The Interview with Hong Taiji

Conversations with Hong Taiji:

Interviewer:  Hong Taiji, how come you changed the name of your people from Jurchen to Manchu?

Hong Taiji:  I cannot answer the question with the exact answer.  Manchu was a term with no exact meaning.  The word Manchu was taken from a Buddhist term for "great good fortune." I thought that renaming my people from Jurchen to Manchu will bring good fortune to the Qing empire.

Interviewer:  Why did you renamed your dynasty from Jin to Qing?

Hong Taiji:  I was scared of the conflicts between the brothers and half brothers of the Manchu Royal household, especially with me and my half brother, Dorgon.  Jin has the meaning of "metal" or "fire."  I thought that this name would bring conflicts upon me and Dorgon, leading to the warfare I never wanted.  I renamed the Jin dynasty to the Qing dynasty because Qing has the meaning of "pure" or "clear."  The new name of the dynasty would not bring conflicts or wars between me and Dorgon, or any brothers of the Manchu Royal household.

Interviewer:  How did you wanted your dynasty to be govern?

Hong Taiji:  I wanted the Qing dynasty to govern with not only the ruling of the Manchus, but to work together with the Chinese to create a great empire.  I wanted the Qing dynasty to have Chinese officials and Manchu officials working alongside each other.  The Chinese can be a great help to the Qing empire because they know about China more than we do.  By favoring the Chinese, I can gain their trust.  I did not want the Chinese to rebel against the Qing empire and my ideas.

Interviewer:  What made you came up with the Banner system?  Tell me more about it.

Hong Taiji:  Actually, my father, Nurhaci, the leader of Jurchen, was the one who came up with the Banner system.  The Banner system was a kind of military organization that was used to conquer and control China.  My father developed the Banner system by organizing his soldiers into four companies of 300 men each in the  year 1601.  Each companies has different colors, yellow, red, white, and blue.  Four more banners with the same colors were added in the year 1615, with red borders and red banner with white border.  As the Jurchen conquests increased, the size of the companies grew up to 7,500 men divided into five units, then divided again into five companies.  The banner organization took care of the taxation, conscription, and registration of the population.  The banner men lived their usual life, but in times of war, each banner were to give a certain number of men to fight.  When we began to conquer Chinese and Mongolia neighbors, eight Mongols banners and eight Chinese banners were added to the system.  With 24 banner units, they all fought alongside each other, and conquered China, establishing the Great Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).

Interviewer:  Did you came up with any ideas of what your legacy will be?

Hong Taiji:  I hoped for the Qing dynasty to be the largest empire in China and greater than the past dynasties.  I hoped for my descendant to accomplish and continue on building the dynasty after me.  I hoped to be seen as one of the best emperors because of my great talent, of my outstanding warring skills, and of my effective ruling.