The food, accommodation and transportation specialties of the Manchu people

I am a Manchu, born in Fushun, the birthplace of Manchu. Let me briefly talk about the food, housing, transportation and specialties of the Manchus there:

In spring, we eat wild vegetables and in summer, we drink whole lamb soup. , stew hashma (Rana) in autumn and eat pig-killing vegetables in winter. Staple foods include bobo, fire roast, pot stickers, perilla leaves, bean flour rolls... In addition, the most famous Manchu food I believe you must have heard of is Shaqima. In addition, there was also the highest-standard banquet before the Manchus entered the customs - eight dishes and eight bowls. Pure Manchu food has weird names. If we use ethnic groups as a reference instead of the Liaodong region, the representative special products are hash horse (forest frog), ginseng, and deer antlers.

Let’s talk about the custom of the Manchu people: the windows are papered outside, and the eldest girl is holding a cigarette pipe to feed the children.

...If the paper is stuck inside, snow will accumulate on the outside window edges in winter, and if it melts during the day, the window paper will be soaked. The Manchu people's ancestral home is in the Changbai Mountains. In summer, not only are there a lot of mosquitoes, but there are also a lot of snakes. Mosquitoes and snakes are afraid of smoke, so the older girls hold big cigarette pouches in their hands. Over time, they will smoke. The Manchu people have a lot of farm work. If they can't take care of their children, they put them in the carriage and hang them on the rafters, so that the children will be quiet.

Pork is the favorite food of the Manchu people. Dog meat is forbidden. They regard crows as sacred birds and set up Solo poles to feed crows.

…The ancestors of the Manchu people lived in the Changbai Mountains where winters were extremely cold. Because hunting in the mountains was a necessary source of livelihood for the Manchu people, they ate pork to increase fat to resist the severe cold. At the same time, eating pork is also particularly important during sacrifices. Legend has it (don’t take it seriously) that Nurha was chased by the Ming soldiers when he was fleeing. He fled into the reeds by the river and fell asleep due to excessive fatigue. The Ming soldiers couldn’t find Nurhaci, so they set fire to the wasteland, but the dog that followed him saw that King Wang did not wake up. , he jumped into the river to soak his whole body, then ran to his side and soaked the reeds. The dog did this repeatedly. King Han was saved, but the dog died of exhaustion (some said it was burned to death). After that, King Han ordered that the children of the Eight Banners (later changed to Manchus) would no longer eat dog meat and wear dog skin hats. When Nurhachi was fleeing, he saw the Ming soldiers arriving. At this time, a group of crows flew from the sky and landed on Nurhachi. The Ming soldiers thought it was a corpse, so Nurhachi was rescued. After Nurhachi was called "Khan" after the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to thank the crow for saving his life, he regarded the crow as a "god" and set up special crow food for feeding. The Manchu people's reverence for crows has been elevated to an institutionalized, fixed living habit and sacrificial pattern, which comes from some laws of the Manchu royal family. Nurhaci and Huang Taiji both issued decrees requiring the Manchu people to revere crows, and even fixed some reverence. Crows, the law of feeding crows.

The characteristics of Manchu houses are pocket houses, 10,000-word Kangs, and chimneys standing on the ground.

...Pocket house, also called "small room", is named after its shape like a pocket and a bucket. It is usually 3 or 5 rooms, facing south, with a thatch roof and surrounding walls. It is mostly made of earth. The door is mostly opened on the east side, and some also open in the middle, which is called the "opposite room". The kitchen is also called the outhouse, and the west or east and west sides are the inner room, that is, the south and north bedrooms. The biggest feature of the Manchu bedrooms is the fire kang, which is composed of three sides: fire floor and fire wall in the palace. The word "Kang" and so on are called "earth tiles" in Manchu. Generally, the south and north Kangs are in the Kang, and the east end is connected to the kitchen kang stove. The Western Kang is a narrow Kang with a flue leading down.

The Manchu people in the West For the sake of respect, the space on the Western Kang of your home can only be used to enshrine the family tree.

...According to Manchu custom, the sacred "Wosaku" jujube ancestral board is placed on the Western Kang, so there is no need to accumulate debris. , even distinguished guests and friends cannot sit on the west kang. The south kang is warm and sunny, and the elders usually live in the north kang.

Manchu banquet - eight dishes and eight bowls

... Legend has it that Nurhachi once wanted to reward the Belles of the Eight Banners after winning a battle, but due to the lack of support in the camp. Since the conditions were limited, he ordered the Baylors to bring their own plates and bowls, and then distributed the rewards to the Baylors. From then on, the eight dishes and eight bowls became the most important and highest-level banquet before the Manchus entered the customs. The large plate paired with the deep and tall bowl is the most important banquet for receiving distinguished guests, which fully illustrates the generosity and enthusiasm of the Manchu people.

The Manchu people like to eat corn, such as millet, sticky rice, barnyard millet, millet, etc. They like to eat sticky food. Fried noodles and fried rice are also traditional foods of the Manchu people. The most national characteristics are Saqima and sour soup. The most original hot pot of the Manchu people is the traditional Dayan hot pot. That is to say, the pot has a rim, and various side dishes such as sesame sauce can be placed on the rim. Sauerkraut and meat slices are added to the soup in the pot, and everyone can sit around and eat. It is suitable for all seasons.