LEK Research Collective
Loretta Kim and Associates
In search of a non-Han name?
Visit our Northeast China Non-Han Name Lexicon (NCNHNL) and get started.
User Guidelines
The current version (v.1_0221) of the NCNHNL dataset supports the Simple Search and Advanced Search functions.
You can input traditional Chinese, Romanized Manchu, or Hanyu Pinyin (without diacritical marks) in the “KEYWORDS” box to start using the Simple Search. Input is not case sensitive.
If you want to use the Advanced Search function, press the “ADVANCED” button you will be directed to the advanced search.
Main Search Page
To search by Romanized Manchu, for example, enter “Namu” or “namu,” you will see all names that contain “Namu.”
To search by traditional Chinese characters, for example, enter “巴彥,” you will see all names that contain “巴彥.”
To search by Hanyu Pinyin, for example, enter “bao zhu” or “Bao Zhu,” you will see all names that contain “Bao Zhu.”
** We follow the Möllendorff-Norman transcription system to transliterate from the Manchu alphabet to the Latin script. To input special graphemes, you may copy and paste: ž, ū and š.
** Please note that Hanyu Pinyin is included in the database for easy search and display only. It is not intended to represent the pronunciation of a name in its native language or how the rendered form sounds according to the historical Chinese phonology. Hanyu Pinyin is displayed character by character, with space in between, and the first letter capitalised in each character.
In each box, the name as written in Manchu script is placed on the left. The name in Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin, and Romanized Manchu are on the right.
** Please note that many names were transcribed into Manchu and/or Chinese in the source records so these renditions approximate how they would have been pronounced orally, and that information for each name is provided based on the availability of evidence so some will have more or fewer details than others.
Clicking the arrow on the right bottom of a name box, you will be directed to the individual name page for more details.
Individual Name Page
On every individual name page, you will see the name in Manchu script on your left displayed vertically.
The green box on the right indicates whether this name is a personal name or a collective name. A personal name is a name associated with an individual person. A collective name refers to names that are associated with groups such as clan names or surnames
In the middle, the first row includes the name transcribed in Chinese characters and Romanized Manchu. The corresponding Hanyu Pinyin transcription is placed under the Chinese characters.
Other information for names includes (but varies by name):
Meaning: The linguistic labels indicate from which language the meaning comes.
For example: “Namuhaijab,” name meaning: namu/nam (Manchu/Mongolian: ocean/quiet) and jab (Tibetan: guarding). “Namu” in Manchu means ocean and “Nam” in Mongolian means quiet. “Jab” is a suffix meaning “guarding” in Tibetan.
Gender: The genders represented in this category include male, female, and male/female. Male/female means that this name has been attributed to people of both genders.
** Please note that our gender classifications are representative of the historical periods covered and not intended to reflect the complete scope of gender identities.
Communal Identity: This term refers to identities related to groups, including but not limited to tribes, place-based groups, proto-ethnic groups, and ethnic groups.
** Please note that some results contain offensive descriptions such as Tartars (Dada 韃靼or Dazi 達子). Our database team is aware of the pejorative meanings, but we have kept these descriptions in the database to reflect historical perceptions.
** Identities such as Dawo’er 達斡爾 and Dawo’erzu 達斡爾族, Ewenke 鄂温克 and Ewenkezu 鄂温克族 are different. The former is from historical source(s) indicating an ethnic group, while the later with zu 族 is from contemporary source(s) indicating an ethnic minority group (shaoshu minzu 少數民族) according to PRC’s Ethnic Identification Project after the 1950s.
Banner and Title:
Some names were associated with individuals who were members of the Eight Banners (ba qi), the principal military institution of the Qing dynasty. For people whose affiliation to a particular Banner unit and/or official titles were known, we include them here.
Birth Place:
The birthplace of the name bearer.
Reference: The acronyms are the abbreviations of the source material titles and the numbers are the page numbers for sections within a given source. You can find the full citation for a source in the “Sources & References” section.
** Please note we only display available information given by the original source(s) for each name. Not all data contains information in all the above-mentioned sections. Likewise, some Chinese name is missing in the original sources (“unknown” in the individual name box). The Chinese characters in the name meaning is a possible match as compared to the name in the original language. Moreover, there are some Mongolian names that have not been matched and inputted. Mongolian elements of the data and Mongolian input for search will be developed in a future version of the database.
Advanced Search
Once you click “ADVANCED,” filter boxes pop up. Currently, there are four: “GENDER,” “BANNER,” “TYPE,” and “COMMUNAL IDENTITY.”
* More filters will be allowed in the future.
No input in the search box is required if you wish to sort out all the names with the filters. Click a filter box, choose the category you want, then click search to view the results.
For example: “Advanced” >>> “communal identity” >>> “兀者野人”
Phrases, Signs, and Symbols
"no match found"
Meaning:
Non-Han languages other than Manchu, mostly Mongolian script of the data, is currently unavailable. We will develop it in a future version of the database.
Example:
The non-Han language script of the name "巴彥蒙和" is not available.
"unknown"
Meaning:
Information is not available in the original source.
Example:
The Chinese script of the name "Batumengku" is unknown.
;
Meaning:
The semicolon ";" is used to separate all valid information.
Example:
韃靼；北虜
?
Meaning:
The question mark "?" is used to indicate uncertain data. Reasons include but not limited to: unclear print or writing in the original source.
Example:
Akiyang? Enkiyang?
/
Meaning:
In the source, the slash "/" is used to separate the page number from the volume number. The number before "/" is volume number and that after "/" is page number.
In name meaning, it is used to separate different language origins and meanings.
Example:
MSLDB 憲宗185/7
agdun/akdun (Daur/Manchu: elder brother/firm, strong) ->"agdun" in Daur means "elder brother;" "akdun" in Manchu means "firm, strong."
[ ]
Meaning:
The square brackets "[ ]" indicates a piece of source information is problematic and corrected by the data team. The original information is kept in "[ ]" for users’ reference.
Example:
阿特跟[很]格
Transcription Standards
Möllendorff-Norman transcription system illustrated with Manchu alphabets and Chinese words.
Check out more about Manchu transliteration system other than Möllendorff-Norman at "Transliterations of Manch," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliterations_of_Manchu.
More about the Norman system (in PDF).
You may also refer to Giovanni Stary's table of transliteration (in PDF) in his A Dictionary of Manchu Names (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2000).
