Jurchen people

The Jurchens or Jurcheds (Jurchen language: jušen) were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, at which point they began referring to themselves as the Manchu people.

The Jurchen established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) (Ancun gurun in the older Jurchen language and Aisin gurun in standard Manchu), a state that conquered the Song dynasty in 1127 during the Jin–Song Wars, gaining control of most of North China.

Jin control over China lasted until the 1234 conquest by the Mongols.

Etymology

The Jurchen autonym was Jušen until the 17th century, the original meaning of which is unclear. This name dates back to at least the beginning of the tenth century, when Balhae was destroyed by the Khitan people, although apparently cognate ethnonyms like Sushen and Jichen (Chinese: 稷真) have been recorded in ancient geographical works like the Classic of Mountains and Seas and Book of Wei.

The English version of the name, "Jurchen," is from the Mongolian term Jürchin, plural Jürchid, and may have arrived in the West through Mongolian-language texts. A less-common English transliteration is "Jurched" from the Mongolian plural.