Where did the Manchu people come from? 

The Manchus hailed from Northeast China (Manchuria, go figure). They were a hunting, fishing and farming people, not nomads like the Mongolians. They didn’t have a huge cultural or political gap to bridge with the people they would come to rule: the Han Chinese. The Manchus already had a bureaucratic system set up in Mukden modeled after the Ming system. They didn’t have to make the leap from nomadic warrior to farmer – they were already there. This is part of what made the Qing such a successful dynasty: they conquered China swiftly, and came in already prepared to rule it, and rule it properly.

            The Manchu people were first banded together under one ruler by Nurgaci in the early 1600’s. He created eight banner groups of Manchu men for his army and ruling force. Chinese and Mongol fighters were welcomed as well, and given their own banners. By the time of the Manchu conquest of China, about 169,000 men were registered in the army. (Fairbanks)

            Nurgaci’s sons led the banner groups, but those sons were subject to the power of the state council. (Fairbanks) This allowed for hereditary power, but also made sure that no one son of Nurgaci had too much power – rather like the concept of checks and balances used in the American constitution and others. The concept was very much ahead of its time.

            The banner groups were virtually owned by the Emperor though, so their service could be described as an “extremely ritualized slavery” (Fairbanks). Soldiers received winnings in war, and small payments of money and rice during peacetime. Soldiers were bound to the emperor by duty and dependency. They were fervently loyal. This is what allowed the Manchus to execute such a simple conquest of China (that and they were invited in to help put down rebel uprisings). It took only 150,000 of the 169,000 registered men to complete the initial take over of north China – specifically Beijing.

            Before the Manchus made it to Beijing though, the son of Nurgaci, Hong Taiji, or Abahai, annexed Korea and made peace with the Mongols of Inner Mongolia, allowing him free reign to do what he liked with China. Abahai was the Emperor who gave his people the name “Manchu,” and is the one who named the dynasty “Qing,” meaning “pure.” Manchuria and the Qing dynasty were well established and organized before northern Ming Generals invited them inside the Great Wall.