Abstract:In the course of a year spent in Manchuria under the auspices of the Social Science Research Council, my wife and I stayed for the month of January, 1930, at the little town of Wulakai, in Kirin provi...In the course of a year spent in Manchuria under the auspices of the Social Science Research Council, my wife and I stayed for the month of January, 1930, at the little town of Wulakai, in Kirin province, where I was studying Manchu. Wulakai stands on the Sungari, about 25 miles below Kirin city. The name is compounded of the Manchu wula (ula), 'a great stream', and Chinese kai, local pronunciation for chieh, 'a street'. Throughout Manchuria the use of the name 'street' is common in the meaning of a small market town. According to tradition, Wulakai stands almost on the site of the old capital of the state of Wula, whose frontiers were, roughly speaking, almost enclosed by the rivers Hurka (the Mutan-chiang) and Sungari. Wula was one of the states which, after a series of inter-tribal wars, became part of the early Manchu kingdom. The people of Wulakai claim proudly that their town is older than Kirin city; 'first there was Wula, then Kirin'. Under the Manchus, Wulakai was important for its tribute-gathering yamen, which despatched Sungari pearls, sturgeon and other fish, and pine-nuts to the Imperial palace in Peking. The towti was then wealthy; it contributed many high officials to the public service, and these men, in their retirement, fostered a tradition of culture and case. At the same time the old ManchuRead More
Publication Year: 1933
Publication Date: 1933-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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