Why did Huang Taiji change the name of the Jin Kingdom to the Great Qing Dynasty?
When we think of the Qing Dynasty, we think of the Jurchens and the Dajin, but before Huang Taiji changed the name of the country to the Great Qing, the regime established by the Jurchens was called the Later Jin. Why did Huang Taiji make this major change? This involved the military prowess of Huang Taiji, who was the eighth son of Nurhachi and one of the most outstanding successors. After taking power, he waged a fierce struggle against the Ming Dynasty and occupied most of Liaodong. However, his ambitions gradually became apparent, and he coveted the entire Central Plains.
In 1625 AD, Nurhachi led more than 100,000 elite soldiers of the Eight Banners to attack the Ming army. However, when he arrived at the foot of Ningyuan City, he was attacked head-on by Yuan Chonghuan, the defender of Ningyuan City, resulting in Nurhachi himself being seriously injured and the Eight Banners cavalry being defeated. Since Nurhachi did not designate a successor, the leader of the Eight Banners elected the then white-flaged banner owner as the new Great Han. However, Nurhachi's rule continued in the nomadic way, which led to continuous resistance by the Han Chinese in the occupied areas and hindered the progress and development of the Later Jin regime.
After Nurhachi's death, Huang Taiji was well aware of the problem. In order to establish a unified regime, he must first eliminate the hatred of the Han Chinese against the Jurchens. Under the nomadic mentality, Nurhachi adopted a brutal and oppressive rule over the Han Chinese in the occupied territory, causing a sustained revolt. Huang Taiji decided to change this situation, realizing that in order to truly implement the Great Unification, it was first necessary to eliminate the hostility of the Han Chinese towards the Jurchens. Therefore, he decided to change the Jurchens to Manchu and name the area occupied by the Jurchens Manchuria in order to bring him closer to the Han Chinese.
In addition, from the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang and the five elements, the Ming Dynasty belonged to fire, and the original metal gold after the national name was considered to be restrained by fire. In addition, the Qing army had suffered a defeat under Yuan Chonghuan, a general of the Ming Dynasty, and the word "Huan" in his name carries the meaning of fire. Huang Taiji believed that the Later Jin Dynasty was restrained by the Ming Dynasty in all respects. Therefore, he chose to change the name of the country to Qing, believing that it was related to heaven, and the Jurchen people regarded heaven as the supreme being. The change to Qing not only expressed respect for God, but also made the rule of the Qing Dynasty seen as the choice of destiny.
In the ancient five elements of yin and yang, the character "Ming" in the Ming can be disassembled into the sun and the moon, while the character "Qing" in the Qing Dynasty is related to the sky, and the day includes the day and the moon. Therefore, Huang Taiji believed that the status of the Qing Dynasty in the world was higher than that of the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty seized the world from horseback and continued to use the names of Jurchen and Later Jin to the detriment of the rule of the Han Chinese, who had large populations. Therefore, he decided to change the name of the country to Qing in order to show that he was not only a great Han of Manchuria, but a great Han of all ethnic groups, including the Han Chinese. He believed that the Qing Empire was the co-ruler of the world.
Some people may say that the ancient yin and yang feng shui and the five elements gossip are feudal superstitions, but the five elements shown in them are mutually reinforcing and mutually reinforcing, which has been proven one by one in modern science. Therefore, we have to admire the wisdom of the ancients and the breadth and profundity of mainland literature.