Jiu Manzhou Dang


Jiu Manzhou Dang is a set of Manchu archives stored at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It is the sourcebook of Manwen Laodang and a primary source of early Manchu history. It is often called yuandang.
It covers official Manchu documents from the 3rd month of the 35th year of the Wanli Emperor to the 12th month of the 1st year of Chongde. Archives are mostly written in the script without dots and circles. Although Dahai is said to have invented the script with dots and circles in 1632, subsequent archives occasionally, but not always, add dots and circles. Standard Manchu required time to establish.
Jiu Manzhou Dang was discovered in 1931, a month after the discovery of the Beijing edition of Manwen Laodang. Three more volumes were found in 1935. It was moved from place to place due to long-running wars and was finally carried to Taiwan by the Kuomintang. The study on original archives was started in 1960s. The National Palace Museum published the copy under the name Jiu Manzhou Dang in 1969.