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

World of the Manchu

The Manchu people have their own language, although it is a Tungusic language. Their language is "Standard Manchu," named after their own people. Standard Manchu was made uniform by the Qianlong Emperor; he required the Manchu people to speak in Manchu or else they were reprimanded for speaking otherwise. Nowadays most Manchu speak Standard Chinese and the number of Manchu who speak the original language continues to lessen. Even though the number of Manchu people speaking standard Manchu is declining, Manchu classes are offered in schools.

Manchus are known to practice traditional activities still to this day. Some activities practiced are: riding and archery, wrestling, and falconry. Riding and archery was taken very seriously by the Qing dynasty, it was regarded as the most important tradition practiced. Manchus were tested and graded on their ability in riding and archery. How they performed in this also affected their rank in nobility. As for Manchu wrestling, it began during the Jin dynasty adopted from the Mongols. Rulers of the Jin and Qing dynasties encouraged the wrestling to be mandated as part of military training. Falconry is a major traditional practice that is still alive today in the Manchu culture.

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

Manchuria: Homeland of the Manchu

Located in the Northeastern corner of China right above the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria is the homeland of the Manchu people. Nowadays Manchuria is referred to as Northeast China by the Chinese. But outside of China the land is widely known as Manchuria for its history and tradition. This land consists of the Chinese cities of Harbin, Changchun, and Shenyang. Some parts of Manchuria are bounded by Russian territory (northwest, north, east.)

Manchuria

Manchuria's climate ranges from humid, tropical-like heat in the summer to windy dry arctic cold in the winter. Due to its location by the Pacific Ocean and the Eurasian landmass there is complete wind reversal causing the climate range. In the winter in northern Manchuria temperatures can drop as low as −22°F and in the summer the temperatures do not get ridiculously high as the average high is 88°F.

Flag of Japanese ruled Manchukuo

When referring to their homeland, the Manchu never called their home "Manchuria." Manchuria is also known for being taken from the Chinese by the Japanese during World War II. The Japanese called it Manchukuo from 1932-1934 and called it the Great Empire of Manchukuo from 1934-1945. Under Japanese control, not only did Manchuria's name change but its flag did as well. In 1945, Soviet Russia ceased control of Manchukuo from the Japanese and transferred Manchuria back to Chinese control.








Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361449/Manchuria/4542/Manchuria-to-about-1900
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchuria#Geography_and_climate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo

Pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Manchuria.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo

History of the Manchu

Qing Dynasty flag

Descendants of the Jurchen people and the Jin dynasty (1115-1234), the Manchu are from the northeastern region of China; also known as Manchuria. The Manchu also founded the Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1910. The Jin dynasty fell by the means of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. The Qing dynasty was ruined by Western imperialism and Japanese expansion onto Chinese mainland in the early 1900s. The name "Manchu" is believed to come from Hong Taiji. Taiji forbade the culture to be called "Jurchen" in 1636. He came up with "Manchu" in honor of his father, Nurhachi, who believed himself to be a reincarnation of the bodhisattva of wisdom Manjushri. Another theory of where the "Manchu" name came from is based from the Manchu word mangun (river).

Ghengis Khan

The Manchu were pastoralist people, which is a social organization based on livestock raising as the primary economic activity. They are very skilled in horsemanship and archery. Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty would stage annual hunts as a nod to their tradition. They came up with a traditional hairstyle known as the "queue" on Han Chinese men. 

In 1952, the Republic of China recognized the Manchu as one of it's ethnic minorities. In the 1953 census, 2.5 million people identified themselves as Manchu background. After the fall of Nationalist Government (KMT), Communist China looked to improve the treatment and living of the Manchu.

Nationalist Government Emblem

More Manchu people became comfortable to expose themselves as Manchu than before during the KMT. Between the years of 1982 and 1990, the Manchu became China's fastest growing minority as the count of the Manchu people increased from 4,299,159 to 9,821,180. 



Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu#History 
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryko/g/Who-Are-The-Manchu.htm 

Pictures:
http://flagartist.com/art/svg/flags/china-qing-dynasty-flag-1889-flags-of-the-world-openclipart-
org-commons-wikimedia-org/ 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist_Government

Introduction to the Manchu Culture

In this blog you will be reading about the Manchu culture. I intend on learning a great amount of information and I look forward to sharing my newly acquired knowledge upon my readers. It is important to take other peoples lives into consideration and see how other people live compared to ourselves. I encourage readers and other bloggers to continue reading the content posted in this blog to learn more about this culture they may not be so familiar with. Below are the topics i will be covering within this blog:

• History of the Manchu
• Manchuria: Homeland of the Manchu
• World of the Manchu
• Manchu Cosmos
• Birds of Manchu
• Manchu & Neighboring Cultures
• Manchu Diaspora
• Cultural Survival
• Manchu Folk Art & Literature
• References