Manchuria

Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red)      Dark Red      Medium Red      Light Red

Manchuria ( Romanized Manchu: Manju, simplified Chinese: 满洲; traditional Chinese: 滿洲; pinyin: Mǎnzhōu, Russian: Маньчжурия, Mongolian: Манж) is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within China, or is divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast China (Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi), and historically referred as Guandong (Chinese: 關東; pinyin: guāndōng), which literally means "East of the (Shanhaiguan) Pass/Mountain".

This region is the traditional homeland of the Xianbei, Khitan, and Jurchen, who built several dynasties in northern China. The region is also the home of the Manchus, after whom Manchuria is named.

Extent of Manchuria

Extent of Northeast China

Manchuria can refer to any one of several regions of various size. These are, from smallest to largest:

1. Inner Manchuria: Northeast China (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning) and part of northeastern Inner Mongolia;
2. The above, plus the Jehol region of Hebei province;
3. The above, plus Outer Manchuria (Russian Manchuria), (from the Amur and Ussuri rivers to the Stanovoy Mountains and the Sea of Japan). Russian Far East comprises Primorsky Krai, southern Khabarovsk Krai, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Amur Oblast. These were part of Manchu China according to the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689, but were ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Aigun (1858)
4. The above, plus Sakhalin Oblast, which is generally included on Chinese maps as part of Outer Manchuria, even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

Manchuria borders Mongolia in the west, Siberia in the north, China proper to the south and North Korea in the southeast. Inner Manchuria has access to the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea to the south, while Outer Manchuria has access to the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk to the east and northeast.

Origin of the name

Manchuria is a translation of the Manchu word Manju (Chinese language: Mǎnzhōu). After the 1911 revolution in China, which resulted in the collapse of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the name of the region where the Manchus originated was replaced by Northeast in official documents in the newly founded Republic of China.

In current Chinese parlance, an inhabitant of "the Northeast", or Northeast China, is a "Northeasterner" (Dōng-běi-rén). "The Northeast" is a term that denotes the entire region, encompassing its history, culture, traditions, dialects, cuisines, and so forth. In effect, it replaces the concept of "Manchuria". As such, other provinces in the northeastern part of China (such as Hebei) are not considered to be a part of "the Northeast".