Reorienting the Manchus: A Study of Sinicization, 1583–1795

Chapter VII. Manchu Language and Literature

231 Chapter VII Manchu Language and Literature Chinese influence on the Manchus can be examined from the perspective of their language and literature. In the early years of the Qing the Manchu language took precedence over Chinese, although both were officially adopted. Specialists translated Manchu documentsintoChineseandviceversa .ThecourtencouragedyoungChinese scholars to learn Manchu. Chinese officials were insulted by Manchu colleagues because they did not understand the latter’s tongue. Shortly after 1644, Manchu became a minority language. For effective communication with the conquered, they had to use Chinese. Eventually they became accustomed to the Chinese tongue and forgot their native speech. For all their efforts, the Qing rulers could not prevent this from happening. True, the Manchus who forgot their mother tongue did not lose their ethnic identity, but a common language is important for maintaining close association between members of any group. In other words, without it, their sense of belonging to the same group would fade.1 Manchu literature better illustrates Chinese cultural influence. The rise of Manchu writers was chiefly the result of education. Because their own writing system was new and less sophisticated, Manchu writers used Chinese to express themselves. The Kangxi period was the beginning of the transition from written Manchu to written Chinese. Manchu traditional folklore existed in oral form only and was not helpful to Manchu writers. They had to turn to Chinese literature for inspiration. From the first half of the eighteenth century onward, many Manchu literarti emerged. Like language, literature links ways of thinking and expression. As a whole, therefore, Chinese language and literature penetrated the Manchu ethnic heritage and weakened it. 232 Chapter VII 1. Language Both the Jurchen and the Manchu languages belong to the Tungusic group, a branch of the Altaic linguistic family. In the early twelfth century the Jin dynasty developed two types of writing, large script and small script, both influenced by Khitan and Chinese characters. Large Jurchen script was devised in 1119 and was gradually supplanted by small script, which appeared in 1138. After the fall of the Jin dynasty the small script remained in use among the Jurchens in Manchuria and was possibly used for communication with China. The Ming government compiled Sino-Jurchen vocabularies as manuals for translators and interpreters. They were not always accurate, but might be regarded, as one specialist maintains, “as a late form of Jurchen or as a form of early Manchu.” By the sixteenth century, small script had become obsolete. As a result the Jurchens either asked Ming interpreters for help, or used the Mongol system. Nurhaci relied on Chinese secretaries, notably Gong Zhenglu, to maintain communication with China and Korea.2 In time, he needed a new writing system to symbolize the emergence of his state and serve as a bond between tribesmen. Nurhaci ordered old-script Manchu to be devised in 1599, using Mongol phonetic symbols to mark the Jurchen language. According to tradition, Erdeni and G’ag’ai were its inventors, but it is possible that Kara, a member of the Nara clan from Ula, was also an inventor. With this new tool, the Jurchen frontier state began to compile its historical records, known today as the Jiu Manzhou dang, one of the best sources for early Qing history. But as one scholar argues, Nurhaci’s motivation for creating the writing system was political; he failed to consider its linguistic aspects. Mongol symbols did not always accurately represent the Jurchen tongue. It could not distinguish certain sounds such as those of g, h, and k. This vagueness confused meanings of words, especially of personal and place names. In 1632, with imperial authorization, Dahai, perhaps with a few others, took charge of revision by adding circles, dots, and special consonants to the old-script system. Thus did new-script Manchu come into existence, and it lasted almost to the end of the dynasty. As discussed in Chapter II, the Manchu script, especially the revised version, made the translation of many Chinese classics and other books into Manchu possible. Such transla- Manchu Language and Literature 233 tions, notably of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, greatly helped the dissemination of Chinese ideals and values among the Manchus. One can agree with Herbert Franke that “reading translations was but a half way stage on the way towards fuller sinicization.”3 The Manchu writing system evolved into a major component of Manchu ethnic identity. The Manchu language traveled with...