Historyteller Jang

  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 Do...

  Story 83. Deep-Seated Grudge: Grandfather and Father Murdered by Ming Troops   In the third year of Wanli ( 萬曆 1575), when Wang Go's clan was exterminated, his son Ah-tae ( 阿台 ?–1583) fled to Guleuksae ( 古勒塞 , present-day Xinbin Autonomous County, Liaoning Province), vowing revenge and seeking a comeback. Yi Seong-ryang believed that if Ah-tae was not killed, he would eventually become a source of trouble. He was a skilled general who manipulated the Jurchen people. To divide the Jurchen people or subdue a specific tribe, he would first recruit other tribes to his side and then cause them to fight among themselves. The Jurchen chieftains, drawn into his schemes, clung to him, seeking to kill other leaders and expand their own power. Nigam Waeran ( 尼堪外蘭 ? ~1586), the lord of Dorun Fortress ( 圖倫城 now Tangtu Township 湯圖鄕 , Fushun 撫順 ) of the Sogeuk Sohoha ( 蘇克蘇滸河 now Sojaha 蘇子河 ) tribe of the Jianzhou Jurchen( 建州女眞 ), was just such a person. When he met Yi Seong-ryang ( 李成陽...

  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...