Manchu Script

Official script of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), derived from the Mongolian script. Vast Qing historical records, laws, and diplomatic documents survive in Manchu script — key primary sources for Chinese historical research. The language itself has only a few dozen native speakers in China today, making it critically endangered, yet the Chinese government and academia continue restoration efforts. Written vertically, this script still appears on plaques throughout the Forbidden City in Beijing. The official script of the Qing Empire for 250 years; after the Qing fell in 1912, native speakers virtually disappeared. Yet ~1 million Manchu documents remain in Beijing First Historical Archives alone, and scholars from China, Japan, and the West continue to learn Manchu in order to read them.