Baines/Disappearance of Writing Systems, 13. The Manchu Case

The Manchu language has been called the ‘guoyu’ in Chinese and ‘gurun-i bithe’ in Manchu, that is, the ‘state’ or ‘dynasty language’—a definition which seems unequivocally to connect the destiny of the dynasty to that of its language and script. This definition, however, is true only in part and shows three substantial exceptions: they are the result of the unique development which the Manchu people and its culture—and the script is part of it—have undergone in the course of their extraordinary history.