Man (Manchus)

PRONUNCIATION: man-CHOOZ
ALTERNATE NAMES: Jurchens, Manzhou, Manchus
LOCATION: China
POPULATION: 10.68 million
LANGUAGE: Chinese, Manchu
RELIGION: Some shamanism
RELATED ARTICLES: Vol. 3: China and Her National Minorities

INTRODUCTION

Dwelling mainly in northeast China, the Man, better known as the Manchus, have a long history. In addition to their direct relation with the Jurchens, their historical origins may be traced back to the Mohe of the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, to the Wuji of the Han (206 bc–ad 220) and, more remotely, to the Sushen of the Zhou (c. 12th century–256 bc). Ancient Chinese books began to record the name Jurchens as early as the Five Dynasties (907–960). In the beginning of the 12th century, led by headman Aguda of the Wanyan tribe, the Jurchens established the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234). Before long, they destroyed the Kingdom of Liao (916–1125) and the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) and threatened the Southern Song (1127–1279). A great number of the Jurchens came to the Central Plains (the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River), but they were gradually absorbed into Chinese culture over a long period of time. Following the destruction of the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchens themselves were conquered by the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) and later on ruled by the Ming (1368–1644). Since the 15th century, the headmen of various tribes of Jurchens were appointed by the central government. In the 16th century, a hero of the Jurchens, Nurhachi (1559–1626), unified all the tribes by military force. He built up an organization that integrated military function, government administration, and production management, providing a sound basis for the later establishment and consolidation of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). His eighth son succeeded to the throne. In 1635, he changed the name of his nationality to Manzhou (origin of the Western term "Manchu"). The name was simplified to Man in 1911, at the end of the last dynasty of China.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

The Mans are scattered all over China. The largest concentration is found in Liaoning Province. Smaller communities live in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, and Shandong provinces or regions, as well as in Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Xi'an, and Guangzhou cities. Th is wide distribution is related to the dominant position of the Mans in the Qing Dynasty. During the dynasty's 250 years or so, Mans holding important positions lived in different parts of China, and many members of their families took root and remained there. The Man population was 10.68 million in 2000, second only to the Zhuang among the minorities.

LANGUAGE

Their language is classified as belonging to the Altaic family, Manchu-Tungusic group, Manchu branch. It has withered since the end of the 18th century and is used only among a limited number of the Mans in a few counties of Heilongjiang. The written language was created on the basis of the Mongolian writing system and was used extensively under the Qing Dynasty. Now, almost all of the Mans use Chinese characters.

FOLKLORE

A large part of the rich Man corpus of mythology revolves around ancestors. According to one myth, three fairy maidens descended to take a bath in Tianchi (Heavenly Lake) of the Changbai Mountains. The youngest of them ate a small red fruit carried by a golden bird in its bill. She got pregnant and bore a boy who could speak right after birth. She gave him the surname of Aixinjueluo (the surname of emperors of the Qing Dynasty). When he had grown up, she told him the story of his birth and then ascended to Heaven. Drifting down the streams, the young man arrived at a place where three clans fought fiercely with each other. Taking advantage of his status, he stopped their fight and was selected to be their headman. This place was the hometown of the Jurchens, which means "the root of Man."

Another myth concerns their god and a hero. It was said that the Man god Abukainduli was very powerful. The rosy clouds were his breath, and the twinkling stars were the droplets from his cough. Unfortunately, he was so lazy that the northern lands froze in a world of snow and ice most of the year. Following an epic combat, the god defeated a demon and flattened him under the weight of a mountain. Not to be outdone, the demon transformed himself into a large elm, which obstructed the head of the river and it dried up. Unwilling to die of thirst, the tribe living there had to offer children in sacrifice to the demon. A young man, Mudan, met the god Abukainduli after innumerable hardships. The god gave him an axe and told him that he should chop down the elm by striking it 81 times with the axe and that Mudan himself would turn into a rock after doing so. To deliver his clan from evil and misery, Mudan lifted the axe and chopped fiercely at the elm. Every nine chops, he suffered a disaster. After the eighty-first chop, the demon fell, and Mudan was transformed into a mountain. At the same time, a vast amount of water sprang from the ground and flowed toward the north. Since then, people have called the river after the name of the hero, Mudan.

RELIGION

The traditional beliefs of the Mans are rooted in Shamanism. According to the Mans, a shaman means "a wildly dancing man capable of magical feats." The shaman's duty is to help women bear children, to cure illness, and to shield them from misfortune. Dancing in a trance is the usual way to cure the diseased. This is done by a professional shaman; each village only employs one. He has a variety of props: a shaman's hat, clothes, shoes, drum, stick, and sword. When he performs, he wears his special hat, on which hang many long strips of multicolored cloths so that his face and even his whole head is covered. Several copper plates cover his back and the front of his chest. He wears a long skirt and a waistband with small copper bells hung on it. Muttering incantations, he beats a drum while dancing. If the diseased recovers, the family should redeem the vow made beforehand to the gods; if not, the shaman will say, "You did not come with a true heart." If a family wishes to have a son, the shaman is invited to pray to the god called Fuolifuoduorhanximama. Another shaman is responsible for sacrificial offerings on religious festivals or when a major event occurs. Shamanism still exists in traditional Man villages but has disappeared from cities a long time ago.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

The Chinese Spring Festival (lunar calendar; Western calendar, between January 21 and February 20) is a major holiday for the Mans. They put on the door red, yellow, blue, or white banners, indicating their "bannerman" status among the "Eight Banners." Some of their festivals are related to their sacrificial offerings. For example, every family offers sacrifice (usually a black male pig) to their ancestors in autumn. There is a kang (a heatable brick bed) in their house. The kang on the west side is the best place to lay offerings to their ancestors. Before the butchery, the butcher should sharpen his knife on that kang. Three pieces of cooked pork are put in front of their ancestors' memorial tablets. A box containing their family tree is placed on a small, short legged table near the kang. The family members kowtow, one after another, in proper order according to their position in the family hierarchy. Then, the invited shaman begins his dance, asking for protection and blessing for the family. The next day, the family will offer a sacrifice to Heaven. Again, a black pig is killed. The internal organs and neck bone are hung on an outdoor post. If the flesh is all eaten by crows, it is a lucky sign. The pork is chopped and cooked with millet. Relatives, friends, neighbors, and even passers-by are invited to take a bowl of gruel. Three days later, the leftovers, if any, should be buried. The bones are also buried at the foot of the post.

RITES OF PASSAGE

In order to obtain the gods' blessings, a small bow and arrow is hung at the gate when a boy is born. The ancestors of the Mans were good at archery, and a bow and arrows were always worn by men in outdoor activities. When a girl was born, three cloth bands, each 1.5 in wide, were tied outside her swaddling clothes. This was regarded as beneficial to horsemanship in the future. For this reason a strip of cloth is still hung when a girl is born. Habitually, they make the baby lie on its back and put a pillow padded with millet under the back of the baby's head. The flattened back of the head is regarded as pretty.

In the eyes of the Mans, the north kang is for senior persons and the western one is reserved for the ancestors. There-fore, nobody is allowed to die on it. The coffin is brought in and carried out through the window instead of through the door. The funeral must be held on an odd-numbered day, because a funeral on an even-numbered day would mean that two people have died. Before the funeral, a post is erected in the courtyard. A long narrow flag made of red and black pieces of cloth is hung on it. During the funeral, relatives and friends scramble to take pieces of the flag, which they will use to make clothes for their children. The clothes are believed to protect the children from evil and nightmares. After the funerary ceremony, the deceased is buried in the ground.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Since it is common knowledge that the west kang is reserved for the ancestors, guests avoid sitting there while visiting. Otherwise, guests are warmly welcomed in a Man home.

When the bride-to-be visits for the first time, a small heart-shaped bag for carrying money and odds and ends is usually offered as a token of love. Actually, it is a combination of two bags exactly of the same size and figures. The girl would keep one half and give the other half to her boyfriend.

LIVING CONDITIONS

There is usually a screen wall facing the gate, inside a traditional Man courtyard, where a post is erected for sacrificial offerings. The house is made of wood and adobes. The central room opens to the south. The room in the west part of the house is usually the bedroom, in which the north, west, and south sides are provided with kang. The parents and the senior persons (if any) sleep on the north kang, the children on the south kang. The inside of the kang is connected with the cooking stove and is always warm in winter.

FAMILY LIFE

The Man family is patrilineal. A house of three or more generations is not uncommon. The Mans have great esteem for their elders. The position of men and women is more or less equal in the family. Men engage in farming. Although women also work in the fields, they usually spend most of their time doing household chores. The family is monogamous. Arranged marriage is prevalent. When young people reach 16 or 17, they are allowed to be engaged. The matchmaker, representing the male side, usually visits the female side three times before getting an answer. Each time she pays a visit, a bottle of wine is presented. As the saying goes: "Just to ask: Is it all right? Is worth three bottles of wine!" If it is all right, the parents of the girl will ask for betrothal gifts (pigs, wine, money, clothes, ornaments), which will belong to the girl. On the wedding day, the bride is carried to the groom's house on a bridal sedan chair.

CLOTHING

In the past, men's clothing was adapted to the requirements of horsemanship and marksmanship. They shaved the fore part of their hair and combed the latter part into a braid hung on the back. The tight cuffs of the sleeves, the long vents on both sides of the robe, the waistband, the boots, and their long trousers were all designed to facilitate fighting in a cold climate. Women's costumes include a long robe (cheongsam), a wooden pad about 2.5 inches high placed under the middle part of the sole, and a flat bun hung behind the neck. These customs intended to stress the nobility of Man women. Except for long robes for both sexes, the other stylized clothes are not worn today. The robes, however, were prevalent in the first half of the 20th century. Then, they gradually disappeared. But, women's robes are still worn on festive occasions, although they are quite different from the originals. Today, Man clothing is not much different from the Chinese.

FOOD

The Mans like to eat millet and glutinous millet. "Cooked mutton held in the hand" is absolutely necessary on the Spring Festival. Mutton is chopped in big pieces with bone and half-cooked with a little salt. The piece is held with the hand while eating. Sometimes a knife is needed. The most famous light refreshment is saqima, a kind of candied fritter. It is made by mixing flour with eggs, cutting the paste into noodles, and frying. It is then taken out, covered with syrup, and stirred. It is finally put into a wooden frame, pressed, cut into squares, and served.

EDUCATION

Because of the need to train large numbers of young people (mainly men) to serve as officials during the Man Qing Dynasty, the Mans have traditionally had a relatively high level of literacy. Even more important for the development of education in the recent past is the advanced urbanization of the Man people. As a result, their educational and cultural level is higher than the average for the whole country and even exceeds the average for the whole world. In China, they are second to the Koreans.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

One of the main traditional art forms of the Mans is dancing. A traditional choreography entitled "Hunting Dance" needs actors with a strong physique. Half of them wear leopard skin, ride on horseback, and pursue and attack prop-animals. The Man songs are accompanied by a vertical bamboo flute and a drum. The rest of the actors dress as tigers and leopards.

A form of dance still popular in northeast China developed from an ancient wedding ceremony dance; it is still performed during festivals. Both men and women, host and guests, take turns dancing. The dancing movements are simple but quite vigorous.

The Octagon Drum Opera is a traditional Man adaptation of Peking opera. The tune and melody and the musical instruments accompanying the narrative are comparable to the styles used in Tianjin, Tangshan, Beijing, and Shenyang cities. The octagon drum is the leading instrument used by the actors.

Some artists and writers of great achievement and reputation are Man, including the famous writer Lao She, the master of comic dialogue Hou Baolin, and the outstanding actor of Peking Opera, Cheng Yanqiu.

WORK

In the remote past, the ancestors of the Mans were hunters. Later, under Chinese influence, they turned to agriculture. In the modern era, especially since late 19th century, former Manchuria became the most important base of heavy industry in China and a very large part of the Man population became workers, technicians, and managers in large factories. Th is has remained so. Heavy metals, coal, hydropower, agriculture, forestry, and stock raising are the main industrial and economic resources of the Mans.

SPORTS

Ice skating has a long history for the Man people and is linked with their Nordic habitat. Centuries ago, Man warriors tied filed animal bones under their boots to march on ice. Later, they exchanged the bones for iron bars inlaid in the sole. Still later, an iron sheath was fitted on a board, which was then tied beneath the boot. In the 19th century, skating was part of the military training of the "Eight Banners" army. Today, Man people still take advantage of the long, cold winter in northeast China to go skating on rivers and lakes or in skating rinks. Some Man skaters are renowned internationally.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

For urban Mans, watching television is a daily entertainment in the evenings. They go to the movies once or twice a month. Beijing opera, chess, gardening, pet birds, storytelling, comic dialogues, and "clapper talks" are favorite pastimes of the aged and middle-aged persons. Youngsters like dancing, popular songs, and karaoke. Recreational activities are not different in the rural areas; however, access to television programs and movies is more restricted and the style of dancing and popular songs is different.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

The Mans excel in jade sculpture, bone carving, clay and dough figurines, and snuff-bottle interior painting. They are also world-renowned for their ice carving and sculptures and have won many international competitions.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Urban Mans have one of the highest economic levels in China, but they have lost much of their cultural identity. Because of the long and cold winters, rural areas remain economically undeveloped but have preserved many of their traditional ways.

GENDER ISSUES

The Chinese constitution states that women have equal rights with men in all areas of life, and most legislation is gender neutral. However, there are continued reports of discrimination, sexual harassment, wage discrepancies, and other gender related problems. The gap in educational level between women and men is narrowing with women making up 47.1% of college students in 2005, but only 32.6% of doctoral students.

China has strict family planning laws. It is illegal for women to marry before 20 years of age (22 for men), and it is illegal for single women to give birth. The Family Planning Bureau can require women to take periodic pregnancy tests and enforce laws that often leave women with no real options other than abortion or sterilization. Though minority populations were previously exempt from family planning regulations, policy has changed in recent years to limit minority population growth. Today, urban minority couples may have two children while rural couples may have three or four.

Prostitution and the sex trade is a significant problem in China involving between 1.7 and 5 million women. It involved organized crime, businessmen, the police, and government workers, so prosecution against prostitution has limited success. In 2002, the nation removed homosexuality from its official list of mental illnesses, and though it is still a taboo topic, homosexuality is increasingly accepted, especially in large, international cities.

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—by C. Le Blanc