Nurhaci - Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Information concerning Nurhaci can be found in later, propagandistic works such as the Manchu Veritable Records (in Chinese, Mǎnzhōu Shílù 滿洲實錄; in Manchu, Yargiyan kooli). Good contemporary sources are also available. For instance, much material concerning Nurhaci's rise is preserved within Korean sources such as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (Joseon Wangjo Sillok 朝鮮王朝實錄), especially the Seonjo Sillok and the Gwanghaegun Ilgi. Indeed, the record of Sin Chung-il's trip to Jianzhou is preserved in the Seonjo Sillok.

The original Manchu-language records from Nurhaci's reign also survive. A revised transcription of these records (with the dots and circles added to the script) was commissioned by the Qianlong emperor. This has been translated into Japanese, under the title Manbun roto, and Chinese, under the title Manwen Laodang (Chinese:满文老襠). A project is currently under way at Harvard to translate them into English, as The Old Manchu Chronicles.