Legend of Manas is adapted from China’s Kyrgyz Nationality’s heroic epic “Manas.” The original version of the epic tells of hundreds of interesting stories about the ethnic group’s great Manas Khan and those other outstanding members of his later seven generations. Therein lies a splendid career of several centuries. We carefully chose the cream from such a full-length masterpiece for our readers. The contents of such an abridged version account for around two or three per cent of the whole stuff. In order to present our readers a panorama of the features of the whole voluminous epic, I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to write a brief introduction to the history of the ethnic group. And this is the obvious reason why I prepare the preface for our readers.
1) Nationality That Makes Such a Heroic Epic
As early as 2005, Kyrgyz Nationality’s heroic epic “Manas” had already been categorized into China’s first batch of national-level lists of “Representative Works of Intangible Cultural Heritage.” In 2009, it was also placed into the “List of Representative Works of Humankind’s Intangible Cultural Heritage” by the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Safeguarding the
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Intangible Cultural Heritage under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The epic is widely celebrated as the invaluable treasure the Kyrgyz people created for human beings. And it is a great contribution made by Kyrgyz people to the humankind!
As one of the three China’s epics, “Manas” is widely acknowledged as a great literary masterpiece, which is supposed to come down through the ages. Tens of thousands of people’s literary creation and subsequent co-editing spanned several centuries and have made considerable headway in the end. It is no mean the result of the whole ethnic group’s wisdom.
An epic is not history itself. But it is closely related to history. If we know the history of Kyrgyz people, we can get a comprehensive understanding of such an epic. Let’s take a look at the verses about the nationality written by numerous poets first of all:
This is a nationality that runs at the top of mountains.
This is a nationality that swims in icy rivers.
This is a nationality that is used to severing the omphalus with solid ice.
This is a nationality that is used to hunting tigers and leopards with arrows.
This is a nationality known for the so-called “Mysterious Voice.”
Kyrgyz people are accustomed to expressing emotions to each other by dint of melodious songs.
This is a nationality blessed with an artistic gift.
Kyrgyz people are accustomed to voicing aspirations to each other by means of touching music.
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They depict their lives with their heavy footsteps –
This is a nationality that becomes mature during the period of repeated migration.
They pass their history on to their descendants with the verses full of passion –
This is a nationality that creates a heroic epic.
Kyrgyz people have combined bravery, strong will, diligence, integrity and wisdom with their inherent national personality after overcoming so many setbacks and difficulties in history.
Kyrgyz people are likened to a group of outstanding sons of the Yenisei. In Kyrgyz language, the Yenisei means “a mother river.”
Kyrgyz people are a nomadic ethnic group living in the northern part of China. They boast a long history and splendid culture, as was recorded in some Chinese classical works. Prior to the Han Dynasty, the Kyrgyz people had lived in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. According to Historical Records, the ethnic group was called “Kirkun” in Chinese. Its name was recorded as “Tszyan-kun” in the Book of Former Han. At that time, they were under the jurisdiction of Huns. As the historical records showed, many historical figures once lived together with Kyrgyz tribesmen, including the daughter of Huns’ monarch who married Wang Zhaojun, a famous beauty in the Han Dynasty; Li Ling, a general of the Han Dynasty who later surrendered to the antagonistic Huns after being besieged by them; and so on and so forth. All the descendants of the above-mentioned historical figures were assimilated into Kyrgyz culture and finally became Kyrgyz people of Han Nationality’s extraction. Hence one can see that Kyrgyz
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people and Han Nationality people living in central China have a close blood relationship that cannot be severed. In the Han Dynasty, Kyrgyz troops and such nearby tribes as O-kut (also known as Wuqi), Dinlin, and Orson (also known as Awseu) cooperated with the central government in dealing a crushing blow to the separationist force of the Huns, forcing them to move westward. Shortly thereafter, a group of Kyrgyz soldiers followed up their victory with hot pursuit in the wake of the defeated adversaries. Some of them settled down at the foot of Tianshan Mountains, which are located near what today is Akqi Prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. After the downfall of the Huns, another ethnic group Sienpi (also known as Syanbi) rose quickly and united all tribes in what today is the Mongolian Plateau and the area near Lake Baikal. At that time Kyrgyz people were governed by Sienpi rulers and were called “Kirkut (also known as Kirgur).” After the fall of the Sienpi Khanate, Jou-jan and Gaocha, two other nomadic tribes, held sway over the Eurasian Steppe in succession. Under the jurisdiction of Jou-jan and Gaocha, Kyrgyz tribes were called “Bugu” or “Kirkut (also known as Kirkur).” After that, a new nationality called Tu-Chueh began to rule the roost in Mongolian Plateau and South Siberia was in control of the Kyrgyz people who were then called “Tsze-gu” in various written records in the annals.