The name of this wandering people, whose territory covers such a
huge space on the map, has been variously derived from (1) _moengel_,
celestial, (2) _mong_, brave, and (3) _munku_, silver, the last
mentioned being favoured by some because of its relation to the iron and
golden dynasties of the Kitans and Nü-chêns respectively.

Three centuries and a half must now pass away before entering upon the
next act of the Manchu drama. The Nü-chêns had been scotched, but not
killed, by their Mongol conquerors, who, one hundred and thirty-four
years later (1368), were themselves driven out of China, a pure native
dynasty being re-established under the style of Ming, "Bright." During
the ensuing two hundred years the Nü-chêns were scarcely heard of, the
House of Ming being busily occupied in other directions. Their warlike
spirit, however, found scope and nourishment in the expeditions
organised against Japan and Tan-lo, or Quelpart, as named by the Dutch,
a large island to the south of the Korean peninsula; while on the other
hand the various tribes scattered over a portion of the territory known
to Europeans as Manchuria, availed themselves of long immunity from
attack by the Chinese to advance in civilization and prosperity. It
may be noted here that "Manchuria" is unknown to the Chinese or to the
Manchus themselves as a geographical expression. The present extensive
home of the Manchus is usually spoken of as the Three Eastern Provinces,
namely, (1) Shêng-king, or Liao-tung, or Kuan-tung, (2) Kirin, and (3)
Heilungchiang or Tsitsihar.

Among the numerous small independent communities above mentioned, which
traced their ancestry to the Nü-chêns of old, one of the smallest, the
members of which inhabited a tract of territory due east of what is now
the city of Mukden, and were shortly to call themselves Manchus,--the