Using Toponyms To Analyze The Spatial-temporal Characteristics Of Manchu Culture In Northeast China

UNESCO has classified Manchu language in Northeast China as a critically endangered language.During the Qing Dynasty,Manchu language was the core of trational Manchu culture.Manchu language was the national language and was therefore used by the government.There were at least one million native speakers by the end of the Qing Dynasty,but now,among nearly ten million ethnic Manchus,there are only ten native Manchu speakers in the Heilongjiang Province.In addition to representing a reduction in linguistic diversity,an endangered language represents the disappearance of a multiethnic heritage.As the birthplace of Manchu,there are many Manchu place names in Northeast China that serve as “living heritages” that retain traces of ancient local cultures.The thesis studied Manchu and other related ethnic place names in Northeast China by integrating spatial statistical measures using geographic information systems(GIS)to analyze the endangered languages in the region.Its objective is not only to analyze the spatial patterns of ethnic toponyms and the evolution of Manchu in a relevant historical context but also to identify differences in environmental factors among ethnic toponyms.The thesis is used to explain the spatial patterns of spatio-temporal disturbution of Manchu.The acculturation and assimilation of Manchu during the historical process are indicated by the evolution of the environmental factors of place names.The place names of Northeast China that are used in this thesis were primarily collected and collated from dictionaries in Chinese,which explain the origin of toponyms.We can represent the characteristics of the spatial distributions of the ethnic toponyms by GIS and analyze whether the Sinicized place names with ethnic origins are related to the spatial distributions of the ethnic groups.We display the distributions of environmental factors by Kernel Dynasty to calculate the correlations between toponyms and related influencing factors.The spatial stratified heterogeneitys of ethnic groups in Northeast China were analyzed by the geographical detectors,to analyse the spatial factors affecting the endangered Manchu language.The follows are the main conclusions:(1)There are many ethnolinguistic origins of place names in Northeast China that are either pronounced with a Han accent or spelled in Chinese.By integrating spatial analysis measures,we demonstrate that the Sinification of ethnic toponyms can reflect the spatial distributions of ethnic groups and ethnic languages in Northeast China during historical period,both of which are related to the lifestyles of the ethnic groups.And the naming rules of ethnic toponyms have relationships with their original lifestyles.And it is found that the most place names are related to the geographical environment of their location.(2)Based on the ethnic place names and population in county level in Northeast China,it is found that the spatial patterns of the two are similarity.The regression models are established based on the spatial relationships,which show that the positive correlations between them.The ethnic toponyms can reflect the spatial distributions of the ethnic population and culture.The regression is established between the cultural diversity represented by the toponyms and the ecological landscape diversity.The results show that the ecological cultural diversity in Inner Mongolia region is positively correlated,while other ethnic groups show negative correlation.(3)This thesis shows that the region where the Manchu ancestors lived,as the birthplace of Manchu,is reflected by the distribution of toponyms that originated from the Manchu language(ML).The high concentrations of Manchu autonomous regions(MAR)are limited by the boundary of the Willow Palisade,where most Manchu people live today.The thesis shows the migration of Manchu from original living areas to the regions south of the Willow Palisade by toponyms.Today,the Mongols remain west of the Willow Palisade.However,the Han Chinese occupid the majority of Northeast China for a large number of Han Chinese from North China immigrated to Northeast China at the end of the Qing Dynasty.Based on the background of history of Northeast China,the patterns of ethnic toponyms are strongly correlated with their lifestyles.(4)Using the geographical detector,the thesis analyzes the spatial stratified heterogeneity of kernel density of Manchu,Han and Mongol toponyms,as well as the vegetation and traffic factors.Based on the modifiable areal unit problem(MAUP),the spatial stratified heterogeneity of vegetation types and traffic distances have strong zoning effects.According to the analysis of spatial stratified heterogeneity,explanatory ability of vegetation types is better than others with the same cell size.Using different discretization methods,the interpretations of distributions between traffic distance and ethnic toponyms are different.As the increasing number of classifications,the results of different discretization methods trend to be stable.(5)Based on the analysis of the factors affecting the spatially stratified heterogeneity of ethnic settlements,the division between the Willow Palisade and the eco-geographical zones is of great importance.With the remove of limite of the Willow Palisade,a large number of Han immigrants migrated to the northeast,with the development of agriculture in Northeast China.At the same time,the ecological environment of Manchu had changed,which were suitable for farming.It is easier for Manchu to be influced by the farming culture of Han.The Mongolians currently remain to the west of the Willow Palisade,as there has been no change in their lifestyles and language.(6)The thesis revealed that the lifestyle of Manchu has changed to farming.It has become easier for them to communicate with the Han Chinese and learn to plant crops instead of engaging in traditional activities such as fishing and hunting in this region.With the loss of traditional ways of life,the use of original words in the Manchu language is decreasing and the use of Chinese loanwords is increasing.Thus,the Manchu language was shift with the acculturation and assimilation of Han culture in Northeast China.The Manchus prefer to speak the Chinese language for its expressive words,so their native language is becoming an endangered language.