Changbai Mountain Manchu Folk Art Museum

Changbai Mountain Manchu Folk Art Museum

The ancestors of the Manchu people, the Sushen, lived "north of Mount Baekdu (Changbai Mountain)" during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, were called Yilou during the Han, Three Kingdoms, and Jin periods, Wuji during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, ??? during the Sui and Tang periods, and Jurchens during the Liao and Jin periods. They "have lived for generations at the source of the Yalu River east of the Tongjiang River on Changbai Mountain."

In 1616, the Jurchen leader Nurhaci unified the Jurchen tribes and established the "Later Jin" regime. After Hong Taiji succeeded to the throne, on October 13 of the lunar calendar in 1635, he issued an edict abolishing the old name of the Jurchens, designating Manzhou (Manchuria) as the ethnic name, and setting October 10 as the "Banjin Festival." In 1636, Hong Taiji proclaimed himself emperor in Shengjing and changed the state title from Later Jin to Qing.

Emperor Kangxi (Xuanye) ascended the throne at the age of 8 and reigned for 61 years. He "opened up territories never opened before and brought under submission states never subdued before," unifying China, preparing for external threats, and achieving glorious political accomplishments, making him one of the greatest monarchs in China’s feudal society.

After the Manchu people entered the Central Plains, Manchu and Han cultures collided and merged with each other, giving rise to a new and splendid culture.

Any culture has both folk and refined elements, but folk culture is the foundation from which refined culture grows.

The Changbai Mountain Manchu Folk Art Museum displays folk implements related to form-making created and continued by the ancestors of the Manchu people living in the Changbai Mountain region, encompassing the folk tool culture used under hunting, fishing, gathering, and farming lifestyles.

The exhibition is divided into seven sections: residential culture, artisan culture, belief culture, wood carving and basket weaving culture, hunting and fishing culture, embroidery culture, and paper-cutting culture. Among them, there are 3 municipal-level, 13 provincial-level, and 2 national-level intangible cultural heritage items—namely Manchu pillow-top embroidery and Changbai Mountain Manchu paper-cutting. There is also 1 item on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Changbai Mountain Manchu paper-cutting.

The exhibition comprehensively showcases the ancient culture and craftsmanship passed down through generations by word of mouth and demonstration among the people of Changbai Mountain, presented in the forms of objects, images, and videos. It is a microcosm of the wisdom of the Manchu ancestors and a tangible display of today’s intangible cultural heritage.

The collection and organization of exhibits took thirty years. Many folk artists have since passed away, and some skills have been lost. The museum bears the historical mission of collecting, researching, inheriting, developing, and preserving these treasures.