About 10 million Manchus mainly live in north-east China, in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Since the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), which was ruled by the Manchus, large numbers moved to the Han regions south of the Great Wall and have been largely assimilated into the Han Chinese culture. They have their own spoken and written languages, but most now generally speak baihua/Guoyu and write Han characters. Some of the Manchu legacies still around are: (1) the qipao, cheongsam, a close-fitting dress flared at the base with a rolled-up hem reaching to the ankle. It has long become the national costume of Chinese women; (2) Man-Han quanxi [the complete banquet of the Manchu and the Han] was revived when wining and dining at public expense became epidemic in the 1980s and was made famous in Tsui Hark’s film The Chinese Feast (Man Han quanxi, 1995).
Although the 108 dishes and 44 courses of dim sum—which take three days to consume—hardly fit present-day society, various dishes popular in the Qing palace are still prepared today in the restaurants of big hotels; and (3) saqima, a common sweet snack. Besides the royal families in history, the Manchus have produced many celebrities, e.g. the linguist Luo Changpei (1899–1958); the founder of the Cheng school of Peking Opera, Cheng Yanqiu (1904–58); and the writer Lao She (1899–1966). Their works or performances are still heavily studied. Tan Jie is a contemporary Manchu author whose lengthy works of reportage literature, The Heavenly Way (Tiandao), Thick Soil (Houtu) and Holy Hands (Shengshou), and a prose collection, Children of the Great Liao River (Daliaohe de er’nümen), are well known.
Further reading
Crossley, Pamela Kyle (1997). The Manchus. (The Peoples of Asia series.) Oxford: Blackwell.
HELEN XIAOYAN WU
This is the complete article, containing 287 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
