This page comprises a short extract from a Manchu text encoded in Unicode, that is intended to be used as a test for Unicode fonts that support the set of Manchu characters encoded in the Mongolian block. In order to view the Manchu text you must have an appropriate Unicode Mongolian font installed. Furthermore, proper shaping and joining behaviour may only occur if your operating system actively supports the Mongolian script. Microsoft Vista includes a Mongolian font (Mongolian Baiti) and provides rendering support for Mongolian by means of its Uniscribe complex script rendering engine (USP10.dll).
If you are using Internet Explorer and you are unable to change fonts using the form below, try this page instead (but vertical left-to-right layout will not work with IE8).
| Font Name | Font Size | |
|---|---|---|
| *The Daicing Manchu fonts are included in the Daicing Pack. You are strongly advised not to install the "full pack" as it attempts to replace USP10.dll (Uniscribe), but this sometimes fails, resulting in serious destabilization of the system. Instead either install the "lite pack" or extract the fonts directly from the "Daicing_Pack_Lite.exe" file using a utility such as 7-Zip. |
| Horizontal | Vertical | |
|---|---|---|
| ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ | ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ |
This is the first page of the bilingual Manchu-Chinese edition of the Manchu translation of the famous Chinese historical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms [Sanguo Yanyi 三國演義], entitled Ilan Guran-i Bithe ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᡳ ᠪᡳᡨᡥᡝ in Manchu.
The Manchu translation of The Three Kingdoms was completed in 1650, and this edition was published during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735). See my essay The Textual History of Sanguo Yanyi : The Manchu Translation for further details. Note that the interlinear Chinese text is neither a retranslation of the Manchu text, nor the source for the Manchu translation, but has been imported from the Li Zhuowu commentary edition of the novel.
The facsimile is from a reprint of a copy of the book held at the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, and published under the title A Manchu Edition of Ilan-gurun-i bithe [滿文三國志] (San Fransisco : Chinese Materials Center, 1979).
This is the correct orientation and layout direction for Manchu text, produced using the CSS writing-mode : tb-lr style. This layout is currently only supported in Internet Explorer version 8.
This is the correct orientation for Manchu text, but the wrong layout direction, produced using the CSS writing-mode : tb-rl style. To compensate for the incorrect right-to-left layout the order of the lines in the HTML code has been reversed so that the text appears to be laid out correctly. This layout is supported by Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7, but not by Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.
This is the default orientation and layour direction when no CSS writing-mode style is applied.
abka na-de weceme tooro yafan-de jurgan-i hajilaha.
amaga han gurun-i hūwanti urihe manggi, jui lingdi soorin-de
tehe. tere fonde juwan juwe se bihe. gurun-de amba jiyangjiyūn
deo u, taifu hafan cen fan, sytu hafan hū guwang bifi
ilan nofi uhei han-de aisilambi. bolori uyun biya-de, čoo
jiyei, wang fu gebungge juwe taigiyan toose-be jafafi, mujilen-i
cihai yabure-be, deo u, cen fan waki seme hebedefi, hebe-be
narhūšahakū ofi, juwe taigiyan-de wabuha. tereci taigiansa
toose-be ejelehe, jiyan ning-ni jai aniya duin biyai tofohon-de
han geren ambasa-be isabufi, wen-de diyan-i yamun-de teni teki
serede, holkon-de yamun-i hošoci amba edun dame muluci dehi da
funcere emu sahaliyan meihe deyere gese wasifi ise-de hayaha.
lingdi han golofi tuhenehe-be ashan te bihe coohai hafasa
ebuhu sabuhū wehiyeme tucibuhe. bithe coohai ambasa golofi ishunde
When Emperor Huan of the Latter Han dynasty passed away, his son Emperor Ling ascended to the throne. At that time he was twelve years old, and at court the three ministers, Marshal Dou Wu, Imperial Guardian Chen Fan and Minister of the Interior Hu Guang together advised the emperor. In autumn, during the ninth month, the two infamous eunochs Cao Jie and Wang Fu seized control of the government, and because they ran things just as they liked, Dou Wu and Chen Fan plotted to kill them. However, because their plans leaked out, the two eunochs had them killed. From that time on the eunochs held absolute power.
On the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the second year of the Jianning reign period [169 A.D.] the emperor assembled all his officials at court in the Wende Hall. He was just about to take his seat when suddenly a great wind sprang up from the corner of the hall, and a black snake that was forty fathoms or more in length flew down from the rafters, and wrapped itself around the throne. Emperor Ling was so afraid that he fell over, and all the guards that were at his side rushed over to help him up. The civil and military officials were so startled that they [pushed each other over, and many of them fell onto the imperial steps in front of the throne].
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