Banjin Festival of Manchu Ethnic Minority

Overview of the Festival

Chinese Name: 满族颁金节
English Name: Banjin Festival of Manchu Ethnic Minority
Festival Date: The thirteenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar.

The thirteenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar is the day of the Manchu “Banjin Festival.” The “Banjin Festival” is the most significant day for the Manchu people, as it marks the anniversary of their birth and naming, making it a festival celebrated by the entire ethnic group.

Origin

“Banjin” is a Manchu word that means the naming day of the Manchu people. On the thirteenth day of the tenth month in the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (October 13, 1635), Nurhaci, the son of the Khagan of Later Jin, Aisin Gioro Hong Taiji, abolished the old name of the Jurchens (also translated as “Zhushen”) and established the ethnic name as “Manzhou.” Hong Taiji officially declared that from this day forward, the Manchu people would commemorate this day with grand celebrations. On October 13, the Manchu people in Xinjiang gather together to sing and dance to celebrate their festival. Many Manchu compatriots wear qipaos and other ethnic costumes, perform traditional folk dances, sing folk songs, and engage in various celebratory activities. They also prepare foods such as milk tea, sachima, rice cakes, and golden silk cakes for everyone to taste. Many Manchu writers, calligraphers, painters, artists, and photographers create poems and artworks, showcasing their exquisite skills, making the celebrations lively and interesting.

In the late 16th to early 17th century, Nurhaci, the leader of the Left Guard of Jianzhou, unified the various Jurchen tribes and established a local ethnic regime known as “Jin” (historically referred to as “Later Jin”). After unification, the Jurchens needed a new ethnic name, so Hong Taiji decreed on the thirteenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of the Tiancong reign (1635) to abolish the old name “Zhushen” (Jurchen) and set the ethnic name as “Manzhou” (later abbreviated to Manchu after the founding of the People’s Republic of China). The following year, Hong Taiji changed the state name to “Qing.”

Historically, the Song Dynasty established by the Han people and the Jin Dynasty founded by the Jurchen Wanyan Aguda were constantly at war. The history of the two Song emperors being captured and referring to the Jin as vassals is a shameful memory for the Han people. As an outstanding politician, Hong Taiji understood that to govern all of China, he needed to win over the Han people; thus, he no longer used the ethnic name “Jurchen” or the state name “Jin.” In fact, the “Jin” of the Aisin Gioro clan and the “Jin” of the Wanyan clan, as well as the Jurchens led by Nurhaci and those of the Wanyan clan, were indeed not entirely the same.

Related Customs and Activities

December 8, 2007, in the lunar calendar, marked the traditional Manchu festival “Banjin Jie.” Over 600 Manchu compatriots gathered at the Huairou International Conference Center in Beijing to celebrate the 2007 Banjin Jie with singing and dancing. The Manchu people celebrate the lunar calendar’s thirteenth day of the tenth month each year as their ethnic birthday. In 1989, China designated this date as the official birthday of the Manchu people. Since then, the commemoration of the Manchu ethnic name has been referred to as “Banjin Jie.” The “Tanghechuan” area in the northern mountainous region of Huairou is a gathering place for Manchu commoners in the Beijing area, with a history of over 360 years. Currently, the region has 29 Manchu villages and a Manchu population of more than 20,000. Labaigoumen and Changshaoying are the only two fully established Manchu townships in the city.

The 2007 Banjin Jie celebration in Beijing was co-hosted by the Huairou Manchu Folk Culture Research Association and the Beijing Ethnic Friendship Association. On that day, Mr. Shu Yi spoke on behalf of the Manchu community in Beijing, and performers from the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble, Central University for Nationalities, Beijing Dance Academy, and the Tanghechuan Manchu Art Troupe presented exciting cultural programs, including Manchu dances and Peking opera performances. More than ten Manchu painters, artists, and calligraphers from the Changbai Calligraphy and Painting Institute showcased artworks created using Manchu characters, Jurchen script, and Manchu seal script.

Significance and Impact

December 13 marks the anniversary of the naming of the Manchu people. Three hundred seventy-one years ago, on the thirteenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of the Tiancong reign (1635), Khagan Hong Taiji announced the change of the ethnic name to Manzhou, giving birth to a new nation! The Manchu people have thousands of years of history and culture. The earliest recorded account of them appears in the 25th year of Emperor Shun’s reign, when the ancient Sushen people paid tribute. They have since gone through transformations, including the Yilou during the Han Dynasty, the Wujie during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Mohe during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the Jurchens during the Song and Ming Dynasties. Throughout history, they established their own state powers multiple times, including the well-known Bohai, the Jin Dynasty, which dominated the century, the Dongxia, which held sway in Northeast Asia, and the great Qing Dynasty, among others. Today, the Manchu population has grown to tens of millions, making it the second largest ethnic minority after the Zhuang.

Reflecting on the past, the Jurchen people were once fragmented and engaged in conflict due to personal or tribal interests, causing infighting and strife. There were heroes like Li Manzhu, Wang Gao, and Wang Tai, who were akin to Genghis Khan, but unfortunately, they all failed. During the late Ming Dynasty, the tribal leaders of Haixi and Jianzhou vied for power, all yearning for unification, but history chose the great Khagan Nurhaci. He led the people out of division, internal strife, poverty, and barbarism, guiding them toward unity, solidarity, prosperity, and civilization, ultimately ushering in the grand era of Kangxi and Qianlong.

Looking back, the ancestors of the Manchu people traversed a perilous and winding path, overcoming countless difficulties and hardships with determination and resilience, writing a magnificent and glorious chapter in the annals of their ethnic history! Today, as the descendants of the Manchu people enjoy fine cuisine, do they ever think about the sacrifices endured by their ancestors who hunted in forests and gathered ginseng in deep mountains? Today, as the descendants gather in joy, do they remember the sacrifices made during the pivotal battles such as the Battle of Sarhu and the Great Victory at Song-Jin? It was they who won the rejuvenation of the nation with their blood and even their lives! Through the celebration of Banjin Jie, we can once again rekindle the spirit of our nation. The past glory is now history; we must face the honors and the mistakes of the past, shed our burdens, and move forward wholeheartedly. With the courage of those who rose with thirteen sets of armor and the determination of the twenty-four banners sweeping through the world, let us unite as one to reshape the soul of our nation and restore its brilliance.