Manchu versus Ming

The first decades of 17th century China were characterized by the struggle of the rising Manchu khanate against the perishing Ming dynasty. This struggle was carried out not only on the battlefield, but also on a psychological-propagandistic level. An example of these events is the so-called "Proclamation of the Latter Jin to the Ming Wanli Emperor" (Hou Jin xi Ming Wanli huangdi wen) attributed to the Manchu khan Nurhaci. Its Manchu text has been discovered by Tatjana A. Pang and Giovanni Stary in the library of the Musée Guimet, Paris, and published in a facsimile edition in 1998, together with hitherto unknown Manchu documents. The present publication gives a full annotated translation of the Manchu and Chinese text, analyzes the historical and literary value of both documents and offers a deep inside view of that particular situation of Chinese history.