The Manchus are one of China's many ethnic minorities. They are descended from the Jurchen people, who had earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234).
The Jurchen chieftain Nurhaci (1559–1626) reorganised and united various Jurchen tribes (later known as the Manchus), and launched attacks on Ming China and Joseon Korea. Following his conquest of the Liaodong province, in northeastern China, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, the Qing. No one knows where this name came from, but it was probably intended to reflect the Ming name and possibly to sound like a Manchu term meaning 'warrior state'.
The Qing emperors are sometimes referred to as the Manchus, so 'Manchu' is an equally acceptable answer to this question.
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