Historical photos of 56 ethnic groups in China (Part I)

By Yu Xiaoou (Chinaculture.org)

Updated: 2015-05-04

The Manchu shop assistant helps costumers try on the Manchu costume, photo taken by Yang Xiuyun in 1991. [Photo/ China Photographers Association]

The Manchu people inhabit Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Beijing and Inner Mongolia. The contributions of Manchu people to Chinese culture, literature, music and arts are considerable. Many emperors of Qing were themselves painters, calligraphers, poets and masters of other literary arts. Cao Xueqin, the creator of one of the four Chinese classics, Dream of Red Mansions, reflecting many facets of feudal society during the Qing Dynasty, was of Manchu ethnicity.

In addition to their literary and artistic accomplishments, they developed agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry for their livelihood, especially after the founding of Modern China in 1949. In Manchu culture, eating the meat of dog or any product derived from dog is shunned.