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- 1 0 1 RECEHT AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN TRENDS IN MANCHU STUDIES by Larry V. Clark Indiana University Although it would be rash to say that Manchu studies have regained their former status as the "handmaiden of Sinology", there are heartening signs that over the past two decades they have achieved s o m e r e n e w e d r e c o g n i t i o n i n t h e universities, institutes, and libraries of America and Europe. The major focus in recent Manchu studies has been centered on the Manchu language sources for Ch'ing Dynasty history, led in this area by the researches of Chinese and Japanese scholars upon the Manchu materials preserved in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, some scholars in Germany (Weiers) and America (Grupper) have already begun to exploit the "Old Manchu Annals" dealing with the pre-dynastie phase of Manchu history, for which they are crucial sources. In addition, various Manchu historical writings and epigraphical texts bearing on Ch'ing campaigns and administrative policies in the borderlands continue to be put to effective use by scholars in Germany (Bauer, Franke, Puchs, Haenisch, Kraft, Walravens, Weiers), Prance (legrand), Italy (Stary), and America (Farquhar, Pletcher, Grupper, Jagchid). However, this line of scholarship has yet to be integrated into the distinguished body of recent studies of Ch'ing history, otherwise authoritatively based on Chinese and secondary sources, that has developed especially in the United States (e.g. Pairbank, Grantham, Kessler, lee, Oxnam, Spence, v/akeman, Watson, etc.). Just as Manchu materials augment the study of Ch'ing history, Manchu translations from Chinese literature shed light on the interpretation of the latter, and on the course of Sino-Manchu cultural relations. Recent editions of major anthologies (Gimm) and of Manchu translations of the Classics (Bauer), as well as ongoing research into the technique of translation from the Chinese (Durrant), bear witness to the importance of this topic for Sinology. - 1 0 2 One of the key factors in the renewal of interest in Manchu is the emergence, particularly since the formation of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference in 1958, of Altaistics as an independent and vigorous discipline. As a result, specialists have turned their attention again to the language, literature and customs of the Manchus. In addition to grammatical and lexicographical works (Doerfer, Haenisch, Melles, Norman, Sinor), interest in native Manchu literature has recently culminated in the appearance of several translations and studies of the "Tale of the Nishan Shamaness" (Durrant, Seuberlich, Sinor, Stary, Uray-KUhalmi, Volkova). Among the certain signs of a resurgence of Manchu studies are the following: redefinitions of the value of Manchu in relevant fields (Fletcher, Franke, Nelson); compilation of Manchu bibliographies (Clark, Sinor); and catalogues of existing collections of Manchu materials (Fuchs, Gimm, Mish, Nelson-Simon, Poppe-Hurvitz-Okada, Walravens). In response to the enlargement of interest, there was recently established a journal called Mandiurica (editor Michael Weiers), and an informational bulletin called Manchu Studies Newsletter (editor larry V. Clark). Further Reading: Joseph Fletcher, Manchu Sources, Essays on the Sources for Chinese History, eds. Donald D. Leslie, Colin Mackerras, Wang Gungwu, University of South Carolina Press 1973, 141-146 Herbert Franke, Sinology ai German Universities. With &. Sunniement on Manchu Studies. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag 1968, 45-49 Howard Nelson, Manchu Books, Manchu Studies Newsletter I H , 1977-1978, 43-54 A few copies of Manchu Studies Newsletter I-II are still available without charge to Ch'ing specialists: Larry V. Clark, Uralic & Altaic Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47401 ...

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