Manchu customs and life

Dress:

"Hair Crown" and "Flag Shoes"

Flag Dress:

Since the 2th century, Manchu economy and culture have undergone tremendous changes, and many traditional dresses are very rare. However, from movies, TV shows and museums, we can often appreciate the elegance of the old flag costumes. Among them, the headdress of women's heads, which is wide and long, fan-like and crown-like, is very eye-catching.

In the past, Manchu women, like boys, shaved off the hair around the top of their heads when they were young, leaving only the back of their skulls, braiding them and hanging them behind their heads until they reached adulthood. After marriage, I began to wear a big basin head, a shelf head and two first-class buns, of which two heads are more typical. The two heads are to tie the hair on the top of the head and divide it into two locks, each of which is made into a bun, and then the rest of the hair at the back is made into a "dovetail" long flat bun. Usually, a hairpin with a length of 2-3 cm and a width of 23 cm is horizontally inserted into the bun, so it is necessary to wear a crown when celebrating an auspicious day or receiving distinguished guests.

Flag head:

The hair crown is a fan-shaped crown with a length of more than 3 cm and a width of more than 1 cm, which is made of iron wire or bamboo rattan as a hat frame and covered with green satin, green velvet or green yarn. It can be fixed on the bun when it is worn. It is often embroidered with patterns, inlaid with jewels or decorated with various flowers and decorated with long tassels. This headdress is mostly used by Manchu upper-class women, and it is only used by ordinary women when they get married. Wearing this wide and long hair crown limits the twisting of the neck and makes them straight. Coupled with the long cheongsam and high-end flag shoes, they walk with delicate steps, which is particularly stable and elegant.

Horseshoe shoes:

In addition to "cheongsam" and "hair crown", Manchu women's "flag shoes" are also very distinctive. This embroidered flag shoe is made of wood, which is called "high-soled shoes" or "flowerpot-soled" shoes and "horseshoe-soled" shoes. Its wooden heel is generally about 5-1 cm high, some can reach 14-16 cm, and the highest can reach about 25 cm. Usually wrapped in white cloth, and then embedded in the middle of the sole of the foot. There are usually two shapes of heel bottom, one is open at the top and convergent at the bottom, which is in the shape of an inverted trapezoidal flowerpot. The other is thin at the top and wide at the bottom, flat at the front and round at the back, and its appearance and landing marks are like horseshoes. "flowerpot bottom" and "horseshoe bottom" are named after this, and they are also collectively called "high-soled shoes". In addition to the embroidered patterns or decorative pieces such as cicada butterflies on the upper, the parts where the wood can't follow the ground are often decorated with embroidery or beading. Some shoe tips are also decorated with ears woven with silk thread, which are as long as the ground. The high-heeled wooden sole of this kind of shoes is extremely strong, often the upper is broken, while the sole is still intact and can be reused. High-end flag shoes are mostly worn by aristocratic young and middle-aged women over the age of thirteen or fourteen. The flag shoes of elderly women are mostly made of flat wood, which is called "flat shoes". The front end of the flag shoes is slightly cut to facilitate walking. I don't even wear them now.

since ancient times, Manchu people have the custom of "cutting wood for shoes". There are many opinions about the origin of this kind of high-soled shoes. One view is that in the past, Manchu women often went up the mountain to collect wild fruits, mushrooms, etc. In order to prevent insect bites, they tied wooden blocks on the soles, and later they made increasingly sophisticated shoes and developed them into high-soled shoes. There is also a legend that in order to cross a mud pond and recapture the city occupied by the enemy, the ancestors of Manchu learned the appearance of white cranes and tied high branches on their shoes, and finally won, achieving the goal of revenge and development. In order not to forget those miserable days and to commemorate the contribution of stilted wooden shoes, women put on these shoes and passed them down from generation to generation, becoming more and more exquisite and beautiful, and became like this later.

In history, Manchu men liked to wear blue robes and mandarin jackets, with hair braids at the back of their heads, domes and trousers. Women, on the other hand, like to wear straight cheongsam, comb a bow or a "bun", wear a ring, hang a handkerchief around their waist, be full of feet and wear patterned shoes. However, today's "cheongsam" is not the clothing of Manchu women in history, but a fashion that absorbs the western clothing cutting methods, which is very different from the clothing of Manchu women in the past.

Manchu costumes were popular all over the country in the Qing dynasty, but now they are the same as Han costumes. Manchu women don't bind their feet, and their shoes are embroidered with beautiful flowers, and the center of the sole is padded with a wooden heel with a height of 1 cm. Manchu women can walk with their heads held high and their waists swaying. Manchu women's hair styles have changed a lot. When they were girls, they simply pulled their hair behind their heads. When you get married soon, you should braid your hair and put it into a single bun. After marriage, there are many kinds of hairstyles, such as double bun and single bun. The double bun hairstyle combs your hair from the top of your head into two parts. The front bun is combed into a flat top for wearing a crown, and the back bun of the neck is combed into a dovetail shape and spread out behind the shin, which makes the neck always keep straight. Therefore, Manchu women are more noble and dignified when they walk. The picture shows a Manchu bride combing her wedding hairstyle. Cheongsam is a dress worn by Manchu men, women and children all year round. It is simple to cut, with a round collar, wide front and back, narrow sleeves, cut in four pieces and long seams, which is convenient for getting on and off the horse. Narrow sleeves facilitate archery. Because the sleeve mouth is attached with horseshoe-shaped sleeves, it is also called horseshoe sleeves. After the Manchu gradually got rid of riding and shooting career, horseshoe sleeves have become decorations, and putting down horseshoe sleeves is still the etiquette for Manchu to pay tribute to the elderly and venerable people. Women's cheongsam is more decorative than men's cheongsam. The collar, front and cuffs are decorated with embroidery. With the changes of the times, the style of cheongsam has also changed greatly, and the four-piece cutting system has also been changed to two-piece cutting system. Cheongsam can show women's figure and curve well. The picture shows a vest worn by Manchu women in a cheongsam coat. Embroidered with exquisite patterns. Manchu women wearing cheongsam and dancing in court. Men wearing traditional Manchu cheongsam include robes with arrow sleeves and a vest, as well as hats of Manchu men.

Folk houses:

In the past, there was a shadow wall in the general courtyard of Manchu people, and there was a "Solo pole" for the gods. 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 on the west, the middle room is called the hall, and the east room is called the lower room on the east. There are three kang in the west, namely, the south, the west and the north. The west kang is expensive, the north kang is big, and the south kang is small. Visitors live in the west kang, and the elders live in the north kang, while the younger generation lives in the south kang.

custom:

Manchu people honor their elders and pay attention to etiquette. When they meet their elders on the road, they should bow sideways and bow their hands, waiting for them to pass by. Not only should the younger generation greet their elders, but also the younger generation should greet their elders. When relatives and friends meet, in addition to shaking hands and greeting each other, some people also greet each other with a waist. During the Spring Festival, we should worship once every two years, once on the evening of the 3th to bid farewell to the old year, and once again on the first day of the New Year, which is called welcoming the new year. Indoor Xikang is not allowed to sit and pile up sundries at will; Avoid beating, killing and eating dog meat; Guests who don't wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin mattress are forbidden to wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin sleeve.

Manchu people regard the Western Wall as a sacred place to worship their ancestors, and are not allowed to hang clothes and post New Year pictures here. Xikang, commonly known as "Buddha Kang", is provided with "ancestor board". It is forbidden for people, especially women, to sit and lie casually. Usually, guests are not allowed to rest in Xikang, let alone put dog skin hats or whips here. Avoid beating, killing and eating dog meat; Guests who don't wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin mattress are forbidden to wear a dog skin hat or a dog skin sleeve.

Don't cross the tripod of the cooker or fireplace, step on it with your pedal or sit casually on the cooker or fireplace; No feet, socks, shoes and boots are allowed to be baked on the stove mouth or pond; It is forbidden to throw leftover food, bones, fishbones, etc. into the cooker or fireplace.

Manchu used to believe in Shamanism. Every year, according to different festivals, they offered sacrifices to heaven, gods and ancestors, with pigs and pig heads as the main sacrifices. When offering sacrifices, pigs should be killed, especially when offering sacrifices to ancestors, black pigs without miscellaneous hairs (some must also choose black boars), and wine should be injected into pigs' ears before slaughter. If pigs' ears shake, it is considered that God has received them and they can be slaughtered. This move is commonly known as "collar sacrifice". In some places, pig intestines and bladders should be put in a bucket and hung on a pole for crows to eat. If they are eaten within three days, it will be lucky. Then cut the whole pig into eight pieces, put them in a square plate as they are, and put them under the ancestral tablet of Xishan wall in the house. The family members kowtowed bareheaded three times according to their seniority, then chopped the meat into a pot and boiled it, and the whole family sat around and ate it with salt. At this time, if there is a guest, just kowtow three times in front of the ancestral tablet, you can sit down and eat together, and you don't have to thank you after eating. Manchu people still have the habit of inviting their neighbors and friends to taste the first pork when they kill pigs. In the past, when the crops were ripe, Manchu people still had the habit of "recommending new ones" for sacrifice, but now it has been replaced by the custom of "tofu on the field and cake on the field", that is, when the five grains are on the field, they will eat tofu with new beans, and when the field is over, they will eat rhubarb rice or bean noodles with new grains to celebrate the bumper harvest. When young Manchu men and women get married, the bride must first sit on the Nankang, which is also called "sitting on the blessing". It is not until the evening that a table is put on the ground, and the bride and groom have to walk around the table hand in hand for three times and then have a drink.

Daily food custom:

Manchu folk eat three meals during busy farming hours and two meals during slack farming hours. The staple food is mostly millet and sorghum rice, japonica rice and dried rice. I like to add adzuki beans or baked beans to the rice, such as sorghum rice and dried rice. In some areas, corn is the staple food and corn flour is fermented to make "sour soup". Manchu people in most parts of Northeast China also have the habit of eating rice by draft, that is, after cooking sorghum rice or corn (rice+rice), they are washed with clear water, then soaked in clear water, taken out when eating, and put into bowls, which are cool and delicious. This way of eating is mostly in summer. The cake is made of sticky sorghum, sticky corn, yellow rice, etc., including bean flour cake, glutinous rice cake, Suye cake, pineapple leaf cake, beef tongue cake, New Year cake cake, boiled cake (jiaozi in Chinese) and so on. Manchu's cake has a long history and became the staple food of the court in Qing Dynasty. One of the most representative is the imperial meal "chestnut noodle Wowotou", also known as Xiaowotou. Manchu dim sum Saqima has also become a famous pastry in China. More famous are the cakes of the Qing Dongling, also known as the big cakes of the Qing Dongling, the cakes of Beijing snacks, the cakes of Chengde snacks in Hebei, and the cakes of lard in Jingzhou snacks in Hubei.

The weather in the north is cold in winter, and there are no fresh vegetables. Manchu people often take pickled Chinese cabbage (sauerkraut) as the main vegetable in autumn and winter. It is said that the method of preserving vegetables by pickling began in the period of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty. Boiling white meat and vermicelli with sauerkraut is a common dish for Manchu people after winter. Sauerkraut can be eaten by boiling, stewing, frying and cold salad, and it is unique to use sauerkraut in hot pot. Side dishes can also be used to make stuffed jiaozi. In Manchuria in Northeast China, pickled sauerkraut can be eaten by every household until the next spring. In addition, daily vegetables include radishes and beans. Manchu people love to eat pork and often cook it in white. The restaurant in Shenyang, Liaoning Province is a Manchu restaurant with a history of more than 1 years. Its white meat and blood sausage are known as authentic Manchu flavor.

Manchu people have many dining customs and etiquette. For example, passers-by can share the used cake and meat, but generally they can't take it with them, and they are not allowed to wipe their mouths after eating. When the family eats, the elders don't move chopsticks, and the younger generation never moves chopsticks; When killing pigs in the New Year, it is a habit to invite relatives and friends and neighbors to eat white meat and blood sausage.

ethnic food:

Manchu people live in scattered places, and there are representative typical foods everywhere, mainly including:

① white meat and blood sausage.

② Hot pot (traditional Manchu cuisine)

③ Sour soup 9 is a typical food of Manchu in Xiuyan, Liaoning Province)

④ Qing Dongling Pastry (also known as Qing Dongling Dabobo). It was first used as an offering by the Qing emperor when he went to Dongling to worship his ancestors, so it was also called "sacrifice cake". When making offerings, there are dozens of kinds of cakes with thick fruit stuffing, fish cakes, spoon cakes, chrysanthemum cakes, batter cakes, fried Korean cakes, glutinous rice cakes, yellow rice cakes, seven-star cakes, egg cakes, buttermilk cakes, wild grape cakes and yamanashi cakes. After being introduced into the folk to make cakes, they are generally divided into two kinds of cakes, big and small. Big cakes are eight pieces per catty, commonly known as eight pieces of Qing Dongling; Small cakes are sixteen pieces per catty, commonly known as eight pieces of Qing Dongling. The varieties of big and small cakes mainly include Taishi cake, muffin, rose cake, Longfeng cake and hawthorn peach. There are also seven-star ideas without stuffing, eight-split cakes, walnut cakes, and mouth-to-mouth cakes.)

Traditional festivals:

Many Manchu festivals are the same as those of the Han nationality. There are mainly Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, February 2nd, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional sports activities such as "Pearl Ball", vault, camel jumping and skating are generally held during festivals.

pigs should be killed on holidays, and two or three pigs should be killed in each family during the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (Laba Festival), eight kinds of food such as sticky sorghum and adzuki beans are used to cook porridge, which is called Laba porridge. Eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve, and put a white thread in a jiaozi. Whoever eats the white thread means who can live long. Some people put a copper coin in a jiaozi, which means that they have money to spend in the new year. In addition, we should eat hand-made meat and a special snack "Sachima".

The Golden Festival is a day of Manchu "national celebration". On October 13th, 1635, Huang Taiji issued an imperial edict, officially changing the national name "Nuzhen" to "Manchuria", which marked the formation of a new national identity.

In October, 1989, at the First Manchu Culture Symposium in Dandong, December 3rd was officially designated as the "Golden Festival".

Golden Festival: It is the day of Manchu "national celebration". On October 13th of the lunar calendar in 1635, Huang Taiji issued an imperial edict, officially changing the name "Nuzhen" to "Manchuria", which marked the formation of a new national identity. In October, 1989, at the "First Manchu Culture Symposium" in Dandong, December 3rd of each year was officially designated as the "Golden Festival".

Shangyuan Festival: the 15th day of the first month, commonly known as "Lantern Festival". Like the Han nationality, Manchu also has the custom of hanging lanterns and eating Yuanxiao.

Walking away from all diseases: a festival for Manchu women. Usually on the sixteenth day of the first month. On that night, women in groups of three or five traveled far away, or walked in the sand and rolled ice, or had fun, which was called "Walking with All Diseases".

February 2nd: commonly known as "Dragon Head Up Day". On the morning of the same day, Manchu people scattered kitchen ashes in the courtyard, and the ash road was curved like a dragon, so it was called "attracting dragons". Then a ceremony was held in the courtyard to pray for good weather. The whole family will eat "Longxu Noodles" and "Long Lin Cake". Women can't do needlework this day.

Tomb-Sweeping Day: Unlike the Han people who put money on the top of the grave after making paper money, they put "Buddha flowers" on the grave to pay homage to their ancestors. "Foduo" is Manchu and translated into Chinese as "willow" or "willow branch". According to Manchu belief, willow is the ancestor of man, and man is the descendant of willow. In order to show that there are successors, willow should be inserted in the grave.

Dragon Boat Festival: Manchu people eat zongzi and row dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival, and their customs are the same as those of Han people.

Mid-Autumn Festival: The Manchu people take July 15th as the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also regarded as a "ghost festival" to turn over the dead. At that time, temples around the country will set up Dojo, burn lamps and chant Buddhist scriptures, and hold various ceremony of crossing over.

Mid-Autumn Festival: Manchu families also eat "reunion dinner" during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, when the moon rises, there will be a moon. That is, a wooden screen is placed in the west side of the courtyard to the east, and cockscomb flowers, soybean branches and fresh lotus roots are hung on the screen for the use of moon rabbits. There is a square table in front of the screen, with a big moon cake on it. When offering sacrifices, women worship first, and men worship later.

Laba Festival: Manchu people want to soak "Laba vinegar" and cook "Laba meat" on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Besides food for the whole family, it should be distributed to relatives and friends.

off-year: the custom of off-year for Manchu people is the same as that for Han people. The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the "off-year". At that time, every household will sacrifice to the kitchen god, commonly known as "sending the kitchen god."