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Yishiha (; also Išiqa or Isiha; Jurchen: ) ( fl. 1409–1451) was a Jurchen
eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
of China. He served the Ming emperors who commissioned several expeditions down the
Songhua The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black ...
and
Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
s during the period of Ming rule of Manchuria, and is credited with the construction of the only two Ming dynasty
Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
s ever built on the territory of present-day
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.


Early life

It is believed that Yishiha was a Haixi Jurchen by origin, and was captured by the Ming forces in the late 14th century. He worked under two important eunuchs, Wang Zhen and Cao Jixiang. It is speculated by modern historians that he rose to prominence by participating in imperial court politics and serving the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
's concubines of
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 ...
(Jurchen) origin.


Amur expeditions

Yishiha's Amur expeditions belong to the same period of the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
's reign (1402–1424) which saw another eunuch admiral,
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred ...
, sail across the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, and Chinese ambassador
Chen Cheng Chen Cheng (; ; January 4, 1898 – March 5, 1965) was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main commanders of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After moving ...
reach the
Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...
's capital
Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
(in today's
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
) overland. By 1409, the Yongle Emperor's government, which had already established relations with the Haixi and
Jianzhou Jurchens The Jianzhou Jurchens () were one of the three major groups of Jurchens as identified by the Ming dynasty. Although the geographic location of the Jianzhou Jurchens changed throughout history, during the 14th century they were located south of t ...
in southern
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
, ordered Yishiha to start preparations for an expedition to the lower
Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
region, to demonstrate the power of the Ming Empire to the Nurgan Jurchen populating the area and induce them to enter into relations with the empire, and to ensure that they would not create trouble for the Ming state when the latter went to war with the Eastern Mongols. In 1411, after two years of preparations, Yishiha's fleet of 25 ships with 1000 men aboard sailed from
Jilin City Jilin City (), alternately romanized as Kirin, is the second-largest city and former capital of Jilin province in northeast China. As of the 2020 census, 3,623,713 people resided within its administrative area of and 1,895,865 in its buil ...
down the
Sungari The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bord ...
and into the Amur. The "Nurgan Jurchens" offered little opposition to Yishiha's expedition. He gave generous gifts to their tribal leaders, and established a
Nurgan Regional Military Commission The Nurgan Regional Military Commission () was a Chinese administrative seat established in Manchuria during the Ming dynasty, located on the banks of the Amur River, about 100 km from the sea, at Nurgan city (modern Tyr, Russia). Nurgan ...
, at the place the Chinese called Telin (), near the present-day village of Tyr in Russia's
Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...
. This was the same place where in 1260–1320 the Mongol-led
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
had the headquarters of their Marshal of the Eastern Campaigns.Важнейшие результаты исследований Лаборатории позднесредневековой археологии Дальнего Востока
(Principal research results of the Laboratory of the Late Mediaeval Archaeology of the ussianFar East)
The commission's authority covered much of the Amur basin, including the shores of the Sungari,
Ussuri The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Si ...
, Urmi,
Muling Muling () is a county-level city of Mudanjiang, southeastern Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Russia's Primorsky Krai to the east. As of 2004, it has an area of and a population of 330,000. Administrative divisions Muling City is divided ...
, and Nen Rivers. Yishiha then returned to the Ming Empire, taking with him a tribute-bearing mission of 178 "Nurgan Jurchens". In 1413–1414, during his second expeditions to the lower Amur, Yishiha stayed almost a year at Tyr. He built a Buddhist temple (sometimes described as a "monastery") named Yongning Si (永宁寺, the Temple of Eternal Peace) dedicated to
Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
on the Tyr Cliff, and erected a
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
describing his expedition, with the text in Chinese, Mongol, and Jurchen languages. The stele, presently kept in the Arseniev Museum in Vladivostok, described the locals as good archers and fishermen, and their clothes as made of fishskin. According to some evidence (a seal issued by the empire's
Ministry of Rites The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China. It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Along with religious rituals and cour ...
, found in
Yilan County, Heilongjiang Yilan County (; IPA: ) is a county of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang. It is more than to the east-northeast of central Harbin. Its county ...
), in 1413 Yishiha also visited the nearby coast of the
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
Island, and granted Ming titles to a local chieftain. While no detailed ethnographic data about the "Nurgan Jurchens" has been found in Chinese records, it was, apparently, a collective name for the
Tungusic peoples Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia. The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic or ...
and possibly other groups (e.g.
Nivkh Nivkh or Amuric or Gilyak may refer to: * Nivkh people The Nivkh, or Gilyak (also Nivkhs or Nivkhi, or Gilyaks; ethnonym: Нивхгу, ''Nʼivxgu'' (Amur) or Ниғвңгун, ''Nʼiɣvŋgun'' (E. Sakhalin) "the people"), are an indigenous et ...
Головачев В.Ц. (V.Ts. Golovachev)
"Тырские стелы и храм «Юн Нин» в свете китайско-чжурчжэньских отношений XIV-XV вв."
(The Tyr stelae and the Yongning Temple viewed in as an aspect of Sino-Jurchen relations), ''Etno-zhurnal'', 2008-11-14
) populating the area. As of the mid-19th century, Tyr was a Nivkh settlement, as attested by a contemporary encyclopedia and the book by E.G. Ravenstein, based on the accounts of the Russian explorers of the 1850s. Another ethnic group native to the
Ulchsky District Ulchsky District (russian: У́льчский райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #143-pr and municipalLaw #194 district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Khabarovsk Krai, seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is locat ...
(where Tyr is located) are the
Ulch people The Ulch people, also known as Ulch or Ulchi, (russian: ульчи, obsolete ольчи; Ulch: , nani) are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who speak a Tungusic language known as Ulch. Over 90% of Ulchis live in Ulchsky District ...
, a Tungusic people, but their home villages are all located upstream from Tyr. During the rest of the Yongle Emperor's reign, Yishiha carried out three more expeditions to Nurgan, while the Nurgan natives sent some more tribute and trade missions to the Ming court. The Yongle Emperor's successor (the short-lived
Hongxi Emperor The Hongxi Emperor (16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), personal name Zhu Gaochi (朱高熾), was the fourth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1424 to 1425. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, in 1424. His era name "Hongxi" means ...
(r. 1424–25), or, more likely, the
Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name "Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively ...
(r. 1425–35)) continued the Yongle era's policy toward the "Wild Jurchens". In 1425, the
Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...
regional commissioner, Liu Qing, was ordered to build ships for another expedition down the river, and in 1426 Yishiha sailed again. Yishiha's last mission was connected to the retirement of the Nurgan chief and the "inauguration" of his son as his successor. Yishiha attended at that event in 1432, presenting the new chief a seal of authority and giving gifts to subordinate chieftains. This time Yishiha's fleet included 50 big ships with 2,000 soldiers, and they actually brought the new chief (who had been living in Beijing) to Tyr. As Yishiha's first (1413) Yongning Si temple had been destroyed by that time, Yishiha had a second temple of the same name built. According to the modern archaeologists, his second temple was not built at the site of his first temple (as it had been commonly believed), but rather at the site of its ancient predecessor – the Yuan Dynasty Yongning Si temple. As the archaeological research has revealed, the 1413 temple was located some 90 meters to the west of the top of the Tyr Cliff, where Yishiha's 1430s temple (and its Yuan predecessor) were located. A second stele was put next to the second temple. The stele has also survived, and has been moved south by the Russians for keeping at the Arsenyev Primorye Museum in
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
.A. R. Artemyev.
Archaeological sites of Yuan and Ming epochs in Transbaikalia and the Amur basin
''
According to modern historians, Yishiha made the total of nine expeditions to the Lower Amur.


Later career

In the 1430s, the Xuande government stopped sending sea and river expeditions, and the naval (or, rather, riverine) career of Yishiha came to an end, as did that of his colleague Zheng He. In the ninth year of the Ming Xuande emperor the
Jurchens Jurchen (Manchu language, Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They ...
in
Manchuria under Ming rule Manchuria under Ming rule refers to the domination of the Ming dynasty over Manchuria, including today's Northeast China and Outer Manchuria. The Ming rule of Manchuria began with its conquest of Manchuria in the late 1380s after the fall of the ...
suffered from famine forcing them to sell their daughters into slavery and moving to Liaodong to beg for help and relief from the Ming dynasty government. In 1435 Yishiha was put in charge of the defense of the
Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...
region; he remained at this post for over 15 years. Apparently, his performance during the raids of the
Oirad Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. Hi ...
Mongol chief
Esen Tayisi Esen ( mn, Эсэн; Mongol script: ; ), (?–1454) was a powerful Oirat taishi and the ''de facto'' ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 12 September 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1450 in t ...
was considered unsatisfactory, and some time between 1449 and 1451 he was relieved of his duties. No later traces of him have been found by modern historians.


See also

*
Manchuria under Ming rule Manchuria under Ming rule refers to the domination of the Ming dynasty over Manchuria, including today's Northeast China and Outer Manchuria. The Ming rule of Manchuria began with its conquest of Manchuria in the late 1380s after the fall of the ...
*
Nurgan Regional Military Commission The Nurgan Regional Military Commission () was a Chinese administrative seat established in Manchuria during the Ming dynasty, located on the banks of the Amur River, about 100 km from the sea, at Nurgan city (modern Tyr, Russia). Nurgan ...


References


Further reading

* Rossabi, Morris. 1976. “Two Ming Envoys to Inner Asia”. T'oung Pao 62 (1/3). BRILL: 1–34. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4528048. * * (Full text of a M.A. Thesis ; abstract ) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yishiha 15th-century Chinese scientists Chinese explorers Explorers of Asia Chinese admirals Chinese geographers Ming dynasty eunuchs Jurchens in Ming dynasty Naval history of China Ming dynasty diplomats Scientists from Heilongjiang 15th-century geographers 15th-century explorers 15th-century diplomats