Manchu

Also known as Manchu language, mnc, Manchurian, Manchurian language, Manchoo, Manchoo language

Tungusic language originating from Northeast China

AI overview

The Manchu language is a Tungusic language that developed in Northeast China and was historically spoken by the Manchu people. It is significant because the Manchus established the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China for nearly three centuries and shaped much of East Asian history.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Dulimbai gurun.svg

Show 8 more facts

Commons category: Manchu language
number of speakers, writers, or signers: 20
described at URL: cn.nytimes.com/china/20160112/c12manchu
native label: ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ
Wikimedia language code: mnc
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/MNC
Wikimedia Incubator URL: incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/mnc
P10369: Neptune

Sources (11)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Article

Manchu (ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ Manju gisun) is a critically endangered Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was the national language of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) of China, although today the vast majority of Manchus speak only Mandarin Chinese. Several thousand can speak Manchu as a second language through governmental primary education or free classes for adults in classrooms or online.

The Manchu language has high historical value for historians of China, especially for the Qing dynasty. Manchu-language texts supply information that is unavailable in Chinese, and when both Manchu and Chinese versions of a given text exist, they provide controls for understanding the Chinese.