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Manchu people

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"Manchu" redirects here. For other uses, see Manchu (disambiguation).
Manchu (Manju, )
滿族
满族
NurhaciHuang Taiji
Kangxi EmperorQianlong EmperorEmpress Cixi
PuyiOboiHeshen
LaosheJohn Fugh
Nurhaci • Huang Taiji • Dorgon
Kangxi Emperor • Qianlong Emperor • Empress Dowager Cixi
Puyi • Oboi • Heshen
Lao She • John Fugh • Lang Lang
Total population
approx. 10.68 million (2000)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Mandarin Chinese,
Manchu (very small population, almost extinct)
Religion
Historically Shamanism, Heaven worship and Ancestor worship; nowadays Buddhism and Ancestor worship[2][3]
Related ethnic groups
Xibe people, other Tungusic peoples

The Manchu people (Manchu: Manju; simplified Chinese: 满族; traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: Mǎnzú, Mongolian: Манж, Template:Lang-ru) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (today's northeastern China) and one of the 56 ethnic groups of People's Republic of China. During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels (such as general Wu Sangui), they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which established a republican government in its place.

For centuries, the Manchu ethnicity has acculturated with the majority Han ethnicity of China. Most Manchu today speak Standard Chinese, while the Manchu language is only spoken by elderly people in remote northeastern China and a few scholars; there are around ten thousand speakers of Xibe, a closely-related language spoken in the Ili region of Xinjiang. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in Manchu culture among both ethnic Manchus and Han.[4] The number of Chinese today with some Manchu ancestry is quite large—with 10.68 million members (in China), Manchu is the 3rd largest ethnic group in China after the Han and the Zhuang.[5] The adoption of favorable policies towards ethnic minorities (such as preferential university admission, government employment opportunities and exemption from the one child policy) has encouraged some people with mixed Han and Manchu ancestry to re-identify themselves as Manchu.

Culture

A Manchu man hunting, from a Qing era painting.

Aspects of Manchu customs and traditions can be seen in local cuisines, language and customs in Northeast China as well as cities in that region. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Manchus also adopted many Han customs and traditions.

They traditionally coiled their hair in high tufts on top of their heads and wore earrings, long gowns and embroidered shoes. The women with higher social standing wore silk and satin clothing while cotton clothing was worn by women of lower social standing. Variants of such costumes (including qi pao and ma gua, Mandarin dress) are still popular all over China. The man's clothing once consisted of a short and adjusted ? jacket over a long gown with a belt at the waist to facilitate horse-riding and hunting.

The traditional Manchu dwellings were made up of three quarters. In the center of the house was the kitchen while the wings contained the dormitory and the living room. The unique Manchu tradition did not allow people to die on nahan () to the west or north. Believing that doors were made for living souls, the Manchus allowed dead bodies to be taken out only through windows and ground burial was the general practice.[6]

The Manchu language is a member of the Tungusic language family.

The Tale of the Nisan Shaman is an important piece of Manchu folklore.[7]

It was reported by American anthropologist Weston La Barre that Manchu mothers used to show affection for their children by performing fellatio on their male babies, placing its penis in their mouths and stimulating it, since it was not considered a sexual act, while the Manchu regarded public kissing with revulsion, which was considered sexual.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] They were also reported to caress their children's sexual organs, tickling those of their daughters.[20][21][22]

Manchu girls were reported to be independent and equal to male siblings, having more rights than Chinese girls.[23] Manchu women were said to be aggressive and irritable, Mongol and Chinese Bannermen married to them were reported to be scared of them, complaining to the Emperor, who permitted them to protest out loud to their wives rather than hide.[24][25][26]

During the Qing dynasty, education was discouraged by Manchu women. Many of the princesses could not read the simplest book nor write a letter to a friend, but depended upon educated eunuchs to perform these services for them. The Chinese woman on the contrary could usually read and write with ease, and the education of some of them was equal to that of a Hanlin.[27] However many of these Manchu women of noble background seldom mingle with educated Chinese women even if their husbands were of equal rank in court.

History

Origins and early history

Main article: Jurchen people

According to Herbert A. Giles, among the first ancestors of the Manchu were the Sushen, a tungusic nomadic tribe,[28] and in an illustrated Chinese book from the 14th century, it is said that the Sushen tribes reached their spot in the Yalu river as fugitives from Korea.[28] They were followed by the Yilou people, who were active from AD 202 to 220. The Wuji followed in the 5th century and the tribes of the Mohe in the 6th century. One of the tribes of the Mohe, the Heishui (Amur River) tribe, eventually became the ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom the Manchu originated.[29]

The Jurchens under the Wanyan clan established the Jin Dynasty (literally Golden Dynasty) that ruled the northern half of China (1115–1234) and rivaled the Song Dynasty in southern China. The Jin were conquered by the Mongols under Genghis Khan.

Before the 17th century, the ancestors of the Manchus were generally a pastoral people, hunting, fishing and engaging in limited agriculture and pig-farming.

A depiction of three peoples of the Siberia. The Manchu man in the middle is dressed in traditional clothes and soncoho.

One of the old traditions of Manchu is the system of bondservants, booi aha or just booi, translated into Mandarin as nucai. The Jurchen tribes employed booi as early as the 15th century, and it was common practice for Manchu military commanders to have their field and house bondservants serving in booi units during military campaigns. The booi differ from Chinese bond slavery in a few key ways, and are somewhat akin to the European feudal liege-bondsman relation. Firstly, booi status is hereditary, similar to a social caste. However, booi were not viewed as properties (although sales of bondservants did occur). Thirdly, booi is more a matter of rank and heredity rather than profession or social status. Indeed, many booi were richly rewarded by their bondmasters, and amassed great wealth and power. Booi status to the imperial Aisin Gioro clan was very prestigious, and they retained the privillege to call themselves "nucai" (slave) when addressing their Aisin Gioro lords. In 1673 the killing of a 'booi's slaves to accompany their dead master to the grave was outlawed.

Founding of the Qing Dynasty

Further information: Qing Dynasty
A depiction of two Jurchen warriors and their horses.
A depiction of a Manchu hunting party.
Plaque at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, in both Chinese (left) and Manchu (right)

In 1616, Nurhaci broke away from the power of the decaying Ming Dynasty and established the Later Jin Dynasty (後金 Hòu Jīn)/Amaga Aisin Gurun (), domestically called the State of Manchu (manju gurun) (), and unified Manchu tribes, establishing (or at least expanding) the Manchu Banner system, a military structure which made their forces quite resilient in the face of superior Ming Dynasty numbers in the field. Nurhaci later conquered Mukden (modern-day Shenyang) and built it into the new capital in 1621.

In 1636 Nurhaci's son Hong Taiji, reorganized the Manchus, including those other groups (such as Hans and Mongols) who had joined them, changed the nation's name to Qing Empire, and formally changed the name of the ethnic designation to Manchu, outlawing use of the name Jurchen. According to legend, the name was chosen because Hong Taiji's father, Nurhaci, had believed himself to be a reincarnation of the bodhisattva Manjusri. The actual etymology of the name Manchu is debated. The alleged connection to Manjusri faces alternative theories, one of which links the name to the Tungusic word *mangu(n) "river".[citation needed]

When Beijing was captured by Li Zicheng's peasant rebels in 1644, the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. The Manchu then allied with Ming Dynasty general Wu Sangui and seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty. Over the next two decades, the Manchu took command of all of China.

For political purposes, the early Manchu emperors took wives descended from the Mongol Great Khans, so that their descendants (such as the Kangxi Emperor) would also be seen as legitimate heirs of the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu government made efforts to preserve Manchu culture and language. These efforts were largely unsuccessful in that Manchus gradually adopted the customs and language of the surrounding Han Chinese and, by the 19th century, spoken Manchu was rarely used even in the Imperial court. Written Manchu, however, was still used for the keeping of records and communication between the emperor and the Banner officials until the collapse of the dynasty. The Qing dynasty also maintained a system of dual appointments in which all major imperial offices would have a Manchu and a Han Chinese member. Because of the small number of Manchus, this insured that a large fraction of them would be government officials.

Baturu Zhanyinbao (b. 1760) was one of the Qianlong Emperor's Manchu First Grade Bodyguards

During the Russian Invasion of Northern and Central Manchuria (1900), the Russian Empire annihilated many bannermen as they fought to the death against the Russians, each falling one at a time against a five pronged Russian invasion. The Russians killed many of the Manchus, thousands of them fled south. The Russian Cossacks looted their villages and property and then burnt them to ashes.[30][31]

Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, Manchus were portrayed as outside colonizers by Chinese nationalists such as Sun Yat-Sen, even though the Republican revolution he brought about was supported by many reform-minded Manchu officials and military officers.[32] This portrayal dissipated somewhat after the 1911 revolution as the new Republic of China now sought to include Manchus within its national identity.[33] Until 1924, the government continued to pay stipends to Manchu bannermen; however, many cut their links with their banners and took on Han-style names in shame and to avoid persecution.[34] The official total of Manchu fell by more than half during this period, as they refused to admit to their ethnicity when asked by government officials or other outsiders.[35]

Modern history

Further information: History of Manchuria

In 1931, the Empire of Japan created a puppet state in Northeast China called Manchukuo. The new state was nominally ruled by Emperor Kang Teh (Puyi). By this time the population of historical Manchuria was overwhelmingly Han Chinese, so while Manchukuo was intended to be a state for Manchus (though many were murdered by the Japanese), Manchukuo had a majority Han population. Manchukuo was abolished at the end of World War II, with its territory incorporated back into China.

Modern Manchus dressed as the Qing Imperial family. Manchu culture has experienced a revival in the People's Republic of China.

The People's Republic of China recognised the Manchu as one of the country's official minorities in 1952.[36] In the 1953 census, 2.5 million people identified themselves as Manchu.[37] The Communist government also attempted to improve the treatment of Manchu people; some Manchu people who had hidden their ancestry during the period of KMT rule thus became more comfortable to reveal their ancestry, such as the writer Lao She, who began to include Manchu characters in his fictional works in the 1950s (in contrast to his earlier works which had none).[38] Between 1982 and 1990, the official count of Manchu people more than doubled from 4,299,159 to 9,821,180, making them China's fastest-growing ethnic minority.[39] In fact, however, this growth was not due to natural increase, but instead people formerly registered as Han applying for official reclassification as Manchu.[40]

Autonomous Areas designated for Manchus

Province or equivalent prefecture-level city Name Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese pinyin Designated minority Local name Capital
Hebei Chengde Fengning Manchu Autonomous County 豊寧滿族自治縣 丰宁满族自治县 Fēngníng Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Manchu Fengning Manju Zijysiyan Daming
Kuancheng Manchu Autonomous County 寛城滿族自治縣 宽城满族自治县 Kuānchéng Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Kuwanceng Manju Zijysiyan Kuancheng
Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County 圍場滿族蒙古族自治縣 围场满族蒙古族自治县 Wéichǎng Mǎnzú Měnggǔzú Zìzhìxiàn Manchu and Mongol ? Waichang Town
Qinhuangdao Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County 青龍滿族自治縣 青龙满族自治县 Qīnglóng Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Manchu Cinglung Manju Zijysiyan Qinglong
Jilin Siping Yitong Manchu Autonomous County 伊通滿族自治縣 伊通满族自治县 Yītōng Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Itung Manju Zijysiyan Yitong Town
Liaoning Fushun Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County 新賓滿族自治縣 新宾满族自治县 Xīnbīn Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Sinbin Manju Zijysiyan Xinbin Town
Qingyuan Manchu Autonomous County 清原滿族自治縣 清原满族自治县 Qīngyuán Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Cingyuwan Manju Zijysiyan Qingyuan Town
Benxi Benxi Manchu Autonomous County 本溪滿族自治縣 本溪满族自治县 Běnxī Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Xiaoshi Town
Huanren Manchu Autonomous County 桓仁滿族自治縣 桓仁满族自治县 Huánrén Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Huwanren Manju Zijysiyan Huanren Town
Anshan Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County 岫岩滿族自治縣 岫岩满族自治县 Xiùyán Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn ? Xiuyan Town
Dandong Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County 寛甸滿族自治縣 宽甸满族自治县 Kuāndiàn Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn Kuwandiyan Manju Zijysiyan Kuandian Town

Notable Manchu

Pre-Qing Dynasty era

Qing Dynasty era

Emperors

The Qing Dynasty was the last of the Chinese dynasties. All the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were Manchu. They are in order

Nobility and aristocrats

As the Qing Dynasty had Manchu Emperors, many other prominent positions in government were also held by Manchu people.

Aisin Gioro Clan (愛新覺羅氏)

Aisin Gioro is the family name of the Qing Dynasty Emperors. The Emperor's relatives were involved in government. Notable people from this family include:

Miscellanea

Aside from the imperial family, other government posts during the Qing Dynasty were given to Manchu people:

Military officers in the Sino-Japanese War

Politicians

Athletes

Writers and poets

  • Lao She (老舍) - one of the most significant figures of 20th century Chinese literature, and is perhaps best known for his novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse (茶館).
  • Wang Shuo (王朔) - a Chinese author, director, actor, and cultural icon. He has written over 20 novels, television series and movies.

Artists

  • Pu Ru (溥儒) - cousin of the last emperor, Puyi. He was a notable painter and professor at the Fine Arts Department of the National Taiwan Normal University.
  • Qigong (启功) - calligrapher and art historian for the Imperial Palace Museum in Beijing.

Musicians

  • Lang Lang (郎朗) - a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York. He is well known in Europe and North America for his concert appearances.
  • Wang Liping (王立平) - composer.
  • Na Ying (那英) - singer and pop star. She is considered as one of the best present-day female singers in Mainland China, having sold more than 10 million albums. She is also noted for her buoyant and forthright personality.[42]
  • Ai Jing[43] (艾敬) - singer and painter. China's Northeast News called her "China's most talented female folk rock singer."[44]

Media and entertainment industry

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Ethnic Groups - china.org.cn - The Manchu ethnic minority". Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  2. ^ Sate Nationalities Affairs Commission (2005). Zhang Yongfa and Fang Yongming (ed.). Selected pictures of Chinese ethnic groups (First ed.). China Pictorial Publishing House. p. 48. ISBN 7-80024-956-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Wang Can (2004). Ethnic groups in China. China Intercontinental Press. ISBN 7-5085-0490-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Eras Journal - Tighe, J: Review of "The Manchus", Pamela Kyle Crossley". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  5. ^ Wang & Wang 2005, pp. 9, 109
  6. ^ The interweaving of rituals: funerals in the cultural exchange between China. "". Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  7. ^ Durrant, Stephen W. (1979). "The Nišan Shaman Caught in Cultural Contradiction". Signs. 5 (2). The University of Chicago Press: 338–347. doi:10.1086/493712. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); More than one of |number= and |issue= specified (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Weston La Barre (1975). Anthropological perspectives of movement, Volume 1. Ayer Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 040506201X. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  9. ^ Weston La Barre (1947). The Cultural Basis of Emotions and Gestures. Ardent Media. p. 57. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  10. ^ Christian Laes (2011). Children in the Roman Empire: Outsiders Within. Cambridge University Press. p. 262. ISBN 0521897467. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  11. ^ Weston La Barre (1980). Culture in context: selected writings of Weston La Barre. Duke University Press. p. 266. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  12. ^ Duke University. School of Law (1955). Obscenity and the arts. School of Law, Duke University. p. 542. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  13. ^ Alison Dundes Renteln (2005). The Cultural Defense. Oxford University Press US. p. 243. ISBN 0195154037. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  14. ^ Phyllis Kronhausen, Eberhard Kronhausen (1964). The sexually responsive woman. Grove Press. p. 109. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  15. ^ Michael Grant, Rachel Kitzinger (1988). Civilization of the ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, Volume 2. Scribner's. p. 1251. ISBN 0684188651. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  16. ^ Neal H. Walls (2001). Desire, discord, and death: approaches to ancient Near Eastern myth. American Schools of Oriental Research. p. 81. ISBN 0897570561. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  17. ^ David L. Balch, Carolyn Osiek (2003). Early Christian families in context: an interdisciplinary dialogue. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 080283986X. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  18. ^ David M. Halperin, John J. Winkler (1990). Before sexuality: the construction of erotic experience in the ancient Greek world. Princeton University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0691002215. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  19. ^ John R. Clarke (2001). Looking at lovemaking: constructions of sexuality in Roman art, 100 B.C.-A.D. 250, Part 250. University of California Press. p. 15. ISBN 0520229045. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  20. ^ Bancroft-Whitney Company, Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company (1967). American jurisprudence proof of facts, annotated: a carefully edited compilation of trial guide material in text and in question and answer form designed to assist lawyers in preparing for trial and in examining witnesses, Volume 18. Bancroft-Whitney Co. [and] Lawyers Co-operative Pub. Co., Rochester, N.Y. p. 478. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  21. ^ Gwen J. Broude (1994). Marriage, family, and relationships: a cross-cultural encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0874367360. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  22. ^ The Journal of psychohistory, Volume 26. Atcom. 1998. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  23. ^ Katharine Augusta Carl (1906). With the Empress Dowager of China. E. Nash. p. 221. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  24. ^ Transactions, American Philosophical Society (vol. 36, Part 1, 1946). American Philosophical Society. 1946. p. 12. ISBN 1422377199. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  25. ^ Karl August Wittfogel, Jiasheng Feng (1949). History of Chinese society: Liao, 907-1125, Volume 36. American Philosophical Society: distributed by the Macmillan Co., New York. p. 12. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  26. ^ History Society (University of Hong Kong (1961). Annual. History Society, University of Hong Kong. p. 20. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  27. ^ Bay View Reading Club (1910). Bay View magazine, Volume 18. the University of Michigan: J. M. Hall. p. 289. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  28. ^ a b Gilles, Herbert. "China and the Manchus (1912)" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  29. ^ Huang, P.: "New Light on the origins of the Manchu," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 50, no.1 (1990): 239-82. Retrieved from JSTOR database July 18, 2006.
  30. ^ Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Shirokogorov (1924). Social organization of the Manchus: A study of the Manchu clan organization. the University of Michigan: Royal Asiatic Society. p. 4. Retrieved 2011-06-1. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ Edward J. M. Rhoads (2001). Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861-1928. University of Washington Press. p. 72. ISBN 0295980400. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  32. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 265
  33. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 275
  34. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 270
  35. ^ Rhoads 2000, pp. 270, 283
  36. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 277
  37. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 276
  38. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 280
  39. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 282
  40. ^ Rhoads 2000, p. 283
  41. ^ "Members on the Chinese national football team - players Zhao Junzhe". Sohu.com Inc. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  42. ^ Mandopop diva returns, Global Times, December 25, 2009 (china.org.cn)
  43. ^ ""流浪的燕子"回家了 ("Wandering Swallow" Ai Jing has come home)". 东北新闻网 (Northeast News Online). 27 September 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  44. ^ ""流浪的燕子"回家了 ("Wandering Swallow" Ai Jing has come home)". 东北新闻网 (Northeast News Online). 27 September 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2009. "中国最具才华的民谣女诗人"
    "民谣" literally translates to "folk rock" or "folk ballad" and refers to a style of music (more completely called 城市民谣, "urban folk rock") that started in the 1990s.
  •  This article incorporates text from Court life in China: the capital, its officials and people, by Isaac Taylor Headland, a publication from 1909, now in the public domain in the United States.
  •  This article incorporates text from Bay View magazine, Volume 18, by Bay View Reading Club, a publication from 1910, now in the public domain in the United States.

Sources

Chinese

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