Nurhaci, whose surname was Aisin Gioro, was a Jurchen born in 1559 (the 38th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty) in Hetu Ala of the Suksuhu tribe in Jianzhou Left Guard. His father, Taksi, and grandfather, Juechang'an, both served as commanders of the Jianzhou Left Guard, and his ancestors were no ordinary people—starting from his sixth-generation ancestor, Möngke Temür, they had been continuously appointed by the Ming Dynasty. Nurhaci lost his mother at age ten, and at nineteen, due to mistreatment by his stepmother, he separated from the family to live independently. He often traveled to Fushun and Qinghe (present-day Qinghe north of Benxi, Liaoning) for trade, made many friends, learned Mongolian and Chinese, and enjoyed reading theRomance of the Three Kingdoms》、《Water MarginNovels such as
At that time, the Jurchen people, scattered across the region of the White Mountains and Black Waters, gradually split into three major groups—Jianzhou, Haixi, and Donghai—after prolonged warfare, migration, and integration. The Jianzhou Jurchen mainly lived east of Fushun Pass (present-day Fushun, Liaoning), north of the Yalu River, and along the southern slopes of the Changbai Mountains; the Haixi Jurchen were primarily distributed along the Songhua, Huifa, Ula, and East Liao River basins; and the Donghai Jurchen were scattered along the northern slopes of the Changbai Mountains, the banks of the Ussuri River, and the middle and lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River. For a long time, these tribes remained divided and in conflict. The Ming Dynasty's main military force in the northeast was the army of Li Chengliang, the Liaodong Regional Commander. To control the situation in the northeast, Li Chengliang adopted a policy of divide and rule among the Jurchen tribes, intensifying their internal conflicts and leading to constant warfare among the Jurchen tribes and other ethnic groups.
In 1574, during the second year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Gao, the commander of the Jianzhou Right Guard, was executed by Li Chengliang for rebelling against the Ming court. After Wang Gao's death, his son Atai fled back to Gule Village (present-day Gulou Village, Shangjiahe Town, Xinbin, Liaoning). In 1583, the eleventh year of the Wanli era, Li Chengliang captured Gule Village and ordered a massacre. Unfortunately, Juechang'an and Taksi, who happened to be visiting relatives in Gule Village, were also killed. Nurhaci and his younger brother Šurhaci were spared by Li Chengliang's wife due to their striking appearance.
Upon returning to Hetu Ala, Nurhaci, supported by Eidu and others, raised an army using the thirteen suits of armor left by his grandfather and father. He first sent envoys to question the Ming Dynasty about why they had killed his grandfather and father. Unable to provide a reason, the Ming returned the remains of Juechangan and Taksi and granted him titles and rewards. Soon after, he began his campaign to unify the various Jurchen tribes.
In the eleventh year of the Wanli era (1583), Nurhaci conquered the Hunhe tribe. In July of the fourteenth year of Wanli (1586), Nurhaci captured E'lehun (near present-day Qiqihar, Heilongjiang), killed Nikan Wailan, who had assisted Li Chengliang in capturing Gule Stockade, and took control of the Suke Sucu tribe. The following year, Nurhaci conquered the Zhecun tribe. In the sixteenth year of Wanli (1588), He Heli, the leader of the Dong'e tribe, surrendered with his forces, and soon after, the Wanyan tribe also submitted. From the nineteenth year of Wanli (1591) to the twenty-third year (1595), Nurhaci successively seized the Nayan, Zhusheli, and Yalu River tribes, unifying the Changbai Mountain region. Thus, within a decade, Nurhaci had unified all the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes.
During his unification of the various Jurchen tribes, Nurhaci, lacking sufficient power, adopted different external strategies. He avoided the relatively powerful Haixi Jurchens, courted the Mongols and Korea, and submitted to the Ming Dynasty, thus maintaining temporary peace with them. In the 23rd year of the Wanli era, Nurhaci was even appointed as the Dragon and Tiger General by the Ming Dynasty for his "meritorious service in defending the frontier," thereby gradually expanding his influence.
As Nurhaci's power gradually grew and expanded, the Haixi Jurchens became increasingly alarmed. In the twenty-first year of the Wanli era (1593), the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens allied with the Ula, Hada, and Huifa tribes, along with the Khorchin Mongols and others, forming a coalition of nine tribes with thirty thousand troops to attack Nurhaci. The two sides clashed at Mount Gule, where Nurhaci concentrated his forces to strike the enemy's main body, decisively defeating the nine-tribe coalition. This greatly weakened the Haixi Jurchens' power and also captured Bujantai, the leader of the Ula tribe, earning Nurhaci great renown. However, the Haixi Jurchens were still relatively strong and could not be quickly conquered, so Nurhaci exploited the internal conflicts among the four Haixi tribes, adopting a strategy of befriending distant enemies while attacking those nearby, and defeating them one by one. He continued to outwardly show submission to the Ming Dynasty and expressed friendship toward Korea and the Mongols. Toward the Haixi Jurchens, he first courted the stronger Yehe and Ula tribes. In the twenty-fourth year of the Wanli era (1596), Nurhaci sent Bujantai back to Ula, and the following year, he formed a marriage alliance with the Yehe leader, gradually isolating the Hada and Huifa tribes. In the twenty-seventh year of the Wanli era (1599), Nurhaci destroyed the Hada tribe on the pretext of their breaking an alliance. In the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli era (1607), he destroyed the Huifa tribe on similar grounds. In the ninth month of the fortieth year of the Wanli era (1612), because Bujantai had broken his oath and violated their agreement, Nurhaci led thirty thousand troops to attack the Ula tribe, eliminating it by the first month of the following year. Ula leader Bujantai fled alone to the Yehe tribe. In the ninth month of the forty-first year of the Wanli era (1613), Nurhaci attacked the Yehe tribe on the grounds that they were harboring Bujantai. Just as Nurhaci was about to destroy the Yehe tribe, the Ming Dynasty sent troops to garrison the eastern and western cities of Yehe, halting his unification of the Jurchens. In the forty-sixth year of the Wanli era (1618), angered by what he saw as Ming favoritism toward the Yehe tribe, Nurhaci issued the "Seven Grievances" and raised an army to rebel against the Ming. He engaged in fierce battles with Ming forces at Fushun, Qinghe, Sarhu, Kaiyuan, and Tieling, dealing a devastating blow to Ming military strength in Liaodong, leaving the Yehe tribe isolated and weak. In the forty-seventh year of the Wanli era (1619), Nurhaci personally led a large army to besiege the eastern and western cities of Yehe, wiping out the tribe in one stroke. Thus, after twenty-six years of campaigns, Nurhaci had essentially unified the Haixi Jurchens.
While gradually conquering the Haixi Jurchens, Nurhaci also began his campaign to subdue the Donghai Jurchens. From the 26th year of the Wanli era (1598) to the 43rd year of the Wanli era (1615), Nurhaci successively conquered the numerous branches of the Donghai Jurchens, including the Woji and Hu'erha tribes. By the 5th year of the Tianqi era (1625), Nurhaci had essentially conquered all of the Donghai Jurchens.
At this point, Nurhaci had completed his great endeavor of unifying the various Jurchen tribes. In early 1626, during the sixth year of the Tianqi era, the invincible Nurhaci was wounded by Ming general Yuan Chonghuan using a Portuguese-style cannon in the Battle of Ningyuan, and he died of melancholy in August of that year. After his death, his son Aisin Gioro Hong Taiji ascended the throne, changed the dynasty's name to Qing in 1636, the eleventh year of the Tiancong era, and posthumously honored Nurhaci as Emperor Taizu Gaohuangdi.