Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/608

 four Hûlun states and from five other Mongol and Ju-chên tribes to invade the Chien-chou territory, but the allied forces were routed by Nurhaci. This was the greatest victory Nurhaci had achieved up to this time and it strengthened his position immensely. He took revenge on several of the small tribal chiefs who joined the allies against him, but tried to curry the favor of the Mongols who now recognized him as their equal. In 1595 he was given by the Ming Court the highest title granted a Manchu chief, namely General of the Dragon and Tiger (龍虎將軍). It was bestowed as a reward for having proposed in 1592–93 to lead his men to rescue Korea from the Japanese invasion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豐臣秀吉 (1536–1598) and for maintaining order among the Chien-chou tribes. At this time Nurhaci had already amassed a great fortune by monopolizing the trade in pearls, ginseng, fur, etc; by mining; by taking silver in return for his yearly tribute to the Ming Court; and by pillaging weaker tribes. He adopted a new way to cure ginseng which yielded large profits.

Having consolidated his authority over the Chien-chou tribes, and having sufficient wealth in money, Nurhaci set out to subdue his neighbors. In the years 1599–1601 he conquered the Hada tribe (see under )—the first of the four tribes of the Hai-hsi Ju-chên to fall before his onslaught. On various pretexts he obtained within fifteen years a large area formerly belonging to the Hai-hsi tribes, namely that of the Hoifa in 1607 (see under ), and of the Ula in 1613 (see under ). Only the Yehe of the Hai-hsi tribes, commanded by and aided by Ming troops, withstood his attack in 1613, and thus their separate existence was prolonged for six years more. Many other minor Ju-chên tribes surrendered to him without fighting.

In 1606 the friendly Mongols conferred on Nurhaci the title of Kundulun Khan 崐都侖汗 (or 神武皇帝). In 1608 he signed a treaty with the Ming generals on the Liao-tung border by which the boundary of his domain was established, and Chinese were forbidden to come to his territory to dig ginseng, to gather pearls, or to cultivate land. He decreed laws and appointed judges. After 1599 he had a Ju-chên alphabet worked out by to take the place of the Mongolian script previously used. In 1603 he moved his capital to Hetu Ala, his ancestral village, and in 1605 built strong walls round it. In the new capital he gathered blacksmiths to manufacture arms, and established a large granary. These attempts at reform and at the increase of his power and affluence are evidence of the creative spirit of Nurhaci, and point to his ambition to create a strong and independent Ju-chên state.

For the realization of this ambition Nurhaci laid great stress on military efficiency. In 1601 he began to organize his men into four fighting units of 300 each, known as niru 牛彔 (later changed to tso-ling 佐領), or company, which were distinguished by yellow, white, blue, and red banners. As his conquests brought more men to his side, the number of companies increased, and these he distributed under the four Banners. In 1615 he divided each of the original Banners into two divisions, the new ones being distinguished by borders (鑲邊) on their flags. Under each of these Eight Banners there were five jalan 扎攔 (or 甲喇, later changed to ts'an-ling 參領) which in turn comprised five niru each. In later years the number of jalan and niru increased, but the number of Banners remained fixed at eight. Thus was founded the Eight Banner System (八旗制度), primarily a military organization which proved of great value to Nurhaci and to his successors in their wars of conquest. But the system also had social, political and economic aspects, owing to the fact that each company comprised not only the 300 warriors but also their families. Except for a few princes, everyone under Nurhaci's rule belonged to this organization. In time of peace the men and women of the company worked as farmers or as craftsmen, the affairs of each company being directed by an hereditary captain. In time of war the captain was ordered to supply a certain number of men from his company—the number depending on the seriousness of the situation. The captain also provided for all the needs of the conscripts by collecting provisions or money from the constituents as a whole. On the battlefield the men were grouped under their respective Banners which were fighting units. Thus by the Eight Banner System Nurhaci organized his entire state into a war machine which proved for half a century at least to be an invincible military organization.

As his military power grew, Nurhaci gradually assumed a hostile attitude toward the Ming Court of China. The last time he sent tribute to Peking was probably in January 1609 when his brother,, was in charge. In 596