During the early years of building up their empire,
Jurchen rulers often moved people from elsewhere in China to their capital, Shangjing. The first emperor of the Jurchen-led
Jin dynasty,
Aguda (Emperor Taizu) (r. 1115–1123) resettled captives to the Shangjing area during his war against the
Khitan-led
Liao dynasty. Aguda's successor,
Wuqimai (Emperor Taizong) (r. 1123–1134) conquered most of northern China in the
wars against the
Han-led
Northern Song dynasty. He continued the policy, resulting in numerous wealthy people, skilled craftsmen from Yanjing (present-day
Beijing) and the former Song capital, Bianjing (present-day
Kaifeng), being relocated to Shangjing. Historical accounts report that, after the
fall of Bianjing in 1127, the Jurchen generals brought to Shangjing (and elsewhere in North China) several thousand of people, including: "about 470 imperial clansmen; erudites and students of the imperial academy; eunuchs; medical doctors; artisans; prostitutes; imperial gardeners; artisans of imperial constructions; actors and actresses; astronomers; musicians". A variety of valuable goods captured in Bianjing was brought to the Jin capital as well. In Aguda's days, palaces were not much more than tents, but in 1123, the Jurchens built their first ancestral temples and tombs (where the captured Song emperors
Huizong and
Qinzong were to venerate the Jin emperors' ancestors in 1128), and in 1124 the Jin dynasty's
Emperor Taizong ordered a Han architect, Lu Yanlun, build a new city on uniform plan. The city plan on Shangjing emulated major Chinese cities, in particular Bianjing, although the Jin capital was much smaller than its Northern Song prototype. In 1157, Wanyan Liang even went so far as to destroy all palaces in his former capital. ==Modern state==