Hetu Ala ( zh, 赫圖阿拉城;

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

:) was the first capital of the

Later Jin (1616–1636) The Later Jin, officially known as Jin or the Great Jin, was a royal dynasty of China in Manchuria and the precursor to the Qing dynasty. Established in 1616 by the Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain Nurhaci upon his reunification of the Jurchen ...

state, the predecessor of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China. It was the capital from 1616 to 1622. It was renamed to Xingjing ( zh, 興京) in 1634. The site of Hetu Ala is located in

Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County (, Manchu: ; Mölendroff: sinbin manju beye dasangga siyan), or simply Xinbin County ( postal: Sinpin; ), is one of the three counties under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Fushun, in the east of ...

, Liaoning, along the Suzi River, a tributary of the Hun River.

History

Hetu Ala was the place of residence of

Giocangga Giocangga (Manchu: ; ; 1526–1583) was the son of Fuman and the paternal grandfather of Nurhaci, the man who unified the Jurchen peoples and founded the Later Jin dynasty of China. Both he and his son Taksi attacked Atai's fort, which was be ...

, a Jurchen chieftain and the grandfather of

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

. In 1603, Nurhaci ordered the construction of a city at Hetu Ala and used it as his base of power. In 1616, Nurhaci proclaimed himself khan in the Octagonal Hall at Hetu Ala, founding the state of

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

. In 1621, the "Eastern Capital" was constructed near the city of

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

as the new Jin capital. In 1624, the tombs of Nurhaci's family and ancestors were moved to the Eastern Capital. However,

and

Taksi Taksi (Manchu: ; ; 1543–1583) or posthumously titled as Emperor Xuan was a Jurchen chieftain and father of Nurhaci, founder of the Later Jin dynasty, and the fourth son of Giocangga. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he was killed in ...

, Nurhaci's father, were brought back to Hetu Ala in 1658. In 1634, the city's name was changed to Xingjing.

Layout

Hetu Ala was located on the southern bank of the Suzi River. The city had two walls. The inner wall was built of wood and stone and had a perimeter of 5 ''li'' (). The outer wall had a perimeter of 10 ''li'' () and had nine gates. The Yong Mausoleum for Giocangga and Taksi was located to the west of the city, near the present Yongling town (永陵镇).

References

{{Qing dynasty topics, state=collapsed Qing dynasty Ancient Chinese capitals Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Liaoning AAAA-rated tourist attractions