Jurchen Culture ID

The Jurchen were a people of Manchuria, in the forests and plains of the northeast, speakers of a Tungusic language and ancestors of the later Manchus. From this frontier they rose to found a great dynasty.

Jurchen life combined farming with hunting, fishing, and the herding of horses, and they were skilled mounted warriors organised around clans and tribes on the northern frontier.

United under able leadership, the Jurchen overthrew their overlords and established the Jin dynasty, conquering northern China and ruling a vast realm that blended their traditions with Chinese statecraft.

Frontier warriors turned imperial rulers, the Jurchen left a powerful mark on the history of northeastern Asia.