The Manchu language, long thought to have vanished, is alive and well in a village in Fuyu County, Heilongjiang Province. Sanjiazi Village is reportedly the only place in the world where the language is still spoken.

 

Tao Chunhe, 88, is the oldest person in Sanjiazi who speaks Manchu fluently. Together with Meng Shujing and Zhao Fenglan, both 81, they are the oldest Manchu speakers in the village, and possibly the world.

 

Another 15 villagers aged between 50 and 70 understand Manchu but cannot speak it as well as the three elders.

 

Located in southwest Fuyu County, Sanjiazi Village is about 40 kilometers from Qiqihar, the second largest city in the province.

 

The village has about 1,071 inhabitants, 65 percent of whom are Manchu. Ji, Meng and Tao are the largest clans in the village, which is how the village name was derived; Sanjiazi literally means "three clans village."

 

All three clans are descendents of navy officers who traveled with General Sa Busu from Jilin Province over 300 years ago during Emperor Kang Xi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

 

Language isn't the only peculiarity of this village. Its appearance, too, is quite unique. Chimneys are built separately from houses. This is why they are called "ear chimneys." Also, some households warm their homes with heated brick beds placed in the south, west and north sides of the abode, the west side being typically reserved for elders or guests.  

 

There are still about 60 such houses in the village.

 

Also being kept alive are some of their traditions such as "shaman dancing." Meng Xianxiao and Meng Shujing, who are brother and sister, are experts in this art form. They said: "The dance vanished during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) because it was thought to be a superstition."

 

The study of Manchu gaining popularity around the world

 

Described as a "living fossil" of Manchu, the village has aroused great academic interest, attracting scholars from all over the world, including Japan, Germany, Denmark, Italy, America and Russia, to this little village in Heilongjiang.

 

There are currently 23 countries engaged in the study of the Manchu language. Publications such as Manchu-German, Manchu-Russian and Manchu-English dictionaries are increasingly available.

 

In fact, Manchu language study has been one of the most important topics in cultural anthropology studies since the 1920s, so much so that there are special courses for doctorate students in Japan, South Korea, America, Italy, Germany and Australia.

 

Studying Manchu in China

 

In 1983, the Heilongjiang Manchu Language Research Institute was set up to offer dedicated Manchu language and culture studies. In 1999, the institute was renamed Manchu Language and Culture Research Center and was subsumed into Heilongjiang University.

 

In 2000, the center was authorized to offer a postgraduate Masters course in Manchu Language and Culture. To date, four batches of students have finished and obtained their degrees.

 

And this year, the center, for the first time, enrolled 16 students including an American one for bachelor degree courses in Manchu Language and Historical Culture.

 

The center is now applying for permission to offer doctorate courses.

 

As a result of these academic efforts, about 100 people can now speak Manchu, while 50 can translate from Manchu to Chinese. Moreover, about 20 of them have a good command of the language.

 

Manchu in Sanjiazi

 

During the Qing Dynasty, Manchu was the vernacular. Even the Han and Daur people who married into Manchu families had to learn the language.

 

Research conducted by the Inner Mongolian University in 1961 showed that all senior villagers could speak Manchu, while middle-aged villagers could speak both Manchu and Chinese.

 

In 1986, another investigation conducted by the then Heilongjiang Manchu Language Research Institute and Minority Languages Institute affiliated to the Central University for Nationalities showed that fewer villagers had a good command of Manchu although most could understand it. Most of the younger villagers knew only a few expressions and phrases. 

 

Not wanting to see her language die out completely, Meng Shujing made it a point to teach her grandson, Shi Guangjun, to speak Manchu. Her efforts have paid off. Shi, now an adult, is going to be a Manchu language teacher.

 

The efforts of other Manchu speakers have also borne fruit. Zhao Fenglan's nephew is vice head of Fuyu Country. He is also one of the country's more renowned specialists of the Manchu language.

 

However, it is unclear if enough is being done to save Manchu from extinction. Zhao A'ping, a professor of provincial Manchu research said that the spoken Manchu could vanish in five to 10 years if nothing is done to protect it.

 

Lessons at China's first Manchu school

 

Efforts by individuals at Sanjiazi to protect their language inspired the local government to do its bit to help.

 

The Fuyu County authority allocated 400, 000 yuan (about US$50,000) to the village last year for them to build the country's first Manchu school.

 

Construction was completed at a cost of 800, 000 yuan (about US$100, 000).

 

The significance of Manchu

 

All official documents and material during the Qing Dynasty, which lasted for 260 years, were recorded in the Manchu language.

 

There are an estimated 500 million historical data and materials recorded in Manchu believed to exist in various parts of the world, two million of which are in China, with 43,800 items in the Heilongjiang Archives Museum. The museum artifacts weigh about 60 tons.

 

If a ton of material were to be translated every year by 15 people, it would take 60 years to finish them all.

 

Manchu has had a strong influence on the modern Chinese language. Many words and phrases such as lansan (sluggish), xiaoting (quietness), tonglouzi (to get into trouble), maitai (unclean), yangji (to say good words or things), guye (son-in-law) and gunian (daughter), actually derive from Manchu.

 

The Manchu ethnic group, with a population of 10.6 million, is China's third largest after Han and Zhuang. Most Manchu people live in northeast China.

 

(China.org.cn by Unisumoon June 16, 2006)