The Eastern Xia (), also known as Dongxia, Dongzhen (東真)Warfare in Chinese History, by H. J. Van Derven, p239 or Dazhen (大真), was a short-lived kingdom established in

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 M ...

(today's

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

and

Outer Manchuria Outer Manchuria (russian: Приаму́рье, translit=Priamurye; zh, s=外满洲, t=外滿洲, p=Wài Mǎnzhōu), or Outer Northeast China ( zh, s=外东北, t=外東北, p=Wài Dōngběi), refers to a territory in Northeast Asia that is no ...

) by the

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 ...

Puxian Wannu Púxiān Wànnú ({{zh, t=蒲鮮萬奴, s=蒲鲜万奴, w=P'u-hsien Wan-nu) was a Jurchen warlord who established the short-lived Eastern Xia dynasty in 13th-century China. He originally served the waning Jin dynasty under pressure from the Mon ...

in 1215 during the

Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty The Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, also known as the Mongol–Jin War, was fought between the Mongol Empire and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in Manchuria and North China. The war, which started in 1211, lasted over 23 years and ended wi ...

. It was eventually conquered by the Mongols and its former territories were later administered by the

Liaoyang province Manchuria under Yuan rule refers to the Yuan dynasty's rule over Manchuria, corresponding to modern Northeast China and Outer Manchuria (including Sakhalin), from 1271 to 1368. Mongol rule over Manchuria was established after the Mongol Empire's ...

of the

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 fif ...

History

Puxian Wannu 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 Jin dynasty in

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 ...

in 1211 and made contact with the Mongol Empire in the next year. In 1214, the Jin dynasty dispatched Puxian Wannu to Liaodong, but he was defeated around Kaiyuan. While Mukhali of the Mongol Empire invaded

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...

and captured the Jin capital

Zhongdu Zhongdu (, lit. "Central Capital") was the capital of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in medieval China. It was located in the southwestern part of Beijing's Xicheng District. It had a population of nearly one million by the late 12th century, and ...

, Puxian Wannu rebelled against the Jin dynasty and founded the Eastern Xia dynasty in Dongjing (

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 ...

) in 1215 with the support of the Mongols. During that year, as a vassal, he sent his son Tege (帖哥/鐵哥 ''Tiěgē'') as a hostage to the Mongols in 1216. He adopted the title of Tianwang (天王 lit. ''Heavenly King'') and named his era Tiantai (天泰). He also established the government institutions based on the Jin systems. Although originally acknowledged his allegiance to the Mongol Empire, he however rebelled against the Mongols and killed the Mongolian resident commissioners in 1217. He also moved the capital to Nanjing (南京 literally: "southern capital") in modern day Mopancun Fortress near

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 ...

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

province. In 1233, Güyük (then a prince) was dispatched by

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...

to conquer the Eastern Xia. Puxian Wannu was captured and killed in the same year, which marked the official end of the Eastern Xia kingdom. The Jin dynasty was also conquered by the Mongols in the next year. The actual name of the kingdom is controversial. Chinese documents call it Dongxia (东夏/東夏) but

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 ...

almost always called it Dongzhen (東眞). Yanai Wataru insisted that ''Xià'' (夏) was a misinterpretation of ''Zhèn'' (眞). In the meanwhile Ikeuchi Hiroshi claimed that Dongzhen was an abbreviated form of Dong Nüzhen (东女眞/東女眞, ''Eastern Jurchen'') and was just an alias.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xia Former countries in Chinese history Former empires Jurchen history Former monarchies of East Asia Dynasties in Chinese history

History

See also

References