Overview
This lecture covers the rise, governance, and legacy of the Jurchen Jin dynasty in China, highlighting their use of identity politics, military conquests, and interactions with neighboring powers.
Origins and Rise of the Jin Dynasty
- The Jin dynasty was founded in 1115 by Wanyan Aguda, a Jurchen leader, in former Khitan Liao territory.
- Jurchens claimed descent from the Mohe people, with ancestral ties to Korea.
- Contrary to stereotypes, Jurchens practiced both nomadism and agriculture, and were less nomadic than the Khitans.
- Hostility towards the Khitans stemmed from disrespect and social affronts by Khitan elites to Jurchen nobility.
- Aguda refused to submit to Khitan humiliation and led a rebellion, capturing outposts and defeating larger Khitan armies.
- Jin's early victories attracted defectors and alliances, notably with the Song dynasty against the Khitans.
Defeat of the Khitans and Song-Jin Relations
- After internal strife and weak leadership, the Khitan Liao dynasty fell to the Jurchens by 1125.
- The Song-Jin alliance fractured due to ineffective Song military leadership and Jin's overwhelming strength.
- The Jin dynasty offered the Song looted territory in exchange for tribute, but the Song received little real benefit.
Conquest of the Song Dynasty and the Jingkang Incident
- The alliance collapsed when the Song sheltered a Jin fugitive, prompting a Jin invasion in 1125–1126.
- Song emperors were indecisive and incompetent, resulting in the fall of the Song capital and the catastrophic Jingkang Incident.
- Jin enslaved the Song royal family, officials, skilled workers, and civilians, transporting many as slaves.
- The Jurchens practiced large-scale slavery, in part to compensate for administrative manpower shortages.
Governance and Sinicization of the Jin Dynasty
- Early Jin rule relied on puppet states and local Chinese leaders due to lack of administrative capacity.
- Over time, the Jin adopted Chinese customs, Confucian education, and imperial bureaucracy.
- Traditionalist Jurchen elites resisted Sinicization, but the process continued.
Identity Politics and Cultural Strategies
- Jin rulers called their own ethnic Han Chinese "Hanren," while labeling southern Song Chinese as "Songren" or "southern people."
- This divide-and-conquer strategy aimed to weaken Song legitimacy and maintain Jin authority.
- The Song dynasty grew more conservative and reinforced Han identity in response.
Tribal Politics and the Mongol Threat
- The Jin manipulated steppe tribes to prevent any single group from becoming too powerful.
- The rise of Genghis Khan disrupted this balance, leading to the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty.
- Under Mongol Yuan rule, social categories mixed Han Chinese, Jurchens, Khitans, and Koreans based on allegiance timing.
Formation of the Manchu and Legacy
- After the Jin and later Ming, Jurchens merged with Mongols and Han Chinese to create the Manchu ethnicity, which founded the Qing dynasty.
- Ethnic and identity labels in China were fluid political tools used for ruling and unification.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Jurchen — An ethnic group from Manchuria, founders of the Jin dynasty.
- Jin dynasty — Dynasty (1115–1234) established by the Jurchens, ruling northern China.
- Khitan Liao — A dynastic state north of China, conquered by the Jurchens.
- Sinicization — Adoption of Chinese culture, institutions, and practices by non-Han peoples.
- Jingkang Incident — 1127 sacking of Song capital by Jin, resulting in massive enslavement.
- Manchu — Ethnic group formed from Jurchens, Mongols, and Han, rulers of the Qing dynasty.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review key events: Jin rebellion, defeat of Khitans, Jingkang Incident.
- Study the impact of identity politics on Chinese dynastic history.
- Prepare for coverage of Zhuge Liang in history vs. fiction in the upcoming lecture.