The Manchus are a nation that can draw closer to advanced culture and actively absorb excellent heterogeneous cultures; a nation that is humble and tolerant, eclectic, and learn from each other's strong points; it is a nation that is not arrogant and arrogant, but is self-respecting, and conforms to the rules; it is a nation that can take advantage of the rough, absorb innovations and have the courage to learn from them, and can also adhere to its own characteristics; it is a nation that can play down ethnic contradictions in a very high posture and let the Han people get rid of the suspicion of Yidi in a short period of time and be accepted.
The Manchus are highly open, inclusive, persistent and creative. Otherwise, how could a small nation of less than one million rule the Central Plains of 200 million people for nearly 300 years?
There are many Customs and Habits of the Manchus, and here I will only introduce a few Manchu customs and habits that I saw and experienced when I was a child.
Manchu surname. Manchu surnames have a strong national character and are very prominent. Most of the old surnames of the early Manchus were surnamed after place names, such as: Ninguta, Ussuri and so on. In the middle and late Qianlong period, there were many people who changed their surnames to Han. For example, the Fucha clan was changed to the fu surname, the Niu Cobalt Lu clan was changed to the Lang surname, the Yehenara clan was changed to the surname, and the Guarjia clan was changed to the Guan surname.
In view of this situation, Qianlong once issued a decree asking the Manchus not to forget the nature of the Manchus, and then improved. But with the passage of time, the Manchus have appeared in the current eight surnames, there are: Tong, Guan, Zhao, Ma, He, Fu, Na, Lang, and other surnames as many as 670, there are also books saying that the Manchu surnames as many as 1114. The original Zilharang, Mang Gultai, Ruilin and other similar names are very few.
The surname of the Manchus does not have to be a surname from the time of Nurhaci. For example, Nurhaci's grandfather is called Kyaw Chang'an, his father is called Takshi, and Nurhaci's younger brother is called Shulhaqi. Nurhaci had sixteen sons, and the first characters were mostly different, and the Manchus were called suiming surnames, also called names and surnames. The characteristics of Manchu surnames are: different clans with the same surname, different surnames from the same clan.
After entering the customs, the Manchus gradually merged with the Han people, and in the late Qing Dynasty, the family was basically a surname. But there are also those who are not a surname, such as our Hu surname, (the old surname of our Hu surname is recorded in the guarjia clan, there are also historical records that it is Kuya Thorn, and there are also historical records that it is Hush Harrishi). I once looked at the genealogy of the last five generations of our branch, my grandfather's surname is Li, but when my grandfather's brothers and six brothers are surnamed Hu, my grandfather's next generation has the surname Hu and li. My third grandfather's son is called Hu Yongfu, and the second is called Li Yongnian. I asked the elders, but they couldn't tell, so they said that we were hu and lee. I have also consulted some information that there are four possibilities for this situation: First, the surname is changed due to separation. The second is to change his surname because of his heir. The third is to change the surname due to migration to change the region or change the tribe. Fourth, the custom of continuing the elders is: one generation and one surname. That we Hu surname occurrence of this situation I analyze is migration and a generation of one surname factor superposition.
Manchu weddings. Manchu weddings are more complicated, with procedures such as media, release, lottery, box, kissing, worship, and large and small doors. When the man has a crush on the woman, he must have a matchmaker to propose marriage, and after the woman agrees, he must choose a zodiac auspicious day to eat a fixed meal. When getting married, the bride has to sit in eight large cars, and if the road is too far, she has to take a rubber carriage.
On the day before the wedding, the woman will give the dowry, when the palanquin falls on the ground, the groom will shoot three arrows, the bride will step on the brazier, and cross the saddle to indicate red fire and peace. When the bride and groom are ordered to worship heaven and earth, after entering the cave room, the groom will use a scale rod to pick off the red cap on the bride's head, which is called satisfactory. After three days of marriage, the bride should return to the door, and after one month, she should go back to her mother's house to live for a month. Manchu weddings say a lot of head I will pick the main introduction here.
Manchu title for elders. The Manchus did not address their elders differently, which was influenced by regions and flags. Our blue flag is called Ne, and our father is called Zhe. Most Manchus call their mother Eun Niang and their father Amma. My fathers and elders are still called elders according to the Manchu custom, and in our generation, they are called parents, but our generation includes my next generation of sister-in-law. Some scholars say that the sister-in-law is a foreigner, and it seems very kind to call the sister after marrying.
Before 1648, the Manchus and Han could not intermarry, the Manchus basically intermarried within each banner, and there were also a few who called the Mongolians sisters, which also made some sense. Manchu uncles and sisters-in-law are not joking. What remains is a sibling relationship.
Manchu diet. Each ethnic group has its own dietary characteristics, which is the so-called ten miles of different customs. The dietary characteristics of the Manchus are also very chic, and there are many types. Here are just three examples of what I've eaten.
The first is suzi leaf feeding. This is soaked in yellow rice, ground into noodles with stone grinding, then pressed the noodles into a cake shape, and then wrapped the small bean paste in the cake and steamed. It tastes sweet, slightly sour, has the clear aroma of suzi leaves, and is also wrapped in pineapple leaves.
The second is stewing. This kind of food is now sold on the street, and its production method is to use potato starch or sweet potato starch plus a certain amount of water to boil in an iron pot until it is viscous, plus spices such as soy sauce, chicken essence, salt, and diced carrots with color. Then from the pot to the out of a flat container, when it is cold, it condenses into a jelly-like skin, cut into small pieces with a knife, and dipped in small ingredients made of soy sauce, chili oil, ground peanuts, sesame oil, and garlic paste. When I was a child, my mother used to do it, I gave it a hand, and now I want to eat it, I will make a little, I also bought it on the street, but I always feel that I don't make it myself.
The third is sour soup. This is to use corn to soak and grind the noodles with stone grinding, add some white noodles and dried dough, and then put them into a leak and squeeze, and the pressed strips flow into the boiling water of the soup, and it will be cooked in a short time. After fishing out, use cool water to pass it, and then mix it with the brine, which can be diversified. There is also a finger on a cutting that squeezes sour soup, the cutting has a round mouth, take a ball of noodles in your hands and close it with both hands, squeeze the noodles a little harder and then sneak down the cuttings into the pot. This method and the noodles are thinner, when I was a child, I saw my mother do it very skillfully, but I have not learned, I always squeeze out different lengths, and the inserts my mother squeezes out are the same length. You can eat these two foods, that is called a refreshing taste, keep your appetite open, do not eat a rolling melon belly full burp even you will not put chopsticks.
Manchu rocker. Manchu rockers are for children, and the rockers I used are made of flexible wooden planks that are five miles thick. It is about one meter three meters long, seventy or eighty centimeters wide, more than forty centimeters high, and the two ends are semicircular, and there are frescoes painted on the outside, which are generally purple-red. The rocking car is tied to the beam with a rope, and the child who cannot go is put inside, and in order to prevent the child from climbing out, the child's arms and legs are tied. It can be sideways or along the swaying car, just like a swing, and the child sleeps in the rocking car. Isn't there three monsters in the northeast, and the maintenance child hanging up is a rocking car, which is one of the three monsters.
Manchu jumping god. Shamanism is the religion of the Manchu people, and there are two kinds of folk shamans, one is to manage sacrifices, and the other is to jump the big god. In the past, the Manchu peasants believed in witchcraft and did not believe in medicine, and when they were sick, they would look for the jumping god to see. When I was a child, I saw the dancing god a few times, and the witch wore a small pointed hat and a five-colored note, and the drooping note half covered her face. He wore a long cloth skirt and a brass bell hanging from his waist. Holding a drum like a Xinjiang tambourine in his hand, he sang while beating and singing, as to what he was singing, only he knew it, and the witch's appearance and singing voice were very frightening. Now there is no jumping god.
The big Manchu girl smoked a cigarette bag. This is also one of the three monsters in the northeast, and the Manchus have a hobby of smoking. It may be related to the cold climatic conditions in the northeast and the majestic and thick national character of the Manchu ancestors. Both men and women have been smoking since they were teenagers. When I was very young, my third grandmother lived in my home beikang, and I remember my third grandmother smoking a big cigarette bag all day long, and smoking endlessly. Because my third master is Zhang Zuolin's special tailor, my third grandmother's cigarette bag mouth is mutton fat jade, the cigarette bag pot is silver, and what the cigarette pole is I don't know. Most women of my mother's age smoked, few Manchu women born after the fifties smoked, and men basically smoked no matter when they were born. At that time, the cigarettes smoked were all "toad leprosy" grown by their own families. When the tobacco grows up, he will chop off a few leaves, put them on the rope in the yard to cool, and hang dew, saying that such smoke is sweet to smoke. When I left home when I was eighteen, my friends smoked cigarettes, but I never learned.
Manchu tassels. The tassels are made of fine cowhide or pig leather, and I can't describe them very well. There are several bulging pleats in front of the round head, and there are several eyelets with shoelaces on both sides, either high-waisted or a layer of leather. Wearing tassels must be silky ula grass, isn't there three treasures in the northeast, ginseng, mink, and ula grass (actually deer antler horns). When I was a child, I also cut ula grass, and immediately after I came back from cutting it, I would use a mill to crush it into a flocculent shape, and when I wrote this, I thought of the fragrance of ula grass when I pressed ula grass. The finished ula grass should be cooled and dried before being put away, and used when Dongtian wore tassels. I didn't go through it, and all they did say was very warm (reading nuan the third sound) and (hu reading flat sound), not freezing feet at all.
Manchu hanging notes. Manchu hanging notes are equivalent to the current Spring League and Fu characters, which are pasted during the Spring Festival. Hanging notes are cut from colorful paper and carved with knives. It is generally about 40 miles long and about 25 centimeters wide. In the middle of the hanging note are hollowed out, some have blessed characters, some have auspicious characters, some have flowers and birds, and the hollow parts are round and triangular. The purpose of attaching a hanging note is to seek blessings and seek good fortune, avoid plague and drive away evil spirits and seek joy. When I was young, I found a good hanging note that I bought, spread it on multicolored paper, and the bottom of the paper was covered with a glass plate, and a knife made of saw blades was also engraved.
Manchu customs can not be written in three days and three nights, and the manchu customs of the Manchus in the current Manchu and Han mixed places are very few, and some can no longer distinguish whether they are Manchus or Han Chinese. However, in Manchu settlements such as autonomous counties and Manchu townships, Manchu customs are still more preserved.
Manchu culture has also made great contributions to the development of China's society, and if we don't say anything about the big ones, let's talk about the qipao that has been passed down. This qipao is not only liked by Han women, but even foreign women are fond of it.
As soon as this woman put on the exquisite figure of the cheongsam, which man did not want to enter the wrong way.
I am a Manchu, so I still know a lot of Manchu customs, and I will write about it here in a limited space.
(Image taken from the Internet)