Description:A comprehensive grammar of Manchu, the official language in China during the Qing dynasty. It offers access to over 250 years of Chinese history immediately preceding the Republic. Taking also into account the scholarship on the subject from both China and Russia, the volume covers the Manchu writing system, morphology and phrenology. Special attention is given to syntax. Also dealt with is Sibe, which the author argues to be a direct successor of Manchu vernacular, and its relation with classical Manchu.