References

Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu#History 

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryko/g/Who-Are-The-Manchu.htm 

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361449/Manchuria/4542/Manchuria-to-about-1900
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/22/travel/jilin-falcon-village/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fugh 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Nisan_Shaman

http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/05/content_23994.htm 

Cultural Survival of the Manchu

Although the Manchu have their own language, alphabet and traditions, they have mostly adopted Chinese culture as their own. Not many Manchu stick to the old traditions laid out by their predecessors, very few few do. In old Manchu tradition, the Manchu had their own given names like the Chinese culture. The given names had suffixes such as -ngge, -tai or -tu, and -ju. Most Manchu now have adopted the suffixes of Chinese cultures and no longer use the Manchu suffixes. Manchus that still use traditional suffixes also use Chinese culture names as well. A Manchu name is given as well as a Chinese name.

Traditional Manchu robe

The Manchu have kept in tact with their traditional clothing. Manchus wear traditional robes and surcoats . Along with the robes they wear hats in all seasons. The Manchu have hats for casual occasions and formal occasions too. Manchu have other traditional accessories other than hats. Women wear 3 earrings on each ear, which is found more in older Manchu women. Men also traditionally have a piercing as a young Manchu but they do not continue to wear it into adulthood. The fergetun is a traditional ring wore by archery hunters. It is made from reindeer bone and its wore to protect the archers thumb.

Fergetun

Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people 
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361411/Manchu 
http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/05/content_23994.htm 




Pictures:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Fergetun.jpg 

Manchu Folk Art & Literature

Manchu folk art is a tradition carried on by Manchu people still to this day. The octagonal drum and ulabun are highly touted within traditional Manchu folk art. The octagonal drum was very popular amongst bannerman; it originated from the snare drum used by the Eight-banner military. The drum consists of wood with bells wrapped around it and tassels of different colors on the bottom of it. The tassels colors represent those of the Eight-Banner military: yellow, red, white, and blue. When being using in performance, the octagonal drum is shaken to ring the bells as well as tapped for the drum sound.

Song Xidong (Aksan)

Ulabun is traditional storytelling used for entertainment within the Manchu culture. This folk art is performed in Manchu language and is mostly popular amongst the Manchu remaining in Manchuria. Two main subjects of ulabun are informative folk music and folk literature. Song Xidong is a famous ulaban artist within the Manchu community. He is also known as Aksan by the Manchu people.

The most important piece of literature to the Manchu culture is the Tale of Nisan Shaman. This piece of literature spreads across other Tungusic cultures other than the Manchu too. This story is a Manchu folk tale about how a woman Shaman resurrected the son of a rich landowner. This tale is mostly told by mouth, you wont find many manuscripts of this story. Tale of Nisan Shaman has been since translated into Russian, Chinese, and English.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people#Literature 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Nisan_Shaman

Pictures:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Ak%C5%A1an.jpg

Manchu Diaspora

Manchuria is known to be the set homeland for the Manchu people, but as time went on the Manchu have migrated to different regions. Most Manchus live in mainland China as of today; they make up about .77% of all of China's ethnic population as they are still an ethnic minority. The Manchu have spread throughout 31 Chinese provincial regions. The original land of Manchuria, which now consists of Liaoning, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Jilin, still has the highest population of Manchus.

Of all the provincial regions containing Manchu, only two have more than 1 million of the ethnic minority (Liaoning, Hebei.) Within those two regions there is a total population of 7,455,606 Manchu people. That makes up about 72% of all Manchu population in mainland China. In Hebei and Liaoning, there are Manchu autonomous counties. Hebei has 4 autonomous Manchu counties and Liaoning has 6. Outside of these two provinces there is one more Manchu county in Jilin. Even though almost 100 percent of the Manchu culture live in mainland China, some have spread farther.

Major General John Liu Fugh

A very minimal amount of Manchu can be found off mainland China. Some Manchu have spread to Taiwan; about 12,000 Manchu claim residency there. Their move was made to Taiwan in 1949 during the ROC government (Republic of China.) Manchu have also settled in Japan as well as the United States. John Liu Fugh, a born Manchu, settled in America and became the Advocate General of the US Army. He was the first Chinese man to become a general in the US Army. 


Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fugh 

Picture:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/John_Fugh.jpg 

Manchu & Neighboring Cultures

A woman wearing a Qipao

In 1932, Manchuria was invaded by the Imperial Army of Japan. Manchuria served as a puppet state for the Japanese and was renamed Manchukuo while under Imperial control. The Japanese changed the culture the Manchu people had established over the years. In Manchukuo, the Manchu clothing changed. Men began wearing changshans, which is translate as long shirts, and woman wore cheongsams or qipaos, which are one piece dresses that hug the body.

Changshan

The Manchu were heavily influenced by their Chinese neighbors as well. After the 17th century, the Manchu came into contact with Chinese culture and began to adopt it as their own. They started to believe in Chinese folk religion, which was big in the Han Chinese culture. The Gods the Manchu worshiped were those that the Han worshiped too: Cai Shen, Guan Yu, and The Kitchen God. Along with those Han Gods, the Manchu worshiped Mongolian and Tibetan Gods.


Nowadays, the Manchu people have adapted to the Chinese culture mostly as they only continue a few original Manchu traditions. The traditions they still follow as Manchu are falconry, wrestling, hunting and clothing. Everything else has been changed for the every day Manchu. Not many speak Standard Manchu or even use the Manchu alphabet as Standard Chinese and its alphabet dominate the Chinese and Manchu cultures.








Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo#Culture 
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361411/Manchu 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people 

Pictures:
http://www.finechineseclothing.com/BACKEND/Resource/ProductPic/280_453/BTZ-6003.jpg 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Qipao_woman.jpg 

Birds of the Manchu

A bird of the Manchu is the falcon. The falcon is used for falconry hunting and gaming within the Manchu culture. Manchu people have been training falcons for these purposes for hundreds of years and continue to do so today. The beginning of the falcon training dates back to the Qing dynasty era (1644-1911.) Falcon training exposes a Manchu man's bravery and his conquest over nature. The training of falcons and falconry itself has expanded throughout Chinese provinces as Manchus spread. The Imperial Household Department of Beijing was influenced by the Manchu and their falconry as they developed professionals. When the Qing Emperor would went hunting every fall, he was presented falcons from the Imperial Household. Falconry is still very popular today in not only Manchu culture but other Chinese traditions.

Manchu man training a Falcon

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/22/travel/jilin-falcon-village/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people#Falconry

Picture:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/22/travel/jilin-falcon-village/

Manchu Cosmos

Manchus have a diversity of beliefs as far as religion goes. The Manchus and their predecessors were mainly Shamanists. When they were introduced to the Chinese culture in the 17th century, Shamanism decreased in belief and popularity amongst Manchus. Along with the Chinese culture and Shamanism, Buddhism and Christianity impacted Manchu beliefs as well. Most Manchu people nowadays are known to be irreligious and stray away from beliefs. The Manchus predecessors, the Jurchens, were buddhists from the 10th century to the 13th century, so when the Manchus began to follow Buddhism again in the 17th century it was not much of a new belief. During the Qing dynasty, Manchus followed Chinese folk religion. The Manchus worshiped the God Protector of the Nation, Guan Yu.

Guan Yu, The God Protector of the Nation

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people#Religion

Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guanyu-1.jpg