Yangginu

Yangginu (Manchu: ᠶᠠᠩᡤᡳᠨᡠ), who died around December 1583, and Cinggiyanu (Manchu: ᠴᡳᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨᡠ), also deceased circa December 1583, were Jurchen chieftains of the Yehe Nara clan. They were either the sons or grandsons of the Yehe chief Cukungge, who was executed by the Hada chief Wangji Wailan during an invasion. Following Cukungge’s death, they were made wards and vassals of the Hada Khan Wan. At that time, Wan had expanded his territory significantly, establishing the Hulun confederation, which incorporated various tribes including the Yehe, Hoifa, and Ula.

The Yehe were descendants of Singgen Dargan, a Tumed Mongol leader who had destroyed a group of Jurchen from the Nara clan along the Yehe River and adopted their clan name. Unlike the neighboring Hada tribe, the Yehe engaged in raiding activities against the Ming dynasty. With Ming support, the Hada chief Wangji Wailan invaded the Yehe and executed their ancestor Cukungge. Orphaned by these events, Yangginu and Cinggiyanu became wards of Wangji Wailan’s nephew, Wan, the Hada Khan. Wan’s conquests brought the Yehe into his Hulun confederation, and he also married Yangginu to one of his daughters, while Wan’s son took a sister of Yangginu as a concubine.

During Wan’s rule, he expanded his control over a broad territory, incorporating the Yehe and other tribes. Yangginu and Cinggiyanu, under Hada authority, began to consolidate power and plotted to avenge their ancestor Cukungge. By 1572, they commanded approximately 20,000 horsemen. Wan’s influence began to wane as he grew senile and was weakened by internal family conflicts involving his son Hurhan and illegitimate brother Kangguru. Capitalizing on these divisions, Yangginu was able to secure a marriage alliance with a Mongol noblewoman and achieved the independence of the Yehe and Ula in 1582, following Wan’s death.

Following Wan’s decline, the Hada fragmented into disputes, with Hurhan and Kangguru vying for control. In this context, Nurhaci, the chieftain of the Jianzhou, sought a marriage alliance with the Yehe. Yangginu was impressed with Nurhaci’s leadership despite his relative military weakness and arranged for his youngest daughter, Xiaoce (also known as Monggo-gege), to marry Nurhaci. Xiaoce was later proclaimed Empress Xiaocigao and bore Nurhaci a son named Hong Taiji, who would become the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1583, Yangginu and Cinggiyanu launched an invasion of the Hada territory with support from Mongol allies. They subsequently attacked Chinese trading centers. Chinese general Li Chengliang responded by leading forces to confront them. He successfully lured the Yehe leaders into an ambush at the North Pass, where they were killed around December 1583. Yangginu was succeeded by his son, Narimbulu, as the beile of the Yehe. Despite ongoing conflicts, Yangginu’s alliance and marriage arrangements set the foundation for later political and dynastic developments, including the marriage between Xiaoce and Nurhaci, which played a role in the rise of the Qing Dynasty.