Do you know Manas?It is a heroic epic of the Kyrgyz people, describing the heroic Manas and his seven generations of descendants, leading the Kyrgyz people to fight against foreign invaders and various ** forces. "Manas" embodies the indomitable national character of the Kyrgyz people and the national spirit of unity and hard work. "Manas" is regarded as the soul of the Kyrgyz nation and embodies the spiritual strength of the Kyrgyz nation. Today, let's learn about this world-class intangible cultural heritage and feel the history and culture of the Kyrgyz people.
The origin of Manas can be traced back to 2,000 years ago, when the ancestors of the Kyrgyz people gradually formed their own heroic legends in the exchanges and struggles with the Xiongnu, Wusun, Turkic and other ethnic groups in the Western Regions. These legends were passed down orally and enriched to form the epic Manas. The creation and circulation of Manas is closely related to the nomadic lifestyle of the Kirghiz people, and it is the crystallization of the Kyrgyz people's understanding and perception of nature and society in the long-term production and struggle. Manas is sung by a dedicated epic singer, the Manaschi, who are the inheritors of the Kyrgyz culture and the guardians of the national spirit. Manaschi is usually told to the audience at major festivals or ceremonies of the Kyrgyz people, playing and singing in an improvised way in Kirgiz. Manaschi singing is a high degree of artistic creation, they not only have to memorize the content of the epic accurately, but also flexibly adjust the structure and language of the epic according to different occasions and audiences, making it more vivid and moving. Manaschi's singing is a comprehensive art integrating literature and performance, which has both strict norms and rich changes, and is the highest achievement of Kirghiz folk literature.
Manas is mainly about the story of the Kyrgyz hero Manas and his seven generations of descendants: Manas, Semiit, Barth, Kambal, Durre, Jeris and Ali Khan. These eight parts make up the eight epics of Manas, each named after the protagonist, and its own chapter tells the story of a generation of heroes, and each part is connected to each other to form a complete system. With a total length of about 350,000 lines, Manas is one of the longest epics in the world. The structure of Manas is composed of three parts: the beginning, the main text, and the ending, the beginning is generally an introduction to the epic and a praise of Manaschi, the main text is the storyline that unfolds chronologically and causally, and the end is a summary of the story and a tribute to the hero. The language of Manas is Kyrgyz, which is a language belonging to the Turkic language family and is related to Turkish, Uzbek and other languages. The language of "Manas" has distinctive national characteristics and regional style, it has both ancient vocabulary and grammar, as well as new loanwords and creations, it has strict rhyme and metrics, and flexible adaptations and embellishments, it has beautiful poems and songs, and vivid dialogues and narratives, it has rich metaphors and personifications, as well as wonderful comparisons and repetitions, and it is a model and treasure of the Kyrgyz language.
Manas is the national soul of the Kyrgyz people, which embodies the history and culture of the Kyrgyz people, reflects the thoughts and emotions of the Kyrgyz people, inherits the wisdom and art of the Kyrgyz people, and shows the style and customs of the Kyrgyz people. "Manas" is not only Kyrgyz, but also Chinese and global. It is a treasure of China's ethnic minority culture and the essence of the world's cultural heritage. It forms a treasure trove of human civilization together with the epics of other ethnic groups, such as the Tibetan "King Gesar", the Mongolian "Jangar", and the Kazakh "Altay". "Manas" not only shows the history and culture of the Kyrgyz people, but also reflects the history and culture of Central Asia, which is a witness and result of the cultural exchange and integration of various ethnic groups in Central Asia. "Manas" has also had a profound impact on world literature and art, it and the ancient Greek "Iliad", "Odyssey", India's "Mahabharata", "Ramayana", etc., known as the world's four ** poems, they are the crystallization of human wisdom and creativity, they are all symbols of the human spirit. "Manas" is the pride of the Kyrgyz people, the pride of China, and the pride of the world.
Manas is an immortal epic, which has shocked countless listeners and readers and inspired countless descendants and nations with its grand momentum, profound themes, rich content, beautiful language, and touching plot. "Manas" is the national soul of the Kyrgyz people, and it is the spiritual pillar of the Kirghiz people. It deserves to be inherited and carried forward, and it deserves to be cherished and protected.
If you want to know more about Manas, we recommend the following books:
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