Volume 1 Annals 1: Ancenstral Records

金之先，出靺鞨氏。靺鞨本號勿吉。勿吉，古肅慎地也。元魏時，勿吉有七部：曰粟末部、曰伯咄部、曰安車骨部、曰拂涅部、曰號室部、曰黑水部、曰白山部。隋稱靺鞨，而七部並同。唐初，有黑水靺鞨、粟末靺鞨，其五部無聞。粟末靺鞨始附高麗，姓大氏。李績破高麗，粟末靺鞨保東牟山。後爲渤海，稱王，傳十餘世。有文字、禮樂、官府、制度。有五京、十五府、六十二州。黑水靺鞨居肅慎地，東瀕海，南接高麗，亦附於高麗。嘗以兵十五萬衆助高麗拒唐太宗，敗于安市。開元中，來朝，置黑水府，以部長爲都督、刺史，置長史監之。賜都督姓李氏，名獻誠，領黑水經略使。其後渤海盛強，黑水役屬之，朝貢遂絕。五代時，契丹盡取渤海地，而黑水靺鞨附屬於契丹。其在南者籍契丹，號熟女直；其在北者不在契丹籍，號生女直。生女直地有混同江、長白山，混同江亦號黑龍江，所謂「白山黑水」是也。

The Jin dynasty traced its origins to the Mohe people. The Mohe had formerly been known as the Wuji. The Wuji inhabited the lands of ancient Sushen. Under the Northern Wei, the Wuji were divided into seven branches: Sumo, Boduo, Anchegu, Funie, Haoshi, Heishui, and Baishan. The Sui dynasty knew them as the Mohe, and these seven divisions endured unchanged. Early in the Tang period only the Heishui Mohe and the Sumo Mohe are recorded; the fate of the other five divisions is unknown. The Sumo Mohe initially allied with Goryeo and took the clan name Da. After Li Ji’s conquest of Goryeo, the Sumo Mohe withdrew to hold Dongmou Mountain. They later founded Bohai as a kingdom, which endured for more than ten generations. Their state possessed a written script, rites and music, an administrative apparatus, and formal institutions. Its realm comprised five capitals, fifteen prefectures, and sixty-two districts. The Heishui Mohe lived in the old Sushen lands, with the sea to their east and Goryeo to their south, and they too were subject to Goryeo. They once fielded one hundred fifty thousand warriors to help Goryeo resist Tang Taizong, only to be crushed at Anshi. During the Kaiyuan reign they sent tribute to the Tang court, which created the Heishui Prefecture, appointed tribal leaders as governors and prefects, and posted chief secretaries to oversee them. The Tang ennobled the governor with the surname Li and the personal name Xian-cheng, appointing him commissioner of the Heishui frontier circuit. When Bohai later rose to dominance, Heishui fell under its sway and tribute to the Tang came to an end. During the Five Dynasties the Khitan annexed the whole of Bohai, and the Heishui Mohe became subjects of the Khitan. Those in the south were entered on Khitan registers and were known as the “cooked” Jurchen; those in the north, not entered on Khitan registers, were called the “raw” Jurchen. The raw Jurchen homeland lay between the Huntong River and Changbai Mountain; the Huntong was also known as the Black Dragon River—the famed “White Mountain and Black Water.”

金之始祖諱函普，初從高麗來，年已六十餘矣。兄阿古乃好佛，留高麗不肯從，曰：「後世子孫必有能相聚者，吾不能去也。」獨與弟保活里俱。始祖居完顏部僕幹水之涯，保活里居耶懶。其後胡十門以曷蘇館歸太祖，自言其祖兄弟三人相別而去，蓋自謂阿古乃之後。石土門、迪古乃，保活里之裔也。及太祖敗遼兵於境上，獲耶律謝十，乃使梁福、斡荅刺招諭渤海人曰：「女直、渤海本同一家。」蓋其初皆勿吉之七部也。始祖至完顏部，居久之，其部人嘗殺它族之人，由是兩族交惡，哄鬥不能解。完顏部人謂始祖曰：「若能爲部人解此怨，使兩族不相殺，部有賢女，年六十而未嫁，當以相配，仍爲同部。」始祖曰：「諾。」乃自往諭之曰：「殺一人而鬥不解，損傷益多。曷若止誅首亂者一人，部內以物納償汝，可以無鬥，而且獲利焉。」怨家從之。乃爲約曰：「凡有殺傷人者，征其家人口一、馬十偶、牸牛十、黃金六兩，與所殺傷之家，即兩解，不得私鬥。」曰：「謹如約。」女直之俗，殺人償馬牛三十，自此始。既備償如約，部衆信服之，謝以青牛一，並許歸六十之婦。始祖乃以青牛爲聘禮而納之，並得其貲產。後生二男，長曰烏魯，次曰斡魯，一女曰注思板，遂爲完顏部人。天會十四年，追諡景元皇帝，廟號始祖。皇統四年，號其藏曰光陵。五年，增諡始祖懿憲景元皇帝。

The Jin founding ancestor, whose name was Hanpu, had first arrived from Goryeo when he was already past sixty. His elder brother Agu’nai was a devout Buddhist and stayed behind in Goryeo, refusing to accompany him. “Our descendants in ages to come will surely gather together again,” he said; “I cannot go with you.” Only he set out together with his younger brother Baohuoli. The founding ancestor settled on the banks of the Pugan River among the Wanyan tribe, while Baohuoli made his home at Yelang. Later, when Hu Shimen surrendered the Yisu Hall to Taizu, he said that his ancestors were three brothers who had separated and gone their own ways—thus claiming descent from Agu’nai. Shitumen and Digunai were of Baohuoli’s line. After Taizu routed the Liao army on the frontier and captured Yelü Xie-shi, he dispatched Liang Fu and Wodaci to proclaim to the Bohai people: “The Jurchen and the Bohai were originally one people.” In origin they had all belonged to the seven Wuji divisions. After the founding ancestor settled among the Wanyan tribe, some of its men killed a man from another clan; the two groups turned hostile and fought incessantly without resolution. The Wanyan people said to the founding ancestor: “If you can end this feud so our clans cease killing one another, there is an esteemed woman in our tribe, sixty years old and still unwed—we will give her to you in marriage and reckon you as one of us.” The founding ancestor replied: “Very well.” He went himself to counsel both sides: “Slay one man and the feud still will not end; the dead and wounded will only multiply. Why not put to death only the ringleader, and let the tribe pay the aggrieved party in goods? Fighting would cease, and you would gain besides.” The injured party agreed. He established a pact: “Whoever kills or injures another must pay the victim’s family one household member, ten teams of horses, ten cows, and six taels of gold; the matter is then settled and private vengeance is forbidden.” They answered: “We shall abide strictly by the pact.” Thus began the Jurchen custom of paying thirty horses and cattle as blood-price for a killing. Once the compensation was paid as agreed, the tribe trusted him; they presented a black ox in gratitude and also gave him the sixty-year-old woman in marriage. The founding ancestor accepted the black ox as betrothal gift and wed her, gaining her possessions along with her. She later bore two sons, Wulu and Walu, and a daughter named Zhusi-ban, and he was thereby enrolled among the Wanyan people. In the fourteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Jingyuan, with the temple name Shizu (Founding Ancestor). In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Guang Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Emperor Yixian Jingyuan.

子德帝，諱烏魯。天會十四年，追諡德皇帝。皇統四年，號其藏曰熙陵。五年，增諡淵穆玄德皇帝。

His son, the Virtuous Emperor, whose name was Wulu. In the fourteenth year of Tianhui he was posthumously titled the Virtuous Emperor. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was named Xi Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Emperor Yuanmu Xuande.

子安帝，諱跋海。天會十四年，追諡安皇帝。皇統四年，號其藏建陵。五年，增諡和靖慶安皇帝。

His son, the Peaceful Emperor, whose name was Bahai. In the fourteenth year of Tianhui he was posthumously titled the Peaceful Emperor. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Jian Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Emperor Hejing Qing’an.

子獻祖，諱綏可。黑水舊俗無室廬，負山水坎地，梁木其上，覆以土，夏則出隨水草以居，冬則入處其中，遷徙不常。獻祖乃徙居海古水，耕墾樹藝，始築室，有棟宇之制，人呼其地爲納葛里。納葛里者，漢語居室也。自此遂定居于安出虎水之側矣。天會十四年，追諡定昭皇帝，廟號獻祖。皇統四年，號其藏曰輝陵。五年，增諡獻祖純烈定昭皇帝。

His son, the Offering Ancestor, whose name was Shuike. In the old Heishui way there were no fixed dwellings: people set timbers against hillsides in hollows, roofed them with earth, ranged abroad in summer following pasture and water, and in winter lived inside these shelters, ever on the move. The Offering Ancestor relocated to the Haigu River, opened fields for cultivation, and for the first time erected framed dwellings; the place was called Nageli. Nageli means “dwelling” in Chinese—the name for a settled home. From that time they established a permanent settlement on the banks of the Anchuhu River. In the fourteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Dingzhao, with the temple name Xianzu (Offering Ancestor). In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was named Hui Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Offering Ancestor Emperor Chunlie Dingzhao.

子昭祖，諱石魯，剛毅質直。生女直無書契，無約束，不可檢制。昭祖欲稍立條教，諸父、部人皆不悅，欲坑殺之。已被執，叔父謝里忽知部衆將殺昭祖，曰：「吾兄子，賢人也，必能承家，安輯部衆，此輩奈何輒欲坑殺之！」亟往，彎弓注矢射於衆中，劫執者皆散走，昭祖乃得免。昭祖稍以條教爲治，部落浸強。遼以惕隱官之。諸部猶以舊俗，不肯用條教。昭祖耀武至於青嶺、白山，順者撫之，不從者討伐之，入于蘇濱、耶懶之地，所至克捷，還經僕燕水。僕燕，漢語惡瘡也。昭祖惡其地名，雖已困憊，不肯止。行至姑里甸，得疾。迨夜，寢於村舍。有盜至，遂中夜啟行，至逼剌紀村止焉。是夕，卒。載柩而行，遇賊于路，奪柩去。部衆追賊與戰，復得柩。加古部人蒲虎復來襲之，垂及，蒲虎問諸路人曰：「石魯柩去此幾何？」其人曰：「遠矣，追之不及也。」蒲虎遂止。於是乃得歸葬焉。生女直之俗，至昭祖時稍用條教，民頗聽從，尚未有文字，無官府，不知歲月晦朔，是以年壽修短莫得而考焉。天會十五年，追諡成襄皇帝，廟號昭祖。皇統四年，藏號安陵。五年，增諡昭祖武惠成襄皇帝。

His son, the Bright Ancestor, named Shilu, was stern, resolute, and unadorned in nature. The raw Jurchen kept no written records and observed no fixed laws; they could scarcely be governed at all. The Bright Ancestor sought gradually to impose basic regulations; the tribal elders were displeased and plotted to kill him. Once he was seized, his uncle Shelihu, hearing that the tribe meant to execute the Bright Ancestor, cried out: “He is my brother’s son—a man of talent who can sustain our line and settle the tribe. How dare you think to murder him!” He rushed forward, strung his bow, and loosed arrows into the throng; his captors fled in all directions, and the Bright Ancestor escaped death. As the Bright Ancestor slowly imposed order through regulations, the tribe steadily grew in strength. The Liao court invested him with the office of tiyin. Other tribes still clung to their old ways and refused to submit to his regulations. The Bright Ancestor campaigned as far as Qing Ridge and White Mountain: he won over the compliant and chastised the defiant, advancing into Subin and Yelang and prevailing wherever he struck; on the homeward march he crossed the Puyan River. Puyan means “festering sores” in Chinese—a name he found ill-omened. Though his men were spent, he would not halt in that inauspiciously named place. Reaching Guli Ford, he fell gravely ill. As night fell he took shelter in a village dwelling. Thieves appeared, and at midnight he broke camp again, stopping at Bila Village. He died that same night. As the coffin was borne homeward, bandits waylaid the procession and carried it off. The tribe pursued, fought the robbers, and won the coffin back. Puhu of the Jagü tribe attacked once more; as he drew near, he asked travelers on the road: “How far ahead is Shilu’s coffin?” Someone answered: “It is far ahead; you cannot catch up.” Puhu thereupon gave up the pursuit. At last they were able to bring the coffin home and bury him. Among the Jurchen it was only from the Bright Ancestor’s day that tribal regulations took hold and the people largely obeyed; writing, offices, and the reckoning of months and years were still unknown—so the length of their lives cannot be determined. In the fifteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Chengxiang, with the temple name Zhaozu (Bright Ancestor). In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated An Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Bright Ancestor Emperor Wuhui Chengxiang.

子景祖，諱烏古乃。遼太平元年辛酉歲生。自始祖至此，已六世矣。景祖稍役屬諸部，自白山、耶悔、統門、耶懶、土骨論之屬，以至五國之長，皆聽命。是時，遼之邊民有逃而歸者。及遼以兵徙鐵勒、烏惹之民，鐵勒、烏惹多不肯徙，亦逃而來歸。遼使曷魯林牙將兵來索逋逃之民。景祖恐遼兵深入，盡得山川道路險易，或將圖之，乃以計止之曰：「兵若深入，諸部必驚擾，變生不測，逋戶亦不可得，非計也。」曷魯以爲然，遂止其軍，與曷魯自行索之。是時，鄰部雖稍從，孩懶水烏林答部石顯尚拒阻不服。攻之，不克。景祖以計告於遼主，遼主遣使責讓石顯。石顯乃遣其子婆諸刊入朝，遼主厚賜遣還。其後石顯與婆諸刊入見遼主於春蒐。遼主乃留石顯於邊地，而遣婆諸刊還所部。景祖之謀也。既而五國蒲聶部節度使拔乙門叛遼，鷹路不通。遼人將討之，先遣同幹來諭旨。景祖曰：「可以計取。若用兵，彼將走保險阻，非歲月可平也。」遼人從之。蓋景祖終畏遼兵之入其境也，故自以爲功。於是景祖陽與拔乙門爲好，而以妻子爲質，襲而擒之，獻於遼主。遼主召見於寢殿，燕賜加等，以爲生女直部族節度使。遼人呼節度使爲太師，金人稱都太師者自此始。遼主將刻印與之，景祖不肯系遼籍，辭曰：「請俟他日。」遼主終欲與之，遣使來。景祖詭使部人揚言曰：「主公若受印系籍，部人必殺之！」用是以拒之，遼使乃還。既爲節度使，有官屬，紀綱漸立矣。生女直舊無鐵，鄰國有以甲胄來鬻者，傾貲厚賈以與貿易，亦令昆弟族人皆售之。得鐵既多，因之以修弓矢，備器械，兵勢稍振，前後願附者衆。斡泯水蒲察部、泰神忒保水完顏部、統門水溫蒂痕部、神隱水完顏部，皆相繼來附。

His son, the Accomplished Ancestor, whose name was Wugu. He was born in the xinyou year, the first year of Liao Taiping (1081). From the founding ancestor to his time, six generations had elapsed. The Accomplished Ancestor gradually subordinated the surrounding tribes: from White Mountain, Yehui, Tongmen, Yelang, and Tugulun to the chiefs of the Five States—all came under his authority. About this time Liao subjects on the frontier fled Liao rule and came over to the Jurchen. When the Liao sought to relocate the Tiele and Wunü by force, many refused to move and fled to the Jurchen instead. The Liao dispatched the Yelu Helin ya at the head of an army to reclaim the fugitives. The Accomplished Ancestor feared that a deep Liao incursion would expose every mountain pass, river, and road to them and invite future designs against him; he therefore dissuaded them, saying: “If your army pushes deep into our country, the tribes will panic and unforeseen troubles will arise—you will recover no fugitives, and the venture is unwise.” Helin agreed, held back his main force, and went with the Accomplished Ancestor in person to hunt down the fugitives. Though neighboring tribes were gradually coming under his sway, Shixian of the Hailan River Wulinzha tribe still held out in defiance. An attack failed to subdue him. The Accomplished Ancestor laid his plan before the Liao emperor, who sent envoys to reprimand Shixian. Shixian thereupon sent his son Pojukan to the Liao court, where the emperor lavished gifts upon him and sent him home. Later Shixian and Pojukan attended the Liao emperor at the spring hunt. The Liao emperor detained Shixian on the frontier while sending Pojukan back to his people. All of this was the Accomplished Ancestor’s design. Soon afterward Bayimen, commissioner of the Punie tribe among the Five States, rebelled against the Liao, severing the hawk-tribute route. As the Liao prepared to punish him, they first dispatched Tonggan to convey the court’s orders. The Accomplished Ancestor said: “He can be seized by stratagem. If you march against him, he will flee into mountain fastnesses and cannot be subdued in mere months.” The Liao accepted this counsel. The Accomplished Ancestor had always dreaded a Liao invasion of his lands, and so he claimed the stratagem as his own achievement. He feigned friendship with Bayimen, left his wife and children as hostages, then struck and seized him and delivered him to the Liao emperor. The Liao emperor received him in the private hall, feasted him with exceptional honors, and appointed him military commissioner over the raw Jurchen tribes. The Liao styled a military commissioner “Grand Master”; from this time the Jin began to use the title “Grand Master of the Capital.” When the Liao emperor prepared to cast a seal and enroll him on the Liao registers, the Accomplished Ancestor refused, saying: “Let that wait for another day.” The emperor still insisted on granting the seal and sent envoys again. He secretly had his people spread the rumor: “If our lord accepts the seal and enters the Liao registers, the tribe will kill him!” On this pretext he declined, and the Liao envoys withdrew. As military commissioner he acquired a staff, and governmental order was gradually established. The raw Jurchen had long lacked iron; when neighbors offered armor for sale, he poured out his wealth to buy it and had kinsmen trade theirs as well. With iron in abundance he forged bows and arrows and stocked arms; his forces grew stronger, and tribes submitted to him in growing numbers. The Pucha on the Womin, the Wanyan on the Taishen-tebao, the Wendihan on the Tongmen, and another Wanyan branch on the Shenyin all submitted in turn.

景祖爲人寬恕，能容物，平生不見喜慍。推財與人，分食解衣，無所吝惜。人或忤之，亦不念。先時，有叛去者，遣人諭誘之。叛者曰：「汝主，活羅也。活羅，吾能獲之，吾豈能爲活羅屈哉！」活羅，漢語慈烏也。北方有之，狀如大雞，善啄物，見馬牛橐駝脊間有瘡，啄其脊間食之，馬牛輒死，若饑不得食，雖砂石亦食之。景祖嗜酒好色，飲啖過人，時人呼曰活羅，故彼以此訕之，亦不以介意。其後訕者力屈來降，厚賜遣還。曷懶水有率衆降者，錄其歲月姓名，即遣去，俾復其故。人以此益信服之。遼鹹雍八年，五國沒拈部謝野勃堇叛遼，鷹路不通。景祖伐之，謝野來禦。景祖被重鎧，率衆力戰。謝野兵敗，走拔里邁濼。時方十月，冰忽解，謝野不能軍，衆皆潰去，乃旋師。道中遇逋亡，要遮險阻，晝夜拒戰，比至部已憊。即往見遼邊將達魯骨，自陳敗謝野功。行次來流水，未見達魯骨，疾作而復，卒於家，年五十四。天會十四年，追諡惠桓皇帝，廟號景祖。皇統四年，藏號定陵。五年，增諡景祖英烈惠桓皇帝。

The Accomplished Ancestor was magnanimous and forbearing; in all his days he was never seen to show joy or anger. He gave away his goods freely, shared his food, and even parted with his clothing without stint. Those who wronged him he did not hold to account. When men had once rebelled and fled, he sent envoys to coax them home. One deserter replied: “Your master is a Huoluo. A Huoluo—I can snare one myself. Why should I submit to a Huoluo!” Huoluo means “benevolent crow” in Chinese. Found in the north, it is the size of a large fowl and a relentless scavenger: it pecks at sores on horses, cattle, and camels until the beasts die; in famine it will devour even sand and gravel. The Accomplished Ancestor loved wine and women and out-ate and out-drank all others; contemporaries nicknamed him Huoluo, and his enemies mocked him with the name—yet he was unperturbed. When the taunter’s strength was broken, he submitted and was richly rewarded and sent home. When a Halian River chief surrendered with his followers, he recorded names and dates, then sent them back to their former standing. The people’s faith in him deepened accordingly. In the eighth year of Liao Xianyong, Chief Xieye of the Monian tribe among the Five States rebelled, once again blocking the hawk-tribute route. The Accomplished Ancestor marched against him; Xieye met him in battle. Clad in heavy armor, the Accomplished Ancestor led his warriors in hard fighting. Xieye was defeated and fled toward the Boli Marsh. Though it was only the tenth month, the ice thawed without warning; Xieye could not hold his army together, his troops scattered, and the Jurchen withdrew. On the homeward march fugitives blocked the defiles and fought day and night; when they reached home the army was spent. He went at once to the Liao frontier commander Dalugu to report his defeat of Xieye. On the march at Laishui River, before he could reach Dalugu, his illness returned; he died at home, aged fifty-four. In the fourteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Huihuan, with the temple name Jingzu. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Ding Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Accomplished Ancestor Emperor Yinglie Huihuan.

第二子襲節度使，是爲世祖，諱劾里缽。生女直之俗，生子年長即異居。景祖九子，元配唐括氏生劾者，次世祖，次劾孫，次肅宗，次穆宗。及當異居，景祖曰：「劾者柔和，可治家務。劾里缽有器量智識，何事不成。劾孫亦柔善人耳。」乃命劾者與世祖同居，劾孫與肅宗同居。景祖卒，世祖繼之。世祖卒，肅宗繼之。肅宗卒，穆宗繼之。穆宗復傳世祖之子，至於太祖，竟登大位焉。世祖，遼重熙八年己卯歲生。遼鹹雍十年，襲節度使。景祖異母弟跋黑有異志，世祖慮其爲變，加意事之，不使將兵，但爲部長。跋黑遂誘桓赧、散達、烏春、窩謀罕爲亂，及間諸部使貳于世祖。世祖猶欲撫慰之，語在跋黑、桓赧等傳中。世祖嘗買加古部鍛工烏不屯被甲九十，烏春欲托此以爲兵端，世祖還其甲，語在《烏春傳》。部中有流言曰：「欲生則附于跋黑，欲死則附於劾里缽、頗剌淑。」世祖聞之，疑焉。無以察之，乃佯爲具裝，欲有所往者，陰遣人揚言曰：「寇至！」部衆聞者莫知虛實，有保于跋黑之室者，有保于世祖之室者，世祖乃盡得兄弟部屬向背彼此之情矣。

His second son inherited the commissionership—this was the World Ancestor, whose name was Helibo. Among the Jurchen, grown sons customarily established separate households. The Accomplished Ancestor had nine sons. His principal wife of the Tangut clan bore Hezhe, then the World Ancestor, Hesun, the Solemn Ancestor, and the Mournful Ancestor. When they were to divide households, the Accomplished Ancestor said: “Hezhe is mild and fit to manage the home. Helibo has judgment and foresight; what task could he not achieve? Hesun is likewise a gentle and upright man.” He ordered Hezhe to remain with the World Ancestor and Hesun with the Solemn Ancestor. When the Accomplished Ancestor died, the World Ancestor took his place. When the World Ancestor died, the Solemn Ancestor succeeded him. When the Solemn Ancestor died, the Mournful Ancestor succeeded him. The Mournful Ancestor then passed leadership to the World Ancestor’s line, until Taizu finally claimed the imperial throne. The World Ancestor was born in the jimao year of Liao Chongxi’s eighth year (1039). In the tenth year of Liao Xianyong he inherited the military commissionership. The Accomplished Ancestor’s half-brother Bahei nursed rebellious designs; the World Ancestor, fearing revolt, treated him with unusual deference, never entrusting him with troops but only making him a tribal chief. Bahei incited Huanran, Sandá, Wuchun, and Womouhan to rise in revolt and worked among the tribes to turn them against the World Ancestor. The World Ancestor still sought to conciliate them; the full account appears in the biographies of Bahei, Huanran, and the rest. The World Ancestor once purchased ninety suits of armor from Wubutun, an armorer of the Jagü tribe; Wuchun tried to turn this into a casus belli, but the World Ancestor returned the armor—the story is told in the “Biography of Wuchun.” A saying circulated in the tribe: “Want to live—follow Bahei; want to die—follow Helibo and Pilashi.” The World Ancestor heard this and grew uneasy. Unable to test loyalties openly, he feigned a muster for campaign and secretly spread the alarm: “Enemies are upon us!” The tribesmen could not tell rumor from reality; some fled to Bahei’s house, others to the World Ancestor’s—and so he learned exactly who stood with whom among brothers, clans, and followers.

間數年，烏春來攻，世祖拒之。時十月已半，大雨累晝夜，冰澌覆地，烏春不能進。既而悔曰：「此天也！」乃引兵去。烏春舍于阿里矮村滓不乃家，而以兵圍其弟勝昆于胡不村。兵退，勝昆執其兄滓不乃，而請蒞殺于世祖，且請免其孥戮。從之。桓赧、散達亦舉兵，遣肅宗拒之。當是時，烏春兵在北，桓赧兵在南，其勢甚盛。戒之曰：「可和則與之和，否則決戰！」肅宗兵敗。會烏春以久雨解去，世祖乃以偏師涉舍很水，經貼割水，覆桓赧、散達之家。明日，大霧晦冥，失道，至婆多吐水乃覺。即還至舍很、貼割之間，升高阜望之，見六騎來，大呼，馳擊之。世祖射一人斃，生獲五人，問之，乃知卜灰、撒骨出使助恆赧、散達者也。世祖至桓赧、散達所居，焚蕩其室家。殺百許人，舊將主保亦死之。比世祖還，與肅宗會，肅宗兵又敗矣。世祖讓肅宗失利之狀。遣人議和，桓赧、散達曰：「以爾盈歌之大赤馬、辭不失之紫騮馬與我，我則和。」二馬皆女直名馬，不許。

Some years later Wuchun attacked, and the World Ancestor met him in arms. It was mid-autumn; rain fell day and night until the ground was sheeted in slush ice, and Wuchun’s army could not advance. Wuchun then exclaimed in regret: “This is Heaven’s will!” and withdrew his forces. Wuchun quartered at Zibunai’s house in Ali’ai Village while his army besieged his younger brother Shengkun at Hubu Village. After the retreat Shengkun seized his brother Zibunai and asked leave to bring him before the World Ancestor for execution, begging that the rest of the family be spared. The World Ancestor agreed. Huanran and Sandá also took up arms; the World Ancestor sent the Solemn Ancestor against them. Wuchun threatened from the north and Huanran from the south; their combined strength was formidable. He instructed him: “Treat for peace if possible; otherwise fight it out!” The Solemn Ancestor was defeated. After Wuchun withdrew in the rains, the World Ancestor led a detachment across the Shehan and Tiege rivers and ravaged the homes of Huanran and Sandá. The next day a dense fog blinded them; they lost their way and only found their bearings at the Potuotuo River. Marching back between the Shehan and Tiege, they climbed a height and sighted six horsemen; they shouted and galloped to intercept them. The World Ancestor shot one dead and took five alive; they proved to be Buhui and Saguchu, envoys sent to assist Huanran and Sandá. He reached the settlements of Huanran and Sandá and burned them to the ground. About a hundred men were killed, including the veteran chief Zhuba. On his return he joined the Solemn Ancestor—only to learn that his army had been beaten again. The World Ancestor rebuked the Solemn Ancestor for the loss. Envoys were sent to treat for peace; Huanran and Sandá demanded: “Give us Yingge’s great red stallion and Cibushi’s purple bay, and we will make peace.” Both were famed Jurchen horses; the World Ancestor refused.

桓赧、散達大會諸部來攻，過裴滿部，以其附于世祖也，縱火焚之。蒲察部沙祇勃堇、胡補答勃堇使阿喜來告難，世祖使之詭從以自全，曰：「戰則以旗鼓自別。」世祖往禦桓赧之衆，將行，有報者曰：「跋黑食於愛妾之父家，肉脹咽死矣！」乃遣肅宗求援於遼，遂率衆出。使辭不失取海姑兄弟兵，已而乃知海姑兄弟貳於桓赧矣。欲並取其衆，徑至海姑。偵者報曰：「敵已至。」將戰，世祖戒辭不失曰：「汝先陣於脫豁改原，待吾三揚旗，三鳴鼓，即棄旗決戰。死生惟在今日，命不足惜！」使裴滿胡喜牽大紫騮馬以爲貳馬，馳至陣。時桓赧、散達盛強，世祖軍吏未戰而懼，皆植立無人色。世祖陽陽如平常，亦無責讓之言，但令士卒解甲少憩，以水沃面，調蒨水飲之。有頃，訓勵之，軍勢復振。乃避衆獨引穆宗，執其手密與之言曰：「今日之事，若勝則已，萬一有不勝，吾必無生。汝今介馬遙觀，勿預戰事。若我死，汝勿收吾骨，勿顧戀親戚，亟馳馬奔告汝兄頗剌淑，於遼系籍受印，乞師以報此仇！」語畢，袒袖，不被甲，以縕袍垂襴護前後心，韔弓提劍，三揚旗，三鳴鼓，棄旗搏戰，身爲軍鋒，突入敵陣，衆從之。辭不失從後奮擊，大敗之。乘勝逐之，自阿不彎至於北隘甸，死者如僕麻，破多吐水水爲之赤，棄車甲馬牛軍實盡獲之。世祖曰：「今日之捷，非天不能及此，亦可以知足矣。雖縱之去，敗軍之氣，沒世不振。」乃引軍還。世祖視其戰地，馳突成大路，闊且三十隴。手殺九人，自相重積，人皆異之。桓赧、散達自此不能復聚，未幾，各以其屬來降，遼大安七年也。

Huanran and Sandá mustered the tribes and marched; passing the Puman tribe, which had sided with the World Ancestor, they put it to the torch. Chiefs Shazhi of the Pucha and Hubuda of the Hupuda sent Axi to plead for help; the World Ancestor bade him feign compliance to survive, saying: “In the fight, mark yourselves by flags and drums.” As he prepared to meet Huanran’s army, word came: “Bahei, feasting at his concubine’s father’s house, has choked to death on a swelling in his throat!” He dispatched the Solemn Ancestor to seek Liao aid and took the field. He ordered Cibushi to bring the Haigu brothers’ warriors, only to learn they had already gone over to Huanran. Intending to seize their forces as well, he marched straight for Haigu. Scouts reported: “The enemy is upon us.” Before the clash he charged Cibushi: “Hold the van at Tuohuogai Plain; when I raise my banner thrice and sound the drum thrice, cast down your banner and charge. Life or death turns on this day—hold nothing back!” He had the Puman Hu Xi lead the great purple bay as a reserve mount and rode to the front. Huanran and Sandá were at the zenith of their strength; the World Ancestor’s officers had not yet crossed spears and already stood pale and rigid with fear. The World Ancestor seemed as serene as on any ordinary day and spoke no rebuke, only bidding the men doff their armor, rest briefly, wash their faces, and drink diluted madder water. After a time he rallied them, and their spirit returned. He drew the Mournful Ancestor apart, took his hand, and whispered: “If we win today, all is well; if we should lose, I will not live. Take a horse apart and watch from a distance—do not enter the fight. If I fall, do not collect my bones or tarry for kin—ride at once to your brother Pilashi, enter the Liao registers, accept their seal, and beg an army to avenge this defeat!” He bared his arms, wore no armor, shielded his chest with a padded robe, slung his bow and drew his sword, thrice raised his banner, thrice sounded the drum, cast the banner down and charged at the head of the army into the enemy line, and his warriors followed. Cibushi fell upon them from behind, and the enemy was utterly routed. They pressed the rout from Abuwan to Beiai Plain, where corpses piled like cut hemp; at Poduo Tushui the stream ran red, and every abandoned cart, suit of armor, horse, ox, and store of war booty fell into their hands. The World Ancestor said: “This day’s triumph could not have come but for Heaven; we have reason enough to be content. Even were we to let them escape, a broken army would never rise again in their lifetimes.” With that he withdrew his forces. The World Ancestor looked over the field of battle, where repeated charges had trampled a broad track some thirty ridges wide. He had personally slain nine men, their bodies heaped together—a feat that astonished all who saw it. Huanran and Sandá never again mustered their strength; within a short time each surrendered with his followers, in the seventh year of Liao Da’an.

初，桓赧兄弟之變，不术魯部卜灰、蒲察部撒骨出助之。至是，招之，不肯和。卜灰之党石魯遂殺卜灰來降。撒骨出追躡亡者，道傍人潛射之，中口而死。自是舊部悉歸。景祖時，斡勒部人杯乃來屬，及是，有他志。會其家失火，因以縱火誣歡部，世祖征償如約。杯乃不自安，遂結烏春、窩謀罕舉兵。使肅宗與戰，敗之，獲杯乃，世祖獻之於遼。臘醅、麻產侵掠野居女直，略來流水牧馬。世祖擊之，中四創，久之疾愈。臘醅等復略穆宗牧馬，交結諸部。世祖復伐之，臘醅等紿降，乃旋。臘醅得姑里甸兵百十有七人，據暮稜水守險，石顯子婆諸刊亦在其中。世祖圍而克之，盡獲姑里甸兵。麻產遁去。遂擒臘醅及婆諸刊，皆獻之遼。既已，復請之，遼人與之，並以前後所獻罪人歸之。歡都在破烏春等於斜堆，故石、拔石皆就擒。世祖自將與歡都合兵嶺東，諸軍皆至。是時，烏春已前死，窩謀罕請於遼，願和解。既與和，復來襲，乃進軍圍之。窩謀罕棄城遁去。破其城，盡俘獲之，以功差次分賜諸軍。城始破，議渠長生殺，衆皆長跪，遼使者在坐。忽一人佩長刀突前咫尺，謂世祖曰：「勿殺我！」遼使及左右皆走匿。世祖色不少動，執其人之手，語之曰：「吾不殺汝也。」於是罰左右匿者，曰：「汝等何敢失次耶？」罰既已，乃徐使執突前者殺之。其膽勇鎮物如此。

When Huanran and his brothers had first risen, Buhui of the Bushilu tribe and Saguchu of the Pucha tribe had supported them. Now they were called to submit, but would not accept peace. Shilu, one of Buhui’s partisans, slew Buhui and came over in submission. Saguchu gave chase to the fugitives; someone hidden by the road shot him through the mouth, and he fell dead. Thereafter every former follower came back into the fold. In the Accomplished Ancestor’s day Beinai of the Wanyan tribe had submitted; now he turned disloyal. After fire broke out at his home, he blamed the Huan tribe for setting it; the World Ancestor marched to collect the indemnity owed by custom. Beinai, ill at ease, allied with Wuchun and Womouhan and took up arms. He dispatched the Solemn Ancestor against them, routed them, seized Beinai, and the World Ancestor delivered him to the Liao court. Lapei and Machan plundered the wild Jurchen and carried off horses grazing along Laishui River. The World Ancestor attacked them, took four wounds, and only after a long convalescence recovered. Lapei and his allies again rustled the Mournful Ancestor’s horses and won over other tribes. The World Ancestor marched against them again; Lapei and his men pretended to submit, and he turned back. Lapei gathered one hundred seventeen warriors from Guli-dian, seized the heights at Muleng River, and Shi Xian’s son Pozhukan was in their ranks. The World Ancestor invested the position, broke it, and took every Guli-dian fighter captive. Machan escaped. He then captured Lapei and Pozhukan and sent them both to the Liao as prisoners. Later he asked the Liao to return them; the Liao complied, sending back these men along with every offender previously delivered to them. Huandu’s victory over Wuchun and his allies at Xiedui also brought Gu Shi and Ba Shi into captivity. The World Ancestor took command in person and united with Huandu east of the ridge; every contingent came up. By then Wuchun was already dead; Womouhan appealed to the Liao, seeking reconciliation. Hardly had peace been settled when he struck again; the Jurchen army marched forward and laid siege to him. Womouhan deserted the city and fled. They stormed the city, took everyone captive, and divided the spoils among the troops by rank of service. As the city fell, they debated putting the chieftain to death; the whole assembly knelt in ranks while a Liao envoy looked on. Suddenly a man with a long sword at his belt burst forward to arm’s length and cried to the World Ancestor: “Spare my life!” The Liao envoy and the World Ancestor’s attendants scattered in panic. The World Ancestor did not so much as flinch; he seized the man’s hand and said: “I will not take your life.” He then punished the attendants who had fled, saying: “How dare you abandon your posts?” Once discipline had been restored, he calmly ordered the intruder taken and executed. Such was the steadiness with which his courage imposed order on those around him.

師還，寢疾，遂篤。元娶拏懶氏哭不止，世祖曰：「汝勿哭，汝惟後我一歲耳。」肅宗請後事，曰：「汝惟後我三年。」肅宗出，謂人曰：「吾兄至此，亦不與我好言。」乃叩地而哭。俄呼穆宗謂曰：「烏雅束柔善，若辦集契丹事，阿骨打能之。」遼大安八年五月十五日卒。襲位十九年，年五十四。明年，拏懶氏卒。又明年，肅宗卒。肅宗病篤，歎曰：「我兄真多智哉！」世祖天性嚴重，有智識，一見必識，暫聞不忘。凝寒不縮栗，動止不回顧。每戰未嘗被甲，先以夢兆候其勝負。嘗乘醉騎驢入室中，明日見驢足跡，問而知之，自是不復飲酒。襲位之初，內外潰叛，締交爲寇。世祖乃因敗爲功，變弱爲強。既破桓赧、散達、烏春、窩謀罕，基業自此大矣。天會十五年，追諡聖肅皇帝，廟號世祖。皇統四年，號其藏曰永陵。五年，增諡世祖神武聖肅皇帝。

On the homeward march he fell bedridden; his illness swiftly turned grave. His chief wife of the Nalan clan would not stop weeping; the World Ancestor said: “Weep no more—you will outlive me by only one year.” The Solemn Ancestor asked what lay ahead; he answered: “You will outlive me by only three years.” Leaving the chamber, the Solemn Ancestor told others: “Even now my brother will not grant me a kind word.” Then he bowed his head to the earth and wept. He soon called for the Mournful Ancestor and said: “Wuyashu is mild and trustworthy; when Khitan business must be handled, Aguda can manage it.” He died on the fifteenth day of the fifth month in the eighth year of Liao Da’an. He had ruled nineteen years and was fifty-four at his death. The following year the Nalan consort died. In the next year the Solemn Ancestor too passed away. On his deathbed the Solemn Ancestor sighed: “My brother was farseeing indeed!” The World Ancestor was by nature austere and weighty, keen of mind; faces seen once he never forgot, and words heard in passing he retained. He did not tremble in freezing cold, and he never glanced over his shoulder as he moved. He never donned armor in battle, trusting first to dream-omens for victory or defeat. Once, in his cups, he rode a donkey indoors; finding its tracks the next morning, he questioned his household, learned what he had done, and never drank again. When he first took power, rebellion erupted at home and abroad, and former allies became foes. The World Ancestor turned reverses into triumph and weakness into power. After breaking Huanran, Sandá, Wuchun, and Womouhan, the house’s foundation was secure and its power greatly enlarged. In the fifteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Shengsu and the temple name Shizu. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Yong Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to World Ancestor Emperor Shenwu Shengsu.

母弟頗剌淑襲節度使，景祖第四子也，是爲肅宗。遼重熙十一年壬午歲生。在父兄時號國相。國相之稱不知始何時。初，雅達爲國相。雅達者，桓赧、散達之父也。景祖以幣馬求之于雅達，而命肅宗爲之。肅宗自幼機敏善辯。當其兄時，身居國相，盡心匡輔。是時，叔父跋黑有異志，及桓赧、散達、烏春、窩謀罕、石顯父子、臘醅、麻產作難，用兵之際，肅宗屢當一面。尤能知遼人國政人情。凡有遼事，一切委之肅宗專心焉。凡白事於遼官，皆令遠跪陳辭，譯者傳致之，往往爲譯者錯亂。肅宗欲得自前委曲言之，故先不以實告譯者。譯者惑之，不得已，引之前，使自言。乃以草木瓦石爲籌，枚數其事而陳之。官吏聽者皆愕然，問其故，則爲卑辭以對曰：「鄙陋無文，故如此。」官吏以爲實然，不復疑之，是以所訴無不如意。

His younger brother by the same mother, Pilashi, inherited the military commissionership; the Accomplished Ancestor’s fourth son, he is known as the Solemn Ancestor. He was born in the renwu year of the eleventh year of Liao Chongxi (1042). While his father and elder brothers still ruled, he was known as State Chancellor. When the office of State Chancellor originated is unknown. Yada had been State Chancellor before him. Yada was Huanran and Sandá’s father. The Accomplished Ancestor exchanged silks and horses with Yada for the post and installed the Solemn Ancestor as State Chancellor. From boyhood the Solemn Ancestor was sharp and eloquent. During his elder brother’s reign he served as State Chancellor and gave himself entirely to counsel and support. His uncle Bahei then nursed rebellious designs; when Huanran, Sandá, Wuchun, Womouhan, Shi Xian and his son, Lapei, and Machan rose in revolt, the Solemn Ancestor repeatedly commanded a wing of the army by himself. Above all he understood Liao politics and the temper of its people. Every affair touching the Liao was entrusted entirely to the Solemn Ancestor. Petitioners before Liao officials were required to kneel far off and speak through interpreters, who often mangled what was said. Wishing to speak for himself in full detail, the Solemn Ancestor deliberately withheld the facts from the interpreters. Baffled, the interpreters at last brought him forward and let him address the court directly. He laid out stalks, pebbles, and shards as counters and, tallying each point in turn, stated his case. The officials stared in amazement; when they asked why, he answered humbly: “I am unlettered and rough, and so must speak in this way.” Taking this for sincerity, they ceased to suspect him, and thereafter every plea he brought won its desired outcome.

桓赧、散達之戰，部人賽罕死之，其弟活羅陰懷忿怨。一日，忽以劍脊置肅宗項上曰：「吾兄爲汝輩死矣！剄汝以償，則如之何？」久之，因其兄柩至，遂怒而攻習不出，習不出走避之。攻肅宗於家，矢注次室之裙，著於門扉。復攻歡都，歡都衷甲拒於室中，既不能入，持其門旃而去，往附杯乃。杯乃誘烏春兵度嶺，世祖與遇于蘇素海甸。世祖曰：「予昔有異夢，今不可親戰。若左軍中有力戰者，則大功成矣！」命肅宗及斜列、辭不失與之戰。肅宗下馬，名呼世祖，復自呼其名而言曰：「若天助我當爲衆部長，則今日之事神祇監之。」語畢再拜。遂炷火束縕。頃之，大風自後起，火益熾。是時八月，並青草皆焚之，煙焰漲天。我軍隨煙衝擊，大敗之。遂獲杯乃，囚而獻諸遼。並獲活羅，肅宗釋其罪，左右任使之，後竟得其力焉。

In the campaign against Huanran and Sandá, the tribesman Saihan was killed; his younger brother Huoluo nursed a private grudge. One day he set the flat of his blade against the Solemn Ancestor’s neck and cried: “My brother died for your sake! If I slit your throat in payment, what of it?” Some time later, when his brother’s bier arrived, he flew into a rage and attacked Xi Buchu, who fled to escape him. He assaulted the Solemn Ancestor’s house; one arrow pinned the hem of an inner room’s curtain to the doorframe. He next attacked Huandu, who armored himself and held the room; failing to break in, he tore down the door banner and went over to Beinai. Beinai drew Wuchun’s army over the ridge; the World Ancestor intercepted them at Sushuhai Plain. The World Ancestor said: “I once had an ominous dream; today I must not enter the fight myself. If someone on the left wing fights with all his strength, the day will be ours!” He sent the Solemn Ancestor, Xielie, and Cibushi to give battle. The Solemn Ancestor dismounted, invoked the World Ancestor by name, then his own, and declared: “If Heaven intends me as chief of all the tribes, let the spirits witness this day.” Having spoken, he bowed twice. He then set a bundle of kindling ablaze. Soon a strong wind rose at their backs and the flames leapt higher. It was the eighth month; the blaze consumed even the green grass, and smoke and fire blotted out the sky. The Jurchen army charged through the smoke and routed the enemy completely. They seized Beinai, bound him, and delivered him to the Liao. Huoluo was taken as well; the Solemn Ancestor forgave him, kept him close, and put him to use—and in time he repaid the trust.

大安八年，自國相襲位。是時，麻產尚據直屋鎧水，繕完營堡，誘納亡命。招之，不聽，遣康宗伐之。太祖別軍取麻產家屬，錡釜無遺。既獲麻產，殺之，獻馘於遼。陶溫水民來附。二年癸酉，遣太祖以偏師伐泥厖古部帥水抹離海村跋黑、播立開，平之，自是寇賊皆息。三年八月，肅宗卒。天會十五年，追諡穆憲皇帝。皇統四年，藏號泰陵。五年，增諡肅宗明睿穆憲皇帝。

In the eighth year of Da’an he succeeded to rule from the post of State Chancellor. Machan still held Zhiwu Kai River, rebuilt his camps and strongholds, and welcomed runaways to his banner. When summoned he refused submission; Kang Zong was sent to attack him. Taizu led a detached force against Machan’s household and stripped it bare, not a pot left behind. Machan was taken and executed, and his head was sent to the Liao as tribute. The Taowen River tribes submitted. In the second year (1093), Taizu was sent with a detached column against Baghei and Bolikai, chiefs of the Nimogugu at Shuimoli Haicun; both were subdued, and raiding ceased thereafter. In the eighth month of the third year the Solemn Ancestor died. In the fifteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Muxian. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Tai Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Solemn Ancestor Emperor Mingrui Muxian.

母弟穆宗，諱盈歌，字烏魯完，景祖第五子也。南人稱揚割太師，又曰揚割追諡孝平皇帝，號穆宗，又曰揚割號仁祖。金代無號仁祖者，穆宗諱盈歌，諡孝平，「盈」近「揚」，「歌」近「割」，南北音訛。遼人呼節度使爲太師，自景祖至太祖皆有是稱。凡《叢言》、《松漠記》、張棣《金志》等書皆無足取。穆宗，遼重熙二十二年癸巳歲生。肅宗時擒麻產，遼命穆宗爲詳穩。大安十年甲戌，襲節度使，年四十二。以兄劾者子撒改爲國相。

His uterine younger brother, the Mournful Ancestor—whose name was Yingge and whose courtesy name was Wuluwan—was the Accomplished Ancestor’s fifth son. Southern sources call him Grand Master Yangge; some say Yangge received the posthumous title Emperor Xiaoping and the temple name Mournful Ancestor, and others even style him Renzu. No Jin emperor ever bore the title Renzu; the Mournful Ancestor was named Yingge and posthumously titled Xiaoping—“Ying” is heard as “Yang,” “ge” as “ge”—a slip of northern and southern speech. The Liao styled a military commissioner “Grand Master”; from the Accomplished Ancestor through Taizu, each holder of the office was so addressed. Books such as Congyan, Songmo Ji, and Zhang Di’s Jin Zhi are not to be trusted. The Mournful Ancestor was born in the guisi year of Liao Chongxi’s twenty-second year (1053). After the Solemn Ancestor captured Machan, the Liao invested the Mournful Ancestor as xiangwen. In the tenth year of Da’an (1094) he inherited the military commissionership, aged forty-two. He appointed Sagai, son of his elder brother Hezhe, state minister.

三年丙子，唐括部跋葛勃堇與溫都部人跋忒有舊，跋葛以事往，跋忒殺跋葛。使太祖率師伐跋忒，跋忒亡去，追及，殺之星顯水，紇石烈部阿疏、毛睹祿阻兵爲難，穆宗自將伐阿疏，撒改以偏師攻鈍恩城，拔之。阿疏初聞來伐，乃自訴於遼。遂留劾者守阿疏城，穆宗乃還。會陶溫水、徒籠古水紇石烈部阿閣版及石魯阻五國鷹路，執殺遼捕鷹使者。遼詔穆宗討之，阿閣版等據險立柵。方大寒，乃募善射者操勁弓利矢攻之。數日，入其城，出遼使存者數人，俾之歸。統門、渾蠢水之交烏古論部留可、詐都與蘇濱水烏古論敵庫德，起兵于米里迷石罕城，納根涅之子鈍恩亦亡去，於是兩黨作難。

In the third year (1096), Bagge, chief of the Tangut tribe, was on familiar terms with Bate of the Wendu tribe; Bagge paid a visit on business and Bate killed him. Taizu was sent against Bate; Bate fled, was overtaken, and killed at the Xingxian River. Ashu and Maodulu of the Heshilie tribe took up arms in revolt; the Mournful Ancestor marched in person against Ashu, while Sagai led a detachment against Dun’en City and captured it. When Ashu first learned of the expedition, he went to lodge his complaint with the Liao court. He left Hezhe to hold Ashu City and the Mournful Ancestor withdrew. At the same time Hegu’ban and Shilu of the Heshilie on the Taowen and Tulenggu rivers obstructed the Five States hawk-tribute route and killed a Liao hawk-capture envoy. The Liao commanded the Mournful Ancestor to suppress them; Hegu’ban and his allies fortified a strong position. In the depths of winter he recruited crack archers with heavy bows and keen arrows to storm the position. Within days the city was taken; the few surviving Liao envoys were released and sent back. Liu-ke and Zhadu of the Wanyan at the Tongmen–Hunchun confluence, with Dikude of the Subin Wanyan, rose at Milimishi Han City; Dun’en, son of Nagennie, fled as well—and the two factions were at war.

八月，撒改爲都統，辭不失、阿里合懣、斡帶副之，以伐留可、詐都、塢塔等。謾都訶、石土門伐敵庫德。撒改欲先平邊地城堡，或欲先取留可，莫能決，乃命太祖往。鈍恩將援留可，乘謾都訶兵未集而攻之。石土門軍既與謾都訶會，迎擊鈍恩，大敗之，降米里迷石罕城，獲鈍恩、敵庫德，釋弗殺。太祖度盆搦嶺，與撒改會，攻破留可城，留可已先往遼矣，盡殺其城中渠長。還圍塢塔城，塢塔先已亡在外，城降於軍。詐都亦降于蒲家奴，於是撫甯諸路如舊時。太師因致穆宗，教統門、渾蠢、耶悔、星顯四路及嶺東諸部自今勿復稱都部長。命勝官、醜阿等撫定乙離骨嶺注阿門水之西諸部居民，又命斡帶及偏裨悉平二涅囊虎、二蠢出等路寇盜而還。

In the eighth month Sagai was appointed chief commander, with Cibushi, Alihemen, and Wodai as his deputies, to campaign against Liu-ke, Zhadu, Wuta, and their allies. Manduhe and Shitumen marched against Dikude. Sagai could not choose between clearing the border forts first or striking Liu-ke first; unable to decide, he sent Taizu forward. Dun’en, marching to relieve Liu-ke, struck before Manduhe’s forces had fully gathered. Shitumen’s column joined Manduhe and met Dun’en in a head-on clash, crushing him; Milimishi Han City submitted, and Dun’en and Dikude were taken alive and spared. Taizu crossed Pennao Ridge, linked up with Sagai, and stormed Liu-ke’s city; Liu-ke had already fled to the Liao, and every headman in the town was put to death. On the return march they invested Wuta’s city; Wuta had already fled, and the garrison surrendered. Zhadu surrendered to Pujianu as well, and the routes were settled as before. The Grand Master then reported to the Mournful Ancestor and ordered the four routes—Tongmen, Hunchun, Yehui, and Xingxian—and the eastern tribes beyond the ridge never again to call themselves chiefs of the capital tribe. Shengguan, Chou’a, and others were sent to settle the tribes west of Zhua’men River at Yiligu Ridge; Wodai and the subordinate commanders were ordered to suppress brigandage on the Er’nenghu and Er’chunchu routes and withdraw.

七年庚辰，劾者尚守阿疏城，毛睹祿來降。阿疏猶在遼，遼使使來罷兵。未到，穆宗使烏林答石魯往佐劾者，戒之曰：「遼使來罷兵，但換我軍衣服旗幟與阿疏城中無辨，勿令遼使知之。」因戒劾者曰：「遼使可以計卻，勿聽其言遽罷兵也。」遼使果來罷兵，穆宗使蒲察部胡魯勃堇、邈遜孛堇與俱至阿疏城。劾者見遼使，詭謂胡魯、邈遜曰：「我部族自相攻擊，幹汝等何事？誰識汝之太師？」乃援創刺殺胡魯、邈遜所乘馬。遼使驚駭遽走，不敢回顧，徑歸。居數日，破其城。狄故保還自遼。在城中，執而殺之。阿疏復訴於遼。遼遣奚節度使乙烈來。穆宗至來流水興和村，見乙烈。問阿疏城事，命穆宗曰：「凡攻城所獲，存者復與之，不存者備償。」且征馬數百匹。穆宗與僚佐謀曰：「若償阿疏，則諸部不復可號令任使也。」乃令主隈、禿答兩水之民陽爲阻絕鷹路，復使鱉故德部節度使言于遼曰：「欲開鷹路，非生女直節度使不可。」遼不知其爲穆宗謀也，信之，命穆宗討阻絕鷹路者，而阿疏城事遂止。穆宗聲言平鷹路，畋于土溫水而歸。是歲，留可來降。八年辛巳，遼使使持賜物來賞平鷹路之有功者。

In the seventh year (1100) Hezhe still held Ashu City, while Maodulu came over in surrender. Ashu remained at the Liao court; the Liao dispatched envoys to halt the fighting. Before the envoys arrived, the Mournful Ancestor sent Wulin’a Shilu to aid Hezhe with this warning: “When the Liao come to halt the siege, swap our troops’ dress and banners for those of the garrison so the envoys cannot tell friend from foe—keep them in the dark.” He also told Hezhe: “The Liao envoys can be turned back by a ruse—do not listen to them and break off the attack.” The Liao envoys duly arrived to stop the fighting; the Mournful Ancestor sent Chief Hulu of the Pucha tribe and Chief Miaosun to accompany them to Ashu City. When Hezhe met the Liao envoys, he feigned outrage before Hulu and Miaosun: “Our clans are at war among ourselves—what is that to you? Who ever heard of your Grand Master?” He then drew a knife and stabbed the horses Hulu and Miaosun were riding. The Liao envoys fled in terror without a backward glance and rode straight home. A few days later the city was taken by storm. Di Gubao returned from the Liao. He was seized in the city and put to death. Ashu again petitioned the Liao court. The Liao dispatched Yilie, military commissioner of the Xi. The Mournful Ancestor went to Xinghe Village on the Lailiu River to meet Yilie. Yilie questioned him about Ashu City and commanded: “All who were taken in the siege and still live must be returned; the dead must be paid for in full.” He also levied several hundred horses. The Mournful Ancestor consulted his staff: “If we make restitution to Ashu, the tribes will never again heed our authority.” He had the Zhuwei and Tudai river peoples feign obstruction of the hawk route, and sent the Biegu’de military commissioner to tell the Liao: “Only the raw Jurchen military commissioner can reopen the hawk route.” The Liao, unaware this was the Mournful Ancestor’s design, believed him, ordered him to suppress the hawk-route obstruction, and the Ashu City affair was shelved. The Mournful Ancestor proclaimed that he was clearing the hawk route, hunted on the Tumen River, and returned. That same year Liu-ke submitted. In the eighth year (1101) Liao envoys arrived with gifts to reward those who had cleared the hawk route.

九年壬午，使蒲家奴以遼賜，給主隈、禿答之民，且修鷹路而歸。冬，蕭海里叛，入於系案女直阿典部，遣其族人斡達剌來給結和，曰：「願與太師爲友，同往伐遼。」穆宗執斡達剌。會遼命穆宗捕討海里，穆宗送斡達剌於遼，募軍得甲千餘。女直甲兵之數，始見於此，蓋未嘗滿千也。軍次混同水，蕭海里再使人來，復執之。既而與海里遇。海里遙問曰：「我使者安在？」對曰：「與後人偕來。」海里不信。是時，遼追海里兵數千人，攻之不能克。穆宗謂遼將曰：「退爾軍，我當獨取海里。」遼將許之。太祖策馬突戰，流矢中海里首，海里墮馬下，執而殺之，大破其軍。使阿離合懣獻馘於遼。金人自此知遼兵之易與也。是役也，康宗最先登，於是以先登並有功者爲前行，次以諸軍護俘獲歸所部。穆宗朝遼主於漁所，大被嘉賞，授以使相，錫予加等。

In the ninth year (1102) he sent Pujianu to distribute the Liao largesse among the Zhuwei and Tudai peoples, restore the hawk route, and return. That winter Xiao Haili rebelled and took refuge with the Aidian tribe of the Xi’an Jurchen; he sent his kinsman Wodala to propose an alliance: “Let us be friends, Grand Master, and march together against the Liao.” The Mournful Ancestor seized Wodala. The Liao then ordered the Mournful Ancestor to hunt down Haili; he delivered Wodala to the Liao and mustered troops, raising more than a thousand armored warriors. This is the first recorded count of Jurchen armored troops—they had never before numbered a thousand. The army encamped on the Huntong River; Xiao Haili sent envoys again, and they too were taken. Soon afterward they met Haili in the field. Haili shouted from a distance: “Where is my envoy?” The answer came: “They came along with those who followed behind.” Haili did not believe them. Several thousand Liao troops were then pursuing Haili; they attacked but could not break him. The Mournful Ancestor told the Liao commander: “Pull back your men—I will take Haili myself.” The Liao commander consented. Taizu spurred his horse into the melee; a stray arrow struck Haili in the head, he tumbled from the saddle, was seized and killed, and his army was shattered. Alihemen was sent to present the severed heads to the Liao. From that day the Jurchen knew how soft a foe the Liao army could be. In that fight the Kang Ancestor was first over the wall; the first climbers and other men of merit formed the vanguard, and the main columns then escorted prisoners and plunder home to their tribes. The Mournful Ancestor attended the Liao emperor at the fishing grounds, was lavishly praised, invested as commissioner-minister, and showered with exceptional gifts.

十年癸未二月，穆宗還。遼使使授從破海里者官賞。高麗始來通好。十月二十九日，穆宗卒，年五十有一。初，諸部各有信牌，穆宗用太祖議，擅置牌號者置於法，自是號令乃一，民聽不疑矣。自景祖以來，兩世四主，志業相因，卒定離析，一切治以本部法令，東南至於乙離骨、曷懶、耶懶、土骨論，東北至於五國、主隈、禿答，金蓋盛於此。天會十五年，追諡孝平皇帝，廟號穆宗。皇統四年，號其藏曰獻陵。五年，增諡章順孝平皇帝。

In the second month of the tenth year (1103) the Mournful Ancestor returned home. Liao envoys arrived to confer offices and rewards on those who had helped defeat Haili. Goryeo opened relations for the first time. On the twenty-ninth day of the tenth month the Mournful Ancestor died, aged fifty-one. Formerly each tribe kept its own tally-tokens; acting on Taizu’s advice, the Mournful Ancestor made unauthorized issuance of tokens a capital offense, and from then on orders were one and the people obeyed without question. From the Accomplished Ancestor through two generations and four lords, purpose piled upon purpose until the scattered tribes were knit into one; all were ruled by the laws of the home branch—from Yiligu, Helan, Yelan, and Tugulun in the southeast to the Five States, Zhuwei, and Tudai in the northeast—and the Jin stood at its zenith. In the fifteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Xiaoping, with the temple name Mournful Ancestor. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Xian Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Emperor Zhangshun Xiaoping.

兄子康宗，諱烏雅束，字毛路完，世祖長子也。遼清甯七年辛丑歲生。乾統三年癸未，襲節度使，年四十三。穆宗末年，阿疏使達紀誘扇邊民，曷懶甸人執送之。穆宗使石適歡撫納曷懶甸，未行，穆宗卒，至是遣焉。先是，高麗通好，既而頗有隙，高麗使來請議事，使者至高麗，拒而不納。五水之民附於高麗，執團練使十四人。語在《高麗傳》中。二年甲申，高麗再來伐，石適歡再破之。高麗復請和，前所執團練十四人皆遣歸，石適歡撫定邊民而還。蘇濱水民不聽命，使斡帶至活羅海川，召諸官僚告諭之。含國部蘇濱水居斡豁勃堇不至。斡准部、職德部既至，復亡去。塢塔遇二部于馬紀嶺，執之而來，遂伐斡豁，克之。斡帶進至北琴海，攻拔泓忒城，乃還。四年丙戌，高麗遣黑歡方石來賀襲位，遣杯魯報之。高麗約還諸亡在彼者，乃使阿聒、勝昆往受之。高麗背約，殺二使，築九城於曷懶甸，以兵數萬來攻。斡賽敗之。斡魯亦築九城，與高麗九城相對。高麗復來攻，斡賽復敗之。高麗約以還逋逃之人，退九城之軍。復所侵故地。九月，乃罷兵。七年己丑，歲不登，減盜賊征償，振貧乏者。十一年癸巳，康宗卒，年五十三。天會十五年，追諡恭簡皇帝。皇統四年，號其藏曰喬陵。五年，增諡康宗獻敏恭簡皇帝。

His nephew, the Kang Ancestor—whose name was Wuyashu and whose courtesy name was Maolúwan—was the World Ancestor’s eldest son. He was born in the xinchou year of Liao Qingning’s seventh year (1061). In the third year of Liao Qianyuan (1103) he inherited the military commissionership, aged forty-three. In the Mournful Ancestor’s last years Ashu sent Daji to stir up the border tribes; the people of Helan district seized him and turned him over. The Mournful Ancestor had ordered Shi Shihuan to pacify Helan district, but died before he could set out; now the mission was sent. Relations with Goryeo had begun amicably, but friction soon followed; Goryeo asked for talks, yet when envoys reached Goryeo they were turned away. The Five Waters tribes went over to Goryeo and captured fourteen regimental trainers. The full account appears in the “Biography of Goryeo.” In the second year (1104) Goryeo attacked again, and Shi Shihuan routed them once more. Goryeo sued for peace again; all fourteen captured regimental trainers were returned, and Shi Shihuan settled the border peoples and withdrew. The Subin River tribes refused obedience; Wodai was sent to the Huoluo Sea River to summon the local officers and read them the court’s orders. Wohuo, chief of the Hanguo Subin River settlement, did not appear. The Wozhun and Zhide tribes came, then bolted again. Wuta intercepted the two tribes at Maji Ridge, took them captive, then marched against Wohuo and overran him. Wodai pushed on to the North Qin Sea, stormed Hongte City, and returned. In the fourth year (1106) Goryeo sent Heihuan Fangshi to congratulate him on assuming the commissionership; Beilu was sent in reply. Goryeo had pledged to return those who had fled to its territory; he dispatched Asui and Shengkun to take charge of them. Goryeo violated the pact, executed both envoys, erected nine fortresses in the Halian region, and marched against the Jurchen with an army of tens of thousands. Wosai routed their forces. Wolu built nine counter-fortresses to stand opposite Goryeo’s nine. When Goryeo attacked once more, Wosai defeated them again. Goryeo agreed to surrender the fugitives and pull back the garrisons from the nine fortresses. The lands that had been seized were restored as well. Hostilities ceased in the ninth month. In the seventh year, jichou, when crops failed, blood-price payments for theft were lowered and the destitute were aided. In the eleventh year, guisi, the Kang Ancestor died at the age of fifty-three. In the fifteenth year of Tianhui he received the posthumous title Emperor Gongjian. In the fourth year of Huangtong his tomb was designated Qiao Mausoleum. In the fifth year his posthumous title was expanded to Kang Ancestor Emperor Xianmin Gongjian.

贊曰：金之厥初，兄弟三人，亦微矣。熙宗追帝祖宗，定著始祖、景祖、世祖廟，世世不祧。始祖娶六十之婦而生二男一女，豈非天耶？景祖不受遼籍遼印，取雅達國相以與其子。世祖既破桓赧、散達，遼政日衰，而以太祖屬之穆宗，其思慮豈不深遠矣夫！

The chronicler remarks: In the Jin’s earliest days, three brothers alone were its whole beginning—and that beginning was humble indeed. Emperor Xizong established the ancestral temples of the Founding Ancestor, Accomplished Ancestor, and World Ancestor, which were never to be removed from the sacrificial order. The Founding Ancestor wed a woman of sixty and fathered two sons and a daughter—could this have been anything but Heaven’s design? The Accomplished Ancestor refused Liao enrollment and the Liao seal, yet secured the state-ministership from Yada for his son. Once the World Ancestor had shattered Huanran and Sandá, Liao power waned day by day; to place Taizu in the Mournful Ancestor’s keeping was foresight of rare depth indeed.

Cite this Chapter