The Old Manchu Chronicles (Manwen laodang)
The Manchu state's own records from 1607 to 1636, recopied in the 1770s and published in 2009.
Full title The Old Manchu Chronicles: Grand Secretariat copy (Manchu facsimile with romanised transcription and Chinese translation)
內閣藏本滿文老檔 (Tongki fuka sindaha hergen i dangse)
Old Manchu Archives (Manwen laodang), Grand Secretariat copy; edited and translated by the First Historical Archives of China (Liaoning Nationalities Press, 2009, 20 vols)
These are the Manchu-language state annals and documents of Nurhaci and Hong Taiji for 1607 to 1636, the years the Jurchen leaders built a state, adopted the name Manchu in 1635 and named the dynasty Qing in 1636. The card lists the Grand Secretariat copy, a 1770s recopy in reformed script, in the 2009 edition of China's First Historical Archives: a Manchu facsimile with romanised transcription and Chinese translation. The atlas does not hold the text of this edition: the corpus lists it but stores no text of it, under its rights rule, so nothing from it was read for this guide.
- How they knew
- Official record
- Who “Tartar” means here
- Not recorded. The card says the work shows how the Jurchen leadership named itself, the Mongols and the Ming before the name Manchu was adopted. European writers later called the same people Manchu Tartars.
- Why read it
- It lets a reader see the Manchu state's own words for itself and its neighbours, at the moment the Jurchen became the Manchus.
- Watch out
- The copy is a 1770s recopy with editorial changes, and the older archives are separate witnesses not found open. The catalogue metadata is minimal.
What it says
No quotes from this one yet. Its text is out of reach for now, or the scan could not be read.
The fine print
How we know
official or contemporary record An official document or a record made at the time.
official record: contemporary Manchu-language state annals and documents of Nurhaci and Hong Taiji (1607-1636), recopied with reformed script in 1775-1778
Research notes
- The Grand Secretariat copy is a 1770s recopy in reformed script with editorial changes; the original old-script archive (Jiu Manzhou dang, Taipei 1969 facsimile) and the Tokyo 1955-63 Manbun roto edition are independent witnesses not located open here. Catalogue metadata on IA is minimal.
- Harvard-Yenching holds a manuscript Man Han dang ce / Tongki fuka sindaha hergen-i dangse (CURIOSity record 990096065610203941) not yet checked for a scan.
Why it matters
The Manchu state's own earliest records: how the Jurchen leadership named itself, the Mongols and the Ming before adopting the name Manchu (1635) and Qing (1636); indispensable for the transition from 'Jurchen' to 'Manchu Tartars'.
Places named
Manchuria; Liaodong; Mongolia (Khorchin, Chakhar); Korea; Amur
Peoples named
Jurchen / Manchus (Later Jin); Ming; Mongols (Khorchin, Chakhar, Khalkha); Korea (Joseon); Warka; Solon