Historyteller Jang

  Story 82. The Rise of Nurhaci ( 努爾哈赤 ):                                     Born as the Son of a Jianzhou Jurchen Tribal Chief    In 1559, the 38th year of the Jiajing era( 嘉靖 ) of the Ming Dynasty, a time when Jurchen society was in the throes of great turmoil, a boy with "phoenix eyes, big ears, and a face like a crowned jade" was born in Hetuara ( 赫圖阿拉 , present-day Xinbin County 新賓縣 , Liaoning Province) as the son of a tribal chief of the Jianzhou Zuowei Tribal Commandery( 建州左衛 ).                              wikipedia, 2nd Jin Dinasty He was Aisin Geluo( 愛神覺羅 ) Nurhaci ( 努爾哈赤 , 1559–1626). His grandfather, Ge Chang'an ( 覺昌案 , 1526–1583), and his father, Tap Geukse ( 塔克世 , 1542–1626), maintained close ties with the Ming Dynasty. The Ming court bestowed upon Ge Chang'an the position of Commander of th...

  Story 81. The Ming Dynasty and the Jurchen People on the Eve of                                                                   the Later Jin Dynasty   About 130 years after the fall of the Jin Dynasty to the Mongols in 1234, in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang ( 朱元璋 1328–1398), a wandering monk and founder of the Ming Taizu ( 明太祖 ) , drove the Yuan Dynasty, which had completely conquered the Southern Song Dynasty, back to the northern steppes and established the Ming Dynasty( 明王祖 ).   The Jurchen people came under Ming rule. During the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchen people were divided into the Wild Jurchen ( 野人 女眞 ) , the Jianzhou Juechen ( 建州女眞 ) , and the Haixi Jurchen ( 海西女眞 ) . The Yein Jurchen( 野人女眞 ) lived in the area north of the Heilongjiang River and east of the Ussuri River today, the Jianzhou Jurche...

   Story 80. The Rise of Temujin Genghis Khan , the Mongols, and the Fall of the Jurchen Jin    In 1206 AD, when the Jin Dynasty was showing signs of decline, the legendary hero Temujin (1162–1227) united the Mongol tribes across the vast steppes of the northwest and was crowned "Genghis Khan" at a kurultai (council of tribal chiefs). Genghis Khan's cavalry was lightning-fast and fierce, a feat unparalleled in human history. Before being unified by Genghis Khan, the Mongols were subjected to brutal oppression by the Jin Dynasty.    During the reign of Emperor Xizong ( 熙宗 1119–1150) of the Jin Dynasty, Genghis Khan's ancestor, Lin Bahai( 俺巴孩 ), was executed for treason by having his limbs impaled on a wooden donkey ( 木驢 ). During the reign of King Sejong, not only did they demand tribute from the Mongols, but they also committed the atrocity of sending troops every three years to massacre Mongol warriors. This barbaric act was called " Gamjeong ( 減丁 ),...

  Story 79. The Three Kingdoms of Northeast Asia   Episode 2. Wars between the Khitan (Liao), Song, and Jin Empires   The Song Dynasty was intent on recapturing the 16 prefectures ( 州 ) of Yanyun ( 䔳雲 ), which had been lost to the Liao Dynasty. The 16 prefectures( 州 )  of Yanyun correspond to present-day Beijing, Tianjin, northern Hebei Province, and northern Shanxi Province. Since ancient times, the Han Chinese of the Central Plains believed that the loss of the 16 prefectures of Yanyun would bring disaster to the Central Plains, and so they considered them the most important strategic point in the northeast.   In the fourth year of Tianbao (1120), after numerous negotiations, the two countries concluded a "maritime alliance( 海上之盟 )." Because Song envoys were blocked by the Liao overland route, and had to cross the Bohai Bay from present-day Shandong Province to enter the Jin court, the term "alliance at sea" emerged. Google, TV Tropes. Song ,Liao,J...