Manchu Narrative Lore
01 · Historical Records
These works are each complete in themselves; joined together they let one glimpse the great historical changes in Manchu society over the fifteen hundred years from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the late Qing and early Republican period, and understand its customs, institutions, world-view, values and aesthetic taste. The Sunwu Manchu-language stories originate in the still older folk narrative form of telling the old, called in Manchu ulabun, meaning stories handed down within the family, that is, stories current within the great Manchu clans telling of events that once took place in the history of the people and the lineage. In June 2018 the people's government of the Yanjiang Manchu Daur township of Sunwu county established the Manda Folklore and Culture Memory Hall, which plays in the exhibition hall on a loop the audio-visual materials of the Manchu ulabun of the old woman He Shihuan.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Manchu-language stories are a long prose narrative literature created and told by Manchu folk artists to reflect the martial life and emotional world of the Manchu people. Because their style is fairly close to the storytelling of Han folk artists, and each book can be told independently, they are called ulabun, that is, tales. The Sunwu Manchu-language stories are an important part of the Manchu ulabun, circulating mainly in the Siji village (hamlet) Manchu village of the Yanjiang Manchu Daur township of Sunwu county, Heihe, Heilongjiang. The Manchu folk ulabun usually take as its main line the legendary personal experience of some heroic figure in the history of the people, displaying the great deeds the Manchu people achieved in governing the northern frontier and defending the country. The booi ulabun, that is, family tradition and family history, represented by The Life of General Sabusu, had great influence; the baturu ulabun, that is, heroic tales, represented by The Girl in Red Silk, circulated fairly widely. Though advanced in years, he can still sing the Manchu ballads he remembers in the Manchu language.
Wocheku Ulabun
The shamanist myths and deeds of shamans of successive generations told and handed down by the shamans of Manchu surnames, popularly the stories on the shrine.
Booi Ulabun (Family Tradition and History)
Represented by The Life of General Sabusu, of great influence.
Baturu Ulabun (Heroic Tales)
Represented by The Girl in Red Silk, fairly widely current.
The Great Battle in the Heavenly Palace and Mother Wubuxiben
Typical representative works of the wocheku ulabun.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Sunwu Manchu-language stories circulate mainly in Manchu villages such as Siji village (hamlet) of the Yanjiang Manchu Daur township of Sunwu county, Heihe, Heilongjiang, adapted to the folk environment in which the Manchu and Daur live together; in the Yanjiang township area there are still old people who can sing the Manchu ballads they remember in the Manchu language, and the Manda Folklore and Culture Memory Hall collects and plays the related audio-visual materials on a loop.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Manchu Narrative Lore.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present the remains of the Sunwu Manchu-language stories consist mainly of three parts: the wocheku ulabun, the booi ulabun and the baturu ulabun. The wocheku ulabun, the shamanist myths and the deeds of shamans of successive generations told and handed down from generation to generation by the shamans of certain Manchu surnames, popularly called the stories on the shrine, has as its typical representatives The Great Battle in the Heavenly Palace and Mother Wubuxiben. The old woman He Shihuan, now living in Siji village (hamlet) of the Yanjiang township of Sunwu county, is one of the main transmitters of the Sunwu Manchu-language stories. The Sunwu Manchu-language stories show us the long-standing production and life of the local Manchu and their forebears, their colourful folk phenomena, vivid shamanist sacrificial rites, vast astronomical and geographical and plant and animal knowledge, and have research value for ethnology, sociology, folklore and religious studies, with positive significance for transmitting and promoting regional and ethnic culture and promoting ethnic unity and cultural exchange.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fu Yuguang 04-1489
- Zhao Dongsheng 05-1990
- Heshihuan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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