The Manchu Name System: How It's Tradition and Development Expresses the Concept of the State

The Manchus were originally a tribe belonging to the southern branch of the Altaic speaking peoples, and it was only by the late sixteenth century that they attained a place of note in Chinèse history. At that time, the reigning Ming dynasty regarded the Manchus as one of the barbarian peoples, a small group who were, so to speak, 'watchmen of the north-east border'. Although their population was small the Manchus were particularly apt at warfare, a fact which helped their expansion. They had a1so developed a cultural tradition of their own which was different from that of the Chinese in many respects, especially after they invented a written language.