◆By Tong Ying

　　Manchu people are descended from a warrior tribe in north China. After absorbing several Caucasoid races of Siberia, they moved southward and invaded China, overthrowing the former Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and establishing the Qing Dynasty in 1644.

　　As an ethnic group originally living in forests and mountains in northeast China, Manchu people excelled in archery and horsemanship. Children were taught the swan-hunting art with wooden bows and arrows at six or seven, and teenagers learned to ride on horseback in full hunting gear, racing through forests and mountains. Women, as well as men, were skilled equestrians.

　　After the found of PRC in 1949, Manchu people are located in the northeast of China from Beijing into Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Smaller numbers live in central and western China with smaller pockets found in much of China.

　　According to the statistics of population in 1990, there were 9.8468 million Manchu people in China, which follows Zhuang as the second largest ethnic groups in China.

　　Like Han people and other ethnic groups in China, over 70 per cent of Manchu people are engaged in agriculture-related jobs. Their main crops include soybean, sorghum, corn, millet, tobacco and apple. They also raise tussah silkworms. For some Manchu people, living in remote mountainous areas, gathering ginseng, mushroom and edible fungus makes an important sideline. Most of the Manchu people in cities, who are better educated, are engaged in traditional and modern industries.

　　Manchu people have full status as an ethnic minority in China, which means they receive government encouragement for their culture.

　　Manchu people have their own script and language, which belongs to the Manchu-Tungusic group of the Altaic language family. Beginning from the 1640s, large numbers of Manchu moved to south of the Shanhaiguan Pass (east end of the Great Wall), and gradually adopted Mandarin Chinese as their spoken language. Later, as more and more Han people moved to north of the pass, many local Manchu picked up Mandarin Chinese too.

　　In general, Manchu tend to be taller and lighter in skin-colour than Chinese. Manchu is a Mongoloid race with yellow skin and black hair. Manchu are one of two ethnic groups who use Mandarin rather than their traditional language.

　　Manchus observe the Spring Festival and many of the Chinese festivals and holidays. In addition, they sometimes gather during festive occasions and engage in activities such as wrestling, skating and horseback riding exhibitions, especially in rural areas.

　　In the old ages, the traditional costumes of Manchu men are a narrow-cuffed short jacket over a long gown with a belt at the waist to facilitate horse-riding and hunting, and it is the original form of Cheongsam.

　　The name Cheongsam meaning simply Song dress entered the English vocabulary from the dialect of South China's Guangdong Province (Cantonese). In other parts of the country, including Beijing, however, it is known as qipao which has a history behind it.

　　When the early Manchu rulers came to China proper, they organized certain people, mainly Manchu, into manners (qi) and called them manner people (qiren), which then became loosely the name of all Manchu. Manchu women wore normally a one-piece dress, which, likewise, came to be called qipao or manner dress. Although the 1911 Revolution toppled the rule of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, the female dress survived the political change and, with later improvements, has become the traditional dress for Chinese women.

　　Easy to slip on and comfortable to wear, the cheongsam fits well the female Chinese figure. Its neck is high, collar closed, and its sleeves may be either short, medium or full length, depending on season and taste. The dress is buttoned on the right side, with a loose chest, a fitting waist, and slits up from the sides, all of which combine to set off the beauty of the female shape.The cheongsam is not too complicated to make. Nor does it call for too much material, for there are no accessories like belts, scarves, sashes or frills to go with it.

　　Another beauty of the cheongsam is that, made of different materials and to varying lengths, they can be worn either on casual or formal occasions. In either case, it creates an impression of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness. No wonder it is so much liked by women not only of China but of foreign countries as well, and enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of high fashion.

　　When talking about the Manchu's food culture, the Man Han Quan Xi should not be ignored. The Complete Set of Dinner in the Man Nationality and the Han Nationality Styles (Man Han Quanxi), originated in Qing Dynasty, is the largest Chinese banquet combining the essence of dishes from Man and Han nationalities. Yangzhou Shu Fang Lu, wrote by Li Dou in Qianlong times, records the earliest menu of Man Han Quanxi.

　　The Complete Set of Dinner consists of 134 courses of hot dishes, 48 courses of cold dishes, and sweets and fruits, which are used in 6 separate banquets. It requests food materials that are rare and best of all, including, for instance, the 8 Mountainous Treasures, the 8 Land Treasures, and the 8 Sea Treasures. The 8 Mountainous Treasures consist of bear paws, hedgehog hydnum, Handakan, flying dragons, tiger spleens, elks, ginseng, and Juecai.

　　The 8 Land Treasures consist of Hashimuo, camel humps, Koumo mushrooms, Fengzhaomo mushrooms, Yumizhen corn, Shafengji chickens, and ptarmigans. The 8 Sea Treasures consist of shake fin, cishen, fresh oysters, purple abalone, snake-headed fish eggs, balloons of slated cod croakers, and fish skin. The raw materials involve a wide range of valuable sources. Undoubtedly, the Complete Set of Dinner in Manchu Nationality and Han Nationality Styles is a high peak in the development of Chinese gastronomy. Furthermore, the integration of such an abundant historical background and national culture in one food perhaps is a unique phenomenon in the world. Where can this banquet be found? Go to Beijing Fangshan Restaurant in Beihai Park. The restaurant is located in a group of ancient buildings in the park. The restaurant was established in 1925 , its predecessor was the imperial kitchen of the Qing Dynasty.