The Origin and Demise of the Jurchens

 

The Origin and Demise of the Jurchens

 

History permeates the nation’s various tastes. The purification of the national spirit does not exclude the washing of tears. The past is past, don’t caress it as a scar and sigh at the same time. Dorje, Agudengba, Azhuo, and Chu Sanxing began to chat about the Jurchens' stories.

Duoji told the history of the Jurchen's origin and demise:

The "White Mountains and Black Waters" in the northeastern region are the hometown of the Manchu people. The origin of the Manchu can be traced back to Sushen more than two thousand years ago, and later to Yilou, Wuji, Mohe and Jurchen.

The Sushen people are one of the earliest recorded residents of the Northeast. They live in a vast area north of Changbai Mountain, on the east coast of the sea, and in the Heilongjiang and Ussuri river basins. Sushen people are mainly engaged in hunting and nomadic life. They are good at riding and shooting. They are brave and famous for their proficiency in making bows and arrows.

As early as the Shun and Yu eras, the Sushen people had established contact with the Central Plains region. At the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty (early 11th century B.C.), the Sushen tribe presented "Zhu Ya Shi Ni" to the Zhou Dynasty. Due to frequent contacts with the Central Plains dynasty, people at the time believed that Sushen, Yan and Bo were both northern territories of the Zhou Dynasty.

After the Warring States Period, Sushen people changed their name to Yilou, and sometimes they still used the old name. The Yilou people also use "Zhu Ya Shi Ni" for hunting, grow grains and raise pigs, can weave linen, and build boats. After the Three Kingdoms, the Yilou people paid tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty many times and were directly subordinate to the Central Plains Dynasty. "Yi Lou Diao" was a treasure in the society during the Three Kingdoms period.

In the Han Dynasty, Su Shen was mostly written as Yi Lou in history books, but sometimes he was still written as Su Shen. At that time, all Yilou tribes were independent and had no unified leader. They were once dominated by Fuyu.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Yi Lou got rid of Fuyu's control and obstruction and regained contact with the Central Plains dynasty. In addition to their contributions, they are also famous for their "Yi Lou Diao".

After the Jin Dynasty, the history books of the Northern Dynasties changed its name to Wuji, and after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was named Mohe. During this period, Fuyu suffered from Xianbei attacks all year round, and its national power gradually declined, and was eventually destroyed by Mohe. But after that, Mohe surrendered to Goguryeo and Tang Dynasty successively.

In 698, Da Zuorong, the leader of Mohe in Sumo, established the Bohai Kingdom, known as the "Prosperous Kingdom in the East", based on the Tang Dynasty system. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan emerged in the Liao Dynasty, and Bohai failed to fight with it and was annexed. At this time, Heishui Mohe, which was affiliated with the Bohai Kingdom, took the opportunity to expand southward and later submitted to the Khitan.

Because the Khitan people called it Jurchen, the name Heishui Mohe was gradually abandoned. The Khitan and its successor, the Liao Kingdom, divided Jurchens into two categories: "mature Jurchens" and "born Jurchens". Thousands of Jurchen families lived in Liaoyang, mainly living on farming, and were under the direct jurisdiction of the Liao State; while the various tribes of the Jurchen tribes, who mainly lived on fishing and hunting, still accepted the rule of the Liao State through the canonization of their leaders.

Dorje added:

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty, the descendants of Sushen and Yilou successively appeared under the names of Wuji and Mohe, and the population developed into dozens of tribes. Mohe later developed into seven tribes, namely Sumo, Baishan, Bodu, Anchegu, Funie, Haoshi and Heishui.

In the Tang Dynasty, Da Zuorong established the local political power "Zhenguo" in the upper reaches of the Songhua River and the northern foot of Changbai Mountain with Sumo Mohe as the main body. In the first year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (713), Da Zuorong was canonized by the Tang Dynasty as the "King of Bohai County" and was awarded the title of "Captain of Huhan Prefecture". From then on, he was named Bohai. The political and military systems of Bohai State were all established according to the Tang system and used Chinese characters. The replacement of kings was all subject to the canonization of the Tang Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Bohai maintained close relations with the Tang Dynasty. There were tribute envoys entering the Tang Dynasty almost every year, and many students were sent to study at Taixue in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The influence of politics, economy, advanced science and technology, and culture in the Central Plains region promoted the rapid development of agriculture and handicrafts in the Bohai Sea, especially iron smelting and silk weaving.

Before and after the founding of Bohai, Heishui Mohe often paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty. In the 13th year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (725), the Tang Dynasty established the Heishui Army in the Heishui Mohe area, and then established the Heishui Mansion. The leaders of the Heishui Mohe tribes were awarded governors, governors and other officials, and they were appointed chief historians and given the surname Li. Shi. General Yunhui led the Heishui Economic Envoy and was subordinated to the Governor of Youzhou. It became a directly subordinate local agency set up by the Tang Dynasty in the Heilongjiang Basin. When the Bohai Sea was strong, some Heishui Mohe people were their subordinates. After the Liao Dynasty fell to the Bohai Sea, the tribesmen of the Bohai Sea moved southward, and the Heishui Mohe subsequently moved southward to their old homeland of the Bohai Sea, gradually replacing the Bohai Sea and flourishing.

In the Five Dynasties, Heishui Mohe was called "Jurchen". In the Liao Dynasty, in order to avoid the taboo of Yelv Zong, the Xingzong of Liao Dynasty, it was renamed Nuzhen. After that, the name Jurchen replaced Mohe and was used until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The Jurchens of the Liao Dynasty can be roughly divided into three parts. The Jurchens living in the Liaodong area are called Mature Jurchens or Jurchens of Liao origin; the Jurchens living in the vast area north of the Songhua River are called raw Jurchens, or not Jurchens of Liao origin; those who live in between They are called Huiba (one is Huihe) Jurchen. Due to the introduction and use of iron, the production of the Wanyan department of female birth has developed rapidly.

In 1114, Aguda, the leader of the Wanyan tribe who gave birth to a daughter, raised an army to resist the oppression of the Liao Kingdom and established the Jin Kingdom.

Duoji talked about things about the Jin Dynasty:

After the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Aguda joined forces with the Northern Song Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty during the period when his brother Jin Taizong Wu was begging for money. After that, he used the remaining power from the destruction of the Liao Dynasty to go south to attack the Northern Song Dynasty, capture the two emperors of Huiqin, and replace the Northern Song Dynasty, forming a dynasty parallel to the Southern Song Dynasty. situation. Soon he moved southward, and later forced the Southern Song Dynasty to become a vassal.

The Kingdom of Jin, with Yanjing as its central capital, was bounded by the Waixing'an Mountains in the north, the Huaihe River in the south, the Sea of Japan in the east, and Mongolia in the west. In the early years of the dynasty, the rulers created the Jurchen script with reference to Chinese characters and Khitan script. As the power of the Jin Dynasty gradually expanded, most of the Jurchens also entered the Central Plains. Although the rulers of the Jin Dynasty tried their best to promote the use of Jurchen language and writing and maintain the Meng'an Muke military system. However, due to the fact that they eventually mixed with the Han people, by the late Jin Dynasty, the national characteristics of the Jurchens in the Central Plains had basically disappeared.

After the Jin Dynasty occupied the Central Plains, the capital was moved to Yanjing in the first year of Zhenyuan (1153), and the policy of "migrating south to north" was implemented. The Jurchens initially moved to the Yanshan area. Later they settled in North China, while the Han people gradually moved northward. The Jurchens who settled in the Central Plains gradually integrated with the Han people under the influence of the Han people and the surrounding environment. After Mongolia destroyed gold. They are listed in the "Han" category, indicating that there is no obvious difference from the Han people. The Jurchens who remain in the Northeast are still relatively backward.

Duoji also talked about the Jurchens during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties:

Some of the Jurchens in the Yuan Dynasty lived in the jurisdiction of Liaoyang and other roads, coexisting with the Han people, and gradually integrated with the Han people; some were scattered in Shui Dada and other roads in Helan Prefecture, centered on today's Yilan County in Heilongjiang Province. It is located in the Songhua River basin, the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang River, and in the vast areas east to the coast. In the Yuan Dynasty, the "official herdsmen" established five Wanhufu and the Eastern Expedition Marshal's Office in this area, two Thousandhufu in the Wusuli River Basin, and Wanhufu in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang. Through the "influence" of the local ethnic upper class, Rule according to customs."

The Jurchens in the Ming Dynasty were divided into Jianzhou Jurchens, Haixi Jurchens and East China Sea Jurchens according to their geographical location and social development level. People in the Ming Dynasty called them Savage Jurchens.

Jianzhou Jurchens are distributed east of Fushun, centered on the Hun River Basin, reaching the eastern and northern foothills of Changbai Mountain in the east, and reaching the Yalu River in the south. The Haixi Jurchens are distributed outside Kaiyuan, in the Huifa River Basin, and in the north to the big bend in the middle reaches of the Songhua River.

The Jurchens in the East China Sea are distributed in the areas east and north of Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchens, generally from the middle reaches of the Songhua River to the Heilongjiang River Basin, and to the coast in the east. With the rapid development of society and economy, the Jurchens moved from hunting and nomadic life to settlement, and their economy also changed from the hunting economy in the past to mainly engaging in agriculture, supplemented by hunting and gathering. From the perspective of social form and class relations, slave owners and slave classes have emerged. Fogg of the Qing Dynasty said in "Ting Yu Cong Tan": "Manchuria has crops and people who live in castles." "Dozens of giant tribes, Then each of them occupied a city wall, and the small tribes also built their own forts. They were strong against each other, and each had its own people. They all had city walls. The natives were accustomed to hunting and farming."

The Ming Dynasty established more than 380 Jidu guards and posts in the vast Jurchen area. It also established the Nuergandu Commandery Department in Telin, opposite the confluence of Heilongjiang and Ganggun rivers, and named the leaders of various Jurchen tribes as governors and commanders. The Ming Dynasty's direct rule over the northeastern region was strengthened by the Ming Dynasty's direct rule over the northeastern region. Since the early Ming Dynasty, with Nurgandusi as the center, six transportation trunk lines and more than 40 post stations have been established in the northeastern region, forming a transportation network extending in all directions, further promoting the economic and cultural exchanges between the Jurchens and the Han region.

After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, various Jurchen tribes competed with each other for supremacy and often went to war, resulting in a chaotic situation of killing each other. The Jurchen people suffered greatly.

Nurhachi, Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, was the sixth grandson of Mengge Timur, the left guard of Jianzhou. He had outstanding political and military talents. He followed the trend of historical development and began the war to unify the various Jurchen tribes.

Nurhaci lost his mother at the age of ten and was captured at Atai's house when he was fifteen or sixteen. Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Province, saw his intelligence and placed him under his subordinates, and he made many military exploits in the army. When he was nineteen, he took the opportunity to "fly away" from Li Chengliang. Later, he went into the mountains to collect mountain products and traveled to Fushun, Ma City and other places. He became familiar with the situation in Han areas and was deeply influenced by Han culture. After he started the army, he was successively named the commander, the commander, the governor, and the general of dragon and tiger by the Ming Dynasty. Starting from the 11th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1583), Nurhaci spent 11 years to unify the Jurchens in Jianzhou and thwarted the attack of 30,000 people from nine coalition forces including Ye He. In the forty-first year of Wanli (1613), the Hada, Huifa and Ula tribes of Haixi Jurchen were merged. At the same time, they continued to win victories in the use of troops against the various tribes in the East China Sea. In more than 30 years, Nurhaci unified all the Jurchen tribes that were scattered in a wide area ranging from Haibin in the east, Kaiyuan in the west, Nen River Basin in the north, and Yalu River in the south.

In 1206, the Mongolian Genghis Khan rose in the desert and began to declare war on the Jin Kingdom, which was gradually declining politically. The Jin Kingdom suffered repeated defeats and lost all its northern territory, so it had to move south to Bianjing. Wanyan Shouxu, the last monarch of Jin Aizong, tried his best to rule the country, but he was unable to reverse the defeat due to accumulated difficulties. In 1234, Ogedai, the son of Genghis Khan and his successor as Khan, destroyed the gold in Caizhou.

In 1279, the Mongolian Khan Kublai Khan, who had changed his country's name to Yuan, completed his conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty divided their subjects into four ethnic groups: Mongols, Semu, Han, and Southerners. At that time, the Jurchens who stayed in the Central Plains were classified as Han by the rulers due to the disappearance of their national characteristics; while the Jurchens who grew up in the Northeast and did not speak Chinese were regarded as Mongolians. They were organized into numerous Jurchen households, governed by the Liaoyang Province established by the imperial court, and began to be widely influenced by Mongolian language and culture.

By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, peasant uprisings continued in various places, and the Liaodong region also fell into an unstable situation. Due to the special relationship between the Yuan Dynasty and Goryeo, a large number of Goryeo people settled in Liaodong at that time. As the ruling authority of the imperial court declined at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Goryeo once controlled Liaodong. In this case, many Jurchen households chose to attach themselves to Goryeo. For example, the ancestor of Nurhachi and Timur, the fierce brother of Wandoli Ten thousand households, followed the Goryeo general and the later Korean Taizu Li Chenggui.

After Li Chenggui became independent on behalf of Goryeo, he granted the title of Ten Thousand Households to Timur, the fierce brother. During the reign of Emperor Taizong Li Bangyuan of Korea, he was awarded the title of general. In addition to Goryeo, the ninth grandson of Mu Huali and Naha, the left prime minister of Liaoyang Province in the Yuan Dynasty, sent hundreds of thousands of troops to Haixi in the Liaodong region at that time.

In 1368, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor and established the Ming Dynasty. In the same year, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty was captured, Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty fled north, and the Mongolian rule in the Central Plains came to an end.

Dorje sang a song "The Noble National Spirit":

 

National spirit is self-identity,

It is the self-awareness of a nation,

Can reflect the values of the nation,

and shared ideals and ways of thinking.

 

The national spirit has historical inheritance,

In the process of continuous development of the nation,

And blend in well with traditional culture,

Gradually formed and matured day by day.

 

The national spirit will not remain unchanged;

With the development of social history,

Constantly self-denial and self-renewal,

It is both recognized and adhered to by the nation.

 

The national spirit also needs to be renewed.

It is contemporary at a specific time,

It is a reflection of a certain social history.

It is the accumulated vastness of the spirit of the times.

 

Cultists who incite ethnic conflicts,

The invaders who provoke national wars,

They will all raise the banner of national rejuvenation.

Disturbing the order of life of people of all ethnic groups.

 

Excellent national spirit belongs to the world,

Only through openness and integration can we communicate with each other.

Break the isolation and self-preservation of the nation,

This is the noble national spirit.