July 1609 Nurhaci began to show his strength by sending a detachment of 5,000 men to Fu-shun to demand payment for ginseng bought from him. Later in the same year he fortified Nan-kuan 南關 (present Hsi-fêng 西豐) in preparation for an attack on the Yehe tribe. The aid which the Ming troops gave to the Yehe especially irritated him and spurred him to become more and more independent of China. On February 17, 1616, the first day of the forty-fourth year of Wan-li, he proclaimed himself Han 汗 (Emperor), with the reign-title T'ien-ming 天命. His full title was Geren gurun be ujire genggiyen han, which may be translated as "Brilliant Emperor Who Benefits All Nations" 覆育列國英明皇帝). He named his dynasty Chin 金 (or Aisin), sometimes written Hou (後)-Chin, or Later Chin, to denote that it was a continuation of the Chin dynasty of the twelfth century. In 1636 the dynastic name was changed to Ch'ing (see under Abahai). As the duties of his government multiplied, he appointed three sons and a nephew as Hošoi Beile 和碩貝勒 (then the highest princely rank) to assist him in the administration. In order of seniority, these Beile were Daišan, Amin, Manggûltai, and Abahai [qq. v.], Amin being his nephew. Each of them was given hereditary command of a Banner. Later, when Nurhaci from among the rest of his sons chose leaders for the other four Banners, the Princes first chosen became known as the "Four Senior Beile" (四大貝勒), and those chosen later were called the "Four Junior Beile" (四小貝勒). Nurhaci's idea was to give each of the Eight Princes absolute power to rule his Banner, but after his death the Eight Princes should co-operate in all important affairs, such as waging war against invaders. They would also elect one of their number a leader who could be replaced. This idea, however, was never fully put into practice and was gradually nullified by his successors who concentrated the power in the hands of a sovereign (see under Abahai, Dorgon, and Yin-chên).
In 1618 Nurhaci led an army of 10,000 men to invade China, announcing at the same time seven grievances against the Ming Court: (1) the murder of his father and grandfather; (2) assisting the Hada tribe to fight against him; (3) permitting Chinese peasants to cross the border; (4) giving military assistance to the Yehe, in order to oppose him; (5) encouraging a Yehe maiden, to whom he was betrothed, to marry a Mongol prince; (6) driving his subjects from their farms near the border; (7) dispatching to him an envoy of inferior rank. He advanced to the Chinese border, took several cities, including Fu-shun; defeated the Chinese troops in several engagements, and returned with many captives. On the Ming side, Emperor Shên-tsung (ruled 1573–1620) paid little attention to border affairs, being primarily interested in hoarding vast treasure for himself and his favored sons. In 1619 he dispatched Yang Hao [q. v.] at the head of a large army to subdue Nurhaci, but Yang's forces were quickly overwhelmed and suffered enormous losses—one of the decisive battles being fought at Sarhfl, east of Fu-shun (see under Yang Hao). Late in September 1619 Nurhaci conquered the Yehe tribe (see under Gintaisi). In May 1621 he took from China the important cities of Shên-yang and Liao-yang and made the latter place his new capital and his base of operations.
Meanwhile the Ming Court, under the youthful emperor Hsi-tsung (see under Chu Yu-chiao), was dominated by ignorant and corrupt eunuchs (see under Wei Chung-hsien). Only the forces of Hsiung T'ing-pi [q. v.] could for a time stem Nurhaci's advance, but Hsiung was soon executed on false charges. Nurhaci not only conquered the Liao-yang region, he consolidated his position by the help of Chinese captives. In 1624 he moved to a new capital which he built east of Liao-yang but which he soon abandoned. In April 1625 he moved once more, this time to Shên-yang (Mukden) which remained the capital city until 1644. When he attacked Ning-yüan, early in 1626, he was defeated by the Ming general, Yüan Ch'ung-huan [q. v.]. This was his greatest defeat since the beginning of his career forty-three years previously. He was probably only slightly wounded, but his pride was severely affronted. He died seven months later. According to official accounts, he did not designate a successor. He may have had in mind for the place one of his younger sons (see under Hsiao-lieh), or he may have left the choice entirely to the seven or eight Princes then in charge of the Banners. However that may be, soon after Nurhaci's death Daišan led a group of the Princes in naming Abahai the Han to rule jointly with the other three "Senior Beile"—Daišan, Amin, and Manggûltai. In 1636, after Abahai had taken away the power of the other Princes and adopted many Chinese methods of government, he gave his father the temple name, T'ai-tsu 太祖, and the post-
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