As one of the three heroic epics of ethnic minorities in the mainland, "Manas" is known as "the encyclopedia of the ancient life of the Kyrgyz people". The epic tells the story of Manas and his descendants for seven generations, leading the Kyrgyz people to fight against foreign invaders, reflecting the indomitable and united spirit of the Kyrgyz people.
▲In September 2017, the Central Opera House staged a large-scale original national opera "Manas" in Beijing. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jin Liang quick photo
Produced in the 9th and 10th centuries, Manas has been sung continuously through Manaschi ("Manas" rappers) in different eras for thousands of years, and has become a masterpiece of oral epic with grand length, profound content and perfect structure, and is also a rare representative work of living oral epic in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Since the 60s of the last century, scholars of various ethnic groups in the mainland have systematically collected, recorded, translated, and researched Manas, and have achieved remarkable results.
The road is blue and the wisps are jointly developed
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was no written record of "Manas", and it all relied on the oral transmission of Manaschi. In November 1960, two journals in Xinjiang, Tianshan and Tarim, sent people to Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture (hereinafter referred to as "Kezhou") to compile a manuscript. Under the overall planning and coordination of the Kezhou Party Committee, interns in the Kirgiz language class of the Central University for Nationalities (the predecessor of the Central University for Nationalities) recorded and translated the texts sung by two of them, and translated the chapter "The Wedding of Saimaitai and Ayitraek" into Chinese and Uygur, and published them in Tianshan (No. 1 and 2 in 1961) and Tarim (No. 1, 2, and 3 in 1961) respectively, becoming the first official text of Manas in China.
▲In June 2007, Jusupu Mamayi, who participated in the first Manas International Cultural Tourism Festival ·in Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Photo by Shen Qiao
In March 1961, a team of 20 people involved formed an investigation team and began the first systematic survey and recording of Manas. The investigation team proposed that "where the singer is, he will go; Don't miss a singer, don't miss a line of epic". After more than three months, the investigation team finally visited and recorded more than 200,000 lines of epic materials and other folk literature sung by more than 30 singers. The biggest takeaway from this investigation was the discovery of Jusup · Mamayi. Since the age of 8, this master Manaschi has been learning to sing and recite "Manas" under the guidance of his brother, and it took more than 8 years to memorize all 8 "Manas" of more than 200,000 lines. At that time, the young and energetic Jusupu · Mamayi spent nearly eight months singing the first five parts of Manas for the investigation team, and the Chinese translations of the classic and traditional chapters were published in Xinjiang Daily (December 14 and 15, 1961) and Folk Literature (No. 5, 1962).
Since the 80s of the 20th century, "Manasology" as a comprehensive discipline has begun to emerge. During this period, Jusup · Mamayi completed the third singing in five years, and researchers began to edit, collate and publish the master's Kirghiz transcript in 1984, with a total of 8 parts, 18 volumes and 230,000 lines, which took 11 years and was completed in 1995. It was the world's first and most complete printed version of Manas, and it promoted the transformation of Manas from oral transmission to textual transmission. In addition, the collection continued, and researchers found more than 20 more Manaschi in the northern Xinjiang region. So far, more than 100 Manaschi have been discovered and interviewed on the mainland, and more than one million lines of oral texts of Manas have been collected and recorded, which has attracted the attention of scholars in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Japan, Germany and other countries.
Since the 90s of the 20th century, Manas has been greatly improved in research, publicity and promotion, and international academic conferences, achievement exhibitions, and epic concerts have been held one after another, pushing the study of Chinese Manas to the international stage. In 2006, Manas was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. In 2009, it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Between 1990 and 2019, nearly 30 texts of the Manas epic were published and published, and a total of 27 academic monographs and essay collections on epic studies were published, covering literature, philosophy, history, ethnology, folklore, mythology and many other disciplines. China's "Manasology" has formed a scale, and a discipline system with Chinese characteristics has been established in the international study of "Manas".
▲In July 2023, in Wuqia County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, singers and dancers performed a fragment of "Manas" at the opening ceremony of the 9th Manas International Cultural Tourism Festival. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yu
In April 2022, after 18 years of unremitting efforts, the full translation of the national common language version of Manas, including 8 books and 18 volumes, with a total of more than 236,000 lines and more than 20 million words, was published, which means that Manas can be understood and accepted by more people, and at the same time, it has laid a solid foundation for creative transformation and innovative development to promote its research into the stage of popularization.
Continue to struggle and expand research
In mid-March this year, at the academic seminar "Scholars and Academics: Achievements and Reflections on Manas Research in New China" sponsored by the Institute of Ethnic Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, scholars of "Manas" studies, such as Han scholar Lang Ying and Kirgiz scholar Adili · Jumaturdi, exchanged views and discussed the collection, collation, research and achievements of "Manas".
▲In April 2007, Lang Ying (right), Adili · Jumaturdi (left) participated in the celebration of the birthday ·of Jusupu Mamayi (middle) in Aheqi County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Photo by Ren Chunsheng
In 1963, Lang Ying, who majored in Uyghur language and literature at the Department of Minority Languages and Literature of the Central University for Nationalities, went to Korla for a six-month internship, which was the first time she set foot on the soil of Xinjiang. Lang Ying recalled: "In July 1965, I graduated from university and was assigned to work in the Folk Literature and Art Association of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The first task he accepted after arriving at the unit was to report to the "Manas" working group in Artush County (now Artush City), Kezhou, Xinjiang, which was located thousands of miles away, to participate in the translation of "Manas". During this time, she became acquainted with Güsup · Mamayi. In the first census, she and the working group recorded about 110,000 lines of the first five parts of the epic from the mouth of Jusup · Mamayi, and added the transcript of Jusup · Mayi to 190,000 lines in the second census.
Lang Ying's masterpiece "The Heroic Epic of Chinese Ethnic Minorities 'Manas'" is the first research work on the epic of "Manas" in mainland China, and can be called the foundation work of China's "Manas Studies". In this work, she gradually got rid of the traditional research perspective of epic studies from the aspects of theme, background, and characters, and opened up a new perspective to analyze the inheritance and development of living epics from the perspective of aesthetics, comprehensively considering the influence of national culture, folk literature and other factors, and placing them in the pattern of world epics for comparison, so that the study of "Manas" has risen to a new height. In 2011, Lang Ying was awarded the Presidential Order of Danakr of the Kyrgyz Republic; In January this year, Lang Ying won the Lifetime Achievement Award (Folklore) of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
Among the scholars who followed, Adiri · Gümaturdi became the backbone of the study of the Manas epic in the new era. As a writer and translator who understands both Chinese and English, as well as Kazakh and Kyrgyz languages, in 1990, Adili ·Jumaturdi, who worked as a teacher at Xinjiang Institute of Technology (now merged into Xinjiang University), was officially transferred to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Folk Literature and Art Association. In order to collect, sort out and excavate the circulation of "Manas" among the people, he traveled almost all over Xinjiang. From the steppes of Zhaosu County north of the Tianshan Mountains to the Pamir Plateau in Wucha County, Kezhou, he rode over countless lofty mountains, icebergs and snow valleys. In Aheqi County alone, Adiri · Gumaturdi visited more than 30 natural villages and more than 50 herdsmen's settlements, interviewed several Manaschi, and established deep friendships with them.
In July 2001, Adili was admitted to the Institute of Ethnic Literature of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences · to study for a doctorate, under the supervision of Lang Ying, focusing on the study of Manaschi. Adili · Gumaturdi and Jusupu · Mamayi have been in contact and research for 17 years, in-depth interviews and records, and a large number of first-hand oral records about this singing master.
Nowadays, the study of Manas has formed an academic team that combines the old, middle and young, some of whom are scholars who have been deeply engaged in the field of Manas studies for many years, and some are the young generation of scholars who are growing up, bringing more updated theoretical horizons and possibilities to the study of the epic of Manas in China.
Activate value and shine
After generations of Manaschi have been continuously sung, as well as the collation, research and promotion of experts and scholars, "Manas" has passed through the smoke and dust of history, from ancient times to today. "Manas" involves many ethnic groups and is rich in content, both praise for heroism and promote national unity. It is the responsibility and mission of relevant scholars and artists in the new era to do a good job in the protection, inheritance, and sorting out of Manas, so that it can be carried forward.
Since the promulgation and implementation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law in 2011, Manas protection centers and research centers at all levels in mainland China have been established one after another, and relevant research databases, books and archives have been continuously improved, and high-tech means such as digitization have been used to rescue and protect Manas and the works of its inheritors. In recent years, Kezhou has built a state-level protection center and a number of county-level protection centers, and the team of inheritors combining the old, middle and young has become the backbone of promoting the inheritance and development of "Manas".
▲ "Manas" epic character paper-cut refrigerator magnet. Courtesy of Wang Min
From the national to the local, relevant institutions and personnel continue to explore the contemporary value and social function of Manas, making it more suitable for the aesthetic needs of contemporary people and playing its due role in the new era. At the 4th "Manas" Protection and Research Forum in April this year, the "Manas" epic character series of cultural and creative products developed by the team of Professor Wang Min of the Xinjiang Cultural Development Research Center of Xinjiang University attracted attention. The team deeply studied the text of "Manas", sorted out the genealogy of the characters in the epic, summarized and refined the characteristics of the main heroes, and innovatively used modern scientific and technological means to develop the IP of the epic characters with characteristics, and made products such as emojis, cartoon figures, refrigerator magnets, coasters, mouse pads and so on. This practice of integrating intangible cultural heritage elements into modern daily life has been affirmed and praised by the experts and scholars attending the meeting.
Looking to the future, the study of Manas still faces opportunities and challenges. From a macro perspective, "Manasology" has become an important cultural exchange platform for the "Belt and Road" countries, and occupies an important position in the non-governmental cultural exchanges between China and Central Asian countries. From a micro perspective, as a cultural carrier, Manas, in the face of the new context, needs to better activate the contemporary value of the epic while protecting the tradition of the epic, and shine more brightly in the new era.
(The author is an associate professor at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics)
Source: State Ethnic Affairs Commission