Aguda and the foundation of Jin
Wanyan Aguda founded Jin in 1115, and Jurchen power expanded rapidly from Liao’s northeastern frontier. The original Liao government ended in 1125. Jin forces took Kaifeng in 1127, bringing down the Northern Song court. Jin subsequently ruled the north while Southern Song continued in the south; warfare, negotiations and border trade shaped regional life.
Liao cities, offices and populations entered new arrangements, while Jurchen nobles retained military and family organizations. Jin institutions developed through conquest and continued changing as agrarian territories expanded.
Military households and their livelihoods
The meng’an–mouke system connected military units with household organization. The Jinshi describes Jurchen soldiers farming, fishing or hunting in peacetime and assembling when called. The government later fixed household groupings into mouke and meng’an units. Some military households moved into agrarian areas including Hebei and Shandong, making land allocation, recruitment and family labor recurring concerns of the court.
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Government, learning and Jurchen culture
Jin established offices, schools and examinations, adapting administrative practices from the central plains. Jurchen language and culture also entered court-sponsored education. Emperor Shizong promoted Jurchen traditions while schools and examinations recruited scholars. Bureaucratic learning, military status and community affiliations all remained important in political life.
Mongol expansion and the end of Jin
The rise of Mongol power placed Jin defenses and finances under sustained pressure. The court withdrew to Henan as its territories contracted. Caizhou fell in 1234, ending Jin rule. Military households, local administrative practices and cultural experience passed into Yuan society through migration and political transfer, while northern regions underwent prolonged and uneven reconstruction.