''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (
Middle Mongol
Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian, was a Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the collapse of the empire ...
:
''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan'';
Traditional Mongolian: ,
Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the
Mongolian language
Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the reside ...
. It was written for the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
royal family some time after the 1227 death of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
(born Temujin). The author is anonymous and probably originally wrote in the
Mongolian script
The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic script, Cyrillic in 1946. It is trad ...
, but the surviving texts all derive from
transcriptions or translations into
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...
that date from the end of the 14th century and were compiled by the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
under the title ''The Secret History of the Yuan Dynasty'' (). Also known as ''Tobchiyan'' ( or ) in the ''
History of Yuan''.
The ''Secret History'' is regarded as the single most significant native
Mongolian account of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, it provides the richest source of pre-classical Mongolian and
Middle Mongolian. The ''Secret History'' is regarded as a piece of classic literature in both
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
and the rest of the world.
Content
The work begins with a semi-mythical genealogy of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
(also called Temüjin). According to legend a blue-grey wolf and a fallow doe begat the first
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
, named Batachiqan. Eleven generations after Batachiqan, a widow named
Alan Gua was abandoned by her in-laws and left with her two boys Bügünütei and Belgünütei. She then bore three more sons with a supernatural glowing man who came in through the smoke-hole at the top of the tent. The youngest of Alan Gua’s three divinely-born children was
Bodonchar, founder of the
Borjigin. The description of Temüjin's life begins with the
kidnapping of his mother,
Hoelun, by his father
Yesügei. It then covers Temüjin's early life following his birth around 1160; the difficult times after the murder of his father; and the many conflicts against him, wars, and plots before he gains the title of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
(Universal Ruler) in 1206. The latter parts of the work deal with the campaigns of conquest of Genghis and his third son
Ögedei throughout Eurasia; the text ends with Ögedei's reflections on what he did well and what he did wrong. It relates how the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
was created.
It contains 12 chapters:
#
Temüjin's origin and childhood.
# Temüjin's teenage years.
# Temujin destroys the
Merkit and takes the title
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
.
# Genghis Khan struggles against
Jamukha
Jamukha ( mn, Жамуха; ) was a Mongol military and political leader and the chief rival to Temüjin (later Genghis Khan) in the unification of the Mongol tribes.
Biography
Jamukha was born in the Jadaran, a sub-tribe of the Khamag Mongol co ...
and
Tayichiud.
# Genghis Khan destroys the
Tatars and tangles with
Ong Khan
# Destruction of the
Khereid
# The fate of Ong Khan
# Escape of
Kuchlug and a defeat of Jamukha.
# Establishment of the empire and imperial guard.
# Conquest of the
Uyghur and forest peoples.
# Conquest of the
Jin dynasty, the
Western Xia,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
,
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
# Temüjin's death and
Ögedei's reign.
Several passages of the ''Secret History'' appear in slightly different versions in the 17th-century Mongolian chronicle ''
Altan Tobchi'' ("Golden Summary").
Value
Scholars of Mongolian history consider the text hugely important for the wealth of information it contains on the
ethnography, language, literature and varied aspects of the Mongol culture.
In terms of its value to the field of linguistic studies, it is considered unique among the Mongol texts as an example free from the influence of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
prevalent in later texts. It is especially valued for its vivid and realistic depictions of daily tribal life and organization of Mongol civilization in the 12th and 13th centuries, complementing other primary sources available in the
Persian and
Chinese languages.
Its value as a historically accurate source is more controversial: whereas some experts, such as
René Grousset, assess it positively in this regard as well, others, such as
Igor de Rachewiltz, believe that the value of the source lies primarily in its "faithful description of Mongol tribal life",
and
Arthur Waley even claimed that the ''Secret History's'' "historical value
salmost nil".
Discovery and translations
The only surviving copies of the work are transcriptions of the original Mongolian text with Chinese characters, accompanied by a (somewhat shorter) in-line glossary and a translation of each section into Chinese. In China, the work had been well known as a text for teaching Chinese to read and write Mongolian during the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, and the Chinese translation was used in several historical works, but by the 1800s, copies had become very rare.
Baavuday Tsend Gun (1875–1932) was the first Mongolian scholar to transcribe ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' into modern Mongolian, in 1915–17. The first to discover the ''Secret History'' for the West and offer a translation from the Chinese glossary was the Russian
sinologist
Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...
Palladiy Kafarov
Pyotr Ivanovich Kafarov (Pre-reform Russian: Петръ Ива́новичъ Кафа́ровъ; Modern Russian: Пётр Ива́нович Кафа́ров), also known by his monastic name Palladius (Pre-reform Russian: Палла́дій; Mo ...
in 1866. The first translations from the reconstructed Mongolian text were done by the German sinologist
Erich Haenisch (edition of the reconstructed original text: 1937; of the translation: 1941, second edition 1948) and
Paul Pelliot (ed. 1949).
Tsendiin Damdinsüren translated the chronicle into
Khalkha Mongolian in 1947.
B. I. Pankratov published a translation into Russian in 1962.
Arthur Waley published a partial translation of the ''Secret History'', but the first full translation into English was by
Francis Woodman Cleaves, ''The Secret History of the Mongols: For the First Time Done into English out of the Original Tongue and Provided with an Exegetical Commentary''. The archaic language adopted by Cleaves was not satisfying to all and, between 1972 and 1985,
Igor de Rachewiltz published a fresh translation in eleven volumes of the series
Papers on Far Eastern History
''East Asian History'' is a biannual peer-reviewed open-access academic journal published by the Australian National University. It was established in 1970 as ''Papers on Far Eastern History'', obtaining its current title in 1991. Published by ANU ...
accompanied by extensive footnotes commenting not only on the translation but also various aspects of Mongolian culture. (Brill Publishers released de Rachewiltz' edition as a two-volume set in 2003.) In 2015, de Rachewiltz published an open access version of his previous translation, ''The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century,'' that is a full translation but omits the extensive footnotes of his previous translations.
''The Secret History of the Mongols'' has been published in translation in over 30 languages by researchers.
In 2004 the
Government of Mongolia decreed that the copy of ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' covered with golden plates was to be located to the rear part of the Government building.
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
* Igor de Rachewiltz (11 December 2015).
The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century.''
External links
''The Secret History of the Mongols'' full text, history, translations into Russian, English, French, Bulgarian, Spanish and Czech, original transliteration
with flexional morpheme boundaries and other additional annotation by John Street
partial text
September 2004
* [http://www.linguamongolia.com/The%20Secret%20History%20of%20the%20Mongols.pdf Lingua Mongolia: first 21 paragraphs of the ''Secret History'' in Chinese transcription, Pinyin, and Traditional Mongolian script]
Modern Mongolian Version(and audio files) ''-ELibrary.MN''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret History of the Mongols, The
13th-century books
13th-century history books
History books about Mongolia
Mongolian literature
Biographies (books)
Epics
Works of unknown authorship
History of Mongolia
Genghis Khan