Hung taiji

Hung Taiji (in Manchu transliteration; traditional Chinese: 皇太極, simplified Chinese: 皇太极, pinyin: Huáng Tàijí, often incorrectly called Abahai; 28 November 1592 – September 21, 1643) was the first emperor of the Qing dynasty, which after his death would go on to rule all of China.

His father Nurhaci had founded a unified state of the Jurchen peoples in what is now Northeast China, in what would later be called Manchuria in the West. Hung Taiji succeeded to the throne and was responsible for coining the term "Manchu" to create a new national identity. In addition, he had a writing system, based on Mongolian, adopted for the language of the Jurchen, which also came to be called Manchu. Alongside the creation of the Manchu national identity, Hung Taiji adopted the name Qīng (清, pure) for the dynasty from him.

He was made Khan in 1626, after Nurhaci's death. During his reign, the Manchus managed to expand their territory north of the Great Wall of China and consolidate their military supremacy in the area. In 1636 he proclaimed the start of the Great Qing and changed the name of his town to "Manchu," as it is known today. After passing away in 1643, Hung Taiji was succeeded by his ninth son, Fulin, who would become known as the Shunzhi Emperor, and under whose reign the Qing court would permanently move to Beijing.