Púxiān Wànnú ({{zh, t=蒲鮮萬奴, s=蒲鲜万奴, w=P'u-hsien Wan-nu) was a

Jurchen Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

who established the short-lived Eastern Xia dynasty in 13th-century China. He originally served the waning Jin dynasty under pressure from the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. While the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

under

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

invaded Jin, a Khitan chief Yelü Liuge (耶律留哥) revolted against the dynasty in Liaodong in 1211 and made contact with the Mongol Empire in the next year. In 1214 Jin dispatched Puxian Wannu to Liaodong, but he was defeated around Kaiyuan. While Mukhali of the Mongol Empire invaded Northern China, Puxian Wannu rebelled against Jin and founded the Dazhen (大眞) kingdom in Dongjing ( Liaoyang) in 1215. He adopted the title of Tianwang (天王 lit. ''Heavenly King'') and named his era Tiantai (天泰). As a result of an internal strife in the Eastern Liao, Yelü Liuge was expelled and sought support from Genghis. The Khitans got a counterattack from Jin and fled to

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

without permission. Puxian Wannu capitulated to Mukhali's army and sent his son Tege (铁哥/鐵哥 ''Tiěgē'') as a hostage in 1216. However, he revolted soon after that and fled to an island while the Mongol army invaded

Liaoxi Liaoxi () was a former province in Northeast China, located in what is now part of Liaoning and Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northe ...

and Liaodong. In 1217 he moved from Dongjing to the

Tumen River The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river ha ...

basin possibly to avoid both Mongol and Jin oppressions. He again named his kingdom Eastern Xia or Dongxia (东夏/東夏), established the capital around

Yanji Yanji (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연길, ''Yeon-gil;'' Hangul: 옌지, ''Yenji;'' alternately romanized as Yenki) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Its population i ...

and called it Nanjing (南京 literally: "Southern Capital"). His domain extended north to Laoyeling Mountains, south to Hamgyŏngnamdo in modern-day North Korea, east to the Sea of Japan and west to the Zhangguangcailing Mountains, corresponding to the borderlands of modern-day China, Russia and North Korea. He seems to have submitted to the Mongol Empire again. In 1218 the Mongol and Eastern Xia armies jointly intruded into Goryeo to subdue the Khitan remnants. Goryeo also joined the campaign and the Khitans were exterminated. The Mongol army retreated after establishing a "sibling" relationship with Goryeo. Mongol officers with Eastern Xia delegates came to Goryeo to exact tribute. In 1222 Puxian Wannu revolted against the Mongol Empire yet again while Genghis Khan made an expedition toward the west. Since Goryeo rejected his demand for the opening of trading posts on the border, he invaded Goryeo many times. In 1233 Ögedei's son Güyük attacked Eastern Xia with a large force and captured Puxian Wannu. The Jin dynasty was overthrown in the next year.

References

The Cambridge History of China: Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368. p.257. The loss of Manchuria: Yeh-lu Liu-ko and P'u-hsien Wan-nu

William E. Henthorn, Korea: the Mongol invasions
Jurchen history Warlords 13th-century Chinese monarchs Founding monarchs