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