to submit. After taking over the Sowanbu (蘇完部), Nurhachi later appointed Su Erguo's son, Fei Yingdong (費英東), as his minister and made his granddaughter his son-in-law.

That same year, He Hualei(何和禮), the chieftain of the Dongyue tribe (董鄂部) residing in the Tongjia River basin, surrendered. The Dongyue tribe possessed a strong army and was formidable. Nurhachi, overjoyed at absorbing the Dongyue tribe without shedding a drop of blood, appointed He Hualei as his eldest son-in-law and entrusted him with important responsibilities. Finally, in 1588, just five years after he raised an army, he unified the five prefectures of Jianzhou.

 The tribal chieftains of the Haixi Jurchen(海西女眞), longtime enemies of the Jianzhou Jurchen(建州女眞), were forced to devise countermeasures as Nurhachi's power grew.

In 1593, the 21st year of the Wanli era(萬曆), Nalin Boluk (納林卜錄), the chieftain of the Yehe tribe (葉赫部) of the Haixi Jurchen, sent a message to the tribal chieftains. The proposal was to mobilize a large army and crush Nurhachi's power before it could grow any further.

A staggering 30,000 troops from nine tribes—Yehyeok(葉赫), Hadda(哈達), Wula(烏拉), Huibal(揮發), Guaishen(瓜爾沁), Shibai(錫伯), Guaijia(瓜爾佳), Zhusheli(朱舍里), and Nuerin(訥殷)—were assembled. For nomads living in the vast grasslands with extremely low population densities, fighting in groups of a few hundred, 30,000 soldiers was a truly formidable force. The sheer scale of their mobilization speaks volumes about the extent of their fear of Nurhachi.

In September of the 21st year of Wanli (萬曆1593), upon hearing intelligence that a 30,000-strong army of the Haese Jurchen(海西女眞) was advancing from three directions toward Mount Gule (古勒山 Shangxia Township 上夾鄕, Xinbin County, Liaoning Province), Nurhachi prepared a thorough defensive posture utilizing the terrain and went to bed. His wife, Lady Yeolli Narap, could not understand her husband's snoring despite the precarious situation. Desperate, she shook him awake, and he said,

 "If a person is afraid, he cannot sleep soundly. If I were afraid of enemy invasion, how could I sleep soundly? Before hearing intelligence that the enemy was attacking from three directions, I was tense, not knowing when they would strike. But now that they have arrived, I feel relieved."

 Nurhaci returned to bed calmly. This wasn't simply a display of leadership brilliance and courage. He was able to sleep soundly because he had accurately predicted the enemy's movements and thoroughly prepared accordingly. Outnumbered and facing a decisive battle, he pondered:

"With so many tribal chieftains leading their troops, the chain of command must have been severely disrupted. They are a rabble, unable to attack and will be disorganized. The one advancing with his troops must undoubtedly be a leader. If we respond by killing just one or two of the leaders, the enemy will flee. Despite our numerical disadvantage, if we concentrate our forces in one place and engage in a decisive battle, we will surely achieve victory."

 Nurhaci's judgment was correct. The leader of the Haixi Jurchen was Narim Boklu, the chieftain of the Shehyeokbu. However, he failed to fully control the alliance of nine tribes. Nurhachi, recognizing this, achieved a resounding victory by defeating the Jurchens one by one rather than confronting them head-on. This "Battle of Mount Gureuk" proved decisive in his unification of the Jurchens.

Afterwards, "the majesty of Nurhachi's army spread far and wide, and Jurchens near and far awed by his might and submitted."

His meticulous analysis, thorough preparation, and bold actions established him as a leader.

Heroes are never born. While there are countless mystical tales of the heroes who unified China, most of them are fabricated to glorify them. He rose to the top because he was tougher and more ruthless than others, subservient to his superiors, biding his time, and tolerant of his subordinates.

  In 1599 (the 27th year of Wanli's reign), the chieftains Wang Ge(王格) and Zhang Ge(張格) of the Hoihelu tribe(虎爾哈路) of the East Sea Jurchen tribe(東海女眞) offered tribute: "fox skins mixed with three colors—black, white, and red—and sable skins mixed with two colors—black and white. From then on, Hoihelu(虎爾哈路) of the Ejibu tribe(渥集部) visited Nurhachi annually and presented tribute."

In 1601 (the 29th year of Wanli's reign), Hapdabu was annexed. <The Mingshen Zongshenlu(明神宗臣錄, 萬曆實錄), Volume 366>, records that "Nurhaci (奴酋) grew increasingly powerful from this time onward, and he was no longer under control." This indicates that Nurhachi had escaped Ming control and reigned as the ruler of the Liaodong region since this period. During this period, Nurhachi made another crucial decision. To strengthen communication between tribes and establish a truly independent nation, the creation of a written language was crucial.

In fact, when he unified the Jianzhou Jurchen(建州女眞), the Jurchen lacked their own written language. When exchanging official documents with Joseon and the Ming Dynasty, he had the Han Chinese(漢人) Gong Zhenglu(龔正陸) write them in Chinese characters. When issuing military orders and laws to the Jurchen, he used Mongolian, but the common people couldn't understand Mongolian, causing significant inconvenience in carrying out official duties.

 In 1599 (the 27th year of the Wanli era), Nurhachi commissioned Ba Ke Shi Aek Er De Ni(巴克什額爾德尼) and Qi Er Gu Qi Gao Gao(紮爾固齊喝蓋) to create a written language. However, the two men appealed to him about the difficulties of creating a written language. Nurhachi responded firmly:

"It's not difficult at all. If we write our language sounds in Mongolian script and create sentences, we can read them and understand their meaning."

 Following Nurhaci's instructions, Manchurian(滿洲語) was written using Mongolian consonants and vowels, creating Manchurian script(滿文). This was called Old Manchurian script(老滿文), which lacked punctuation marks(圈點). During the reign of Emperor Taizong(淸太宗) of the Qing Dynasty(淸朝), Emperor Taizong(皇太極) of the Qing Dynasty (1592-1643) reworked Old Manchurian script(老滿文) to address its shortcomings and created New Manchurian script(新滿文), which included punctuation marks. While Manchurian script wasn't an original writing system, it unified the Jurchen people and served as a driving force for social development.

In the 31st year of the Wanli era (1603), Nurhachi began building a fortress in Hetuarab (赫圖阿拉; present-day Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province) to establish his kingdom. <The Dongyi Noi He Zhi Guo (東夷努爾哈赤考)> describes the situation at the time as follows:

 "Nurhaci's relatives lived in the inner city, and elite soldiers lived in the outer city. Approximately 20,000 households lived outside the city walls. Outside the north gate, ironworkers lived, making armor, while outside the south gate, bow and arrow craftsmen specialized in making bows and arrows(弧矢). Outside the east gate, there were 18 warehouses. Each warehouse contained 7-8 kan (間: 23-27 square meters) of grain."

 Based on this record, it is clear that Hetuarab was a small fortress, more like a barracks. Unlike agricultural peoples, nomadic peoples have a tradition of revering substance and rejecting formality. While previous Ming emperors built unnecessarily large palaces to flaunt their authority and intimidate their subjects and neighboring states, Nurhaci desired a residence that could quickly mobilize troops and ensure a smooth supply of war supplies.

This distinction later became one of the decisive factors in the fall of the Ming and the rise of the Qing. Building an impregnable fortress does not guarantee a nation's prosperity. The Great Wall of China is a prime example. While the Han dynasties of the Central Plains(中原) mobilized enormous manpower to build great walls,

the proverb "He who builds walls falls, he who builds roads prospers" proved ineffective against the invasions of nomadic peoples.

Nurhaci, in the 15th year of Wanli (1587),

"established national governance(國政) and strictly prohibited acts of rebellion, theft, and fraud."

He began to govern the Jurchen, who were unfamiliar with the rule of law, according to law and principles.

 On the first day of the first month of the first year of the Mandate of Heaven (天命 1616), Nurhaci finally ascended the throne as ‘Khan’ in Hyukdo Arab Fortress. He established the Great Jin (大金) dynasty, proclaiming that he would succeed the Jin dynasty(金) founded by the Jurchen hero Aguda(阿骨打). In Chinese history, the Great Jin is known as the Later Jin (後金). This was a great achievement achieved at the age of 57 after enduring 33 years of hardship, beginning with raising an army with 13 sets of armor left behind by his father and dozens of soldiers.

 In the fourth year of the Mandate of Heaven (天命 1619), Nurhaci attacked the Xiehefu(葉赫部) of the Haixi Jurchen(海西女眞), the Jianzhou(建州女眞) Jurchen's most formidable rival. From this time on, all tribes of the Haixi Jurchen(海西女眞) came under Nurhaci's control. <The Annals of Emperor Wu of the Qing Dynasty (淸太祖武皇帝實錄)—Volume 3> records the following:

 "Manchuria extended from the East Sea to the border of the Liao region. Mongolia in the north, and from the Nunjiang River(嫩江) in the south to the Yalu River(鴨綠江) in Joseon(朝鮮), all those who spoke the Jurchen language were conquered by Nurhaci. From this year (1619), all Jurchen tribes began to unite."

 

Nurhaci now crossed the Shanhai Pass(山海關) and unveiled his ambition to advance into the Central Plains(中原). He no longer had any reason to bow to the Ming emperor and began to dream of overthrowing the corrupt Ming Dynasty and unifying the country. This was also the moment when the Jurchen, who had been despised by the Han Chinese of the Central Plains for thousands of years as barbarians of the northeastern frontier, emerged as a major player in Chinese history.