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