Heilongjiang

Major Cities in Heilongjiang:

Saint Sophia Church, Harbin.

Tourism

Harbin, the provincial capital, is a city of contrasts, with Chinese, Russian, and eclectic worldwide influences clearly apparent. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches dot the city.

The long, cold winter is the backdrop for its famed ice sculpture exhibitions. In 2007 already the 8th Ice and Snow World opened to visitors in Harbin. More than 2000 ice sculptures were on display at the annual event.

Wudalianchi Lakes are a series of five lakes formed between 1719 and 1721 when volcanic eruption shaped one section of a tributary of the Amur into five interconnected lakes. The second lake in particular is renowned for its irregular geological sights.

Lake Jingbo, in Ning'an County, is a section of the Mudan River that has been narrowed and shaped by volcanic eruption into a series of sights, including the Diaoshuilou Falls.

HEILONGJIANG

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

Heilongjiang (黑龍江; Manchu: Sahaliyan ula) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑. The Manchu name of the region is Sahaliyan ula (literally, "Black River"), from which the name of Sakhalin island is derived.

Heilongjiang borders Jilin in the south and Inner .Mongolia to the west; it also borders Russia to the north.

The Amur River marks the border between the People's Republic of China and Russia to the north. Heilongjiang contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe County along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the junction of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers).

Geography

Heilongjiang is a land of varied topography. Much of the province is dominated by mountain ranges such as the Greater Khingan Range and Lesser Khingan Range, Zhangguangcai Mountains, Laoye Mountains, and Wanda Mountains. The highest peak is Mount Datudingzi at 1690 m (5545 ft), located on the border with Jilin province). The Greater Khingan Range contains China's largest remaining virgin forest and is an important area for China's forestry industry.

The interior of the province, which is relatively flat and low in altitude, contains the Muling River, the Naoli River, the Songhua River, the Nen River, and the Mudan River, all tributaries of the Amur's basin, while the northern border forms part of the Amur valley. Xingkai Lake (or Khanka Lake) is found on the border with Russia's Primorsky Krai.

Heilongjiang is subarctic in climate. Winters are long and frigid and summers are short and cool.

Economy

The agriculture of Heilongjiang, heavily defined by its cold climate, is based upon crops such as soybeans, maize, and wheat. Commercial crops grown include beets, flax, and sunflowers.

Heilongjiang is also an important source of lumber for China. Pine, especially the Korean pine and larch are the most important forms of lumber produced in Heilongjiang. Forests are mostly to be found in the Daxingan Mountains and Xiaoxingan Mountains, which are also home to protected animal species such as the Siberian Tiger, the red-crowned crane, and the lynx.

Herding in Heilongjiang is centered upon horse and cattle. Heilongjiang has the greatest number of milk cows and the highest production of milk among all the province-level divisions of China.

Petroleum is of great importance in Heilongjiang, and the Daqing oilfields are an important source of petroleum for China. Coal, gold, and graphite are other important minerals to be found in Heilongjiang.

Heilongjiang is part of northeast China, the traditional base of industry for the People's Republic of China. Due to its location, Heilongjiang is also an important gateway for trade with Russia. In recent years, Manchuria has suffered from stagnation. As a result, the government has started the Revitalize Northeast China campaign to deal with this problem, using privatization as the preferred method of economic reform.

Culture

Heilongjiang's culture is part of a culture of Northeast China that is relatively homogeneous across this region, known in Mandarin Chinese as "Dongbei" (the northeast). (See Culture of Manchuria.)

Demographics

The majority of Heilongjiang's population is Han Chinese, while other ethnic minorities include the Manchus, Koreans, Mongols, Hui, Daur, Xibe, Oroqin, Hezhen and Russians.

Ethnic Groups in Heilongjiang (2000 census)

Nationality	Population	Percentage
Han Chinese	34,465,039	95.20%
Manchu	1,037,080	2.86%
Koreans	388,458	1.07%
Mongol	141,495	0.39%
Hui	124,003	0.34%
Daur	43,608	0.12%
Xibe	8,886	0.03%

Northeast China

Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning

Northeast China (中國東北) is a geographical region of China. It is separated from Russia largely by the Amur, Argun, and Ussuri rivers, from North Korea by the Yalu and Tumen rivers, and from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region by the Greater Khingan Range. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain.

Northeast China is defined by the government of the People's Republic of China to include the three northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning and, thus, the region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces (東北三省). Some people in parts of Inner Mongolia (like Chifeng) still call themselves Northeasterners. It is generally coterminous with some definitions of the historical region of Manchuria (滿洲) and is commonly referred to in English as such. It is also sometimes referred to as Inner Manchuria in contrast with Outer Manchuria, provinces lost to the Russian Empire, during the Qing Dynasty.

History of Northeast China: Northeast China was the homeland of several nomadic tribes, including the Manchus (or Jurchens), Ulchs, Hezhen (also known as the Goldi and Nanai). Various ethnic groups and their respective kingdoms, including the Gojoseon, Sushen, Xianbei, Buyeo, Mohe, Goguryeo, Balhae have risen to power in the Northeast. Yan State once occupied the Liaodong Peninsula, Han Chinese dynasties in China loosely controlled the southern parts of the region. During the Song dynasty, the Khitan set up the Liao Dynasty in Northeast China. Later, the Jurchen overthrew the Liao and formed the Jin Dynasty, which went on to conquer northern China. In AD 1234, the Jin Dynasty fell to the Mongols, whose Yuan Dynasty was later replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. In 1644, the Manchu conquered the entirety of China and established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).

Northeast China came under influence of the Russian Empire with the building of the Chinese eastern railway through Harbin to Vladivostok. The Empire of Japan replaced Russian influence in the region as a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, and Japan laid the South Manchurian Railway in 1906 to Port Arthur. During the Warlord Era in China, Zhang Zuolin established himself in Northeast China, but was murdered by the Japanese for being too independent. The last Qing dynasty emperor, Puyi, was then placed on the throne to lead a Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. After the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the region as part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, Northeast China was a base area for the Communist People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. With the encouragement of the Soviet Union, the area was used as a staging ground during the Civil War for the Chinese Communists, who were victorious in 1949 and have been controlling this region since.

Culture of Northeast China: Northeastern Mandarin retains elements from native Tungusic languages, Japanese, and Russian and there are enough differences to give the dialect its own distinctive characteristics. Ethnic Manchus speak Mandarin, and the Manchu language is almost extinct due to widespread assimilation to Han culture over the last four centuries. Ethnic Koreans and Mongols tend to be bilingual in both their own languages (Korean and Mongolian) as well as Mandarin. (See Northeastern Mandarin)

Northeast Chinese cuisine reflects the region's ethnic diversity. Native Manchu, Korean, Northern Chinese, Russian and Japanese cooking styles all find their traces in Manchurian cooking. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the cuisine is the use of uncooked fresh vegetables. During the long winter season, pickled Chinese cabbage, Suan cai, is preserved and used for cooking. In almost every other region of China, vegetables are cooked thoroughly before being eaten.

In general, the culture of Northeast China takes its elements from the cultures of North China and Shandong, where most of the Han Chinese migration into Northeast China, known as Chuang Guandong, originated, the native Tungusic peoples, and its own innovations.

Errenzhuan, Yangge, Jilin opera and Stilts are popular forms of traditional entertainment in Northeast China. "Northeastern Cradle Song" (东北摇篮曲) is an example of the folk songs of this region.

Because of its climatic conditions, Northeast China is the base for China's winter sports. Ice hockey and ice skating athletes often come from or were educated in Northeast China.

Demographics: Northeast China has a total population of about 107,400,000 people, accounting for 8% of China’s total population. The majority of the population in the Northeast is now Han Chinese, whose ancestors came only recently in the 19th and 20th centuries in a population movement called "Chuang Guandong" (Rush to Northeast China). Manchus form a significant minority, and have been almost completely assimilated into the Han Chinese; the Manchu language is almost extinct, and many Han Chinese in Northeast China, as well as the rest of China, can claim some Manchu ancestry. Other major ethnic groups include the Mongols, the Koreans, and the Huis.

Chuang Guandong

Chuang Guandong (闖關東, literally "Crashing into the east (of the fortress)" The "fortress" in this case being Shanhaiguan), means the rush to Northeast China of the Han Chinese, especially from Shandong Peninsula, during the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Northeast China, also called Guandong (east of the Fortress) or Guanwai (outside of the Fortress), the Fortress in this case being at Shanhaiguan, used to be a land of sparse population, inhabited mainly by the Tungusic peoples and other minority peoples. In 1668 during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Qing government further decreed a prohibition of other people getting into this area of their origin.

In the second half of 19th century, as Czarist Russia advance through Siberia and reached the Sea of Okhotsk, the Qing officials like General Tepuxin made a proposal to open Guandong for farming, and the Qing government changed their policy, thus encouraging the poor farmers in near-by Zhilei (the present-day Hebei) and Shandong to move to and live in Northeast China.

Until 1931 when the Manchurian Incident occurred, a few million people are said to have moved to this area from outside. This movement of people, called "Chuang Guandong" (Rush to Northeast China) is comparable to the Westward movement in U.S.A., the advance to Siberia in Russia or, on a smaller scale, the move to Hokkaido in Japan.

Those who moved to Northeast China are the poor farmers mainly from Shandong who came over land through Shanhaiguan or over the sea, using the Yantai-Lushun ferry that had opened because of the Beiyang Fleet were stationed in Weihaiwei in Shandong Peninsula and Lushun in Liaodong Peninsula. One of the results of this people movement, for example, is that the majority of the older people in Dalian City are from Shandong and that the Dalian Dialect is part of the Jiao Liao Mandarin, the Chinese dialect group spreading from Qingdao to Dalian and Dandong.

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* Genetic Distances Between Chinese Populations Ccalculated on Gene Frequencies of 38 Loci by DU Ruofu, et al.

Phylogenic Tree of Han Subpopulations in 30 Provinces, Cities and Autonomous Regions

(Heilongiang, Jilin, Shandong)

Phylogenic Tree of 10 Han Subpopulations and 14 Ethnic Minorities

Han subpopulations: GS, Gansu; HLJ, Heilongjiang; JL, Jilin; NM, Inner Mongolia; ShX, Shaanxi; GD, Guangdong; GX, Guangxi; GZ Guizhou; H ~ N , Hunan; SC, Sichuan.

* Polymorphism Analysis of 11 Y-STR Loci in Manchu Population and Genetic Relationships with 16 Populations by MS Shi, et al.

Abstract: To investigate the genetic polymorphisms of 11 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats(STR) loci in Manchu population, and to evaluate their forensic application values and genetic relationships with 16 other populations of China, 11 Y-STR loci in 203 unrelated Manchu individuals in Liaoning were amplified with PowerPlex Y System, and the PCR products were analyzed by 310 Genetic Analyzer. Cluster analysis and phylogenic trees were applied to show the genetic distance among the populations. As a result, a total of 189 haplotypes were identified and the overall haplotypes diversity for the 11 Y-STR loci was 0.9991. The gene diversity values (GD) for each locus ranged from 0.4594 (DYS391) to 0.9258 (DYS385a/b). Comparing with 16 populations, genetic distance between Manchu and Northeast Han population was the smallest(0.0015), while genetic distance between Man and Uygur ethnic the largest(0.1485). The phylogenetic tree was similar to the results of clustering analysis. The genetic distribution of 11 Y-STR loci in Liaoning Manchu population showed favorable polymorphisms, and was thus suitable for forensic identification and paternity testing in local area. The study of genetic diversity among different populations is useful for the research of their origins, migrations and their relationships.

* A Y-chromosomal Comparison of the Madjars (Kazakhstan) and the Magyars (Hungary) by Bíró AZ, et al.

Unrooted Phylogenetic Tree of 38 Populations

* The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers by Han-Jun Jin, et al.

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on FST Distances of Y Chromosome Haplogroups

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on RST distances of Y chromosome STRs

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on FST Distances of mtDNA HVS-I Sequences

* Taiwan Aboriginals and Peoples of the Pacific-Asia Region: Multivariate craniometric comparisons by M. Pietrusewsky, et al.

Plot of 55 Male Groups Means on the First Two Canonical Variates Using 29 Cranial Measurements

Diagram of Relationship Based on a Cluster Analysis (UPGMA) of Mahalanobis' Generalized Distances Using 29 Cranial Measurements Recorded in 55 Male Groups

* Y-chromosome Evidence for Common Ancestry of Three Chinese Populations with a High Risk of Esophageal Cancer by H Huang, et al.

Abstract: High rates of esophageal cancer (EC) are found in people of the Henan Taihang Mountain, Fujian Minnan, and Chaoshan regions of China. Historical records describe great waves of populations migrating from north-central China (the Henan and Shanxi Hans) through coastal Fujian Province to the Chaoshan plain. Although these regions are geographically distant, we hypothesized that EC high-risk populations in these three areas could share a common ancestry. Accordingly, we used 16 East Asian-specific Y-chromosome biallelic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms; Y-SNPs) and six Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci to infer the origin of the EC high-risk Chaoshan population (CSP) and the genetic relationship between the CSP and the EC high-risk Henan Taihang Mountain population (HTMP) and Fujian population (FJP). The predominant haplogroups in these three populations are O3*, O3e*, and O3e1, with no significant difference between the populations in the frequency of these genotypes. Frequency distribution and principal component analysis revealed that the CSP is closely related to the HTMP and FJP, even though the former is geographically nearer to other populations (Guangfu and Hakka clans). The FJP is between the CSP and HTMP in the principal component plot. The CSP, FJP and HTMP are more closely related to Chinese Hans than to minorities, except Manchu Chinese, and are descendants of Sino-Tibetans, not Baiyues. Correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and phylogenetic analysis (neighbor-joining tree) all support close genetic relatedness among the CSP, FJP and HTMP. The network for haplogroup O3 (including O3*, O3e* and O3e1) showed that the HTMP have highest STR haplotype diversity, suggesting that the HTMP may be a progenitor population for the CSP and FJP. These findings support the potentially important role of shared ancestry in understanding more about the genetic susceptibility in EC etiology in high-risk populations and have implications for determining the molecular basis of this disease.

The Two-dimensional Graphs of Y-STR Frequencies

The three EC high-risk populations and Manchu form 2 clusters; the three Northern Han (labeled 10–12) and five Southern Han populations (labeled 5–9) form another group. The remaining populations are scattered. 1, Chaoshan EC high-risk population; 2, Fujian EC high-risk population; 3, Henan Taihang Mountain EC high-risk population; 4, Fujian Han; 5, Anhui Han; 6, Yunnan Han; 7, Henan Han; 8, Zhejiang Han; 9, Guangzhou Han; 10, Dongbei Han; 11, Beijing Han; 12, Tianjing Han; 13, Tibetan; 14, Uygur; 15, Krigiz; 16, Manchu; 17, Shui; 18, Naxi; 19, Zhuang. 4–9 refer to Southern Hans, 10–12 to Northern Hans, 13–17 to Northern minority nationalities, 18–19 to Southern minority nationalities.

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Manchu

The Manchu people (滿族) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (today's Northeastern China). During their rise in the seventeenth century, along with the help of Ming rebels (such as general Wu Sangui), they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until its abolition in 1912 after the Xinhai Revolution, which established a republican government in its place.

The Manchu ethnicity has largely been assimilated with the Han Chinese. The Manchu language is almost extinct, now spoken only among a small number of elderly people in remote rural areas of northeastern China and a few scholars; there are around ten thousand speakers of Sibe (Xibo), a Manchu dialect spoken in the Ili region of Xinjiang. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in Manchu culture among both ethnic Manchus and Han. The number of Chinese today with some Manchu ancestry is quite large, and the adoption of favorable policies towards ethnic minorities (such as preferential university admission, government employment opportunities and exemption from the one child policy) has encouraged some people with mixed Han and Manchu ancestry to re-identify themselves as Manchu.

Koreans in China

The population of Koreans in China include millions of descendants of Korean immigrants with citizenship of the People's Republic of China, as well as smaller groups of South and North Korean expatriates, with a total of roughly 2.3 million people as of 2009.

Chaoxianzu/Joseonjok (朝鲜族), also referred to as Chinese people of Korean descent (朝鮮系中國人), form one of the 56 ethnicities officially recognized by the Chinese government. Their total population was estimated at 1,923,842 as of 2005. Most of them live in Northeast China, especially in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which had 854,000 ethnic Koreans living there as of 2000.

History: Throughout history, due to the close interactions between China and Korea, some degree of population movements have always occurred between the two neighboring countries. There were written records of Korean migrations in the early Qing Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and earlier. The majority of early Korean populations in China had assimilated with Chinese society (Sinicization). The current Korean population in China is mainly descended from migrants who came between 1860 and 1945. In the 1860s, a series of natural disasters struck Korea, leading to disastrous famines. Along with the Qing dynasty's loosening of border controls and acceptance of external migration into Northeast China, this pushed many Koreans to migrate. By 1894, an estimated 34,000 Koreans lived in China, with numbers increasing to 109,500 in 1910. After the Japanese annexation of Korea, larger numbers of Koreans moved to China. Some merely fled from Japanese rule or economic hardship, while others intended to use China as a base for their anti-Japanese resistance movements. By 1936, there were 854,411 Koreans in China. As Japanese rule extended to China, the Japanese government forced Korean farmers to migrate north to China to develop the land. During World War II, many Koreans in China joined the Chinese peoples in fighting against the Japanese invaders. Many also joined on the Communist side and fought against the Chinese Nationalist armies during the Chinese Civil War. After 1949, estimated at about 600 thousand individuals, or 40% of the Korean population at the time, chose to return to the Korean peninsula. But most Koreans chose to stay in China and took up Chinese citizenship between 1949 (the end of the Chinese Civil War) and 1952.

Since 1949: After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Yanbian, where most ethnic Koreans live, was designated as an autonomous county in 1952, and was upgraded to an autonomous prefecture in 1955. However, from around 1990, the ethnic Korean population of Yanbian began shrinking. Some Korean schools are being closed for the lack of students, and even where schools exist, parents are increasingly unwilling to send their children there, as they regard Korean language as unimportant in Chinese society). The share of the ethnic Korean population in Yanbian dropped from 60.2% in 1953 to 36.3% in 2000. This process is a result of social changes in the ethnic Korean community. The success of the economic reforms in China brought fast growth. In the past, most ethnic Koreans aspired at becoming good farmers. Now, success is increasingly associated with a college degree and/or migration to a large city, perhaps even to Seoul. However, college education is in Mandarin. The Korean parents know that Chinese language schools give their children better chances to go to college. The result is a dramatic decline in enrollment in the Koreans schools. In a middle school in Longjing where in the 1970s there were 400 students, now there are merely 39 students.

A 2004 survey found that ethnic Koreans had the second highest quality of ethnic life in China, after the Manchu, as measured by an overall score which took into account infant mortality, life expectancy, and literacy rates.

A significant proportion of China's ethnic Korean citizens now reside in South Korea; As of 2009, there were 443,566 ethnic Koreans with PRC citizenship residing in South Korea, making up 71% of all PRC citizens in the country. However, they receive less favourable immigration treatment than ethnic Koreans from other countries, such as Korean Americans. Huang Youfu, a professor at the Minzu University of China and himself an ethnic Korean, as well as Scott Snyder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, note that joseonjok who have worked in South Korea often develop poor feelings towards South Korea, due to the mistreatment they experience there; Huang believes their writing about their negative experiences on the internet has been a major factor in the spread of anti-Korean sentiment in China.

Culture: Most ethnic Koreans in China speak Mandarin Chinese and Korean.

Most ethnic Koreans in China are Buddhists. But there is a large minority who follow Christianity. South Korean churches have been known to send missionary groups to evangelize among the ethnic Koreans in China and refugees from North Korea, especially in the Northeast.

Assimilation and New Identity: Recently, the assimilation of Chaoxianzu (Chinese people of Korean descent) into Chinese identity is apparent. They don't think that they are the same ethnicity as the south and north Koreans. Rather, they think they are one of Zhonghua minzu (中华民族, Chinese ethnic Groups) in China. The younger generation generally cannot speak fluent Korean language, but, only Mandarin Chinese. It is because their parents didn't have them learn Korean for fear that they might be discriminated by the majority of Han Chinese, or that they don't want to burden their kids by learning too many languages which can lower language proficiency. Although Chaoxianzu's intermarriage with other ethnic groups was rare in the past, it has increased drastically nowadays.

Different from other ethnic minorities in China such as Uyghurs and Tibetans, Chaoxianzu's loyalty to the PRC regime is regarded as comparatively strong. Some Chinese of Korean decent (Chaoxianzu) like Li Dexiu (李德洙), rose to high ranks in the government and implemented policies that suppresses independent movements of minorities by immigrating Han Chinese people to minority area.

Despite such situation, Chaoxianzu people often claim a common cultural heritage between them and the Koreans in the Korean Peninsula but view themselves separately as one of Chinese minorities. Common cultures such as Korean food, Korean dance, and Hanbok are often explained as part of Chinese cultures by Chaoxianzu. Furthermore, some Chaoxianzu scholars were widely involved with the Northeast Project. The purpose of this project was to convert the history of Goguryeo into a regional minority history of China. Aside from that, some Chaoxianzu students who studied in Korea were accused of the violence to the Korean demonstrators who protested the human rights abuse of PRC government in front of the torch rally of Beijing Olympic. As a result of Chaoxianzu's different attitude towards South and North Korea from other oversea Koreans such as Korean American or Japanese Zainichi, it sometimes caused serious frictions with the Koreans in the Korean peninsula. South Korean government gives some legal prestiges to oversea Koreans despite their nationality. However, some South Koreans think that Chaoxianzu exploit this policy and maintain that they should be treated as just foreigners.

North Koreans: China has a large number of North Korean refugees, estimated at anywhere between 20,000 and 400,000. Some North Korean refugees who are unable to obtain transport to South Korea instead marry chaoxianzu and settle down in China, blending into the community; however, they are still subject to deportation if discovered by the authorities.

Major North Korean universities, such as the Kim Il-sung University and the Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies also send a few dozen exchange students to Peking University and other top-ranked Chinese universities each year.

South Koreans: After the 1992 normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, many citizens of South Korea started to settle in China. Large new communities of South Koreans have formed in Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao. The South Korean government officially recognises seven Korean international schools in China, located in Yanbian, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao, and Dalian, all founded between 1997 and 2003. Most of the population of Koreans in Hong Kong also consists of South Korea expatriates. Typically, they come to China as employees of South Korean corporations on short-term international assignments; when their assignments are completed, many prefer to stay on in China, using the contacts they have made to start their own consulting businesses or import/export firms. Other South Koreans also moved to China on their own after becoming unemployed during the 1997 financial crisis; they used funds they had saved up for retirement to open small restaurants or shops. The low cost of living compared to Seoul, especially the cheap tuition at international schools teaching both English and Chinese, is another pull factor for South Korean migration to China.

The number of South Koreans in China was estimated to be 300,000 to 400,000 as of 2006; at the 2006 rate of growth, their population had been expected to reach one million by 2008. By 2007, the South Korean Embassy in Beijing stated their population had reached 700,000. However, due to the global economic downturn in 2008 and the depreciation of the Korean won, large numbers of those returned to South Korea. A Bloomberg News article initially stated the proportion as 20% (roughly 140,000 people). Between 2008 and 2009, South Korean government figures show that the number of Koreans in China dropped by 433,000.

Daur

郭布羅·婉容：溥儀的皇后。

The Daur people (達斡爾族; the former name "Dahur" is considered derogatory) are an Mongolian sub-ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized in the People's Republic of China. They numbered 132,394 according to the latest census (2000), and most of them live in the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner (莫力達瓦達斡爾族自治旗) in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China. There are also some near Tacheng in Xinjiang, where their ancestors were moved during the Qing Dynasty.

Language: Daur is a Mongolic language. There is no written standard, although a Pinyin-based orthography has been devised by the native Daur scholar Merden Enhebatu. The Daur language retains some Khitan substratal features, including a number of lexemes not found in other Mongolic languages. It is made up of three dialects: Bataxan, Hailar, Qiqihar.

History: Genetically, the Daurs are descendants of the Khitan, as recent DNA analyses have proven. In Qianlong Emperor's "钦定《辽金元三史语解》" he retranslate "大贺", a Khitan clan described in 《辽史》, as "达呼尔". That's the earliest theory claim Daurs are descendants of Khitans.

In the 1600s, some or all of the Daurs lived along the Shilka, upper Amur, and on the Zeya River. They thus gave their name to the region of Dauria, also called Transbaikal, now the area of Russia east of Lake Baikal.

When the Russian explorers and raiders arrived to the region in the early 1650 (notably, during Yerofei Khabarov's 1651 raid), they would often see the Daur farmers burn their smaller villages and taking refuge in larger towns. When told by the Russians to submit to the rule of the Czar and to pay yasak (tribute), the Daurs would often refuse, saying that they already pay tribute to the Shunzhi Emperor (whose name the Russians recorded from the Daurs as Shamshakan). The Cossacks would then attack, usually being able to take Daur towns with only small losses. For example, Khabarov reported that in 1651 he had only 4 of his Cossacks killed while storming the town of the Daur prince Guigudar (Гуйгударов городок) (other 45 Cossacks were wounded, but all were able to recover). Meanwhile the Cossacks reported killing 661 "Daurs big and small" at that town (of which, 427 during the storm itself), and taking 243 women and 118 children prisoners, as well as capturing 237 horse and 113 cattle. The captured Daur town of Yaxa became the Russian town Albazin.

Facing the Russian expansion in the Amur region, between 1654 and 1656, during the reign of Shunzhi Emperor, the Daurs were forced to move southward and settle on the banks of the Nonni River, from where they were constantly conscripted to serve in the banner system of the Qing emperors.

When the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, the Daurs carried out an intense resistance against them.

Oroqen

Photo from Joshua Project

The Oroqen people (鄂倫春族; also spelt Orochen or Orochon) are an ethnic group in northern China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. According to the 2000 Census, 44.54% live in Inner Mongolia and 51.52% along the Heilongjiang River (Amur) in the province of Heilongjiang. The Oroqin Autonomous Banner is also located in Inner Mongolia.

The Oroqens are mainly hunters and it is customary of them to use animal fur and skins for clothing. Many of them have given up hunting and adhered to laws that aimed to protect wildlife in the People's Republic of China. The government is said to have provided modern dwellings for those who have left behind the traditional way of life.

Language: The Oroqen language is a Northern Tungusic language. Their language is very similar to the Evenki language and it is believed that speakers of these two languages can understand 70% of the other language. Their language is still unwritten; however, the majority of the Oroqen are capable of reading and writing Chinese and some can also speak the Daur language

History: The Oroqen ethnic group is one of the oldest ethnic groups in northeast China. Their name Oroqen, means "people using reindeer" (in Mongolian, it means "Guruchin"), it is a name they gave themselves. The ancestor of the Oroqens originally lived in the vast area south of the Outer Xing'an Mountains and north of Heilongjiang. They once formed part of the ancient people known as the Shiwei. In the 17th century, following the invasions by Russia, some Oroqens moved to the area near the Greater and Lesser Xing'an Mountains.

Shiwei (室韋) is one Ethnic groups in Chinese history, who once reside at the eastern part of Mongolia and Manchuria. It maintains close ties with Donghu. The Mongol people are believed to be originated from it.

Culture: The Oroqen are exogamous and only marriages among members of different clans are permitted. The traditional dwelling is called a sierranju (Chinese: xierenzhu) is covered in the summer with birch bark and in the winter with deer furs. These dwellings have conical forms and are made out of 20 to 30 pine sticks. The dwellings are usually about six meters of diameter and five meters of height. In the center a fire is placed that serves so much as of a kitchen and as of source of lighting. Birch bark is an important raw material in the traditional culture next to the furs. It served for the preparation of containers of all types, from the manufacture of children cradles to boats. With respect to the reindeer herding Evenki, Oroqen and Nanai, which all shared the use of birch bark, it can be said that these cultures are part of a "birch bark" culture.

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膠遼官話

膠遼官話是官話的一個分支，主要分布於遼寧遼東半島和山東膠東半島，共44個縣市，此外在遼寧其它地區及黑龍江有方言島，分登連、青州和蓋桓三片。

膠遼官話與其他官話相比，最大的不同在於中古漢語的入聲轉化為平上去三聲的方式。膠遼官話里，古全濁入聲轉為陽平，次濁入聲轉為去聲，清音入聲轉為上聲，這點與元代的官方韻書《中原音韻》幾乎一致。古清音入聲今讀上聲，也是膠遼官話之所以與其他官話方言區分開來的標誌。

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History of Heilongjiang

In ancient times Heilongjiang was far from any literate civilization, and information was sparse. Chinese and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Xianbei, the Malgal, and the Khitan. The eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the kingdom of Balhae between the 7th century and 10th century. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.

Under the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the western part of Heilongjiang was under the supervision of the General of Heilongjiang, whose power extended, according to the Treaty of Nerchinsk, as far north as the Stanovoy Mountains; eastern Heilongjiang was under the supervision of the General of Jilin, whose power reached the Sea of Japan. These areas deep in Manchuria were closed off to Han Chinese migration.

However, in 1858 and 1860 the Qing government gave up all land beyond the Amur and Ussuri Rivers to Russia, cutting China off from the Sea of Japan and giving Heilongjiang its present northern borders. At the same time, Manchuria was opened to Han Chinese migration by the Qing government. By the early twentieth century, the Han Chinese had become the dominant ethnic group in the region. In 1932, present-day Heilongjiang became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

After the Japanese defeat in 1945, Soviet forces entered Manchuria and gave the Chinese communists control over most of the area. Heilongjiang became the first province to be completely controlled by the Chinese communists and Harbin the first major city to be controlled by them. From Manchuria, the communists were able to conduct the initial phases of the Chinese Civil War.

At the beginning of communist rule, Heilongjiang province included only the western portion of the present-day province, and had its capital at Qiqihar. The remaining area was the province of Songjiang; its capital was Harbin. In 1954, these two provinces were merged into present-day Heilongjiang. During the Cultural Revolution Heilongjiang was also expanded to include Hulunbuir League and some other areas previously in Inner Mongolia; this has since mostly been reversed.

Harbin

Harbin (哈爾濱), is the capital of the Heilongjiang. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River. Harbin is the tenth largest city in China, serving as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in Northeastern China.

Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets". Harbin bears the nicknames "The Pearl on the swan's neck" because the shape of Heilongjiang resembles a swan, and "Ice City" for its long and cold winter. This city is most famous for its beautiful display of ice sculptures in winter and is known as China’s gateway to trade with Russia. In the 1920s, Harbin was considered China's fashion capital as new designs from Paris and Moscow reached there first before arriving in Shanghai. Harbin is also a potential candidate for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

History of Harbin: Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). It was formerly called Pinkiang.

The modern city of Harbin originated in 1898 from a small village, with the start of the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (KVZhD) by Russia, an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, shortcutting substantially the distance to Vladivostok and creating a link to the port city of Dalny (Dalian) and the Russian Naval Base Port Arthur.

Following the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), Russia's influence declined, and several thousand nationals from 33 countries including the United States, Germany, and France moved to Harbin. Sixteen countries established consulates and set up several hundred industrial, commercial and banking companies in Harbin. The Chinese also established their own businesses in brewing, food and the textile industry. Harbin had established its status as the center of northeastern China and as an international metropolis.

In December 1918, during the Russian Civil War, defeated Russian White Guards and refugees retreated to the city: it then became a major centre of White Russian émigrés. The city became the largest Russian enclave outside Russia. The Jewish community was formed by Russian Jews and included a group of German Jews, who fled Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. Under the pro bono efforts by Japanese government officials, they later emigrated to several cities in western Japan, notably Kobe, to ensure their safety and prosperity and established the largest synagogue in Japan. The Russians established the Russian school system and published Russian language newspapers and journals.

With the establishment of Manchukuo, Japanese troops occupied Harbin on 4 February 1932. In 1935 the Soviet Union sold the railway (KVZhD) to the Japanese, which resulted in the first exodus of Russian emigres from Manchuria and Harbin in particular. The bulk of the departing Russians went back to the Soviet Union, while a substantial number moved south to Shanghai or emigrated to the United States and Australia.

The Soviet Army took the city on 20 August 1945 and Harbin never came under the control of the Kuomintang, whose troops stopped 60 km short of the city. The city's administration was transferred by the departing Soviet Army to the Chinese People's Liberation Army in April 1946.

During the short occupation of Harbin by the Soviet Army (August 1945 to April 1946), thousands of Russian emigres who fled communism after the revolution, were forcibly moved to the Soviet Union. The rest of the European community (Russians, Germans, Poles, Greeks etc.) emigrated during the years 1950-54 to Australia, Brazil and the USA, or were repatriated to their home countries. By 1988 the original Russian community numbered just thirty, all of them elderly.

The eight Harbin counties originally formed part of Shokako/Songhuajiang Prefecture (松花江地区), and became incorporated into Harbin on 11 August 1999, making Harbin a sub-provincial city.

Architecture: Called the Oriental St. Petersburg, Harbin is considered one of China's most beautiful cities. The city is well-known for its unique, Russian and European-influenced architecture.

Zhong Yang Street (Central Street, also known as Kitaiskaya St.), one of the main business streets in Harbin, is a perfect remnant of the bustling international business activities at the turn of the 20th century. The 1.4-km long street is a veritable museum of European architectural styles: Baroque and Byzantine façades, little Russian bakeries, French fashion houses, American eateries, and Japanese restaurants.

The Russian Orthodox church, Saint Sophia Cathedral, is also located in this central district of Daoli. St. Sophia took nine years to build and was completed in 1932. It has now been made into a museum as a showcase of the multi-cultural architecture of Harbin.

Culture: The Harbin local culture is based on Han culture, combined with Manchu culture and Russian culture. This combination of cultures influences the local architecture style, food, customs. Harbin is famous for its standard Mandarin pronunciation. It's a very good place to study Mandarin. As the saying goes 'If you want to study Chinese language, come to China. If you want to study Mandarin, come to Beijing. If you want to study standard Mandarin, come to Harbin.'

Russian Influence: Harbin today is still very much influenced by its Russian past. A city once under Russian rule, it is now a center of trade with that country.

The influence of Russia came with the construction of the China Far East Railway, an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and Harbin, known formerly as a fishing village began to prosper as the largest commercial, economic center of North Eastern Asia.

Tsarist Russia encouraged Russian settlement in their important Trans-Siberian-Railway outpost by waiving the then 25 year long military service. For Jews who settled there, the restrictions applying in Russia were also waived.

The local cuisine in Harbin is also Russian-influenced. Harbin's bakeries are famous for their bread (lie-ba in local dialect, derived from the Russian word khleb for "bread"). Harbin's sausages (qiu-lin hong-chang) are another notable product, in that they tend to be of a much more European flavour than other Chinese sausages.

Harbin Russian

Harbin Russians or Russian Harbinites refers to several generations of Russians who lived in the city of Harbin, a major junction city on the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), from approximately 1898 to the mid-1960s.

The people in the Soviet Union used the terms "KVZhDist" (Russian: КВЖДист, "person of the China Eastern Railway") and "Harbinets" (Харбинец, "Harbinite/person from Harbin") to refer to a person with any type of ties to the China Eastern Railway.

Settlement: The first generation of Harbin Russians were mostly the builders and employees of the Chinese Eastern Railway. They moved to Harbin in order to work on the railroad. At the time Harbin was not an established city. The city was almost built from scratch by the builders and early settlers. Houses were constructed, furniture and personal items were brought in from Russia. After the Russo-Japanese War, while many Russians left Harbin, a lot of long-time residents decided to stay. By 1913, Harbin had become an established Russian colony for the construction and maintenance work on the China Eastern Railway. A record shows Harbin had a total of 68,549 people, most of which are of Russian and Chinese descent. There were a total of 53 different nationalities. Along with Russian and Chinese, there are 45 spoken languages used in Harbin at the time. Only 11.5% of all residents were born in Harbin.

World War I and the October Revolution: In the decade from 1913 to 1923, Russia went through World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Russian Civil War. In the 1920s Harbin was flooded with 100,000 to 200,000 Russian White émigrés fleeing from Russia. They were mostly officers and soldiers involved in the White movement, members of the White governments in Siberia and Russian Far East. There were both the intelligentsia and ordinary people. Harbin held the largest Russian population outside of the state of Russia.

On September 8, 1920, the Chinese Republic announced that it would no longer recognize the Russian consulates in China. On September 23 China ceased relations with representatives of Imperial Russia and deprived Russians of extraterritorial rights. Overnight Russians in China found themselves stateless. Shortly afterward, the Chinese government took over control of the institutions in Harbin such as courts, police, prison, post office, and some research and educational institutions.

In 1924, an agreement was signed in Beijing regarding the control of the China Eastern Railway. The agreement stated that only Soviet and Chinese citizens could be employed by the CER. This meant the Harbin Russians had to choose not only their nationality, but also their political identity. Many Harbin Russians took Soviet citizenship for patriotic reasons. However, there were also Harbin Russians who remained stateless and eventually was let go from CER. Gradually, the national and the political identity of the Harbin Russians split the group into opposing sides. This led to a strong Soviet Union presence in Harbin.

Japanese Occupation: In the mid-1930s, the Japanese occupied Manchuria, and turned it into the puppet state of Manchukuo. In 1935, the Soviet Union sold its share of the China Eastern Railway to Japan via Manchukuo. In the spring and summer of 1935, thousands of Harbin Russians went on trains with their passports and belongings, and left for the Soviet Union.

From 1932 to 1945, Harbin Russians had a difficult time under the Manchukuo régime, then the Japanese occupation. Some Harbin Russians initially thought the occupation was good, in hoping the Japanese would help them in their anti-Soviet struggles, and provide protection from the Chinese, who were desperately trying restore the sovereignty of Harbin.

Many Harbin Russians returned to the Soviet Union after 1935. Nearly all of them were arrested during the Great Purge (1936–1938), charged with espionage and counter-revolutionary activity according to the NKVD Order no. 00593 of September 20, 1937.

Some Harbin Russians moved to other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, and eventually left China. By the 1930s, Shanghai's Russian community had grown to 25,000.

After World War II: In 1945, after the Soviet Army occupied Harbin, the Soviets sent all those Harbin Russians whom they identified as White Guardists and those who had collaborated with the Japanese authorities to labor camps.

After 1952, the Soviet Union initiated a second wave of repatriation of Harbin Russians. By the mid-1960s virtually all Harbin Russians had left Harbin. There were several Russian connections in Australia resulting from refugees leaving Harbin.

Russian Influence Today: Harbin today is still very much influenced by its Russian past. A city once under Russian rule, it is now a center of trade with that country.

The Harbin dialect also retains other vocabulary items originating in the Russian language.

Creating a Chinese Harbin: Nationalism in an International City, 1916-1932 by James H., M.D. Carter

Harbin and Manchuria: Place, Space, and Identity by Sabine Breuillard, et al.

Amur River

The Amur River (Russian: река Аму́р) or Heilong Jiang (黑龍江) is the world's ninth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China.

In many historical references these two geopolitical entities are known as Outer Manchuria (Russian Manchuria) and Inner Manchuria, respectively. The Chinese province of Heilongjiang on the south bank of the river is named after it, as is the Russian Amur Oblast on the north bank. The name Black River (sahaliyan ula) was used by the Manchu and the Qing Dynasty who always regarded this river as sacred.

The Amur River is a very important symbol of — and an important geopolitical factor in — Chinese-Russian relations. The Amur was especially important in the period of time following the Sino-Soviet political split in the 1960s.

Flowing across northeast Asia for over 4,444 km (2,761 mi), from the mountains of northeastern China to the Sea of Okhotsk (near Nikolayevsk-na-Amure), it drains a remarkable watershed that includes diverse landscapes of desert, steppe, tundra, and taiga, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Tartary, where the mouth of the river faces the northern end of the island of Sakhalin.

The Amur has always been closely associated with the island of Sakhalin at its mouth, and most names for the island, even in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the region, are derived from the name of the river: "Sakhalin" derives from a Tungusic dialectal form cognate with Manchu sahaliyan ("black," as in sahaliyan ula, "Black River"), while Ainu and Japanese "Karaputo" or "Karafuto" is derived from the Ainu name of the Amur or its mouth. Anton Chekhov vividly described the Amur River in writings about his journey to Sakhalin Island in 1890.

The Russians on the Amur; Its Discovery, Conquest, and Colonisation by Ernest George Ravenstein

Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Xianbei, the Malgal, and the Khitan. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.

Xianbei

It is thought the Northern Wei dynasty originated from the Tuoba clan of the non-Han Xianbei tribe.

The Xianbei (鮮卑) were a significant nomadic people residing in Manchuria and eastern Mongolia, or Xianbei Shan. They were descendants of Donghu (Eastern Hu) before migrating into areas of the modern Chinese provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning. Possibly some tribes of these people also lived in ancient Eastern Heilongjiang or Hulun Manchu Imperial province, currently Khabarovsk and Amur regions in the Russian Far East.

The Xianbei people actually consisted of a federation of sizeable non-Han groups of which the most important was the Tuoba (拓跋). They first became a significant part of Chinese culture during the Han Dynasty, where they occupied the steppes in Mongolia, Hebei and Liaodong. After the fall of the Han dynasty, the Xianbei formed a number of empires of their own, including the Yan Dynasty, Western Qin, Southern Liang and most significantly, the Northern Wei (see Sixteen Kingdoms). By the time of the Tang dynasty they had largely merged with Han populace by adopting its customs, administration and language. The emperors Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty and Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty were born of Xianbei mothers and therefore half-Xianbei.

A Xianbei ruler was recorded as having had fair hair as were later some Tatars from the same area, as well as some other Tungusic peoples.

Mongol and Khitan may have descended from Xianbei according to Chinese historical records.

The Xibe people is believed themselves to be descendants of the Xianbei. The name of Russia's Siberia is a direct phonetic translation to the ancient tribe of "Xianbei". There is a city wall in Siberia today that remains from the Xianbei tribe

The Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏, 386-534), also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓拔魏), Later Wei (後魏), or Yuan Wei (元魏), was "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change". It is perhaps most noted for the unification of northern China in 439, but was also a period when foreign ideas were introduced, and Buddhism became firmly established. Many antiques and art works, both Daoist and Buddhist, from this period have survived. During the Taihe period under the Emperor Xiaowen, court advisers instituted sweeping reforms and introduced changes that eventually led in 494 AD to the dynasty moving its capital from Datong to Luoyang. It was the time of the construction of the Buddhist cave sites of Yungang by Datong during the mid-to-late 5th century, and towards the latter part of the dynasty, the Longmen Caves outside the later capital city of Loyang, in which more than 30,000 Buddhist images from the time of this dynasty have been found. It is thought the dynasty originated from the Tuoba clan of the non-Han Xianbei tribe. The Tuobas renamed themselves the Yuans as a part of systematic Sinicization. Towards the end of the dynasty there was significant internal dissidence resulting in a split into Eastern Wei Dynasty and Western Wei Dynasty.

Malgal

The Mohe (靺鞨; or Malgal, Mogher) were a Tungusic people in ancient Manchuria. They are sometimes considered the ancestors of medieval Jurchen and modern-day Manchus. According to some records, they originally dwelt near the Liao River and later migrated southward. According to Chinese records, they were governed by the Buyeo kingdom, but broke free during the Chinese Three Kingdoms period. They subsequently became an autonomous state. They were involved in the early history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The records of Baekje and Silla during the 1st century and 2nd century AD include numerous battles against the Mohe.

The Mohe were divided into various tribes, the most powerful of which were the Sumo Mohe. The Sumo Mohe were eventually conquered by Goguryeo, and the other Mohe tribes by Sui Dynasty China. Many Mohe moved back toward their northern homeland in this period. The "Mohe" section of the "Beidi Zhuan" (北狄传, Communications of the Northern "Di" Barbarians) of the "Jiu Tang Shu" (旧唐书, Old Book of Tang) states: "Their country is all (or "roughly") comprised of some tens of 'bu' (roughly "tribes," but also just generally meaning "divisions"), each having a chief, some of whom are attached to the Goryeo, and some of whom serve as common people (i.e., vassals) to the Tujue."

The Mohe also participated in the later kingdom of Balhae, 698-926. The founder of Balhae, Dae Joyeong was recorded to be a former Goguryeo general of Sumo Mohe stock (New Book of Tang), although the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk Yusa) written by Koreans several hundred years later states that he was of Goguryeo stock. After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the main ethnic group that became the Jurchen.

The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it, which was introduced to the Japanese court during the Nara Period or around the beginning of the Heian Period from the Balhae Kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "kana" reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a reading pronunciation based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.

The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested *Motgit (勿吉; Korean: 물길; Japanese: もっきつ), as well as to that of the medieval Merkits, who opposed the rise of the Mongols lead by Genghis Khan.

Khitan

The Khitan people (契丹 or Khitai, were a nomadic people, originally located at Mongolia and modern Manchuria (Northeast China) from the 4th century. They dominated a vast area in northern China by the 10th century under the Liao Dynasty, but have left few relics that have survived until today. After the fall of Liao in 1125, many Khitans moved further west and established the state of Kara Khitai, which was finally destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218.

The Khitai are said to have learned from history. On the one hand, they observed the fearsome effect that steppe cavalry had on the Chinese, through their use by the Uyghurs, Shatuo Turks, Kyrgyz, and later themselves. On the other, they also noted the effect that the adoption of Chinese writing and other tools of administration had on their cultural integrity.

There is no clear evidence of there being any descendant ethnic groups of the Khitai in modern-day Northeast China, but some recent genetic studies and family genealogy researches have substantiated the hypothesis that the Daur ethnic group of Inner Mongolia are direct descendants of the ancient Khitans. In addition, the Yunnan Han Chinese clans of A, Mang, Jiang, plus dozens other clans who self-identified as Yelu descents and were called Ben People by other Yuannan ethnic groups claim to be descendants of the Khitai. Furthermore, the Liu clan in a few dozen villages with the name Yelu Zhuang also claim descent from the Yelu clan of the Khitans. During the Liao period, ethnic Khitans were divided into two clans, Yelu and Xiao. Yelu was later sinicized into Liu. The Daur language is classified as mongolian.

Etymology: There is no consensus on the etymology of the name of Khitan. There are basically three speculations. Feng Jiasheng argues that it comes from the Yuwen chieftains' names. Zhao Zhenji thinks that the term originats from Xianbei and means "a place where Xianbei had resided". Japanese scholar Otagi Matuo considers Khitan's original name is "Xidan", which means "the people who are similar to the Xi people" or "the people who inhabit among the Xi people".

The word "Khitan" survives in the Russian word for China (Kitay), as well as the archaic English (Cathay), Portuguese (Catai), and Spanish (Catay) appellations of the country.

History: From Xianbei origins, they were part of the Kumo Xi tribe until 388, when the Kumo Xi-Khitan tribal grouping was roundly defeated by the newly established Northern Wei, allowing the Khitan to resume their own tribe and entity, and beginning the Khitan written history.

From the 5th to the 8th centuries, they were dominated by the steppe power to their West (Turks, then the Uyghurs, during the 8th and 9th centuries) and the Chinese to their south (Northern dynasties or Tang, respectively during the 5th and 6th, and 7th to 10th centuries), and in some cases under Korean domination (from the East, mainly Goguryeo), according to the balance of power at any given time. Under this triple domination and oppression, the Khitan started to show growing power and independence. This rise was, compared to other cases, slow. Slow because it was frequently crushed by its neighbouring powers, each using the Khitan warriors when needed, but each ready to crush them when the Khitan rose too much and became powerful, close to becoming an independent fourth regional power. The 696-697 Li-Shun Rebellion is really instructive on this "2 adults and 1 teenager" game : the Khitan were encouraged by the Turks to take all the risks and revolt against the Tang, which they successfully accomplished, before being attacked at their rear by the Turks, to the great advantage of the newly-reborn Turkish empire (2d, 682-745).

Enjoying the departure of Uyghur people for West, and the collapse of the Tang Dynasty in early 10th, they established the Liao Dynasty in 907. The Liao Dynasty proved to be a significant power north of the Chinese plain, continuously moving south and West, gaining control over former Chinese and Turk-Uyghur's territories. They eventually fell to the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchen in 1125, who submit and absorb Khitans to their military benefit.

Following the fall of the Liao Dynasty, a number of the Khitan nobility escaped the area westwards towards Western Regions (Xinjiang), establishing the short-lived Kara-Khitan or Western Liao dynasty, they were in turn absorbed by the local Turkic and Iranic populations and left no influence of themselves. As the Khitan language is still almost completely illegible, it is difficult to create a detailed history of their movements.

* History of the Khitans

Language and Writing Systems: The Khitan language (also known as Liao, Kitan) is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people. Khitan is believed to be generically related to Proto-Mongolic.

There were two writing systems for the Khitan language, known as the large script and the small script. These were functionally independent and appear to have been used simultaneously in the Liao Empire. They were in use for some time after the fall of that dynasty. Examples of the scripts appeared most often on epitaphs and monuments, although other fragments sometimes surface.

Many scholars recognize that the Khitan scripts have not been fully deciphered, and that more research and discoveries would be necessary for a proficient understanding of them.

Although there are several clues to its origins, which might point in different directions, the Khitan language is most likely a descendant of Pre-Proto-Mongolic (and thus related to the Mongolic languages).

Economy: As nomadic people, the Khitans originally engaged in stockbreeding, fishing, and hunting. The ruling class of the Liao Dynasty still undertook hunting campaigns in late summer in the tradition of their ancestors. Under the influence of their neighboring peoples, the Khitans began to engage in farming and cropgrowing, almost exclusively in the southern and western parts of their territory where the Chinese made up a great part of the population. Different from the Chinese and Balhae farmers, who cultivated wheat and sorghum millet, the Khitan farmers especially cultivated panicled millet.

Liao Dynasty , 907-1125, also known as the Khitan Empire

The Liao Dynasty (遼朝), 907-1125, also known as the Khitan Empire (契丹國), was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper. It was founded by the Yelu clan (耶律 Yēlǜ) of the Khitan people in the same year as Tang Dynasty collapsed (907), even though its first ruler, Yelü Abaoji, did not declare an era name until 916.

Although it was originally known as the Empire of the Khitan, the Emperor Yelü Ruan officially adopted the name "Liao" (formally "Great Liao") in 947 (938?). The name "Liao" was dropped in 983, but readopted in 1066. Another name for China in English, Cathay, is derived from the name Khitan. This is also the origin of the Russian word for China, Китай or Kitay, and that of several other East European languages.

The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people led by Yelü Dashi established Xi (Western) Liao Dynasty 1125-1220, also known as Kara-Khitan Khanate, which survived until the arrival of Genghis Khan's unified Mongolian army.

Kara-Khitan Khanate in Eurasia about 1200 AD.

The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao (西遼, 1124-1218) was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Chinese Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian and Arab sources consider the usurpation to be the end of the empire. The empire was later destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218.

Hunting with Eagles

Khitans using eagles to hunt, painted during the Chinese Song Dynasty.

Hunting with eagles (Golden Eagle) is a traditional art of the Eurasian steppes, particularly in Central Asia. It is a sort of falconry. Professional hunters from Kazakhstan call the practice berkutchy or kusbeguy in Kazakh; it is also called berkutchi by Kyrgyz people of the Bugu clan.

Berkutchy is a life's profession, and in Kazakhstan is often a hereditary one. The relationship of the bird and its master is constant, and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the berkutchy must sacrifice his sleep for a long period. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under its hood until its dependence on its master become complete. Such intimacy must turn into a lifelong trust with the eagle - twenty years or more. It is said that as the man trains the eagle, so does the eagle trains his man. There is a proverb in Kazakhstan: "There are three things a real man should have: a fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.

Khitans: In 936-45 AD the Khitans, a nomadic people from Manchuria, conquered part of north China. In 960 China was overtaken by the Song dynasty. From its beginnings, the Song dynasty was unable to completely control the Khitan who had already assimilated much of Chinse culture. Throughout its 300-year rule of China, the Song had to pay tribute to the Khitan to keep them from conquering additional Song territory. Despite the fact that Khitans assimilated Chinese culture, they retained many nomadic traditions, including eagle hunting.

Jurchen: The hai dong qing was an important breed of hunting eagle for Jurchen tribes. The Khitan extorted this kind of eagle from Jurchen but ended in revolt.

Kyrgyz: In 1207 the Kyrgyz nomads surrendered to Genghis Khan's son Jochi. Under Mongol rule, Kyrgyz preserved their nomadic culture. It has been said that Kyrgyz nomads have been hunting with Golden Eagles for 6,000 years.

Jurchen

Jurchen Jin Dynasty

The Jurchens (女真) were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria (Northeast China) until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu. They established the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (ancun gurun in ancient Jurchen and aisin gurun in Standard Manchu) between 1115 and 1122; it lasted until 1234 when the Mongols arrived.

Etymology: The name Jurchen dates back to at least the beginning of the tenth century, when the Balhae kingdom was destroyed by the Khitans. However, cognate ethnonyms like Sushen have been recorded in pre-Christian Era geographical works like the Shan Hai Jing and Book of Wei. It comes from the Jurchen word jušen, the original meaning of which is unclear. The standard English version of the name, "Jurchen," is an Anglicized transliteration of the Mongolian equivalent of the Jurchen term jušen (Mongolian: Jürchen, plural form Jürched), and may have made it to the West via Mongolian texts. A less common English transliteration is "Jurched".

Jin Dynasty: The 11th century Jurchen tribes of northern Manchuria descended from the Tungusic Mohe, or Malgal tribes who were subjects of the ethnic-Goguryeo state of Balhae. By the 11th century, the Jurchens had become vassals of the Khitans (see also Liao Dynasty).

They rose to power after their leader Wanyan Aguda unified them in 1115, declared himself Emperor, and in 1220 seized Shangjing (上京), also known as Huanglongfu (黄龍府), the Northern Capital of Liao. The Jurchens then invaded territories under the Han Chinese Northern Song Dynasty and overran most of northern China, first setting up puppet regimes like Qi and Chu, later directly ruling as a dynastic state in Northern China named Jin ("Gold", not to be confused with the several Jin Dynasties named after the region around Shanxi and Henan). Jin captured the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1127. Their armies pushed all the way south to the Yangtze but through continued warfare and treaties of diplomacy this boundary with the Han Chinese Southern Song Dynasty was eventually stabilised along the Huai River.

The Jurchen named their Dynasty the Jin ("Golden") after the Anchuhu River (anchuhu is the Jurchen equivalent of Manchu aisin "gold, golden") in their homeland. At first, the Jurchen tribesmen were kept in readiness for warfare but decades of urban and settled life in China eroded their original hunting-gathering lifestyle in Manchurian tundra and marshes. Eventually intermarriage with other ethnicities in China was permitted and peace with the Southern Song confirmed. The Jin rulers themselves came to follow Confucian norms.

After 1189, the Jin became involved in exhausting wars on two fronts: against the Mongols and the Southern Song dynasty. By 1215, under Mongol pressure, they were forced to move their capital south from Zhongdu (modern day Beijing) to Kaifeng, where the Mongol hordes extinguished the Jin Dynasty in 1234.

Culture, Language and Society: The Jurchens generally lived by traditions that reflected the hunting-gathering culture of Siberian-Manchurian tundra and coastal peoples. Like the Khitans and Mongols, they took pride in feats of strength, horsemanship, archery, and hunting. They engaged in shamanic rituals and believed in a supreme sky god (abka-i enduri, abka-i han). After conquering China, during the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchen adopted Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion and Daoism was assimilated as well.

The Jurchen made the Han, within the conquered territories, shave the tops of their heads and adopt Jurchen dress. This "bald-Head" fashion was known as 禿髮 tūfǎ (“Bald-Hair or Stripped-Hair”) to the Chinese. The later Manchus (who were also Jurchens) similarly made the Han shave their heads and adopt the queue (ponytail), or soncoho (辮子), which was the traditional Manchurian hairstyle.

The early Jurchen script was invented in 1120 by Wanyan Xiyin, acting on the orders of Wanyan Aguda. It was based on the Khitan script, that was inspired in turn by Chinese characters. However, because Chinese is an isolating language and the Jurchen and Khitan languages are agglutinative, the script proved to be cumbersome. The written Jurchen language died out soon after the fall of the Jin Dynasty, though its spoken form survived. Until the end of the sixteenth century, when Manchu became the new literary language, the Jurchens used a combination of Mongolian and Chinese. The pioneeering work on studies of the Jurchen script was done by Wilhelm Grube in the end of 19 c.

Jurchen society was in some ways similar to that of the Mongols. Both Mongols and Jurchens used the title Khan for the leaders of a political entity, whether "emperor" or "chief". A particularly powerful chief was called beile ("prince, nobleman"), corresponding with the Mongolian beki and Turkish beg or bey. Also like the Mongols and the Turks, the Jurchens did not observe a law of primogeniture. According to tradition, any capable son or nephew could be chosen to become leader.

During Ming times, the Jurchen people lived in social units that were sub-clans (mukun or hala mukun) of ancient clans (hala). Members of Jurchen clans shared a consciousness of a common ancestor and were led by a head man (mukunda). Not all clan members were blood related and division and integration of different clans was common. Jurchen households (boo) lived as families (booigon), consisting of five to seven blood-related family members and a number of slaves. Households formed squads (tatan) to engage in tasks related to hunting and food gathering; and formed companies (niru) for larger activities, such as war.

Jurchens During the Ming Dynasty: Chinese chroniclers of the Ming Dynasty distinguished three groups of Jurchens: the Wild Jurchens (野人女真) of northernmost Manchuria, the Haixi Jurchens (海西女真)of modern Heilongjiang (黑龍江) and the Jianzhou Jurchens of modern Jilin province. They led a pastoral-agrarian lifestyle, hunting, fishing, and engaging in limited agriculture. In 1388, the Hongwu Emperor dispatched a mission to establish contact with the tribes of Odoli, Huligai and T'owen, beginning the sinicisation of the Jurchen people.

Yongle Emperor (1360 - 1424, r. 1402 - 1424) found allies among the various Jurchen tribes against the Mongols. He bestowed titles and surnames to various Jurchen chiefs and expected them to send periodic tribute. Chinese commanderies were established over tribal military units under their own hereditary tribal leaders. In the Yongle period alone 178 commanderies were set up in Manchuria, an index of the Chinese divide-and-rule tactics. Later on, horse markets were also established in the northern border towns of Liaodong for trade. The increasing sinification of the Jurchens ultimately gave them the organisation structures to extend their power beyond the steppe. Later, a Korean army led by Yi-Il,and Yi Sun-sin would expel them from Korea.

The Nuzhen tribe (女真族) (Jurchen) was the predecessor of the Manchu nationality. For a long period of time, it inhabited the areas north and south of the Songhua River (松花江) and around the Heilong River. During the late Ming and early Qing eras, the Nuzhen tribe in the northeast was divided into 3 parts called Haixi (海西, "west of the sea"), Jianzhou (建洲, "establishing a state") and Yeren (野人, "wild people").

The Yeren tribe was rather backward, without a fixed dwelling place. The Haixi and Jianzhou tribes were engaged in fishing, hunting, animal husbandry, and farming, and had relatively fixed abodes. A gap between the rich and the poor and the division of classes emerged. According to standardized nomenclature of socialist historiography, the three tribes were in the patriarchal-slavery stage of the late slavery clan system.

The Ming dynasty had set up a horse market at a Nuzhen dwelling-place to carry out trade with the Haixi and Jianzhou tribes, whose main commodities were horse, fur, ginseng, and other special local products. Commodities from the Han regions included iron farming tools, farm cattle, seeds, rice, salt, textiles, etc.

History of the Nurkal Command Post and the achievements of Yishisha: In 1409, the Ming government set up a post called Nurkal Command Post (NCP) at Telin in the vicinity of Heilong River. The three parts of the Nuzhen tribe came under the administration of the NCP. Leaders of the Haixi and Jianzhou tribes had accepted the Ming government's enfeoffments.

From 1411 to 1433, the Ming eunuch Yishiha 亦失哈 (who himself was a Haixi Jurchen by origin) led ten large missions to win over the allegiance of the Jurchen tribes along the Sunggari and Amur rivers. His fleet sailed down the Sunggari into the Amur, and set up the Nurkal (Nu'ergan) Command (奴兒干都司) at Telin 特林 (now, the village of Tyr about 100 km upstream from Nikolayevsk-na-Amure in the Russian Far East) near the mouth of the Amur.

These missions are not well recorded in the Ming dynastic history, but an important source on them is two stone steles erected by Yishiha at the site of the Yongning Temple (永宁寺), a Guanyin temple commissioned by him at Telin. The inscriptions on the steles are in four languages: Chinese, Jurchen, Mongol, and Tibetan. There is probably quite a lot of propaganda in the inscriptions, but they give a detailed record of the Ming court's efforts to assert suzerainty over the Jurchen.

After the setting up of the NCP, Yishiha (亦失哈) and other Ming dynasty eunuchs, under orders from the Emperor, came several times to offer local minority nationalities blessings and consolidations. When Yishiha inspected Nuergan for the 3rd time in 1413, he built a temple called Yongning Temple at Telin and erected a stele in front of it. The stele bore an inscription written in 4 languages - Han, Jurchen, Mongolian, and Tibetan.

Yishiha paid his 10th visit to Nuergan in 1432, during which he re-built the titled Yongning Temple and re-erected a stele in front of it. The stele bore the heading "Record of Re-building Yongning Temple". The setting up of the NCP and the repeated declarations to offer blessings and consolidations to this region by Yishiha and others were all recorded in this and the first steles.

Transition from Jurchens to Manchu: Over a period of thirty years from 1586, Nurhaci, a chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens, united the Jurchen tribes, which was later renamed Manchu by his son Hung Taiji. He created a formidable synthesis of nomadic institutions, providing the basis of the Manchu state and later the conquest of China by the Qing dynasty

China Under Jurchen Rule: Essays on Chin Intellectual and Cultural History by Hoyt Cleveland Tillman

Manchuria

Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red)

Manchuria ( ; 滿洲; Russian: Маньчжурия, Mongolian: Манж) is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within China, or is divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast China (東北), and historically referred as Guandong (關東), which literally means "pass east."

This region is the traditional homeland of the Xianbei, Khitan, and Jurchen people, who built several dynasties in northern China. The region is also the home of the Manchus, after whom Manchuria is named. Beginning in the 17th century, the Manchus ruled China until the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

"Manchuria" can refer to any one of several regions of various size. These are, from smallest to largest:

Northeast China: generally defined as the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
The above, plus part of northeastern Inner Mongolia.
The above, plus the Jehol region of Hebei province. The part of Manchuria in China is called Inner Manchuria to contrast it with Outer Manchuria (see below).
The above, plus Outer Manchuria or Russian Manchuria, a region in Russia that stretches from the Amur and Ussuri rivers to the Stanovoy Mountains and the Sea of Japan. Russian Far East comprises Primorsky Krai, southern Khabarovsk Krai, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Amur Oblast. These were part of Manchu China according to the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689, but were ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Aigun (1858).
The above, plus Sakhalin Oblast, which is generally included on Chinese maps as part of Outer Manchuria, even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

Manchuria borders Mongolia in the west, Siberia in the north, China proper to the south and North Korea in the southeast. Inner Manchuria has access to the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea to the south, while Outer Manchuria has access to the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk to the east and northeast.

Manchuria is a translation of the Manchu word Manju (Chinese language: Mǎnzhōu). After the 1911 revolution in China, which resulted in the collapse of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the name of the region where the Manchus originated was replaced by Northeast in official documents in the newly founded Republic of China.

In current Chinese parlance, an inhabitant of "the Northeast", or Northeast China, is a "Northeasterner" (Dōng-běi-rén). "The Northeast" is a term that denotes the entire region, encompassing its history, culture, traditions, dialects, cuisines, and so forth. In effect, it replaces the concept of "Manchuria". As such, other provinces in the northeastern part of China (such as Hebei) are not considered to be a part of "the Northeast".

Early History: Manchuria was the homeland of several nomadic tribes, including the Manchu, Ulchs, and Hezhen (also known as the Goldi and Nanai). Various ethnic groups and their respective kingdoms, including the Gojoseon, Sushen, Xianbei, Buyeo, Mohe, Goguryeo, Balhae, Khitan, and Jurchens, have risen to power in Manchuria.

During the Song Dynasty, the Khitan set up the Liao dynasty in Manchuria. Later, the Jurchen (Manchu) overthrew the Liao and formed the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234), which went on to control parts of northern China and Mongolia. In 1234, the Jin Dynasty fell to the Yuan Dynasty, who were later replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. In 1644, the Manchu overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).

To the south, the region was separated from China proper by the Inner Willow Palisade, a ditch and embankment planted with willows intended to restrict the movement of the Han Chinese into Manchuria during the Qing Dynasty, as the area was off-limits to the Han until the Qing started colonizing the area with them later on in the dynasty's rule. The Manchu area was still separated from modern-day Inner Mongolia by the Outer Willow Palisade, which kept the Manchu and the Mongols in the area separate.

Russian and Japanese Influences: To the north, the boundary with Russian Siberia was fixed by the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) as running along the watershed of the Stanovoy mountains. South of the Stanovoy Mountains, the basin of the Amur and its tributaries belonged to the Manchu Empire. North of the Stanovoy Mountains, the Uda valley and Siberia belonged to the Russian Empire. In 1858, a weakening Manchu China was forced to cede Manchuria north of the Amur to Russia under the Treaty of Aigun, except for a small region known as the Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River. In 1860, at the Treaty of Peking, the Russians managed to extort a further large slice of Manchuria, east of the Ussuri River. Finally, in 1900, Russia invaded and occupied the Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River. As a result, Manchuria was divided into a Russian half known as “Outer Manchuria”, and a remaining Chinese half known as “Inner Manchuria”. In modern literature, “Manchuria” usually refers to Inner (Chinese) Manchuria. (cf. Inner and Outer Mongolia). As a result of the Treaties of Argun and Peking, Manchuria (and China) lost access to the Sea of Japan.

Manchuria was known for its shamanism, ginseng and tigers. The Manchu imperial symbol was a tiger with a ball of opium in its mouth. Manchu Emperors were, first and foremost, accomplished shamans. By the 19th century, Manchu rule had become increasingly sinicized and, along with other borderlands of the Chinese Empire such as Mongolia and Tibet, came under the influence of colonial powers such as Britain which nibbled at Tibet, France at Hainan and Germany at Shantung. Meanwhile the Russian Empire encroached upon Turkestan and Outer Mongolia, having annexed Outer Manchuria.

Inner Manchuria also came under strong Russian influence with the building of the Chinese eastern railway through Harbin to Vladivostok. Japan replaced Russian influence in Inner Manchuria as a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, and Japan laid the South Manchurian Railway in 1906 to Port Arthur (Japanese: Ryojun). In this series of historical events, Jiandao (in the region bordering Korea), was handed over to Qing Dynasty as a compensation for the South Manchurian Railway.

Between World War I and World War II, Manchuria became a political and military battleground. Japanese influence extended into Outer Manchuria in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917, but Outer Manchuria had reverted to Soviet control by 1925. Japan took advantage of the disorder following the Russian Revolution to occupy Outer Manchuria, but Soviet successes and American economic pressure forced Japanese withdrawal.

Manchuria was (and is) an important region for its rich mineral and coal reserves, and its soil is perfect for soy and barley production. For pre-World War II Japan, Manchuria was an essential source of raw materials. Without occupying Manchuria, the Japanese probably could not have carried out its plan for conquest over South-East Asia or taken the risk to attack Pearl Harbor.

Around the time of World War I, Zhang Zuolin established himself as a hugely powerful warlord with influence over most of Manchuria. He was determined to keep his Manchu army under his control and to keep Manchuria free of foreign influence. The Japanese tried to kill him in 1916 by throwing a bomb under his carriage, but failed. The Japanese finally succeeded on June 2 1928, when a bomb exploded under his seven-carriage train a few miles from Mukden station.

Following the Mukden Incident in 1931 and the subsequent Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Inner Manchuria was proclaimed as an independent state, Manchukuo. The last Manchu emperor, Pu Yi, was then placed on the throne to lead a Japanese puppet government in the Wei Huang Gong, better known as "Puppet Emperor's Palace". Inner Manchuria was thus formally detached from China by Japan to create a buffer zone to defend Japan from Russia's Southing Strategy and, with Japanese investment and rich natural resources, became an industrial powerhouse. But, under the control of the Japanese, Manchuria was one of the most brutally run regions in the world, with a systematic campaign of terror and intimidation against the local Russian and Chinese populations, arrests, organized riots, and other acts of subversion. The Japanese also began a campaign of emigration to Manchukuo; the Japanese population there rose from 240,000 in 1931 to 837,000 in 1939. Hundreds of Manchu farmers were evicted and their farms given to Japanese immigrant families. Manchukuo was used as a base to invade the rest of China, an expensive action (in terms of the damage to men, matériel and political integrity) that was very costly to Japan.

At the end of the 1930s, Manchuria was a trouble spot with Japan clashing twice with Russia. These clashes - at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol one year later - resulted in many Japanese casualties. Russia won these two fights and a peace agreement was signed. However, the regional unrest endured.

After World War II: After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in 1945, the Soviet Union invaded from Soviet Outer Manchuria as part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, Inner Manchuria was a base area for the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. With the encouragement of the Soviet Union, Manchuria was used as a staging ground during the Chinese Civil War for the Communist Party of China, who were victorious in 1949.

During the Korean War of the 1950s, 300,000 soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army crossed the Chinese-Korean border from Manchuria to recapture North Korea from UN forces led by the United States.

In the 1960s, Manchuria became the site of the most serious tension between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The treaties of 1858 and 1860, which ceded territory north of the Amur, were ambiguous as to which course of the river was the boundary. This ambiguity led to dispute over the political status of several islands. This led to armed conflict in 1969, called the Sino-Soviet border conflict.

With the end of the Cold War, this boundary issue was discussed through negotiations. In 2004, Russia agreed to transfer Yinlong Island and one half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing border dispute. Both islands are found at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, and were until then administered by Russia and claimed by China. The event was meant to foster feelings of reconciliation and cooperation between the two countries by their leaders, but it has also sparked different degrees of discontents on both sides. Russians, especially Cossack farmers of Khabarovsk, who would lose their plowlands on the islands, were unhappy about the apparent loss of territory.

East Tartary

East Tartary and Maritime Tartary are old names for Manchu territory extending from the confluence of the River Amur with the River Ussuri to Sakhalin Island. This area is now the Primorsky Krai with Vladivostok as regional administrative center.

These lands were once occupied by the Mohe tribes and Jurchen nation; and also by the old Korean kingdom of Balhae, and the Liao (Khitan) kingdoms.

According to Sheng-Wu-Chi's Ming dynasty chronicle ("Our dynasty is informed by military realizations"), in this land the Tungus Weji, Warka and Kurka tribes were established. Later these were unified in Manchu Qing Empire with Nurhaci as their leader and founder. These lands were lost to Russia under the Treaty of Peking.

Nearest this land lies the Ku-Ye-Dao (庫頁島) or Fu-Sang (Korean Hangul : 후상) island, better known as Karafuto or Sakhalin; in recent times Russian archaeologists have found here remains of ancient cities with walls and castles. These may correspond with the ancient Manchu nation, or possibly during Mongol or Tungus times, or the Balhae kingdom.

These lands were visited by Japanese explorers, Mamiya Rinzo and others, who reported on the various important cities and ports, such as Haishenwei (present day Vladivostok). From these lands and nearby Hulun (Amur area), the Japanese have claimed North Asian ancestors, who settled North Japan.

Other ancient cities in the region are: Tetyukhe (now Dalnegorsk) and probably Deleng, an important commercial imperial post according to some records.

Northeastern Chinese Cuisine

Northeastern Chinese cuisine (東北菜) is a style of Chinese cuisine in Northeastern China. Many dishes originated from Manchu cuisine. It relies heavily on preserved foods and hearty fare due to the harsh winters and relatively short growing seasons. Pickling, such as is a very common form of food preservation and pickled cabbage (suan cai; 酸菜) is traditionally made by most households in giant clay pickling vats. Unlike southern China, the staple corp in northern China is wheat and it supplies the majority of the starch found in a northern Chinese diet where it is found in the form of noodles and steamed bun. Popular dishes include pork and chive dumplings, suan cai hot pot, cumin & caraway lamb, congee, tealeaf stewed hardboiled eggs, nian doubao (sticky rice buns with sweet bean filling), congee with several types of pickles (mustard root is highly popular), and cornmeal congee. Perhaps the most important characteristic of Northeastern Chinese cuisine is its utilization of suan cai. Another distinct feature that separates Northeastern cuisine from other Chinese cuisines is to serve more raw vegetables and raw seafood in the coastal areas.

Due to its riverine environment, the Heilongjiang style of the Northeastern cuisine is famed for its fish banquet, specializing in anadromous fish such as the trout banquet and the sturgeon banquet, and similarly, due to its mountainous environment, the Jilin style of the Northeastern cuisine is famed for its dishes that utilize game animals. Although by law, only farm raised animals are allowed for culinary use and such use of wild animals is strictly forbidden, this practice is still being criticized because critics argue that such use of farmed animals, despite the fact that they are farm raised, would encourage the consumption of wild animals.

Liaoning cuisine is a new rising star among Chinese cuisines and has become increasing popular recently. Furthermore, Liaoning cuisine chefs have continuously won awards in recent culinary arts competitions in China.

TaiwanDNA.com

Origins and Diversity of the Taiwanese People

TaiwanDNA.com Homepage

Heilongjiang

Major Cities in Heilongjiang:

Saint Sophia Church, Harbin.

Tourism

HEILONGJIANG

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

Geography

Economy

Culture

Demographics

Ethnic Groups in Heilongjiang (2000 census)

Northeast China

Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning

Chuang Guandong

* Genetic Distances Between Chinese Populations Ccalculated on Gene Frequencies of 38 Loci by DU Ruofu, et al.

Phylogenic Tree of Han Subpopulations in 30 Provinces, Cities and Autonomous Regions

Phylogenic Tree of 10 Han Subpopulations and 14 Ethnic Minorities

Han subpopulations: GS, Gansu; HLJ, Heilongjiang; JL, Jilin; NM, Inner Mongolia; ShX, Shaanxi; GD, Guangdong; GX, Guangxi; GZ Guizhou; H ~ N , Hunan; SC, Sichuan.

* Polymorphism Analysis of 11 Y-STR Loci in Manchu Population and Genetic Relationships with 16 Populations by MS Shi, et al.

* A Y-chromosomal Comparison of the Madjars (Kazakhstan) and the Magyars (Hungary) by Bíró AZ, et al.

Unrooted Phylogenetic Tree of 38 Populations

* The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers by Han-Jun Jin, et al.

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on FST Distances of Y Chromosome Haplogroups

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on RST distances of Y chromosome STRs

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on FST Distances of mtDNA HVS-I Sequences

* Taiwan Aboriginals and Peoples of the Pacific-Asia Region: Multivariate craniometric comparisons by M. Pietrusewsky, et al.

Plot of 55 Male Groups Means on the First Two Canonical Variates Using 29 Cranial Measurements

Diagram of Relationship Based on a Cluster Analysis (UPGMA) of Mahalanobis' Generalized Distances Using 29 Cranial Measurements Recorded in 55 Male Groups

* Y-chromosome Evidence for Common Ancestry of Three Chinese Populations with a High Risk of Esophageal Cancer by H Huang, et al.

The Two-dimensional Graphs of Y-STR Frequencies

Manchu

Koreans in China

Daur

郭布羅·婉容：溥儀的皇后。

Oroqen

Photo from Joshua Project

膠遼官話

History of Heilongjiang

Harbin

Harbin Russian

Creating a Chinese Harbin: Nationalism in an International City, 1916-1932 by James H., M.D. Carter

Harbin and Manchuria: Place, Space, and Identity by Sabine Breuillard, et al.

Amur River

The Russians on the Amur; Its Discovery, Conquest, and Colonisation by Ernest George Ravenstein

Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Xianbei, the Malgal, and the Khitan. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.

Xianbei

It is thought the Northern Wei dynasty originated from the Tuoba clan of the non-Han Xianbei tribe.

Malgal

Khitan

Liao Dynasty , 907-1125, also known as the Khitan Empire

Kara-Khitan Khanate in Eurasia about 1200 AD.

Hunting with Eagles

Khitans using eagles to hunt, painted during the Chinese Song Dynasty.

Jurchen

Jurchen Jin Dynasty

China Under Jurchen Rule: Essays on Chin Intellectual and Cultural History by Hoyt Cleveland Tillman

Manchuria

Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red)

East Tartary

Northeastern Chinese Cuisine