Are all the old Beijingers Manchu?

Beijingers call tracing the source "slapping the root". Sticking to the roots of Beijing dialect, just like sticking to the roots of Beijingers, is a "chaotic and untidy" thing.

Why do you say that?

Because historically, Beijing was an immigrant city. First of all, "Beijingers" is a vague concept, because Beijingers come from different regions and different nationalities, and few people are rooted in Beijing.

I once gave an example in an article: friends get together and there are ten people sitting at the dinner table. If you tell everyone, "Where are you from?" Maybe eight people will say, "I'm from Beijing."

Who is from Beijing? Do you really know?

Yes, he has a house, a car, a job, children and an account in Beijing. How can he say that he is not from Beijing? But if you ask, "Where is your hometown?" Maybe six of these eight people will tell you: "My hometown is Hebei." "My hometown is Shandong." "My hometown is Jiangxi." Wait a minute. If you chase after and ask, "How many generations have your family lived in Beijing?" It is estimated that there are not many who can say more than three generations.

Of course, some old Beijingers will say that they are Manchu, their ancestors are in the flag and their hometown is (fundamentally) in Beijing. But what he called "ground rise" should also be quoted. Because Manchu people's roots are in "White Mountain and Black Water" (Changbai Mountain and Heilongjiang), it has been more than 300 years since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs.

Dan Jixiang, the current director of the Palace Museum in Beijing, said, "People often ask me: Where are you from? At this time, I have to explain: my native place is Jiangning, Jiangsu, I was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, and I grew up in Beijing. Where do you say I am from? " In the past, for most people in China, their place of origin, birthplace and place of growth were very clearly pointed to their hometown. However, with the acceleration of urbanization, people's spatial ownership has changed greatly, and the simple questions that can be answered in the past have become complicated.

In real life, I don't know how many people can't tell where they are like Mr. Shan. Dean Shan said that he was born three months ago and came to Beijing in his mother's arms. He has lived in Beijing for 60 years, but when filling out the form, he still can't write that he is from Beijing.

I knew Mr. Shan when he first worked in Beijing. Shortly after he returned from studying in Japan, he was studying the protection of historical and cultural blocks. I was working in the United Front Work Department of Beijing Municipal Committee. I listened to his speech at the symposium twice in a row and talked with him after the meeting.

Who is from Beijing? Do you really know?

Because I grew up in Bicai Hutong in Xidan, Mr. Shan was still living in Yunti Hutong, a small alley surrounded by Bicai Hutong, not far from my home. We have been living nearby, so we still have a chat.

Although he said he was not from Beijing, when we chatted, he spoke fluent Beijing dialect, and from time to time he would pop out a sentence or two of Beijing dialect.

He once asked me where I came from, but my situation was similar to his. "My ancestral home is Weifang, Shandong. My grandfather came to Beijing before his death. " I will tell you the truth.

Who is from Beijing? Do you really know?

He listened and smiled at me, as if we felt the same way about the sentence "Who is from Beijing?".

Because the concept of Beijingers is too vague, anyone who says he is a Beijinger should think it over. A few years ago, I wrote a book called "Nose and Eyes", in which there was a chapter "Who is a Beijinger", which was devoted to this issue.

Working in Beijing for decades, are you from Beijing? Do Beijingers have Beijing hukou? Are all the people born in Beijing from Beijing? Strictly speaking, yes and no.

Although Beijing was the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, it was an immigrant city with constantly changing dynasties and floating population in history. Are there any purebred Beijingers? Yes! The Beijingers over 700,000 years ago were definitely genuine, but people at that time were still apes!

Who is from Beijing? Do you really know?

Speaking of Beijingers, you will naturally speak Beijing dialect. Although Beijing dialect is the "mother tongue" of Putonghua, authentic Beijing dialect, especially Beijing dialect, is quite different from Putonghua.

Of course, even Beijingers live in different places, and some live in hutongs; Some live in government dormitories; Some live in the military compound; Some live in factories (such as eastern suburbs and southern suburbs); Some live in cities; Some live outside the city; Some people live in Cheng Nan; Some live in the north city. People in different living areas speak differently. For example, Chengnan people speak slightly differently from Beicheng people. Of course, Beijing is the capital, and there are many people who are officials, go to school and do business in Beijing. Some southerners who have worked and lived in Beijing for decades should be considered Beijingers, but they still maintain their local accents and can't speak Mandarin fluently, let alone Beijing dialect.