The first Chinese-Manchu dictionary has been published to preserve the official language of the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial dynasty that lasted from 1644 to 1911.

The lexicon, which contains nearly 1.1 million characters, was compiled by Zhao Shengli, a public security official in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Zhao spent 15 years on the dictionary, which was published by the China Nationalities Publishing House and is now available at nationwide bookstores.

The Manchu were an ethnic minority group in China that established the Qing Dynasty and contributed tremendously to the China's history.

The Manchu rulers laid the foundation of modern China's territorial boundaries.

The Manchu period produced many important books and dictionaries which have been handed down from generation to generation.

Manchu finally gave way to the Chinese, or Mandarin, after an old democratic revolution toppled the Qing Dynasty in 1911 establishing a republic. Today, Manchu and the Muslim Hui are the only minority groups in China that do not speak their native language.

Source: Xinhua