Manchus have to choose a good and auspicious day to pick up the bride at a wedding. After the auspicious date is set and before the wedding, the man will give the woman a jar of old wine and a fat pig for the woman to entertain her relatives and friends.

On the first day, the number of people going to get married is an odd number, that is, the groom, the matchmaker, two brides-in-law, and a boy who presses the sedan chair. When the groom arrives at the bride's house, he must first go to the upper room and kowtow to the old Buddha facing west when entering the courtyard. Then someone stayed with him in a separate house. On this day, the bride and groom cannot meet each other. The next day, a good day is selected and the bride is invited to get on the sedan chair. The bride bids farewell to her family with tears in the sound of drums, and the mother pours the bride's face wash water on the place where the sedan chair has been parked.

Manchus often use sedan chairs when marrying their brides, but the sedan chairs are not carried by people, but by horses. The sedan chair is tied up on a carriage. The four frames are first fixed and then surrounded by red damask. The top is also stretched with red damask to form a wing-shaped sedan roof. The sedan door has a red damask curtain. On the top of the sedan chair is a wooden inscription "Qilin sends his son".

Some also install transparent mirrors on both sides of the sedan. When getting married, there must be children and the bride's mother-in-law in the sedan chair. The child who carries the sedan chair is usually a boy between 8 and 9 years old, and the bride-to-be is a native who has both husband and wife and children. When welcoming the bride, the groom rides a horse and leads the sedan to the bride's house. The bride gets on the sedan, and the groom rides around the yard for a week. The bride slowly follows her in a sedan, which is called "leading the sedan." After a circle, the groom dismounts and enters the house to kneel down and worship. . Then, the bride leads the sedan back on horseback. The bride is dressed in red, her head covered with a red cloth, and she sits in the sedan with two flax straws tied with red paper strips in her arms.

The flag bearers, lantern bearers and trumpeters walked in front, followed by 12 pairs of horses, with the young best man sitting on them. Behind the best man is the groom wearing red and flowers, and behind him is the sedan used to pick up the bride. Every time the wedding procession visits a relative's home along the way, the relatives and friends will give the groom gifts and wear red clothes. A unique wedding ceremony of the Manchu people. When the groom gets married, he must use a wedding sedan to marry the bride. When the sedan is approaching the door of the wedding room, the groom must shoot three arrows at the bride without waiting for the bride to get off the sedan, which is meant to remove the "red evil spirit" of the bride. However, the arrows are false. The arrow only hit the front of the sedan chair. Then the groom has to shoot four arrows at the four corners of the wedding room.

After the shooting, the bride is allowed to get out of the sedan chair and mount the saddle (which means peace). After worshiping heaven and earth, the groom must use the arrow he shoots to remove the bride's hijab. Shooting the bride with an arrow bears traces of the old custom of the Jurchens, the ancestors of the Manchus, who snatched their brides. This marriage custom is more typical in Caonian Manchu Township and Karaqin Banner Shijia Manchu Township in Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolia, and was preserved until the 1960s. After arriving at the bride's house, the groom cannot dismount immediately. He has to wait until his brother-in-law comes to hold the groom's horse, and his father-in-law steps forward to give the groom money, and then the groom can dismount. When the bride gets into the sedan, she is not allowed to walk by herself. Instead, her elder brother must carry her into the sedan. If there is no elder brother, her uncle must carry her into the sedan. Before the bride leaves her natal home, the groom must leave "mother-in-law's meat" for his father-in-law and mother-in-law before he can leave.

When the wedding team comes back, the bride wears a red hijab and is carried out from the sedan chair by two bridesmaids. The bride’s feet cannot step on the soil, and a red felt must be spread on the ground. After worshiping heaven and earth, they are brought into the bridal chamber. At the door of the bridal chamber, put a saddle and two strings of copper coins on the saddle. The groom will step over it first, and then the bride will step over it.

When the bride stepped over, the bridesmaid picked up two strings of copper coins and placed one on each shoulder of the bride. As soon as they entered the door, a little girl was holding a vase and pot in her hand. The pot was filled with grain and the mouth of the pot was tied with red cloth. At this time, the bridesmaid took the vase and pot and gave one to the bride's armpits. At this time, she also spread the grains. After the bride and groom complete various rituals on their wedding day, they need to eat dumplings. It is customary for the bride's family to prepare the cakes for children and grandchildren, and send them to the groom's family along with the dowry from the bride's wife.

It is slightly smaller than the usual dumplings. The filling is made of pork, green onion, ginger, oil, etc. The wrapper is rolled out from fine powder and wrapped into a crescent shape. There is also a kind of couple commonly known as 饸子, which needs to be made in two, whichever one means the harmony of husband and wife.

After the wedding banquet and after farewell to relatives and friends, a family banquet is also held. At this time, the bride has to sit under the Kang, serve food and rice, and serve her family. The Manchus have a long history and developed culture. Its costumes are elegant and gorgeous, unique in China's national costume culture, and have had a great influence on the development of China's costume culture.

Due to the cold living environment and the needs of hunting life, in the past, Manchus, both men and women, mostly wore "horseshoe sleeve" robes. After Nurhaci established the Eight Banners system, the attire of the "banner people" became "cheongsam" (called "yijie" in Manchu).

In the early Qing Dynasty, the style of cheongsam was generally collarless, large lapel, waistband, left vent, and slits on all sides. The clothes fit well and are conducive to horse riding and shooting. When going hunting, you can also put dry food and other things into the front. This kind of cheongsam has two outstanding features. One is that it is collarless. In order to unify the clothing and crown, Nurhachi once formulated the clothing and crown system, stipulating that "all court uniforms should have a shawl collar, and ordinary people only have robes." That is, ordinary clothes cannot have collars, and only court clothes worn when entering the court can have a large collar shaped like a shawl; secondly, there is a half-moon-shaped sleeve head with a long top and short bottom attached to the narrow cuffs, which is shaped like a horse's hoof, commonly known as " Horseshoe sleeves". It is usually tied up and put down when hunting or fighting in winter, so that it covers the back of the hand. It not only plays a role of keeping warm like a glove, but also does not affect the bow and arrow shooting, so it is also called "arrow sleeve" (called "wow" in Manchu). ha"). After the Manchus took over the Central Plains, "letting wah ha" became a prescribed action in the etiquette of the Qing Dynasty. When officials entered the court to see the emperor or other princes and ministers, they had to flick down their horse-hoove sleeves first, and then kneel down with their hands on the ground to salute.

The cheongsam is also customarily worn with a short coat with a round collar, body length reaching the navel, and sleeves reaching the elbow. Because this kind of short coat was originally worn when riding and shooting, it was not only convenient for riding but also able to withstand wind and cold, so it was named "horse coat". In the early Qing Dynasty, the mandarin jacket was the "military uniform" of the Eight Banners soldiers. Later, it became popular among the people and took on the characteristics of formal dress and regular clothes. Its styles and fabrics became more diverse. Manchu people also like to wear a waistcoat outside their cheongsam. Waistcoats are generally divided into cotton, quilted and leather types and are used to keep warm. There are many styles such as double lapel, pipa lapel, twist lapel and so on.

As a "fashion" of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu women's cheongsam has developed a lot. At that time, the practice of "eighteen trimmings" was popular in Beijing and other places, that is, eighteen lines of trimming were considered good-looking, and the style became a wide robe with large sleeves. After the Revolution of 1911, the style of cheongsam changed from fat to thin; in the 1930s, Influenced by Western short skirts in the early 1900s, the length was shortened, almost to the knees, and the cuffs were narrowed; in the mid-1930s, it was lengthened, with high slits on both sides, and the curves were highlighted; in the 1940s, it was shortened again, with short-sleeved or sleeveless cheongsam appearing, with a streamlined appearance . Later, the front and back parts of the garment were separated, with shoulder seams and sleeve-style cheongsam skirts. A wide range of materials are available, including cotton, wool, silk, linen and various chemical fiber clothing materials. In addition to long and short sleeves, cheongsam is also available in leather, cotton, single and clip styles, making it easy to wear in different seasons. The general style of cheongsam, which has been continuously improved, is roughly as follows: straight collar, narrow sleeves, large placket on the right side, button fastening, tight waist, length below the knee, and slits on both sides. Pay attention to workmanship and color matching, mostly on the collar, cuffs and The edges of the clothes are embroidered with lace with various patterns. This not only brings out the beauty of the female figure, but also looks elegant and generous. The oriental-colored cheongsam has now become a popular Chinese garment among Chinese women.

The combination of cheongsam, "flag head" and "flag shoes" constitutes the typical traditional clothing of Manchu women.

"Flag head" refers to a hairstyle, also called a hair crown. It is similar to a fan shape, with iron wire or bamboo rattan as the hat frame, green satin, green velvet or green yarn as the surface, and wrapped in a fan-shaped crown about 30 cm long and more than 10 cm wide. Just fix it on your bun when wearing it. It is often embroidered with patterns, inlaid with jewelry or decorated with various flowers, and hung with long tassels. The "flag head" is mostly used by upper-class Manchu women, and is generally worn as a decoration by women from private families when they get married. Wearing this wide and long hair crown limits the twisting of the neck and makes the body straight, making it appear extra dignified and steady, suitable for grand occasions.

The "flag shoes" have a unique style and are a kind of embroidered shoes with high wooden soles, also known as "high-soled shoes", "flowerpot-soled shoes", "horseshoe-soled shoes", etc. The wooden-soled heels are generally about 5-10 cm high, some can reach 14-16 cm, and the highest ones can reach about 25 cm. It is usually wrapped in white cloth and then set in the middle of the sole of the shoe. There are usually two shapes of the base. One is open at the top and narrowed at the bottom, in the shape of an inverted trapezoidal flowerpot. The other type is thin at the top and wide at the bottom, flat at the front and round at the back. Its shape and landing marks are like a horse's hoof. "Flowerpot bottom" and "horseshoe bottom" shoes got their names from this. In addition to the uppers being decorated with embroidery patterns or decorative pieces such as cicadas and butterflies, the parts of the wooden heels that do not touch the ground are also often decorated with embroidery or beads. The tips of some shoes are also decorated with tassels made of silk threads, which are as long as the ground. The high-heeled wooden soles of these shoes are extremely strong. Often the uppers are broken but the soles are still intact and can be reused. High-soled flag shoes are mostly worn by aristocratic young and middle-aged women aged thirteen or fourteen. Wearing these high-soled shoes makes you look graceful while walking. The flag shoes worn by elderly women are mostly made of flat wood and are called "flat shoes". The front end of the shoes is slightly tapered to facilitate walking.

Manchus have many types of hats, mainly divided into cool hats and warm hats. In the past, Manchu people often wore a small hat called a "guapi hat". Guapi hat, also known as "hat head", has a pointed top and a wide bottom, and is made of six petals stitched together. The bottom edge is set with a small eaves about 3 cm wide. Some even have no eaves and are only edged with a piece of woven gold satin. In winter and spring, black satin is generally used as the surface, while in summer and autumn, black solid gauze is used as the surface. The top of the hat is decorated with a knot made of velvet, in different colors of black and red, commonly known as the "abacus knot". There is a "mark" on the middle nail under the brim of the hat, which is called "hat Zheng". There are pearls, agates, small silver pieces, and glass. According to legend, this kind of hat first started in the early Ming Dynasty. Because it is a six-petal suture, it takes "Liuhe", which means the "unification" of the four directions of heaven and earth, so it became popular. After the Manchus entered the customs, influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, they also took the meaning of "unification of Liuhe" and began to wear this hat, which became quite popular. Nowadays, we can still often see its shadow in TV and TV dramas about the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.

In the early days, Manchu men often wore a kind of casual shoes with double-ridged faces called "Dasha shoes". The uppers are mostly made of green cloth and green satin fabric. The front of the shoe is inlaid with double or single black leather strips. The toe of the shoe is convex and upward, and looks like a boat when viewed from the side. In addition to "flag shoes" and flat casual shoes (flat shoes are embroidered with floral patterns on the uppers, and "cloud heads" are often embroidered on the front of the shoes), women also have "thousand-layer-soled shoes". "Thousand-layer-soled shoes" use multiple layers of lace as the sole, hence the name. The uppers are mostly made of fabric and are generally not embroidered with patterns such as flowers. They are mostly worn during work.

There is also a very distinctive shoe called Ula (靰顡) shoes, which are mostly worn by Manchu people in winter. It is sewn with cowhide or pigskin and lined with Ula grass. It is light and warm, and is suitable for hunting and ice running in winter. In the early days, the Manchus mostly lived near mountains and rivers to facilitate and adapt to their production and living habits. The main room of a Manchu rural house usually has three or five rooms. It faces north and south for easy lighting. The door is opened on the south side of the east end. It is shaped like a pocket and is commonly known as "pocket house", which is convenient for gathering warmth. There are wing rooms in the east and west, together with a gatehouse, which forms what is commonly known as a courtyard.

Most of the houses are ridged brick houses, commonly known as "Haiqing houses". The pillars of the room are all inserted into the ground, and the door opens to the south. It is tall and spacious. The room directly opposite the door is called the main room, also known as the outer room. It is equipped with a kitchen stove, a pot, a water tank, and a stove connected to the west inner room. The stove is called "earth tile" in Manchu. Opening the door from the west wall of the main room is the inner room, which forms a "Wanzi pit" or "Manzhi Kang" on the south, north and west sides. The Manchu people stand on the right, and the west wall is dedicated to their ancestors' tablets. The western kang is a narrow kang with no one to live in. There is a flue at the bottom. The north and south are opposite each other. A kang mat is spread on the bed, or the kang paper is papered and oiled. A wardrobe is placed at the top of the kang, with clothes inside and bedding and toiletries stacked on top. At night, the elders live on the south kang in the west room, while the brothers, sons and daughters-in-law live on the north kang. When going to bed, face your head outside the kang and put your feet against the wall, which is very suitable for keeping out the cold and breathing fresh air. There are many paper paintings on the walls. To protect against the cold in the north, some even built fire grounds. There is a round chimney (called Hulan in Manchu) built on the west gable outside the house, which is several feet higher than the eaves. There is a wind nest at the base of the chimney to block the headwind. There are windows on the north and south walls, and the windows are papered outside the window lattice, mostly "Korean paper". The paper is sprayed with oil or salt water to prevent it from falling off due to rain and snow. The window lattice and the bright sub-window lattice on the door form various patterns, which are beautiful and strong. There are two windows, upper and lower, and the upper window can be propped up with sticks for ventilation. There is often a stroller hanging from the beams of the house, and the baby is placed in the stroller. There is a rectangular kang table on the kang. When eating, you sit cross-legged around the table, which is warm and convenient. There are felt mats on the left and right sides of the table to entertain guests. There are many carved oil paints on the lattice, rafters and pillars. The side room is equipped with a grinding room and a warehouse (called Hash in Manchu). The house is surrounded by walls. There is a "Saulun pole" erected in the southeast of the courtyard. There is a tin bucket on the pole, and three stones are placed under the pole, which are called "sacred stones". Behind the pole is a wall made of bricks, decorated with awnings.

In the past, wealthy families in the city mostly lived in courtyard houses. The main gate of a courtyard usually has three rooms, with three to five rooms in the main room and three to five rooms in the east and west wings. It is surrounded by brick walls and there are stone fences on both sides of the gatehouse, called Shangma Stone. Some courtyard houses are divided into front and back courtyards. Most of these Manchu folk residential styles are preserved in Manchu inhabited areas in the Northeast. However, since the 1980s, except for a small number of people who still retain traditional building methods when building houses, the vast majority have built more spacious and bright modern houses.

In order to adapt to the living environment of mountainous areas and forests, seas and snowfields, the traditional means of transportation in Manchu areas mainly include horse-drawn carriages, sledges, canoes and birch bark boats. The sledge (called Fara in Manchu) is a means of transportation on the snow. Two tree trunks are heated by fire and then bent into a bow shape. The upper end is raised. The width of the part close to the ground is about 1 and a half meters. The upper part is paved with boards or made into a box. It is driven by horses, Cows are extremely light for carrying people and goods. Currently only used occasionally in colder northern mountainous areas. The earliest water vehicle of the Manchu people was a canoe (called "Wei" in Manchu), which was hollowed out of a thick log and could accommodate several people. There is also a kind of birch bark boat, which is more troublesome to make. First make the keel and attach birch bark inside and outside so that one person can carry it for walking. Quite lightweight. They are now rare, replaced by modern ships. The Manchus are a nation that attaches great importance to etiquette. Manchu people have various etiquettes when meeting or paying homage to guests, including the greeting ceremony, the temple caressing ceremony, the hand-holding ceremony, the embracing ceremony, the half-squatting ceremony, the kowtow ceremony, the chest caressing ceremony, etc. Among them, the Daqian ceremony, the hug ceremony, the kowtow ceremony, and the breast-stroking ceremony are mainly used by men, while the others are used by women. The Daqian ceremony is used between juniors to elders and subordinates to superiors. The form is to lower the arrow sleeves, bend the left knee forward, bend the right leg slightly, place the left hand on the left knee, droop the right hand, and say hello. . The hug ceremony is used between equals, and the younger generation can also use it to their elders. However, the younger generation should hug the elder's waist, and the elder should caress the younger generation's back, etc. Now, some of the cumbersome etiquette has been simplified.

The Manchu chest-stroking ceremony was influenced by the Mongols. When a junior is addressing an elder, or a subordinate is addressing a superior, they put the five fingers of their right hand together to caress the left chest and bend down to salute. When subordinates receive orders from their superiors, they should kneel on one knee with their right leg, put their right hand on their chest, and bend their head slightly. After Huang Taiji was reorganized and proclaimed emperor, the breast-stroking ceremony no longer appeared.

The Manchu tradition of respecting the elderly is more obvious. The younger generation should greet their fathers and ancestors every morning and evening. They should give way to elders when they meet on the way. When eating, the elders should sit down first and eat first. The Manchu people value feelings and trust, treat guests and friends sincerely, hold a banquet to entertain guests, and do their best to do what they promise.

The traditional marriage ceremony of the Manchu people is relatively complicated, and it roughly goes through the procedures of communication, placement, receiving gifts, passing the box, welcoming the bride, worshiping in the hall, worshiping the ancestors, dividing the bride and groom, and returning to the door.

The groom's family invites a matchmaker to propose to the girl's family. After both families agree, the bride's family gives Ruyi or a hairpin as a wedding gift. Then there is the engagement, that is, choosing an auspicious day, the groom's family and his relatives go to the bride's family to ask for her name, the bride's family holds a banquet, the groom's parents give a speech to propose, the bride's family repeatedly declines the proposal, the groom's family insists on the proposal, and the bride's family agrees before it is finalized marriage. At this time, the man will worship the woman’s family gods and her elders. After the engagement, there are gifts, and it is also an auspicious day. The groom's family sends gifts such as clothes, silks, sheep, and geese. The groom's family will also give some money as a gift. At this time, the wedding date must be agreed upon. Entering the wedding stage, the bride's family will send the dowry to the bride's family the day before the wedding, commonly known as "passing the box", and the groom will go to the bride's family to express his gratitude. When welcoming the bride, the groom, accompanied by the wedding team, drives a float to welcome the bride. When the two cars pass each other on the way, the bride's brother carries the bride onto the groom's float, which is commonly known as "car insertion" (due to different Manchu customs in different regions, there are also The groom and the welcoming team go directly to the bride's home to welcome the bride. In some places, there is a tradition of not welcoming the bride in person). When the bride arrives at the groom's house, she changes cars and takes a sedan. When the sedan lands, the groom has to shoot three false arrows. The bride, wearing a red hijab, gets off the sedan, stands with the groom in front of the heaven and earth table that has been placed in the courtyard, and kowtows three times to the north, which is commonly known as worshiping the Big Dipper, that is, worshiping the heaven and earth.

After worshiping, the heaven and earth table is removed, and the bride enters the temporary tent, which is called sitting in the tent. When sitting at the tent, "open your face" and change your hair style. After sitting in the tent, the bride steps over the saddle and enters the bridal chamber. The groom uses the scale beam to remove the hijab and throws it to the eaves. The couple drank a glass of wine, ate Hexi noodles and cakes for their children and grandchildren, and everyone had a wedding ceremony. On the night of the wedding day, the bride and groom have to pay homage to their ancestors. On the first day after the wedding, the bride packs cigarettes and serves tea to her husband's relatives, pays homage to the clan, and recognizes the seniority, which is called the distinction between big and small. Generally, three days after the wedding, the couple returns to the bride's house to meet her family and ancestors. One month after the wedding, the bride returns to her parents' home to live for a month, which is called living in the opposite month. By this time, the wedding ceremony was over.

These complicated marriage procedures have been simplified and integrated with modern forms in areas where Manchus live today. For example, jumping into a car has evolved into young men and women riding bicycles or motorcycles, each accompanied by a wedding team. They start from their own homes. When they meet on the way, they exchange bicycles or motorcycles and then go to the groom's house together. There is also worship of ancestors, and in some places it has evolved into the practice of newlyweds worshiping both parents. Although there have been changes, it still has strong national characteristics. In addition, the marriage rituals of the Manchus vary slightly depending on the region where they live. They are not completely consistent, but the main procedures are roughly the same.

The parenting customs of the Manchu people are quite special. A boy will hang a bow and arrow on the left side of the door, a girl will hang a colorful cloth on the right side of the door, and her family will give her a car. When a baby is three days old, relatives and friends send congratulatory gifts, commonly known as "breast delivery". And held a baptism, called "washing three". When the moon is full, guests should be invited to "make the full moon", and the bows and arrows or cloth strips should be removed and hung on the "descendants rope". On the 100th day, colored cloth strips obtained from each house are used to make a lock, called a padlock. When the child is one year old, a more solemn ceremony should be held to let the child "grasp the week". Generally, at the age of 16, boys shave their heads and girls wear their hair in a bun. To this day, traditional customs such as "breastfeeding", "washing three times", "making the full moon" and "catching the week" are still preserved in the Manchu-inhabited areas in Northeast China.