Why does Mandarin have so many Manchu words? How did this happen?

Mandarin is the common language of our country. People in all provinces, cities and autonomous regions across the country must learn the correct pronunciation of Mandarin and write standardized Chinese characters when they go to school.

But what is less known is that some words in Mandarin come from the Manchu language. What is going on?

Common Manchu words in Mandarin

Generally speaking, the common Manchu words in Mandarin fall into the following categories:

1. Place names, this type The word is commonly used in place names in the Northeast

For example, Harbin, this word means "net drying field" in Manchu.

Jiamusi, transliterated from the Manchu word "Jiamusi Geshan". Jiamusi means "station", Geshan means "village", and "Jiamusi Geshan" means "station village".

The place name of the northeastern city Qiqihar means "checkpoint by the Qiqin River" in Manchu.

Yichun means "the place where leather is produced" in Manchu. Jilin means "a place near the river" in Manchu.

2. Part of the Manchu language appeared in Qing palace dramas and became known to later generations

For example, in the TV series "Huan Zhu Ge Ge", Xiao Yanzi and others called Qianlong "Emperor". "Ama", this "Huang Ama" means "Father Huang" in Chinese.

The "Huang'e Niang" in "The Secret History of Xiaozhuang" means "mother" and "mother". Gege means "princess".

3. Enter the Manchu language in daily life

For example, Shaqima, this is a special snack that was originally satisfying.

Kechu means "shameful" in Manchu.

Pese comes from Manchu and means "proud and complacent" in Mandarin.

Zehhu, its meaning in Manchu is "shrew", in Mandarin it means shouting, which is uncivilized and impolite behavior.

Dressing up means "too extravagant" in Manchu and "modifies appearance to make oneself look better" in Mandarin.

Ma-so-huhu comes from the Manchu language, and in Mandarin it means not taking things seriously. Stab Louzi comes from the Manchu language, and its meaning in Mandarin is to cause trouble.

The above words are just the tip of the iceberg of the Manchu words we encounter in Mandarin. So why does Mandarin have so many Manchu words? This involves the development history of China’s official language.

Above picture_ Confucius (September 28, 551 BC - April 11, 479 BC)

The development history of China’s official language

As early as the Shang Dynasty, the so-called "Central Plains Yayin" had already appeared. In 770 AD, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty moved its capital to today's Luoyang, Henan Province, and the Luoyang dialect at that time became the standard language used officially. According to the "Analects of Confucius": Zi's elegant words, "Poems", "Books", and "Zhao Li" are all elegant words. Confucius used the "Ya Yin" produced based on Luoyang dialect at that time to teach students.

During the Qin Dynasty, it is still not possible to test the official Mandarin language. The national language of the Han Dynasty was "Luo language", and the Luo language of the Han Dynasty followed the Yayan of the pre-Qin period. The official Chinese of the Sui Dynasty used Jinling Yayan and Luoyang Yayan as the standard pronunciation, which was followed until the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty developed Guangyun based on Tang Yun.

During the Yuan Dynasty, as the imperial government established Beijing as its capital, the prototype of modern Mandarin began to take shape. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Empire used the Nanjing dialect as the basis to create the Mandarin of the Ming Empire. Until the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing, Nanjing Mandarin was popular throughout the Ming Dynasty. < /p>

The founders of the Qing Empire were Manchus, who of course regarded Manchu as their national language. After Emperor Shunzhi came to Beijing, Mandarin, the standard pronunciation of Chinese, was gradually divided into Nanjing Mandarin and Beijing Mandarin. As a large number of Manchus entered Beijing, some Manchu words were transliterated and appeared in Beijing Mandarin. In the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, the imperial court established the "Bayin Pavilion" institution in Beijing to promote Beijing Mandarin based on Beijing dialect, establishing the status of Beijing Mandarin as the official national language, and the status of Beijing Mandarin rapidly improved.

In the second half of the 19th century, China faced "changes unprecedented in three thousand years." In 1868, the Japanese authorities launched the "Meiji Restoration." The Japanese education department promoted an official unified language across the country, which greatly shocked the Qing government at the time.

In 1903, the Qing government officially called Beijing Mandarin "Guoyu". In 1911, the Qing government passed the "Unification of Mandarin Language Measures", clarifying in legal form the language with Beijing Mandarin as the basis of the standard pronunciation. For "national language". Since the old foundation of "Mandarin" is Beijing Mandarin with a small number of transliterated Manchu words added, when people spoke Mandarin in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, they inevitably talked about a small number of transliterated Manchu words.

Above picture_Beijing city in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China

After the founding of the Republic of China, the form of "Guoyu" underwent new changes - perhaps because the capital of the Republic of China had just begun to settle in Nanjing. , Nanjing Mandarin has been used by some people again. In February 1913, the "Chinese Pronunciation Unification Conference" of the Republic of China government held a meeting and determined a Mandarin pronunciation system that "mainly focuses on Beijing pronunciation, taking into account the north and south", adding individual pronunciations of Nanjing Mandarin, and having entering tones. In 1919, the Republic of China edited and published the "National Pronunciation Dictionary of the Republic of China" based on the new Mandarin pronunciation system.

However, the "New Mandarin" system that added individual pronunciations of Nanjing Mandarin made people at that time somewhat uncomfortable. Why is this? As early as 1903, the Qing government determined the standard Mandarin with Beijing Mandarin as the basic pronunciation, but the "Chinese Pronunciation Unification Association" integrated individual pronunciations of Nanjing Mandarin into Mandarin. Changes in the pronunciation of standard Mandarin affect people's daily communication in life, and also affect all aspects of society.

In 1920, a great discussion broke out in the education circles of the Republic of China about "Beijing Mandarin" and "New Mandarin intonation (mainly Beijing pronunciation, mixed with some Nanjing Mandarin pronunciation, taking into account both the north and the south)". Nanjing Normal University's Teacher Zhang Shiyi published an article "The Issue of the Unification of the Mandarin Language", advocating that "the pronunciation of Mandarin must be fundamentally transformed" and "the dialect of native Beijingers with at least secondary education should be used as the standard pronunciation of Mandarin." This formulation was recognized by most people in the linguistic and educational circles at that time.

Above picture_Guoyin Dictionary (first edition in August 38th year of the Republic of China)

After repeated discussions, the country has formed a consensus: for hundreds of years since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Chinese official The language has formed Mandarin based on Beijing Mandarin. In 1903, the Qing government determined that the standard language based on Beijing Mandarin was Chinese Mandarin. Therefore, the Mandarin vocabulary and pronunciation, which are based on Beijing Mandarin and incorporate a small number of Manchu transliterated words, cannot be changed. In 1924, the preparatory meeting for the unification of the Chinese language in the Republic of China discussed the revision of the "Guoyin Dictionary", and the participating scholars unanimously agreed that "Beijing pronunciation should be used as the standard pronunciation."

In 1932, the Republic of China government officially established the language based on Beijing Mandarin as the national language, and the teaching of national language across the country gradually became consistent. With a consistent Chinese language, communication among various regions across the country will be more convenient.

Pictured above_? Primary school textbooks in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China

After 1949, Mandarin had a new name "Putonghua", and the national education department promoted Mandarin throughout the country. Mandarin is in the same line as Mandarin during the Republic of China, and even Beijing Mandarin during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The concept of Mandarin also refers to "Putonghua is another name for modern standard Chinese, with Beijing language as the standard pronunciation." The Beijing pronunciation is Beijing Mandarin. This concept makes it very clear that Mandarin and Mandarin are of the same origin.

In October 1955, an article titled "Working to Promote the Reform of Chinese Characters, Promote Mandarin, and Achieve Standardization of the Chinese Language" clearly stated that "This kind of homonym for the Han nation is based on Northern dialect. The basic dialect, Mandarin with Beijing phonetic pronunciation as the standard pronunciation.”

Since Mandarin and the main body of Mandarin and Beijing Mandarin are of the same origin, Mandarin inevitably absorbs a small amount of Manchu language vocabulary inherited from Mandarin. Manchu words such as "咚se", "咚寘", "dress up" and so on.

In short, Mandarin and Mandarin can be integrated into Manchu vocabulary and serve as the official standard language used throughout the country. This is not only closely related to Beijing’s political, economic and cultural center for hundreds of years, but also to the Manchu culture after the Qing Dynasty established Beijing as its capital. The historical phenomenon of language integration into Chinese is closely related.