Manchu customs, etiquette, ethnic taboos

What are the customs of the Manchu people

Costumes

The Manchu people have a long history and developed culture. Their elegant and gorgeous costumes are unique in Chinese national costume culture and have had a great influence on the development of Chinese costume culture.

Because of the cold living environment and the need for hunting life, the Manchu people in the past, both men and women, are wearing "horseshoe sleeve" robes and coats. Nurhachu after the establishment of the eight banners system, "flag" attire, will become "cheongsam" (Manchu said "clothes").

In the early Qing Dynasty, the cheongsam style is generally collarless, lapel, waist, left obeisance, four slits. Wearing both fit, but also conducive to horseback riding and shooting. Hunting, but also dry food and other loaded into the front lapel. This cheongsam has two more prominent features, one is collarless. Nurhachu for the unity of the crown, has set up the crown system, the provisions of "where the court dress, all with a shawl collar, living only robe". That is, the regular clothes can not lead the son, only into the dynasty when wearing court dress can be added to the shawl shaped like a large collar; Second, in the narrow cuffs are also connected to a section of the upper long under the short half-moon shaped sleeve head, shaped like a horseshoe, commonly known as the "horseshoe sleeve". Normally ò up, winter hunting or combat down, so that it covers the back of the hand, not only played a similar role in keeping warm gloves, but also does not affect the bow and arrow, so it is also called "arrow sleeve" (Manchu called "waha"). After the Manchu domination of the Central Plains, "put waha" became the Qing dynasty etiquette in a prescribed action, officials into the court to meet the emperor or other princes and ministers, have to be the first horseshoe sleeves popped down, and then both hands on the ground kneeling to salute.

The cheongsam's outside is also used to set a round neck, body length and umbilicus, sleeve length and elbow of the short coat. Because this short coat was initially worn when riding and shooting, not only to facilitate horseback riding, but also to protect against the wind and cold, so the name "horse coat". At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the horse coat is the eight banners soldiers "uniform", and then popular in the folk, with the dress and the nature of the regular clothes, their styles, fabrics are more varied. Manchu people also like to wear the cheongsam outside the shoulders. Shoulders are generally divided into cotton, folder and leather several kinds, for warmth. Style has a lapel, pipa lapel, twisted lapel and so on.

As the Qing dynasty "fashion" Manchu women's cheongsam, there is more development. At first in Beijing and other places had prevailed in the practice of "eighteen set", that is, eighteen set of edges to look good, the style has become a wide robe with big sleeves; after the Xinhai Revolution, the cheongsam style from fat to thin; in the 20th century, the early 30th generation by the influence of Western short skirt, shorten the length, nearly knee, cuffs narrow; 30 years and lengthened, both sides of the high slit and highlight the beauty of curves; 40 years and shorten the length, near the knees, the cuffs narrowed; 30 years and lengthened, both sides of the high slit, and highlight In the mid-1930s, it was lengthened again, with high slits on both sides, and emphasized the beauty of curves. Later, the front and back of the garment were separated, and there were shoulder seams and sleeved cheongsam dresses. Wide range of materials, cotton, wool, silk, hemp and a variety of chemical fiber materials are available. In addition to long and short-sleeved cheongsam, it is also divided into leather, cotton, single and several kinds of folder, which is convenient to wear in different seasons. After continuous improvement of the cheongsam, the general style is roughly: straight collar, narrow sleeves, right lapel, nail button trip, tight waist, dress length to below the knee, both sides of the fork; pay attention to the workmanship and color matching, most of the collar, cuffs and edges of the dress embroidered with lace in various colors. So both set off the beauty of the female body, but also looks elegant and generous. The cheongsam, with its oriental colors, has now become a popular Chinese dress for Chinese women.

The cheongsam and the "flag head", "flag shoes" and so on, together, constitute the typical traditional dress attire of Manchu women.

"Flag head" refers to a kind of hair style, also known as hair crown. Similar fan-shaped, wire or bamboo rattan for the hat frame, with green satin, green velvet or green yarn for the face, wrapped in a long about 30 centimeters, about 10 centimeters wide fan-shaped crown. Wear can be fixed in a bun. Above is also often embroidered with patterns, set jewelry or decorated with a variety of flowers, adorned with a long tassel. "Flag head" is mostly used by Manchu women of the upper class, the general folk women marrying party to decorate. Wearing this wide and long hair crown, restricting the neck twisting, so that the body straight, look extraordinarily dignified and dignified, adapted to grand occasions.

"Flag shoes" unique style, is a kind of high wooden bottom embroidered shoes, also known as "high bottom shoes", "flower pot bottom shoes", "horseshoe bottom shoes They are also known as "high sole shoes", "flowerpot sole shoes", "horseshoe sole shoes" and so on. Their wooden soles and high heels are generally about 5-10 centimeters high, some up to 14-16 centimeters, and the highest up to about 25 centimeters. It is usually wrapped in white cloth and then set in the middle of the sole at the center of the foot. The shape of the heel sole is usually of two kinds, one is spacious at the top and convergent at the bottom, in the shape of an inverted trapezoidal flowerpot. The other is thin and wide, flat in front and rounded in the back, and its shape and landing marks all resemble a horseshoe. The "flowerpot bottom" and "horseshoe bottom" shoes are thus named. In addition to the upper decorated with embroidered patterns such as cicadas and butterflies or decorative pieces, the part of the wooden heel that does not touch the ground is also commonly decorated with embroidery or beads. The tips of some shoes are also decorated with spikes made of silk thread, which can reach the ground. This shoe's high heel wooden sole is extremely strong, often the upper broken, but the sole is still intact, can be used again. High-soled flag shoes for more than 13 or 14 years of age in the aristocracy of young women to wear. Wear this high sole shoes to walk with a beautiful posture. Elderly women's flag shoes, more than flat wood for the bottom, called "flat shoes", the front end of the ground at a slightly cut, in order to walk.

Manchu hats are more varied, mainly divided into cool hats and warm hats of two kinds. In the past, the Manchu people often wear a small cap called "melon hat". Melon skin cap, also known as the "head of the hat", its shape on the tip of the bottom wide, for six petals sewn together. The bottom edge set a small brim about 3 cm wide, and some even without a brim, only with a piece of gold satin wrap. Winter and spring generally with black satin for the face, summer and fall are more black field yarn for the face. The top of the hat is decorated with a velvet knot made of pimples, black and red, commonly known as "abacus knot". Below the brim of the center of the nail has a "sign", called "cap is", pearl, agate, there are also small silver, glass. Legend has it that this cap first began in the early Ming Dynasty. Because of its six petals sewn together, take the "six", that is, heaven and earth four sides of the "unity" of the meaning, it is prevalent. After the Manchu entered the customs, by the influence of the Chinese culture, also take its "unity of the six" meaning, began to wear this hat, and quite popular. Now, in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period of television, television dramas, we can still often see its shadow.

Early Manchu men wore double-ridged face called "big stupid shoes" a kind of shoes. Shoes with green cloth, green satin fabric. The front face of the shoe, set double or single black leather strip. The tip of the shoe is convex and upturned, like a boat when viewed from the side. In addition to "flag shoes" and flat shoes (flat shoes are embroidered with floral patterns on the upper, and the front face of the shoe is embroidered with "clouds"), there is also a kind of "thousand-layer shoes". "Thousand-layer shoes are made with multi-layer gusseted soles, hence the name. The upper is made of fabric, and is usually not embroidered with flowers and other designs, and is mostly worn during labor.

There is also a very distinctive shoes, called Ula (leg warmer) shoes, mostly for the Manchu people to wear in winter. Sewn with cowhide or pigskin, inside the leg warmer (Wula) grass, both lightweight, but also warm, suitable for winter hunting and ice running.

Living

Manchu people in the early days of the mountains and water, in order to facilitate and adapt to their production and living habits. Manchu rural houses are generally three or five rooms, sitting north to south for light, are in the east end of the south side of the door, shaped like a pocket, commonly known as the "pocket room", to facilitate the gathering of warmth. East and west have rooms, with the gatehouse, which constitutes what is commonly known as the courtyard. Most of the houses are brick houses with ridges, commonly known as "Haiqing houses". Room columns are inserted into the ground, the door opens to the south, tall and spacious. Room directly opposite the door of a so-called hall, also known as the outhouse, set the kitchen stove pots and pans, water tanks, stove through the west room kang, kang, Manchu said "tua". From the west wall of the hall, the door is opened to the inner room, which consists of "Wanzikeng" or "Mangzhi kang" on the south, north and west sides. The Manchus are still right-winged, and the west wall is used as a place for ancestral tablets. The west kang is a narrow kang that does not house people and is connected to the flue. The north and south kangs are on opposite sides. The bed is covered with mats or paper and oil. A closet is placed at the end of the kang, which contains clothes, and bedding and toiletries are stacked on top of the wardrobe. At night, the elders live in the south kang of the west house, and the north kang is divided into brothers and daughters-in-law. When they go to bed, their heads face out of the kang and their feet are against the wall, which is good for preventing cold and breathing fresh air. The walls are mostly covered with paper paintings. In order to protect themselves from the cold in the north, some of them also have a fire place. Outside the house, there is a round chimney (called Hulan in Manchu) on the west wall, several feet above the eaves. The chimney has a nest at the bottom of the wind arena, to block the wind. North and south walls have windows, window paper glued to the outside of the window pane, more "Goryeo paper", paper dripping oil or salt water, so as not to fall off for the rain and snow. The window lattice and the door are made up of various patterns, which are beautiful and firm. The windows are divided into two, and the upper window can be supported by a stick for ventilation. There is often a yokka hanging from the beams of the room, and babies are placed in the yokka. There is a rectangular kang table on the kang, and it is warm and convenient to sit around the table and cross-legged during meals. The left and right sides of the table are covered with felt mattresses for guests. The latticework, rafters, and buildings of the house are often carved and painted. The side rooms are set up in the mill and warehouse (called Hash in Manchu). Outside the room surrounded by a wall. Southeast of the courtyard erected "Solon pole", the pole on the tin bucket, under the pole to put three stones, known as the "God Stone". Behind the pole is a brick wall, wall decorated with rain hitch.

In the past, the city's rich and powerful people live in courtyard houses. The main gate of the courtyard was usually a three-roomed building with three to five rooms in the main house and three to five rooms in the east and west compartments, surrounded by a brick wall, with stone blocks on both sides of the gatehouse, known as "Shang Ma Shi" (the stone stone for mounting the horse). Some courtyards are divided into two courtyards, one in front and one in back. Most of these Manchu folk dwellings have been preserved in the Manchu settlements in the Northeast. However, since the 1980s, most of the houses have been built in a more spacious and modern style, except for a small number of people who still keep the traditional way of building.

In order to adapt to the mountainous and forested snowy plains living environment, the traditional means of transportation in the Manchu settlement areas are mainly horse-drawn carriages, plows, canoes and birch-skin boats. Climbing plow (Manchu said Fala) is a snow transport, the two tree trunks with fire baked and bent into a bow, the upper end of the upturned, the ground part of the width of about 1 meter and a half, above the pavement board or made into a box, driving to the horse, oxen, loaded with people loaded with extremely lightweight. Currently only in the colder northern mountains occasionally used. Manchu water transportation is the earliest canoe (Manchu called Wei Hu), by the thick logs chiseled into, can accommodate several people. There is also a birch bark boat, the production is more difficult. First do the keel, inside and outside with birch bark, a person can carry walking. It was quite lightweight. It is now rare and has been replaced by modern boats.

Etiquette

The Manchus are a people who pay great attention to etiquette. The Manchu people meet or see the guests, there are a variety of etiquette, including playing a thousand rites, stroking sideburns, pulling the hand rites, holding the rites, half-squatting rites, kowtow rites and so on. Among them, the playing of thousands of rituals, hold to see rituals, kowtow rituals are mainly used for men, while others are used for women. The "Thousand-Playing Ceremony" is used for the younger generation to the elder generation and the subordinate generation to the chief, in the form of popping down the sleeve of the arrow, bending the left knee in front, bending the right leg slightly, placing the left hand on the left knee, dropping the right hand, and asking for good health. Hugging to see the etiquette is used between peers, the younger generation to elders can also be used, but the younger generation to embrace the elders of the waist, the elders stroked the back of the younger generation, and so on. Nowadays, some of the cumbersome etiquette has been simplified.

The Manchu tradition of honoring the elderly is more obvious. The younger generation every morning and evening to the father, the ancestors greetings, on the way to meet the elders to make way for the elders to sit down and eat first. The Manchu people emphasize feelings of trust, sincere treatment of guests and friends, guests must be hosted, the promised things must be done.

The traditional marriage ceremony of the Manchu people is more complicated, roughly through the matchmaker, put the set, the color, over the box, welcome the bride, worship, worship ancestors, the size of the sub, back to the door and other procedures.

Through the matchmaker that is, the male family to ask the matchmaker to the female family proposal, both agreed to put a small fixed, that is, the male family gift Ruyi or hairpin and bracelet things for the fixed gift. Then the wedding, that is, to choose an auspicious day, the male family and their relatives to ask the female family name, the female family hosted a banquet, the male parent speech to propose, the female family to thank again and again, the male family insisted on proposing to the female family agreed to be considered to settle the marriage. Only after the woman's family agrees will the marriage be finalized. At this time, the man must pay homage to the woman's family deity and her elders. After the wedding to be over the gift, but also to choose an auspicious day, the male family to send clothes, silk, sheep, geese and other gifts. The man's family will also give silver money. At this time to agree on the wedding date. Into the stage of welcoming the bride, the woman's family in the day before the wedding date to accompany the dowry, commonly known as "over the box", the bridegroom to the woman's family to thank. Meet the bride, the groom in the company of the bridegroom team rushed to meet the bride, on the way to the two cars on the wrong side, the bride's brother will hold the bride on the groom's family of colorful cars, commonly known as "plug the car" (due to the different customs of the Manchu people in various regions, there is also a bridegroom and bridegroom to meet the bride's home directly to the bride's home to meet the bride. There are also places where the "flag custom does not pro-welcome" said). Bride to the groom's home, change car in the sedan chair, sedan chair landing, the groom should be false shooting three arrows. Bride masked red head off the sedan chair, and the groom stood beforehand in the courtyard in front of the heaven and earth table, three kowtow to the north, commonly known as the worship of the Big Dipper, that is, worship of heaven and earth. After worship withdrawal of heaven and earth table, the bride into a temporary tent, called sitting tent. Sitting in the tent when the "open face", change the head shape. After sitting in the tent, the bride crossed the saddle into the bridal chamber, the bridegroom with a scale pole to remove the cover thrown to the eaves. Couples drink the cup of wine, eat the happy face, children and grandchildren meat and potatoes, the people in the bridal chamber. In the evening of the wedding day, the bride and groom to worship ancestors. The first day of marriage, the bride to her husband's relatives loaded with cigarettes and tea, worship clan, recognizing the generation, so-called sub-size. Generally three days after the wedding, the couple returned to the woman's home, to meet the bride's family and worship ancestors. One month after the wedding, the bride went back to her mother's home to live for a month, so-called live on the month. At this point, the marriage ceremony is over.

These complicated marriage procedures have been simplified in today's Manchu-inhabited areas and have been integrated into modern forms. For example, the insertion of the car, evolved into a young man and woman riding bicycles or motorcycles, each accompanied by a free wedding party, from their own homes, traveling to meet in the middle of the road, the two exchanged bicycles or motorcycles, and then to the groom's home together. There are also worship ancestors, some places evolved into the new couple worship both parents. Although there are changes, but still has a strong ethnic characteristics. In addition, Manchu marriage ceremonies vary slightly depending on the region in which they live, and are not identical, but the main procedures are roughly the same.

Manchu's child-rearing customs are relatively special. The birth of a male in the door to the left hanging bow and arrow, the birth of a female in the door to the right hanging colorful cloth, the mother's family to send a yochi. Three days after the birth of the child, friends and relatives to send congratulatory gifts, commonly known as "milk". And held a baptism, called "wash three". At the time of the full moon, guests are invited to "do the full moon" and bows and arrows or strips of cloth are removed and hung on the "grandchildren's rope". On the 100th day, colored strips of cloth from each family are woven into locks, called padlocks. At the age of one year, a grand ceremony is held for the child to "catch the week". Generally at the age of 16, boys shave their hair, girls coil their hair in a bun. So far in the northeastern Manchu settlement still retains the "breastfeeding", "wash three", "do full moon", "catch week" and other traditional customs. and other traditional customs.

Burial customs

The funeral of the Manchu people is based on earth burial and cremation, and the history of earth burial and cremation is very long. Cremation was the mainstay before the Manchus entered the country, mainly due to their frequent migration. In addition, the Eight Banners generals in the early Qing Dynasty, more deaths in battle, the bones are inconvenient to send back to their hometowns, so more cremation. Gradually changed after the Manchu entered the customs, from the cremation and burial and development of earth burial as the main earth burial. Funeral rituals are, the deceased before the end of life wear life jacket, mostly robes, coats, for the singular. The spirit stops inside the house, usually within 7 days. The spirit bed is made of wooden boards, with the head west and feet east. Spirit streamers made of about 3 feet of red cloth, decorated with black spikes, hanging in the yard on a high pole. Manchu people use the special shape of the coffin, the upper part of the bulge, wide and narrow, called "flag material".

Spiritual period of family mourning, held a memorial service. Into the coffin when the coffin put gold and silver and other things, the poor with gold and silver foil instead of treasure, the mouth contains copper or jade, the spirit of the coffin in the yard in the shed. Funeral mostly choose a single day of the lunar calendar, carry the spirit of 16 kong, 32 kong, 64 kong points. After the funeral, the people who helped are thanked and invited to dinner. After the funeral, they burn paper on the grave every seven days, seven times in a row. The paper is burned on the 100th day and on the anniversary. The Manchu burn paper is folded into a pocket shape, commonly known as the burning pocket. Qingming Festival to go to the grave, burning pockets and inserting the Buddha. In the past 30 years, the funeral of the Manchu people and changed to cremation-based. However, the rituals of paying tribute to loved ones still retain many ancient traditions, such as burning pockets on Qingming Festival, inserting Buddha butt, burning seven, burning hundred days, burning anniversary, etc., are still the same.

Taboos

There are many Manchu taboos. Blasphemy against gods and ancestors is not allowed. For example, the Manchu people to the west for the noble, ancestor box on the west bed, the west bed is not allowed to live and put miscellaneous objects, can not have a variety of disrespectful behavior. Not allowed to hit the dog, more taboo to kill dogs, eating dog meat, wearing a dog skin hat, also does not allow foreigners wearing a dog skin hat into the home. Legend has it that Nurhachu had instructed the clan "there are beasts in the mountains, as much as you can hit to eat, but, in the future, no longer allowed to eat dog meat, wearing dog skin, the dog died to bury it, because the dog is humane, can save the Lord, is a righteous dog." Since then, love and respect for dogs has become the habits of the Manchu people. In addition, the Manchus not only do not eat crow meat, there are feeding crows, crow worship custom.

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