Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty.
As leader of the Aisin Gioro clan, Nurhaci reorganized and united various Jurchen tribes (the later Manchu), consolidated the Eight Banners military system, and eventually launched attacks on both the Ming and Joseon dynasties. His conquest of the Ming dynasty's northeastern Liaodong region laid the groundwork for the Qing conquest of the Ming by his descendants, who proclaimed the Qing dynasty in 1636. He is also generally credited with ordering the creation of a new written script for the Manchu language based on the Mongolian vertical script.
Nurhaci is written as ᠨᡠᡵᡤᠠᠴᡳ in the Manchu language. Some suggest that the meaning of the name in the Manchu language is "the skin of a wild boar". Another explanation is "brave person like a wild boar". Regarded as the founding father of the Qing dynasty, he is given the customary temple name of Taizu, which is traditionally assigned to founders of dynasties. His name is also alternatively spelled Nurgaci, Nurhachi, or Nu-er-ha-chi (the last of these simply the transcription of the Chinese characters used to write his name).
Nurhaci was the last chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens and first khan of the Later Jin dynasty. His title in Manchu as khan was ᡤᡝᡵᡝᠨᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᠪᡝᡠᠵᡳᡵᡝᡤᡝᠩᡤᡳᠶᡝᠨᡥᠠᠨ Geren gurun-be ujire genggiyen han ("brilliant khan who benefits all nations"). His era name was Tianming (Chinese: 天命; pinyin: Tiānmíng; Manchu:ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳᡶᡠᠯᡳᠩᡤᠠ Abkai Fulingga), in Mongolian Тэнгэрийн сүлдэт ᠲᠩᠷᠢ ᠶᠢᠨᠰᠦᠯᠳᠡᠲᠦ Tengri-yin süldetü. It means "Heaven's Mandate." He was given a posthumous name in 1736 (see infobox), the shortened form of which was "Emperor Gao" (Chinese: 高皇帝; pinyin: Gāo huángdì, Manchu: ᡩᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡩᡳ Dergi Hūwangdi).
Nurhaci was born in 1559. Being a member of the Gioro clan of the Suksuhu River tribe, Nurhaci also claimed descent from Mentemu, a Jurchen headman who lived some two centuries earlier. The young man grew up as a soldier in the household of the Ming dynasty general Li Chengliang in Fushun, where he learned Mandarin Chinese, the official language of the courts. Nurhaci read the Chinese novels Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, learning all he knew about Chinese military and political strategies from them. He named his clan Aisin Gioro around 1612, when he formally ascended the throne as the Khan of the Later Jin dynasty.
Nurhaci's grandfather Giocangga was a chieftain of the Jurchens in Hetu Ala who enjoyed the patronage of Li. He frequented the Fushun market as official delegation leader, and accompanied Li to Beijing at least once. In 1582, Nikan Wailan, a rival Jurchen chief, led Ming forces to attack the Fort Gure (古勒城, now in Xinbin County). Giocangga feared for his granddaughter who was married to Atai, the town's chief. He rushed into the city, taking Nurhaci's father Taksi with him. During the ensuing battle, both Giocangga and Taksi were killed.
Nurhaci sought revenge against Nikan Wailan for the deaths of his father and grandfather. The Ming returned his father's remains, granted him trade patents, and recognized him as the successor of Giocangga. However, Nurhaci's demand that they hand over Nikan Wailan was refused. Nurhaci therefore started to expand his own power, starting only from thirteen sets of armor inherited from his father. In 1584, he attacked Nikan Wailan at Turun. Nikan Wailan fled away to Erhun, which Nurhaci attacked again in 1587. Nikan Wailan this time fled to Li Chengliang's territory. Li relented and gave Nikan Wailan over to Nurhaci, who beheaded Nikan Wailan immediately.
Nurhaci gradually grew his strength in the following years and subdued the core Jianzhou Jurchen tribes and towns from 1583 to 1588. At the same time, Nurhaci still considered himself a guardian of the Ming border and a local representative of imperial Ming power. He received the title of assistant commissioner-in chief in 1589 and the honor of "dragon-tiger general" in 1595. He consolidated his relationship with the Ming by personally leading multiple tributary missions to Beijing from 1590 onward, and was seen in by the Ming a loyal subject. His aggressive tactics against other Jurchen tribes were fueled by the high status that the Ming had given him.
In 1593, the Yehe called upon a coalition of nine tribes (the Hada, Ula, Hoifa, Khorchin Mongols, Sibe, Guwalca, Jušeri, Neyen, and the Yehe themselves) to attack the Jianzhou Jurchens. The coalition was defeated at the Battle of Gure and Nurhaci emerged victorious.
From 1599 to 1618, Nurhaci set out on a campaign against the four Hulun tribes. He began by attacking the Hada in 1599 and conquering them in 1603. Then in 1607, Hoifa was also conquered with the death of its beile Baindari, followed by an expedition against Ula and its beile Bujantai in 1613, and finally the Yehe and its beile Gintaisi at the Battle of Sarhu in 1619. As Nurhaci's power expanded, the relationship with the Ming also became increasingly strained. In 1608, Ming subjects were prohibited from cultivating the land or gathering ginseng, one of the main Jurchen export products, within Nurhaci's boundary.
In 1599, Nurhaci gave two of his translators, Erdeni Baksi ('Jewel Teacher' in Mongolian) and G'ag'ai Jargūci, the task of creating a Manchu alphabet by adapting the Mongolian script. Dahai was described with his origin from the Liao valley and his ethnicity as Han Chinese in the Korean book "Nanjung chamnok; Sok chamnok" (亂中雜錄) by Cho Kyŏng-nam (趙慶南) (1570–1641), a Korean official and scholar, contradicting Qing texts which says his clan is Giolca. The Qing texts said Dahau's family lived near Fushun in the Giolca region.
In 1606, he was granted the title of Kundulun Khan by the Mongols.
In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself Khan and founded the Jin dynasty (aisin gurun), often called the Later Jin in reference to the legacy of the earlier Jurchen Jin dynasty of the 12th century. The "Later Jin" was renamed to "Qing" by his son Hong Taiji after his death in 1626, however Nurhaci is usually referred to as the founder of the Qing dynasty.
In order to help with the newly organized administration, five of his trusted companions were appointed as his chief councilors, Anfiyanggū, Eidu, Hūrhan, Fiongdon, and Hohori.
Only after he became Khan did he finally unify the Ula (clan of his consort Lady Abahai, mentioned below) and the Yehe, the clan of his consort Monggo Jerjer.
Nurhaci chose to variously emphasize either differences or similarities in lifestyles with other peoples like the Mongols for political reasons. Nurhaci said to the Mongols that "The languages of the Chinese and Koreans are different, but their clothing and way of life is the same. It is the same with us Manchus (Jusˇen)) and Mongols. Our languages are different, but our clothing and way of life is the same." Four months later when the Mongols invaded recently conquered Jianzhou territory, Nurhaci indicated that the bond with the Mongols was not based in any real shared culture, rather it was for pragmatic reasons of "mutual opportunism": ""Why do you Mongols take the grain, people, horses, oxen and everything from the Yehe? Did you Mongols help us destroy their towns? Did you help work their fields? You Mongols raise livestock, eat meat and wear pelts. My people till the fields and live on grain. We two are not one country and we have different languages".
When the Jurchens were reorganized by Nurhaci into the Eight Banners, many Manchu clans were artificially created as a group of unrelated people founded a new Manchu clan (mukun) using a geographic origin name such as a toponym for their hala (clan name). The irregularities over Jurchen and Manchu clan origin led to the Qing trying to document and systematize the creation of histories for Manchu clans, including manufacturing an entire legend around the origin of the Aisin Gioro clan by taking mythology from the northeast.