Chingünjav (, ; also known as ''Admiral Chingün'' (, 1710–1757) was the

Khalkha The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In cont ...

prince ruler of the Khotogoids and one of the two major leaders of the 1756-57 rebellion in

Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto'' ...

. Although his rebellion failed, he is nowadays often hailed as a fighter for Outer Mongolia's independence from the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

of China.

Early life and career

Chingünjav was born in 1710 at the shore of lake Sangiin Dalai nuur, in the Khotgoid's Erdenedüüregch vangiin khoshuu of Zasagt Khan aimag, or today's Bürentogtokh sum of Khövsgöl aimag. His father Bandi was the khoshuu's Zasag Noyon. In 1738, Chingünjav succeeded his father. Chingünjav made a career in the

military and eventually reached the rank of an assistant general of Zasagt Khan aimag.

Conspiracy with Amursana

During the 1755

campaign against the

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...

, Chingünjav and

Amursana Amursana (Mongolian language, Mongolian ; ; 172321September 1757) was an 18th-century ''taishi'' () or prince of the Khoid, Khoit-Oirats, Oirat tribe that ruled over parts of Dzungaria and Altishahr in present-day northwest China. Known as the ...

conspired to start a rebellion in autumn of the same year. However, their seniors discovered their plans and separated them. Chingünjav was sent to fight in

Uriankhai Uriankhai is a term of address applied by the Mongols to a group of forest peoples of the North, who include the Turkic-speaking Tuvans and Yakuts, while sometimes it is also applied to the Mongolian-speaking Altai Uriankhai. The Uria ...

, and Amursana was summoned to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

for demanding too big a share of the Dzungar Khanate. On the way, his escort let him escape. This led to the trial and execution of the commander of the escort, a brother of the Jebtsundamba Khutugtu and direct descendant of Chingis Khan, in early 1756, an event that gravely disturbed the

nobility.

Rebellion

In the summer of 1756, Chingunjav began his rebellion by leaving his post, gathering troops in his home area, and sending a letter to the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

. However, although there was widespread unrest throughout Khalkha, support from other nobles and even from the 2nd Jebtsundamba Khutughtu was not forthcoming, and Chingünjav never managed to command more than 1,000-2,000 troops. By the time the

were able to reinforce their loyal Outer Mongolian troops with detachments from Inner Mongolia, Chingünjav had achieved little more than spending time by waiting for an answer for his appeals to the nobility and the Jebtsundamba, and consequently was not able to face the Manchu in an open battle. He retreated northward towards the Darkhad area, with his force continuously shrinking through desertions. When he was captured at a place now known as Wang Tolgoi, about from Khankh, in January 1757, all but fifty of his men had left him.

Aftermath

Chingünjav, together with almost his whole family, was brought to

and executed. The Manchu, although not as brutal as they had been towards the Dzungars, sent punitive units to Mongolia to deal on the spot with all those rebels they could find. Nobles that were suspected of having sympathized with Chingünjav were also executed. The Jebtsundamba Khutugtu "died" in 1758, the Tüsheet Khan shortly afterwards. The

was involved in recognition of the third Jebtsundamba Khutugtu found in Tibet, thus he was able to demonstrate his authority to the gathered Mongol nobles Berger 2003
p. 17. On the other hand, the Mongolian debts to Chinese trading firms were partially annulled, and the rest being paid for by the emperor, in order to tackle the economic sources of the unrest in

Legacy

Although never having had a realistic chance to succeed, Chingünjav passed into the realm of folklore. A small monument has been raised at remains of a fort attributed to him, some kilometres south of Bürentogtokh, in 1978. A statue of him was erected in Mörön in 1992 and another one in 2010. In 2012, Mongolian Bronze Foundry created a monument in his honor in Ulaanbaatar, inscribed, "May our government and our children live prosperous and eternal".

Literature

Charles R. Bawden, ''The Modern History of the Mongols'', London 1968, p. 114 - 134

References

External links

C. Kaplonski: Collective Memory and the Chingunjav Rebellion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chingunjav Mongolia under Qing rule Qing dynasty rebels People from Khövsgöl Province 1710 births 1757 deaths Mongolian military personnel