Ruins of Sa'erhu City

Ruins of Sa'erhu City

The ruins of Sa'erhu City are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ruins of Sa'erhu City, located in Fushun County, Liaoning Province, are ancient ruins from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The layout of Sa'erhu City is roughly elliptical, slightly longer from east to west, covering a total area of about 1 million square meters. It has five city gates, most of which are situated at relatively narrow valley entrances. The Sa'erhu City ruins are the ancient battlefield of the Battle of Sa'erhu and also the place where Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, found good fortune. The victories achieved here and the gradual westward relocation of his palace laid a solid foundation for the establishment of the Qing Dynasty.

Originally a settlement of the Sa'erhu stockade of the Susu River tribe of the Jianzhou Jurchens, Sa'erhu City was captured by Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, in August of the year he launched his campaign in 1583.

In February and March of 1619 (the 47th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), the famous “Battle of Sa'erhu” took place between Sa'erhu City and Jiefan City.

Nurhaci lived in Jiefan City for just over a year before relocating to Sa'erhu City on Sa'erhu Mountain. “Sa'erhu,” in the Manchu language, translates to “wooden cabinet” in Chinese, describing the dense forests on the mountain. Compared to Jiefan City, Sa'erhu City is at a lower elevation, with much flatter terrain, making it more suitable for habitation. It is also significantly larger in area and more meticulously constructed than Jiefan City.

In October of 1620 (the first year of the Taichang reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Later Jin Dynasty moved from Jiefan City to Sa'erhu City, where military and civilian housing was built and completed by November.

In April of 1621 (the first year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Later Jin Dynasty moved its capital from Sa'erhu to Liaoyang. Sa'erhu City continued to serve as a strategically important rear stronghold for the Later Jin, with troops stationed there for defense.

In 1644 (the first year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty), when the Jurchens of Liaoxi and Shenyang “followed the dragon into the pass” (i.e., entered the Central Plains with the Qing court), Sa'erhu City was abandoned.

On October 7, 2019, it was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units in Liaoning Province

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units