Manchu etiquette and customs

Before Manchu entered Liaoshen, they were good at riding and shooting. Children around 7 years old practice shooting mandarin fish with wooden bows and arrows, and women hold whips like men. Manchu costumes, men shave off the surrounding hair, braid it and hang it behind their heads, wear horseshoe sleeves, split on both sides and tied it around their waist for riding and shooting. This woman wears a bun, earrings, a wide straight cheongsam and high heels. After entering the customs, Manchu and Han costumes gradually became consistent. There was a time when it was very popular for women to wear cheongsam everywhere. In the past, there were shadow walls in the general yards of Manchu families, and there were "single poles" for immortals. Generally, a house has two main rooms, the door faces south, the outhouse has a stove, and the back room has kangs in the north, west and south.

Manchu attaches importance to etiquette. In the past, it was usually to watch the elders perform the "dry" ceremony. The man bent his right knee and his right hand hung down it. The woman squatted down and put her hands on her knees. Friends and relatives of the same generation meet, regardless of gender. The west of Manchu is the best. Indoor Xikang is not allowed to sit casually and pile up sundries. The main taboos are not to fight or kill dogs, not to eat dog meat and not to use dog skin products; Avoid guests wearing dog skin hats or sleeves. It is said that this custom was gradually formed mainly because dogs played a helper role in the long-term fishing and hunting life of Manchu ancestors, and people could not bear to eat its meat and use its skin.

For more than 300 years since the Qing Dynasty, Manchu and Han people have coexisted for a long time, and Manchu in Shanhaiguan is no different from Han people in language, dress and customs. Customs Manchu people living in various places are only in remote villages where Manchu people live in concentrated communities, and some Manchu residents still use Manchu to maintain some inherent customs of Manchu. At the same time, some elements of Manchu customs can also be found in Han customs (including Chinese vocabulary), but Manchu imitates Han customs more often than Han people. Manchu is a nation that is good at learning and creating, and has contributed to the development of the culture of the motherland.

Manchu is mainly distributed in three northeastern provinces of China, with Liaoning being the largest. In addition, there are a few Manchu scattered in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shandong, Xinjiang and other provinces and large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Fuzhou, Baiyin and Xi 'an.

Manchu has a long history, which can be traced back to Sushen people more than two thousand years ago. Their descendants have been living in the northern Changbai Mountain, the middle and upper reaches of Heilongjiang and the Wusuli River basin. 1644, the Qing army entered the customs, unified China, and formed a situation in which Manchu and Han lived together for a long time. After the Revolution of 1911, Manchu was renamed Manchu. Manchu people honor their elders and pay attention to etiquette.

When you meet an elder on the road, you should bow sideways, bow with both hands, and wait for the elder to pass by. Not only the younger generation should greet the elders, but also the younger generation should greet the elders. When relatives and friends meet, in addition to shaking hands to say hello, some people will also say hello. The kowtow ceremony is common in the lower level to the higher level, and the younger generation to the elder. Show respect, service and entreaty, or pay tribute to the New Year during the Spring Festival. When saluting, first take off your hat, kneel on your left knee and then kneel on your right knee. With a snap of horseshoe sleeves, he landed on his hands and knocked his head three times. This custom has existed since the founding of the People's Republic of China. "News Record of Jianzhou" said: "Take off your hat and kowtow to the slave owner (Nuerhachi) when he sees Hu (referring to Nuzhen as an official), and you will be just like Hu." You should also kowtow when offering sacrifices.

There are many taboos in Manchu life, and taboos are regarded as impolite. Manchu people are not interested in wearing a dog fur hat to eat dog meat, and they are most afraid of others wearing a dog fur hat to enter the house. Legend has it that when Hanwang was in trouble, the dog was saved by kindness, and the Manchu people regarded it as a benefactor and protected it. No one is allowed to sit casually on Xikang. There is a dragon fence in the yard, and animals are not allowed to be tied.

There are also taboos and rules in the hierarchy and hierarchy. A new wife cannot eat at the same table as her father-in-law, mother-in-law and husband. When the elders eat, the daughter-in-law will serve. Otherwise it will be regarded as disrespectful and unfilial. Grandpa and uncle are not allowed to joke with nephew and daughter-in-law. My nephew and daughter-in-law are not allowed to show their arms and legs in front of my uncle. In the past, Manchu women's cheongsam was long enough to cover the instep and the sleeves were long enough to the back of their hands, which was very different from the short-sleeved cheongsam now.

Manchu people have the fashion of respecting the elderly. When young people meet their elders, they should stand with their hands down and answer their questions kindly. If someone complains about their parents, their children must stand up and answer. The old man asked Xiao An for three days and Da An for five days. Please show your respect. Men have "greetings", "beating a thousand children" and "kowtowing". "Greeting" means to retire and say hello. "Sword" means to please Daan, also called "kneeling on one leg", and Manchu means "Ella talami", that is, first quickly brush off the sleeve head, bend the left leg forward, squat down the right leg, hold the knee with the left hand, droop the right hand, and lean forward slightly with the head and body. "kowtow ceremony", that is, kowtow, kneel three times or six times, New Year "must be four times, kneel three times, hold your head high and hold your chest high, if you obey. If you respect your elders, I wish them good words, but you must get up and knock them, otherwise you can't afford it "("Liu Lulve "Volume 4).

Kneel three times and knock nine times to the gods, ancestors and emperors. Women's etiquette is different from men's, and there is a kind of "squat ceremony", commonly known as "semi-squat", that is, standing with feet parallel, hands on knees, bow-shaped, knees slightly bent, like semi-squat. When women meet each other on weekdays, they caress their forehead with their right hand and nod in worship, commonly known as "caressing their temples", that is, caressing their eyebrows, forehead and temples three times, and then nodding their heads visually.

When women meet, the ceremony of holding hands is commonly known as "Lala ceremony", which is different from the visiting ceremony of Han women. Reunion after a long separation, and then holding hands to greet, is a gift from the closest person. When the younger generation met the elder, they held his waist with both hands, and the elder caressed his back with his hands. The old couple had a "head-to-head ceremony" when they met. When we meet again after a long separation, the wife comes forward and holds the old man's chest with her head. The old man stroked his wife's head or neck several times.

Manchu people, when they meet strangers on the road, should bow and ask "Saiyin" (Manchu, good meaning); If you ride a horse, get off the horse and flash on the side of the road to let the elders go first. The elders also politely said, "Thank you, brother, please get on the horse first" and let the young people get on the horse and go ahead.

Daughter-in-law has more respect for in-laws. She should be dignified and respectful, pack cigarettes for her in-laws three times a day, stand and wait on her three meals a day, and send face washing water and foot washing water in the morning and evening. The new wife can't eat on the kang in the first year. Don't wear short clothes in front of your in-laws, and don't scold your children loudly. When the daughter-in-law goes out, she will pack cigarettes for her in-laws and say, "Please ask grandma and my mom to look after the house." When the guests come, the daughter-in-law should wear an apron and listen to her mother-in-law on the kang. Every time she shouted "daughter-in-law wants to promise", she went to work. Even if the daughter-in-law is very old, she should be respectful in front of the younger generation and elders.

Manchu people have the custom of attaching importance to their sister-in-law. Unmarried Manchu girls have a high status, with in-laws sitting on the table, sister-in-law sitting on one side, and daughter-in-law standing by and serving carefully.

Manchu people are generous, hospitable and trustworthy. In Manchu-inhabited areas, some people try to find the owner when they find something on the road, and if they can't find it, they lose it. There is a habit of being ashamed of stealing money from others. As the saying goes, "neighbors will help when they are in trouble", and it is common for rural neighbors to get together for rice and firewood. Lending to each other, no need to sign a contract, only by verbal agreement, abide by faith.

In the past, there were few hotels in the country, and passers-by had to find a house to live in. The host family warmly entertained him, and he naturally stayed after eating and drinking. Because Manchu people have one room and three kangs, they often have one room and one household, and men and women don't shy away from each other. However, it is polite for guests to lie down with their hostess and clothes on their backs when they are asleep.

The next day, the guests went on their way, leaving no reward, just giving the host a "shoulder gift" to express their gratitude. If passers-by enter the room and the host is not at home, you can cook and eat by yourself, clean up after dinner, put things back, and bring grass in front of the door when you leave. The grass will be slightly in the direction you want to go. The host will feel honored to come back.

In Manchu families, there are sacrifices or festivals. If you want to kill animals and eat meat, you should invite relatives and friends to visit and let them sit on Nankang. Family members should give meat to their elders. The meat is boiled in white, and salt is not allowed. Especially tender and delicious. Guests eat with a blade, with salt, sauerkraut and sauce. Guests kowtow to the host when they enter the door, turn around and sit down to eat meat, and are not allowed to thank and wipe their mouths after eating, otherwise it is disrespectful to the host.

Manchu traditional houses are generally divided into three rooms: west, middle and east, with the gate facing south. The west room is called the upper room in the west, the middle room is called the hall, and the east room is called the lower room in the east. There are three health in the west, namely, south, west and north. Xikanggui, Beikangda, Nankang Small. Visitors live in Xikang, elders live in Beikang, and younger generations live in Nankang.