Jurchens

The Jurchens (Chinese: 女真, pinyin: nǚzhēn) were a Tungus people who inhabited parts of Manchuria and northern Korea until the seventeenth century, when they became the Manchus. They established the Jin Dynasty (aisin gurun in Jurchen/Manchu) between 1115 and 1122; it lasted until 1234.

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The name Jurchen dates back to at least the beginning of the tenth century. It comes from the Jurchen word jusen, the original meaning of which is unclear. The Jurchen tribes of northern Manchuria were originally vassals of the Khitans (see also Liao Dynasty). They rose to power after an outstanding leader unified them in 1115, declared himself emperor, and quickly seized the Supreme Capital of Liao. The Jurchens overran most of North China and captured the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1126. Their armies pushed all the way south to the Yangtze but the boundary with the Southern Song was eventually stabilised roughly along the Huai River.

Chinese: Chinese can mean:...

Pinyin: Pinyin (??, p?ny?n) literally means "join (together) sounds" (a less literal translation being "phoneticize", "spell" or "transcription") in Chinese and usually refers to H?ny? P?ny?n (????, literal meaning: "Han language pinyin"), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcripti...

Tungus: Tungus can mean several things:...