Ebook: A profile of the Manchu language in Ch'ing history

Harvard-Yenching Institute. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Jun., 1993), pp. 63-102.Manchu was the imperial language of the Ch'ing dynasty. It was the fundamental medium of communications within the imperial family, and within the court it was used for worship, ideological expression, address to the bannermen and nobility, and confidential political and military communications. From the eighteenth century on, Manchu also became a cultural emblem, a marker of Manchu identity and status, and an artifact of the universalism of the Ch'ien-lung emperor. Early Ch'ing policy required that selected civilians as well as bannermen and nobles acquire literacy in Manchu. This state interest in generalizing the function of Manchu had an impact on eighteenth century scholarship, particularly as it affected and was affected by the "Four Treasuries" (ssu-k'u ch'üan-shu) project. Ultimately the tradition of literati training in Manchu produced a private field of Manchu-oriented scholarship.'