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From the time the Manchus rose to power in China's Northeast in the early seventeenth century until the reign of Hung Taiji, the second Manchu khan (r. 1626-1643), the land they lived in remained sparsely populated. It is widely recognized that in pre-modern societies with limited abilities of production, the strength of the state is closely related to the size of the population. Rulers of such states see it in their best interests to increase the population under their control, and do not shy away from drastic means of doing so, such as taking "prisoner" large numbers of people and bringing them under their authority. Such was the case with the early Manchu state. In establishing the so-called Eight Banners (ba qi), Nurhaci, the first Manchu khan (d. 1626), created an organization into which he was able to incorporate not only all of his own followers, but entire surrendered or captured populations, regardless of ethnicity or tribal affiliation. Thus, during the Qing period, the label 'bannerman' (qiren) became nearly synonymous with the label 'Manchu' (Manzhou). The Eight Banners included not only the descendants of the Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchen groups under the Ming, but also a huge number of Han Chinese, Mongols, Koreans, and other tribal peoples from the Northeast and North. Such a complex demographic make-up, much of which was the result of conquest, stands out as a defining feature of the Manchu community.

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