中国萨满文化研究，形成专门学科起步较晚，在20世纪80年代初，中国社会科学院民族文学研究所（当时为少数民族文化研究所），以北方室的名义召开了一次由贾芝所长主持，富育光先生负责安排的萨满文化座谈会，参加者有萨满、民间老艺人、故事家和萨满学者。这次座谈会对中国萨满文化研究，起到了推动作用，因此，有人称中国的萨满文化研究是从20世纪80年代初开始的。此后，中国的东北、新疆、云南、内蒙古等地区，萨满文化论著，有关资料的搜集、整理、出版，犹如雨后春笋般在各地区迅速发展起来。

其实，中国改革开放后不久，那些酷爱本民族根基文化的中国传承文化的抢救人、传承人，早已行动起来。他们进行田间作业，走访民间萨满艺人和故事家，收获甚大。如东北地区满族文化传承人富育光先生、民间故事家傅英仁先生（已故），等等，就是先行者。

满族在古代先人之时，不仅建立过政权，而且还用自己辛勤的劳动和智慧，创造了辉煌灿烂的文化，填补和丰富了华夏文化的宝库。其中萨满文化就是如此。自努尔哈赤起，于16世纪初期，在黑龙江流域崛起向南发展之后，其社会迅速发生了变化，前后近百年的时间，就由一个狩猎氏族，飞速发展为一个以农业经济为主的封建社会，直至入关建立了封建政权，近三百年时间。满族的传承文化并未随着社会的急速发展而消失，而是按其文化的发展规律传承着。现在学者们在满族聚居区、在交通不发达的边陲之地，还能收集到内容原始古朴，甚至母系制氏族社会时期的说部、萨满文本，就是满族社会文化深深沉淀在人类历史文化中所致。

几十年来，笔者将手头所保存的十几本萨满文本和两部说部全部出版，并撰写了几十篇论文。从中可以窥见满族萨满文化和说部所呈现的文化内容和特点。

第一，满族萨满教沉淀了深厚的历史文化，所以它具有原始古朴性。就本书中所涉及的内容而言，由人类社会的母系制社会到人类文明社会，以至于封建社会时代各种社会的生活、习俗、经济，等等，都有所表现，仅从各姓氏的神灵来说，如在吉林省九台县的杨姓萨满文本中的一位，山洞中的“洞穴舅母神”。还有表现人类社会由母系向父系过渡时的社会变化，世界文化库中说部《东海窝集传》中表现得详细具体。由女神变化为男神，如石姓白山主神。到了近代社会，萨满文化除了祭祀用品不同、有牺牲外，还有面食饽饽之类供物，同时工艺神、英雄神也增加不少，如石姓近百位瞒尼神，杨、关、郎等姓都有瞒尼神，总之仅从满族萨满文本中的神灵和祭祀仪式等内容，就能了解满族历史各阶段的发展及社会生活。

第二，清代统治中国近三百年，早已是定居的从业经济生活了。但在萨满文本中，都有着明显的氏族性和迁徙游历的历史。如石姓是几百年前由黑龙江的江东六十四屯迁徙到吉林省，杨姓是黑龙江省的窝集部转移到吉林省，乌苏关是黑龙江流域的乌苏里江迁徙到吉林省。满族各姓氏每当祭祀时，首先报明是什么姓氏，住什么屯等，而且还强调说明是“血缘清洁”的纯满族后代。就是目前仍保留萨满教的祭祀活动，满族姓氏仍是以姓氏为组织的祭祀活动，突出了氏族（姓氏）性。

第三，萨满文化的包容性。现代萨满文化已成为包括所有以巫术行为求神膜拜的，广义的萨满文化了，当然还有一种是以萨满跳神、行巫做术的典型萨满文化。所以它的内容更为丰富。如唱给神灵听的神歌，名目繁多的祭品，还有萨满跳神表演的舞蹈艺术，神歌的诵唱以及服饰、法器都体现了满族的宇宙观、灵魂观、艺术观等人类社会方方面面的内容，本书中基本上都涉及了。对满族萨满文化中的专用名词术语，笔者也进行了考证，如普遍存在于满族萨满文化中的“瞒尼”神，是满族历史上以狩猎经济为基础，能征善战的尚武精神的具体体现，为一类很有特征的民族英雄神；还有“彪棍”为家萨满，也是氏族萨满；还有“扎哩”为萨满助手，有的也成为家萨满了；等等。

萨满教从远古时代流传至今，其变异性非同小可，同时，在某些地区仍保留并起着社会作用，起着促进民族团结和谐，发展经济生产的作用，它早已不是原始形态的祭祀和崇拜了，而是一种崇拜祖先，祭祀祖先的活动，尽管包含着动植物崇拜，但也有祖先崇拜的内容了。所以萨满文化乃是研究人类社会民族学，语音艺术等学科的综合性文化宝库，它起到了考古学所不能起到的活化石作用。

In the early 80s of the 20th century, the Institute of Ethnic Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (then the Institute of Minority Culture) held a shamanic cultural symposium chaired by Director Jia Zhi and arranged by Mr. Fu Yuguang in the name of the Northern Chamber, with the participation of shamans, old folk artists, storytellers and shamanic scholars. This symposium has played a role in promoting the study of Chinese shamanic culture, so some people say that the study of Chinese shamanic culture began in the early 80s of the 20th century. Since then, in northeast China, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia and other regions, shamanic cultural treatises and related materials have sprung up rapidly in various regions. In fact, not long after China's reform and opening up, those rescuers and inheritors of Chinese inheritance culture who love their own national roots culture have already taken action. They reap great rewards from fieldwork and visits to folk shamans and storytellers. For example, Mr. Fu Yuguang, the inheritor of Manchu culture in the northeast region, Mr. Fu Yingren (deceased), folk storyteller and so on, are pioneers. When the Manchus were their ancestors in ancient times, they not only established political power, but also used their hard work and wisdom to create a brilliant and splendid culture, filling and enriching the treasure house of Chinese culture. This is the case with shamanic culture. Since Nur Hachi, in the early 16th century, after the rise of the Heilongjiang River basin to the south, its society has changed rapidly, and in nearly a hundred years, it has rapidly developed from a hunting clan to a feudal society based on agricultural economy, until the establishment of feudal power in Guan, nearly three hundred years. The inherited culture of the Manchus has not disappeared with the rapid development of society, but has been passed on according to the law of the development of its culture. Now scholars in Manchu inhabited areas and in border areas with underdeveloped transportation, can still collect primitive and simple content, and even the sayings and shamanic texts of the matriarchal clan society period, which is caused by the deep precipitation of Manchu social culture in human history and culture. Over the decades, I have published a dozen shamanic texts and two narratives I have on hand, and written dozens of papers. It gives a glimpse of the cultural content and characteristics presented by the Manchu shaman culture and the teachings. First, Manchu shamanism has a deep history and culture, so it has a primitive quaintness. As far as the content covered in this book is concerned, from the matriarchal society of human society to the human civilization society, and even the life, customs, economy, etc. of various societies in the feudal society era, it is all expressed, only from the deities of each surname, such as one of the shamans surnamed Yang in Jiutai County, Jilin Province, the "cave mother god" in the cave. There are also social changes in the transition of human society from matrilineal to patrilineal, which is detailed and specific in the "Donghai Wowo Collection" of the World Culture Library. Changed from a goddess to a male god, such as the main god of the White Mountain surnamed Shi. In modern society, shaman culture in addition to different sacrificial supplies, sacrifices, but also pasta and other offerings, at the same time, craft gods, hero gods have also increased a lot, such as nearly 100 gods of the surname Shi, Yang, Guan, Lang and other surnames have gods of sacrifice, in short, only from the content of the gods and sacrificial rituals in the Manchu shamanic text, you can understand the development and social life of each stage of Manchu history. Second, the Qing Dynasty ruled China for nearly three hundred years, and it was already a settled business and economic life. But in shamanic texts, there is a clear history of clan nature and migratory travel. The surname Rushi migrated to Jilin Province hundreds of years ago from Jiangdong Sixty-four Tun in Heilongjiang, the surname Yang was transferred to Jilin Province from the Woji Department of Heilongjiang Province, and Wusuguan was migrated to Jilin Province by the Ussuri River in the Heilongjiang River Basin. Whenever the Manchu surnames are sacrificed, they first indicate what surname they are, what tun they live in, etc., and also emphasize that they are pure Manchu descendants who are "clean in blood". Even if the sacrificial activities of shamanism are still preserved, the Manchu surname is still a sacrifice organized by the surname, highlighting the clan (surname) nature. Third, the inclusiveness of shamanic culture. Modern shamanic culture has become a shamanic culture in a broad sense that includes all acts of witchcraft to worship gods, and of course, there is a typical shamanic culture that uses shamans to dance gods and practice witchcraft. So it's richer. For example, the singing of divine songs to the gods, the variety of sacrifices, and the dance art performed by shamans dancing gods, the recitation of divine songs, costumes, and magic instruments all reflect the Manchu cosmology, soul view, art view and other aspects of human society, which are basically covered in this book. The author also researched the special nouns and terms in Manchu shamanic culture, such as the "Zhoni" god that commonly exists in Manchu shamanic culture, which is a concrete embodiment of the martial spirit of fighting good battles based on the hunting economy in Manchu history, and is a very characteristic national heroic god; There are also "biao sticks" for the home shaman, also clan shaman; There are also "zali" as shamanic assistants, and some have also become home shamans; Wait a minute. Shamanism has been handed down from ancient times to the present, its variability is not small, at the same time, in some areas still retain and play a social role, play a role in promoting national unity and harmony, developing economic production, it is no longer a primitive form of sacrifice and worship, but a kind of worship of ancestors, ancestor sacrifice activities, although it contains animal and plant worship, but also ancestor worship content. Therefore, shamanic culture is a comprehensive cultural treasure trove for the study of human social ethnology, speech art and other disciplines, which plays the role of living fossils that archaeology cannot play.（AI翻译）