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Nurhachi was the Jurchen founder of the Later Jin Dynasty which under his son & successor would become the [[Manchu]] [[Qing Dynasty]].

Nurhachi was the Jurchen founder of the Later Jin Dynasty which under his son & successor would become the [[Manchu]] [[Qing Dynasty]].

He was born into an elite family of the [[Jurchens]] of the Long White Mountains (''Changbaishan'') on the border between [[Manchuria]] and Korea. During his youth, he traveled to [[Beijing]] as part of [[tribute]] missions on at least one occasion, and offered in the 1590s to aid the [[Ming Dynasty]] in defending Korea against the [[Korean Invasions|Japanese invasions]]; in return for these offers of aid, the Ming bestowed upon him a number of titles.

He was born into an elite family of the [[Jurchens]] of the Long White Mountains (''Changbaishan'') on the border between [[Manchuria]] and Korea. During his youth, he traveled to [[Beijing]] as part of [[tribute]] missions on at least one occasion. As early as [[1587]], a governor of the northern provinces of [[Ming Dynasty]] China noticed that a certain tribal leader (Nurhachi) had begun amassing territory and followers, and eliminating rivals; he sent a force against Nurhachi but was defeated, and ultimately censured by the Court, though in the end both he and his district director were absolved of charges for their failures, and the matter fell from the Court's attention, leaving Nurhachi free to continue gathering his forces.<ref>Ray Huang, ''1587: A Year of No Significance'', Yale University Press (1981), 111-112.</ref> In the 1590s, he offered to aid the Ming Dynasty in defending Korea against the [[Korean Invasions|Japanese invasions]], and the Ming bestowed upon him a number of titles in return for these offers.

By [[1610]], however, Nurhachi broke off relations between his group and the Ming, in response to certain attacks and humiliations which impacted not only his family's pride, but also their agricultural base. He did meet with Korean envoys, however, on at least one occasion. Beginning around that time, from 1610 until around [[1620]], Nurhachi began to expand the territory and people under his leadership, through a combination of political marriages, alliances, and conquest, absorbing a number of neighboring Jurchen and [[Mongol]] groups.

By [[1610]], however, Nurhachi broke off relations between his group and the Ming, in response to certain attacks and humiliations which impacted not only his family's pride, but also their agricultural base. He did meet with Korean envoys, however, on at least one occasion. Beginning around that time, from 1610 until around [[1620]], Nurhachi began to expand the territory and people under his leadership, through a combination of political marriages, alliances, and conquest, absorbing a number of neighboring Jurchen and [[Mongol]] groups.

==References==

==References==

*Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 26-30.

*Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 26-30.

[[Category:Emperors]]

[[Category:Emperors]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]