During the Northern Song Dynasty, an ancient ethnic group called the Jurchen lived along the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins in present-day northeastern China, sustaining themselves through fishing, hunting, and herding. Originally subjugated under the brutal rule of the Liao Dynasty, the Wanyan tribe within the Jurchen gradually grew powerful, leading their people to rise up against the Liao. In the course of their campaigns, the Wanyan tribal leader, Wanyan Aguda, unified the various Jurchen tribes and established the Jin Dynasty. Wanyan Aguda ascended the throne as emperor, later known historically as Emperor Taizu of Jin.
The Jurchen people were the ancestors of the Manchus, known as the "Heishui Mohe" during the Tang Dynasty and renamed "Jurchen" at the end of the Tang Dynasty. "Jurchen" means "sea eagle" in the Manchu language. The sea eagle is a rare type of hawk, found only in the northeastern border regions at the time, small in size but extremely fierce, making it an ideal hunting falcon. During the Liao Dynasty's rule over the Jurchen, the Liao nobles greatly enjoyed hunting, and to obtain more sea eagles as hunting falcons, they appointed Wanyan Aguda as a military governor, sending him with his men to the northeastern border to gather sea eagles.
Wanyan Aguda loved horseback riding and archery from a young age, possessing astonishing physical strength, and his military campaigns began when he was just twenty-three years old. Far from being a mere brute with martial skills, he was highly intelligent and demonstrated considerable talent in politics and military strategy. Exceptionally brave and skilled in battle, he gradually subdued the various Jurchen tribes one by one, steadily strengthening the army he led while secretly building up power to resist the Liao Dynasty.
At that time, a Jurchen traitor fled to the Liao Dynasty, and the Liao government took him in. The following spring, Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, Yelü Yanxi, traveled to the Songhua River for recreation and ordered the nearby Jurchen tribal leaders to gather for a meeting. After Wanyan Aguda met with Emperor Tianzuo, he demanded the return of the Jurchen traitor, but Emperor Tianzuo gave no clear response.
After three rounds of wine, Emperor Tianzuo ordered the Jurchen tribal chieftains present to come forward and dance for entertainment. Although the chieftains were reluctant, they dared not raise any objections and had no choice but to follow the order and dance. Only Wanyan Aguda stared coldly at Emperor Tianzuo and said, "I will not dance!" His attitude infuriated Emperor Tianzuo, who insisted that he must dance. Seeing this, the other Jurchen chieftains urged him not to be so stubborn, warning that offending Emperor Tianzuo would bring endless trouble. However, no matter what they said, Wanyan Aguda remained unmoved.
Afterwards, Emperor Tianzuo told his court official Xiao Fengxian that he wanted to kill Wanyan Aguda to vent his anger, but Xiao Fengxian worried that doing so would provoke resentment among the Jurchen tribal leaders, so he advised Emperor Tianzuo: "Your Majesty need not bother with such a trivial matter and quarrel with a rude, uncultured man. He is merely a tribal chief and will never threaten Your Majesty's position in any way." Emperor Tianzuo found this reasoning sound and thus dropped the matter.
However, Wanyan Aguda became increasingly anxious from then on, constantly worrying about when Emperor Tianzuo might retaliate. Seeing him in this state, his nephew Wanyan Zonghan straightforwardly said to him, "Uncle, since you now have no way back, why not strike first and catch him off guard!" Hearing these words, Wanyan Aguda suddenly felt enlightened.
In 1114, Wanyan Aguda led the various Jurchen tribes in an open declaration of war against the Liao Dynasty. At the time, he had only 2,500 soldiers under his command, and after capturing Ningjiang, his army's numbers only grew to 3,700. Upon receiving news of the Jurchen rebellion, Emperor Tianzuo dispatched a massive force of 100,000 troops to besiege them. Unexpectedly, Wanyan Aguda, relying on just these 3,700 soldiers, achieved consecutive victories against the Liao army and established the Great Jin regime. After founding the state, he led his forces in a successful assault on the key military stronghold of Huanglong Prefecture.
Emperor Tianzuo was greatly alarmed and personally led an army of 700,000 troops to the front lines. By this time, Wanyan Aguda already had 20,000 soldiers, but that was clearly not enough to counter the Liao forces, which outnumbered them by several dozen times. Just then, a rebellion broke out within Liao territory, forcing Emperor Tianzuo to immediately withdraw his army. Seizing the opportunity, Wanyan Aguda launched an attack, and the Liao army was nearly completely annihilated.
After that, Wanyan Aguda continued his campaigns across the north and south, successively capturing the Upper Capital, Central Capital, and Yanjing of the Liao Dynasty. Later, he fell ill and died on his way back to the Jin Kingdom. It can be said that most of his life was spent on the battlefield.
After Wanyan Aguda established the Jin Dynasty, he both waged campaigns across the land and developed agricultural production within the country. He ordered his court minister Wanyan Xiyin to create the Jurchen script by imitating Chinese characters and Khitan script, which greatly promoted the prosperity and development of the Jin Dynasty. Additionally, he implemented reforms within the Jurchen tribe, abolishing some backward customs.
The Jin state, founded single-handedly by Wanyan Aguda, subsequently destroyed the Liao state and the Northern Song dynasty in succession, and for the first time established present-day Beijing as its capital, leaving an indelible mark on Chinese history and making Wanyan Aguda a pivotal figure that cannot be overlooked.