Gintaisi

Who is Gintaisi?

Gintaisi, was a Jurchen beile of the Yehe tribal confederation.

He was the younger brother of Narimbulu, and became one of the two beile of the Yehe tribe after the death of his brother which took place sometime before 1613. In 1613, Bujantai the beile of the Ula tribe had fled to the Yehe after the defeat of his forces at the hands of Nurhaci. Gintaisi gave him protection and when attacked by Nurhaci, he appealed to the Ming Chinese for help. In 1615, he attempted to appease the Mongols on the west by marrying his cousin to the Khalka beile. The alliance with the Chinese in the end proved to be a futile arrangement, for in 1619 Nurhaci defeated a large Chinese army, together with its Yehe auxiliaries at the Battle of Sarhu and then proceeded to besiege Gintaisi in his own stronghold. Despite attempts at a settlement by Nurhaci's son, Hong Taiji the future emperor who was also Gintaisi's nephew, the fighting continued until both Gintaisi and his cousin Buyanggu had been captured.