| A universal guide for China studiesChinese History - Jin Dynasty 金 (1115-1234) |
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Jin Dynasty |  period before (Five Dynasties)-- Song Dynasty -- Liao Dynasty -- Xixia Empire next period (Yuan)  | |
 | When the Chinese government asked the Jin rulers for help against the Liao Empire, they did not expect that the Jurchen people would be fierce enough to be a danger for Song China herself. Offsprings of the Tungus, and ancestors of the Manchu, the Jurchen (Mongolian: Jürched, Jürchen; Chinese: Nüzhen 女真, might also be read Ruzhen) ruler Wanyan Aguda 完顏阿骨打 proclaimed himself as emperor of a Jin Dynasty in 1115. After defeiting the Liao Empire, Emperor Ukimai started to attack Song China. The capital Kaifeng (Bianjing 汴京) was occupied, the Song emperor taken as a hostage, and the government had to flee to the south where they established their southern capital at Hangzhou (Lin'an 臨安). Only in 1142, the Jin Dynasty concluded a peace treaty with the Southern Song. Like the Liao Dynasty before, the Jin emperors quickly adopted the Chinese governmental system and employed Chinese officials in their government. Similar to the Qing Dynasty later, official documents were translated Chinese to Jürjed, for which language a special script was developed. And, very similar to their forerunners in north China (the Liao Dynasty), the Jin government was slain by economical desasters at the eve of the Mongol conquest. In 1234, the Jin government fell victim to the ruthless conquest war of the mightiest nomad rule the world has ever seen. With the Jin Dynasty's fall, Southern Song China was open for the conquerors. Like the ruling class of the Jin Empire adopted Chinese culture and customs, they also imitated the governmental structure and official documentary machinery of the neighboring Song Empire. | Map and Geography |
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