Liaodong in the context of "Shang Zhixin"

Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty.

As leader of the Aisin-Gioro clan, Nurhaci reorganized and united various Jurchen tribes (the later "Manchu"), consolidated the Eight Banners military system, and eventually launched attacks on both the Ming and Joseon dynasties. His conquest of Ming dynasty's northeastern Liaodong region laid the groundwork for the Qing conquest of the Ming by his descendants, who proclaimed the Qing dynasty in 1636. He is also generally credited with ordering the creation of a new written script for the Manchu language based on the Mongolian vertical script.

The Liao River (simplified Chinese: 辽河; traditional Chinese: 遼河; pinyin: Liáo Hé) is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name is derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong Peninsula, and Liao dynasty also derive their names. The river is also popularly known as the "mother river" in Northeast China. Coursing 1,345 kilometres (836 mi) long, the Liao River system drains a catchment basin of over 232,000 square kilometres (90,000 sq mi), but its mean discharge is quite small at only about 500 cubic metres per second (18,000 cu ft/s), about one-twentieth that of the Pearl River. The Liao River has an exceedingly high sediment load because many parts of it flow through powdery loess.

The Liao River is also an important geographical landmark, as it divides the modern Liaoning province into two broad regions — Liaodong ("east of Liao") and Liaoxi ("west of Liao"). Historically, this demarcation though was not based on the river itself, but on a large wetland that once existed on the right (west) bank of the lower Liao River known as the Liao Mire (辽泽), which stretched east of the Yiwulü Mountain to the Liao River from Xinmin to Panshan.

The Battle of Shen-Liao was a military conflict between the Later Jin and the Ming dynasty. In early 1621 Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin, invaded Liaodong and captured the cities of Shenyang and Liaoyang from the Ming.

Hūlun gurun (Manchu: ᡥᡡᠯᡠᠨ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨᡳ, simplified Chinese: 扈伦国; traditional Chinese: 扈倫國; pinyin: hùlúnguó) was a powerful confederacy of Haixi Jurchen tribes in the late 16th century, based primarily in modern Jilin province of China.

The Hūlun confederacy was formed by Hada-nara Wang-tai (d. 1582), the leader of the Hada tribe, which had drawn its importance from the control of commerce between the late-Ming Liaodong and Jurchen tribes to the east via Guangshun Pass (east of Kaiyuan, which is located near the northern tip of today's Liaoning Province). Besides the Hada themselves, the Hūlun included three other tribal federations, known as Ula, Yehe, and Hoifa.

The Red Turban invasions of Goryeo occurred in the 14th century, when the Red Turban Rebellion against the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty spread to the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. The Red Turban rebels, originating in the Zhejiang area, were opposed to the Yuan dynasty. After gaining control of Liaodong, the Red Turbans invaded Goryeo in 1359 and 1360.