The reign of Shizong 世宗 (1161-1189) during the Jin dynasty was probably that dynasty's most prosperous period. During this time, the emperor embarked on a set of reforms that were aimed at reviving the Jurchen people's military vigor and solidarity. The basis of these reforms seemed obvious: contemporaries showed that the Jurchens were no longer the brave soldiers who defeated the Liao and the Northern Song dynasties in the first stage of Jin history. Scholars in general have taken this as the result of the Jurchen soldiers and their families' living in northern China. This work begins with a review of the scholarship on these reforms and later proposes a new perspective toward the internal and external crises faced by the Shizong emperor. The contention is that in response to these crises, these reforms were to enhance the defense along the northern and northwestern borderlands and build Jurchen solidarity in order to maintain their ruling status in the Jin state.