House of Aisin-Gioro

Aisin Gioro (Chinese: 愛新覺羅 ài xīn jǘe lúo) was the imperial family of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The word aisin means gold in Manchu; notably the Jin Dynasty was known as aisin gurun and the Qing Dynasty was amaga aisin gurun, or Latter Jin Dynasty. The meaning of gioro is unknown.

Foundation myth

The Veritable Records and other documents contain the foundation myth of the Aisin Gioro clan:

There was a lake called Bulhūri at the foot of Bukūri Mountain, located to the east of the Changbai Mountains. When three angels bathed in that lake, a magpie left a fruit on the youngest angel Fekulen's clothes. She ate the fuit and became pregnant. She mothered Bukūri Yongšon, the founder of Aisin Gioro. He was later welcomed by the people as the Beile. He settled at Odoli Castle on the Omohoi Plain and became the founder of the Manchu State.

This myth has interested many historians. Similar stories can be found in other northern people's mythology. Yongšon seems to have come from Chinese yingxiong (英雄; hero) and Odoli would be modern-day Hoenyŏng (會寧) in Hamgyŏngnamdo, North Korea. A recent study found that a 1635 article of Jiu Manzhou Dang (old Manchu archives), which was omitted from later documents, says that a man from the Hūrha tribe on the Upper Amur River told the exactly same myth. In fact, Kangxi period maps shows Bukūri Mountain and Bulhūri Lake near Heilongjiang. It is considered that the Manchu imperial family incorporated Hūrha's legend into their own foundation myth.

Although the Changbai Mountains (golmin šanggiyan alin in Manchu) are regarded as the birthplace of the Aisin Gioro clan, their relationship with this legend is questionable. As explained above, the mythical arena was near Heilongjiang, not the Changbai Mountains. In addition, a careful analysis on early Manchu records proved that the description of the Changbai Mountains at the beginning of this legend had been inserted for the first time in the Shunzi-era version of the Veritable Records for Nurhaci.

From Fanca to Ningguta Beise

Suffered from tyranny, the people raided Odoli and killed all Bukūri Yongšon's descendants but Fanca. A maggie saved Fanca's life. Fanca's descendant Mengtemu went eastward to execute his ancestors' revenge in Hetu Ala and settled there. Mengtemu's sons were Cunšan and Cuyan. Cunšan's sons were Tolo, Toimo and Sibeoci Fiyanggū. Sibeoci Fiyanggū's son was Fuman and Fuman's six sons were called Ningguta Beise (Six Kings; or ningguta i mafa), who lived around Hetu Ala.

Mengtemu is identified as Möngke Temür, who left Odoli by Ming's invitation and was appointed as leader of the Jianzhou Left Guard. On the other hand, the founder of the Jianzhou Right Guard was Möngke Temür's half-brother Fanca. It is unclear whether he may not the same person as Mentemu's ancestor, or it was just a mistake by the Manchus. The Jianzhou Left Guard fell into chaos in the early 16th century. In addition, Sibeoci Fiyanggū and Fuman seem to have been fictions because they did not appear in Chinese or Korean records. Maybe they were fabricated by the imperial family to claim its linkage to Möngke Temür.