Gintaisi (

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

: ; died September 29, 1619), known as Jintaishi () or Jintaiji () in Chinese, was a Jurchen beile (chieftain) of the Yehe tribal confederation. He was the younger brother of Narimbulu, and became one of the two beile of the Yehe tribe after the death of his brother which took place sometime before 1613. In 1613,

Bujantai Bujantai (Manchu language, Manchu: ; ) (1575 – 1618) was a Jurchen people, Jurchen ''beile'' (chieftain) of the Nara (clan), Ula tribal confederation. Life Bujantai was descended from Nacibulu (納奇卜祿), the ancestor of the Nara lineage ...

the beile of the Ula tribe had fled to the Yehe after the defeat of his forces at the hands of

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gi ...

. Gintaisi gave him protection and when attacked by Nurhaci, he appealed to the

Ming Chinese The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

for help. In 1615, he attempted to appease the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

on the west by marrying his cousin (who had eighteen years before been promised to Nurhaci) to the Khalka beile. The alliance with the Chinese in the end proved to be a futile arrangement, for in 1619 Nurhaci defeated a large Chinese army, together with its Yehe auxiliaries at the

Battle of Sarhu A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

and then proceeded to besiege Gintaisi in his own stronghold. Despite attempts at a settlement by Nurhaci's son,

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

the future emperor who was also Gintaisi's nephew, the fighting continued until both Gintaisi and his cousin Buyanggu (布揚古) had been captured. Gintaisi was either executed by hanging or he committed suicide, but not before he allegedly cursed Nurhaci that as long as one of his descendants lived, even a female one, he or she would remember the clan's vendetta and bring down the

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro is a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chie ...

. With his death, the independent existence of the Yehe tribe came to an end and the last of the Jurchen tribes under the Hūlun (alliance) were brought under the control of Nurhaci, but many of its members, including his descendants, became prominent in the service of Nurhaci and of the succeeding Manchu emperors. Even the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

traced her descent back to the Yehe division of the

Nara clan The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, and recognized Yangginu, the father of Gintaisi, as her great ancestor.

References

* * Veit, Veronika (2007). ''The Role of Women in the Altaic World''. Harrassowitz Verlag. {{s-end Jurchen chieftains 1619 deaths