Nikan Wailan (; , ? - 1587) was a Jurchen leader affiliated with the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

and a rival 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 ...

Name

In the Jurchen language, Nikan Wailan means "secretary of

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

", thus his existence is suspected by some historians.

Life

In 1582, Nurhaci's father

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 ...

and grandfather

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 ...

were killed in an attack on Gure (in present-day

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 ...

) by Nikan, while being led by Li Chengliang. The following year, Nurhaci began to unify the Jurchen bands around his area. In 1584, when Nurhaci was 25, he attacked Nikan Wailan at Turun (also in Xinbin) to avenge the deaths of his father and grandfather, who are said to have left him nothing but thirteen suits of armour. Nikan Wailan fled away to Erhun, which Nurhaci attacked again in 1587. Nikan Wailan this time fled to Li Chengliang's territory. Later, as a way to build relationship, Li gave Nikan Wailan to Nurhaci, who beheaded Nikan Wailan immediately. With Li's support, Nurhaci gradually grew his strength in the following years.

References

* 1587 deaths Date of birth unknown Jurchens in Ming dynasty Executed Ming dynasty people {{China-bio-stub