Tonggiya Hūrhan

Biography

Family Background and Submission to Nurhaci

Hūrhan belonged to the Tonggiya clan and his family had long lived at Yargu Fort. His father Hulahu was leader of the Yargu group. In 1588, because of conflict with members of his own clan, Hulahu led his followers in submitting to Nurhaci. Nurhaci had by then been campaigning for six years. Hūrhan, only thirteen, accompanied his father. Nurhaci found the boy intelligent and alert, adopted him, and granted him the surname Gioro. This both helped bind Hulahu's followers to Nurhaci and reflected Nurhaci's personal favor toward the young Hūrhan. Grateful for Nurhaci's upbringing, Hūrhan vowed to repay him with his life. As he grew older, he became a guard and fought in the vanguard in every campaign.

Campaigns against Ula and the Weji Tribes

In the first month of 1607, Cemutehe, lord of Feiyou Fort among the Warka, unable to endure mistreatment by Bujantai, beile of Ula, asked to submit to Nurhaci. Nurhaci ordered Beile Šurhaci and others to lead three thousand troops to receive them, and Hūrhan accompanied the force. After reaching Feiyou Fort, they took in five hundred households from the settlements around the fort. Hūrhan and Yangguli then led three hundred troops to escort the new adherents. When Bujantai learned of this, he sent ten thousand men to intercept them. Facing a force more than ten times his own size, Hūrhan remained composed. He ordered the five hundred households to take refuge on a mountaintop and build a fortified camp, while he personally led two hundred men to hold a mountain position against the Ula army and sent a messenger to summon the troops behind them. When reinforcements arrived, Hūrhan and Yangguli attacked from front and rear and decisively defeated the Ula force. The battle demonstrated Hūrhan's courage and tactical ability. In the fifth month of the same year, he followed Beile Bayara against the Weji tribes, taking the routes of Heshihei, Emohe Sulu, and Funehe Tokso and capturing two thousand people.

In the twelfth month of 1609, Hūrhan was ordered to lead one thousand men against the Weji tribes. He took the Huye route and returned after receiving the submission of two thousand households. Nurhaci rewarded his achievement with armor and horses and bestowed on him the title “Darhan,” explained in the source as meaning “warrior.” In the twelfth month of 1611, Hūrhan, He Heli, and Eidu led two thousand troops against the Hurha route of the Weji tribes, captured Jakuta Fort, killed more than one thousand, took two thousand captives, and pacified neighboring routes, returning with another five hundred households.

In 1613, Nurhaci launched a major campaign against Ula. Hūrhan fought alongside the other commanders, charged fiercely, and forced his way through the gates, contributing to Ula's destruction. He later participated in campaigns against the Sahaliyan tribes. In the seventh month of autumn 1616, Hūrhan and Anfiyanggū led two thousand men against them, taking thirty-six fortified settlements north and south of the Uljian River along the way, then capturing eleven Sahaliyan settlements and receiving the surrender of three routes.

One of the Five Founding Ministers of Later Jin

In 1616, Nurhaci proclaimed himself khan at Hetu Ala and founded the Later Jin regime. Because of his distinguished military service, Hūrhan was named one of the Five Founding Ministers, alongside Eidu, Fiongdon, He Heli, and Anfiyanggū, and was placed in command of the Bordered White Banner. The Five Ministers formed the core military leadership of the early Later Jin state and held exceptionally high status. As the youngest among them, Hūrhan enjoyed Nurhaci's deep trust.

The Battle of Sarhu

In the second month of 1619, Ming commander Yang Hao assembled a large army and launched a four-pronged invasion of Later Jin. In the third month, Nurhaci led his forces to meet the attack. Hūrhan advanced with Beile Amin and encountered the Ming guerrilla commander Qiao Yiqi, whom they defeated. Qiao gathered his remnants and fled into the Korean camp. Joseon had sent troops to assist the Ming, and their commander Gang Hong-rip was encamped at Gulaku Ridge.

Hūrhan accompanied the beile in the decisive fighting at Sarhu against the main Ming force under Du Song and helped inflict a major defeat. They then defeated the army of the Ming commander Ma Lin at Shangjian Cliff. The Ming general Liu Ting entered the Donggo route from Kuandian, where Later Jin officers including Niru Ejen Tobo had initially met with reverses. Hūrhan brought his force to join Tobo and established an ambush at a strategically strong position, while the armies of the beile attacked from the Warkash Forest. Liu Ting led his men onto Abudali Ridge and formed battle lines. Hūrhan blocked the key passage, and when the beile arrived, the Later Jin army attacked from east and west and routed the Ming force. Liu Ting was killed and, according to the source, his force of fifty thousand was destroyed. Of the four Ming armies, three were annihilated, and the Battle of Sarhu ended in a crushing Ming defeat. Hūrhan's performance in the campaign contributed significantly to Later Jin's victory and its growing dominance in Liaodong.

Final Years and Death

In 1620, Hūrhan took part in the campaign against Shenyang and defeated Ming commander He Shixian and others. For his military achievements, his hereditary rank was successively raised to third-class commander-in-chief. In the tenth month of winter 1623, Hūrhan died at the age of forty-eight. Nurhaci personally attended his funeral and mourned the loss of the commander whose service he valued highly.

Major Activities

Military Campaigns

Hūrhan spent much of his life in war and was one of the leading commanders of early Later Jin. His major campaigns included:

1. Defense and escort from Feiyou Fort (1607): with three hundred troops, escorted five hundred households seeking to submit to Nurhaci. Facing an Ula army of ten thousand, he fortified the civilians on a mountain, held out until reinforcements arrived, and then helped defeat the enemy.
2. Campaigns against the Weji tribes (1607–1611): participated in three successive campaigns, taking Heshihei, the Huye route, the Hurha route, and other areas, capturing or receiving the submission of large numbers of people and extending Later Jin control.
3. Destruction of Ula (1613): followed Nurhaci against Ula, forced his way through the gate, and contributed to the final defeat of the polity.
4. Campaign against the Sahaliyan tribes (1616): with Anfiyanggū, led two thousand troops, took thirty-six fortified settlements and eleven additional villages, and received the surrender of three routes.
5. Battle of Sarhu (1619): first defeated the Ming guerrilla commander Qiao Yiqi, then participated in the battles at Sarhu and Shangjian Cliff, and finally held a key position at Abudali Ridge, where the Later Jin forces attacked from east and west and killed the Ming general Liu Ting.
6. Campaign against Shenyang (1620): accompanied the army against Shenyang and defeated Ming commander He Shixian.

Frontier Enforcement

Early in the Tianming era, although Later Jin and Ming had marked a frontier, Ming civilians repeatedly crossed it to gather ginseng, mine, cut timber, and collect produce. Nurhaci ordered Hūrhan to patrol the border. Hūrhan enforced the order strictly and killed more than fifty Ming civilians found crossing the line. Ming Governor of Guangning Li Weihan protested, imprisoned the Later Jin envoys Gangguri and Fangjina, and demanded that Nurhaci hand over those responsible for the killings. Nurhaci refused and later responded by executing ten Yehe captives below Fushun Pass; the Ming authorities then released the Later Jin envoys. The source presents this episode as an example of Hūrhan's strict execution of Nurhaci's frontier orders in a period of frequent border conflict.

Founding Minister

When Later Jin was founded in 1616, Hūrhan was included among the Five Founding Ministers, was associated with command of the Bordered White Banner, and was granted the title “Darhan Xia.” The Five Ministers formed the innermost military leadership of the early regime, and Hūrhan's inclusion reflected the importance of his military service.

Personal Relations

Family

• Father: Hulahu, leader of the Yargu group, who led his followers in submitting to Nurhaci in 1588
• Younger brothers: Husita, Dahan Bulu, Yaxita, Yanggutai, Anggutai, Dabai, and others
• Sons: Hunta, who inherited the rank of third-class commander-in-chief; Junta, who has a separate biography; Alami, who inherited Junta's hereditary office
• Younger sister: married Gioro Longxi, a descendant of Socangga
• Niece: daughter of Yaxita, married Gioro Tulan, younger brother of Gioro Longxi

Ruler and Adoptive Family

• Nurhaci: adoptive father and ruler. Hūrhan was adopted at age thirteen and granted the surname Gioro. Grateful for Nurhaci's upbringing, he repeatedly fought in the vanguard and pledged complete loyalty. Nurhaci in turn placed great trust in him and assigned him important responsibilities.

Colleagues

• Yangguli: fought alongside Hūrhan during the escort from Feiyou Fort
• He Heli, Eidu, and Anfiyanggū: fellow members of the Five Founding Ministers and frequent comrades in campaign
• Amin: Hūrhan advanced under him during the Battle of Sarhu and helped defeat Qiao Yiqi

Historical Assessment

Qing and Contemporary Assessments

• Nurhaci personally attended Hūrhan's funeral and mourned the loss of a trusted commander.
• The Comprehensive Genealogy of Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners records that the Taizu Emperor treated Hūrhan with exceptional favor, raised him as a son, granted him the surname Gioro, appointed him a first-rank minister among the Five Ministers, and successively raised his hereditary rank for military merit. It further records that when he died, Taizu personally attended the funeral and wept for him.
• The Draft History of Qing included Hūrhan in its biographies, described his military achievements in detail, and stated that he “felt gratitude for Taizu's nurturing kindness, swore to repay it with death, and invariably fought in the vanguard.”

Mid- to Late Qing

• Official works compiled in the Qianlong reign, including the Imperially Commissioned Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Eight Banners and Researches on Manchu Origins, listed Hūrhan among the founding meritorious officials of Later Jin and praised his service.
• Qing scholars discussing the founding history of Later Jin often treated the Five Ministers as a collective and regarded them as a core group that enabled Nurhaci to build his power.

Modern and Contemporary Assessments

• Xiao Yishan's General History of the Qing Dynasty lists Hūrhan as an important commander of the founding period of Later Jin and recognizes his contributions to the unification of Jurchen groups and to warfare against the Ming.
• Modern historians of the Qing generally regard Hūrhan, as Nurhaci's adopted son and one of the Five Ministers, as an important figure in the establishment and expansion of Later Jin, emphasizing both his military ability and loyalty.
• Some scholars argue that Hūrhan's rise illustrates Nurhaci's political skill in incorporating leaders of submitting groups and using adoptive kinship to strengthen his rule.