Mongolian Studies

Archaeological Jew’s Harps from Ancient Nomadic Cultures of
Eastern Eurasia

Until now only musical instrument from Xiongnu archaeological monuments was a Jew’s harp unearthed by Prof. D.Tseveendorj in 1989 in Morin Tolgoi burial ground, Central Mongolia. This laminare bone instrument was a unqiue piece to the study of the origin and development of not only Xiongnu but also Eurasian ancient nomad’s musical culture. Recent years more examples of similaire musical instrument found in different areas of Eastern Eurasian nomadic cultures which stimule further researches on the origin of this anicent musical instrument.
This article covers 10 pieces of laminare Jew’s harp, in bone or bambou sticks, from early nomads period or Bronze-Early Iron-Xiongnu periods of the Eastern part of Eurasian Steppe. These pieces were discovered in Mongolia, North China, Inner Mongolia, Tannu-Sayan region or Tuva and Minus hollow, all from burial monuments of different archaeological cuiltures. Some of those pieces were identi ed initially by researchers as “bone instrument” or “weaving shuttle” etc.
The oldest known Jew’s harp from nomadic world, and even in the world is a bone instrument from Xiajiadian from late Bronze Age, and the most recent archaeological Jew’s harp comes from Sakhsar burial from Tashtyk culture or Post-Xiongnu period in Minus hollow region. The Morin Tolgoi burial Xiongnu Jew’s harp together with Aimyrlyg (Tuva) played important role in the distribution of this musical instrument throughout Eurasia by the means of Xiongnu (Hun) Great Migration or/and Silk Road.

Though traditionally regarded as a peaceful religion, Buddhism has a dark side. On multiple occasions over the past fifteen centuries, Buddhist leaders have sanctioned violence, and even war. The eight essays in this book focus on a variety of Buddhist traditions, from antiquity to the present, and show that Buddhist organizations have used religious images and rhetoric to support military conquest throughout history.

Buddhist soldiers in sixth century China were given the illustrious status of Bodhisattva after killing their adversaries. In seventeenth century Tibet, the Fifth Dalai Lama endorsed a Mongol ruler's killing of his rivals. And in modern-day Thailand, Buddhist soldiers carry out their duties undercover, as fully ordained monks armed with guns.

Buddhist Warfare demonstrates that the discourse on religion and violence, usually applied to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, can no longer exclude Buddhist traditions. The book examines Buddhist military action in Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and shows that even the most unlikely and allegedly pacifist religious traditions are susceptible to the violent tendencies of man.

This article deals with an important festival in Tibet dedicated to the future Buddha Maitreya. It was held on three days in summer when three giant thangkas showing Buddhas Amitābha, Śākyamuni and Maitreya were put on public display. Introduced in the seventeenth century, it became a defining feature of the monastic life in the Dge lugs monastery of Bkra shis lhun po, the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It attained a supra-regional importance, which even extended to Mongolia. Based on a number of textual sources, this essay examines various aspects of this festival, how it was funded, who participated, and which rituals and ceremonies were conducted. It also analyses the history and iconography of the three giant textile thangkas by discussing in detail the contributions made during the reign of each respective Panchen Lama from the past to the present. In sum, the article argues that this festival has to be seen in the context of a special bond the Dge lugs school of Tibetan Buddhism maintained to have with the future Buddha Maitreya

Боловсролын сэтгэл судлалын талаархи онол, бүтэц, судлах зүйл. Боловсролын сэтгэл судлал нь Сэтгэл судлал, Боловсрол судлал нь  хавсарга шинжлэх ухаан болох нь.  Сурган хүмүүжүүлэх ухаан нь аргазүй, Сэтгэлзүйн зарим онолууд, Сургалтын онолууд:  Бихеворизм, Нийгмийн сурахуйн онол, Л.С.Выготскийв Дэлгэрэнгүйг нь доорх линкээс орж уншина уу. https://www.scribd.com/word/document_edit/245554754

As an incredibly diverse religious system, Buddhism is constantly changing. The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism offers a comprehensive collection of work by leading scholars in the field that tracks these changes up to the present day. Taken together, the book provides a blueprint to understanding Buddhism's past and uses it to explore the ways in which Buddhism has transformed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The volume contains 41 essays, divided into two sections. The essays in the first section examine the historical development of Buddhist traditions throughout the world. These chapters cover familiar settings like India, Japan, and Tibet as well as the less well-known countries of Vietnam, Bhutan, and the regions of Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. Focusing on changes within countries and transnationally, this section also contains chapters that focus explicitly on globalization, such as Buddhist international organizations and diasporic communities. The second section tracks the relationship between Buddhist traditions and particular themes. These chapters review Buddhist interactions with contemporary topics such as violence and peacebuilding, and ecology, as well as Buddhist influences in areas such as medicine and science.

Offering coverage that is both expansive and detailed, The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism delves into some of the most debated and contested areas within Buddhist Studies today.

1162 yılında, sağ elinde gücün simgesi olarak nitelendirilecek bir kan pıhtısı ile doğan bir bebek dünyaya geldi. Çocukluğu ve gençliği ölüm tehlikeleri ile geçen: Temüçin. Babası düşman Tatarlar tarafından zehirlenmişti. Bozkır’ın sert ikliminde annesi ve kardeşleriyle birlikte hayata tutunmaya çalıştı. Öyle bir büyüdü ki adını Dünya tarihine altın harflerle yazdırdı.
Dünya tarihinin gördüğü son büyük kabile imparatorluğunu teşkil eden Çengiz Han, bozkırda yaşayan göçebe insanları tek bir çatı altında birleştirdi. Verdiği mücadeleler sayesinde, yerleşik halklara karşı avcı ve çobanların muzaffer önderi oldu. Moğol atlılarının toynakları Kuzey Çin, İran, Afganistan, Anadolu coğrafyalarından geçti. Çengiz Han, Dünya tarihinde en geniş siyasi sınırlara ulaşan imparatorluğun kurucusu olmuştur.
Bu tez çalışması, Çengiz Han’ın hayatına dair her şeyi araştırmayı amaç edinmiş olup bu önemli şahsiyetin Dünya tarihindeki yerinin unutulmaması için çaba sarf edilmiştir.
3 bölümden meydana gelen bu çalışmada, birinci bölümü “XII. Asırda Moğolistan” oluşturmaktadır. Bu bölümde XII. Asırda Orta Asya’nın coğrafi ve siyasi şartları ele alınırken, Çengiz Han’ın Kökeni ve Ailesi ile Doğumu ve Gençlik Yılları ele alınmıştır. İkinci bölüm “Çengiz Han’ın Siyasi Kariyeri” adlı başlıkla başlamış olup Çengiz Han’ın yetişkinlik döneminin başlamasından mütevellit askeri faaliyetlerini konu edinmektedir. Son bölüm ise “Çengiz Han’ın Son Faaliyetleri ve Ölümü” ve “Çengiz Han’ın Karakteri ve Eseri” konularından oluşturularak çalışmaya son şekil verilmiştir.

ХХ зууны Монголын түүхэнд, ялангуяа эрдэм судлалын талбарт өөрийн арилшгүй мөрийг үлдээсэн нэртэй эрдэмтэн, төр нийгмийн зүтгэлтэн Мэргэн гүн Гомбожавын мэндэлсний 110 жилийн ойг 2016 онд Монгол улсад ёслол төгөлдөр тэмдэглэн өнгөрүүлэв. Үүнд, миний бие Монгол улсынхаа ХХ зууны ээдрээт баялаг түүхийг халдан судалж хараахан зүрхлээгүй байгаа тул Мэргэн гүн Гомбожавын ажил үйлс, амьдралын талаар өмнөх судалгааг ахиулж нэмсэн зүйлийг энэ хэр хэлж, хийж чадахгүй, хүчин мөхөсдөх учир харин түүний өвөг дээдэс, ялангуяа манай өмнөх түүх бичлэгт ихээхэн бүдэг бичигдэж ирсэн Манж Чин улсын эрхшээлд орохоос өмнөх үеийн Халхын зүүн гарын Сайн ноёны төрөл ноёд тайж нарын намтар үйл ажиллагаа, тэдний харьяат улс, хошуу нутаг
бүрэлдсэн байдлын тухай бяцхан өгүүлэл өөрийн судалгаан дээр тулгуурлан бэлтгэснээ өргөн олон эрдэмтэн мэргэдийн мэлмийд өргөн толилуулж байна.

This thesis draws on a synthesis of foreign policy analysis (FPA) and constructivism in order to demonstrate how post Cold War Mongolia’s relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can be analysed through a multi-sectoral approach to explain the dilemmas that a weak state faces when conducting its relations with a much more powerful neighbour.  It proposes that the dissonance between Mongolia’s social identity and its structures of governance is the basis for the Mongolian state’s weakness and that such weakness makes growing economic dependency on the PRC more difficult to manage.  Moreover, the resulting combination of economic dependency and state weakness seriously limits the government’s ability to maintain an effective broader foreign policy.  The dissertation draws on government texts, academic and media articles, and interviews in Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian, and English.
     
The thesis looks in detail at the nature of Mongolian identity politics by focusing on identity development over la longue durée.  It then demonstrates how the international community failed to take account of the dynamics of Mongolian identity politics when it came to assisting the Mongolian government with the country’s post Cold War transition from communism. This led to an undue reliance on what can be termed ‘Washington Consensus’ type political and economic reforms that considerably added to the weakness of the state. 

The thesis then focuses on Mongolia’s economic relations with the PRC to show how such state weakness has resulted in a relationship of growing dependency.  Building on economic dependency theory, the thesis then further examines the implications of Mongolia-Sino relations from environmental, societal, and military perspectives.  In conclusion, the dissertation argues that the division between the Mongolian state and society has been exacerbated by the country’s adherence to capitalism and democracy in ways that have created the potential for domestic instability by increasing the depth and breadth of economic dependence on the PRC. This imposes severe constraints on foreign policy options but has also demanded some imaginative innovations that give interesting insights into the measures a vulnerable state can take to maximise its international presence.  Ultimately, however, the disjuncture between social identity and the state acts as a constraining factor on such initiatives in the case of Mongolia.

The Mongol Zoominar presents:

Daily Life in the Mongol Empire
with
Susanne Reichert (University of Michigan)
"A Day at Karakorum: The City and Its People"

Alicia Ventresca Miller (University of Michigan)
"Life in the Northern Realms of the Mongol Empire"

Organizer and Moderator: Qiao Yang (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science)

Friday, February 18, 2022, 15:30 (IST time, GMT+2)

For Details and link:
Jonathan Brack: brackjon@bgu.ac.il
Wonhee Cho: wonheecho@gmail.com

MA thesis researching the socio-political dimensions of Mongolian attire in the Mongolian Empire and Yuan dynasty.

I just can't get the appendices uploaded because of their size!
Anyone interested, please drop me a note and I will e-mail them on to you!

After establishment of the Grand Mongol Empire by Genghis Khan at the beginning of the thirteen century, one of the targets
of the Mongol army under the command of Jebe and Subutai became the Desht-i Qipchaq. When the Mongol army came to
this wide area, extending from Irtysh River to the Carpathian Mountains, they encountered the Cuman-Kipchaks. As a result
of the Battle Of Kalka in 1223, the Cuman-Kipchaks took the heaviest blow from the Mongols in the region they have been
ruling since one hundred and fifty years. After the victory of the Mongols in the territory of Cuman-Kipchaks, some groups
were submitted to the Golden Horde and some groups had to migrate to the lands of the Balkans and the Volga Bulgarians.
Cuman-Kipchaks who took important missions in the Golden Horde, also played an important role in the Turkification of this
state. Some group of Cuman-Kipchaks which had to migrate to the Balkans after the defeat they had suffered as the result of
the second Kipchak campaign have played an important role in the Bulgarian and Romanian states established in the region by
providing the Turkification of the Balkans before the Ottoman Empire. After establishment of the Golden Horde, the name of
region was also known as Desht-i Qipchaq and those who came from Batu Khan’s dynasty were named Khan of Kipchak. In
this article the relation of the Mongols and Cuman-Kipchaks will be dealt during domination of Mongol armies Desht-i Qipchaq
region and during the domination struggles.
Keywords: Mongols, Golden Horde, Cumans-Kipchaks, Battle Of Kalka , Desht-i Qipchaq.

Özet Fahri KAYHAN* Yapmış olduğum bu çalışmada Çin'i tamamen hâkimiyet altına almış ve Moğol bölgesiyle Çin'i birleştirerek burada Yuan İmparatorluğu kurmayı başaran Moğol Han'ı Kubilay'ın dönemi incelenmiştir. Orta Asya'da adından uzun dönem söz ettiren Kubilay, Moğolları yağmacı bir toplum olmaktan çıkarmaya çalışarak bir medeniyet haline getirmek için uğraş vermiştir. Çin kültürüne olan hayranlığı ve kendini aynı zamanda bir Çin imparatoru olarak görmesi, göçer Moğollar tarafından kötü karşılanmış ve onun karşısında her zaman muhalif bir kesimin durmasına sebep olmuştur. Tüm bunları yaparken kendi Moğol kimliğini de kaybetmemiş ve Çinlileşmemek amacıyla önemli mevkilere Moğolları ve farklı etnik kökenden insanları getirmiştir. Yaşamı boyunca vermiş olduğu meşruiyet sorunu onu kötü etkilemiş ve sürekli kendini kanıtlamak amacıyla savaşmasına neden olmuştur. Özellikle yaşının ilerlediği dönemlerde bu kaygı onu yanlış tercihlere itmiş ve devletin mali yönden zayıf düşmesine sebebiyet vermiştir. Kubilay Han'ı Avrupalılara tanıtan ünlü gezgin Marco Polo'dur. Polo, Han'ın yakınında olması ve Moğol ülkesinde kendisinin iddia ettiği üzere bazı önemli görevlerde bulunması onun hakkında birçok bilgi edinmesini sağlamıştır. Ayrıca dönem hakkında İranlı tarihçi olan Reşüdüddin' de seyahatnamesinde önemli bilgiler verir. Çalışmamda Kubilay'ın muhaliflerine karşı verdiği mücadele, Ulu Han olmadan önceki dönemi, yapmış olduğu seferler, Çin'i hakimiyet altına alışı ve dinlerle yaşadığı münasebetler ayrıntılı olarak ele alınmıştır.

This blog post examines the promise of a new road in an Ulaanbaatar ger district. It argues that the notion of voter 'choice' in Mongolia is complicated by three factors: 1. the disconnection of political ideology from the major political parties, 2. the forces at work that influence voting through semi-and non-legal means, and 3. a phenomenon I will call " the inverted logic of the vote-return exchange ".

In September 2014, upon Mongolia’s initiative, heads of state of Mongolia, China and Russia met during the SCO Summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and agreed to work together on transnational infrastructure development. The three parties agreed in principle to build a ‘Steppe Road’ in Mongolia, reviving a pre-modern transport network that facilitated trade between China and Russia. ‘Steppe Road’ thus represents a breakthrough in Mongolia’s longstanding self-perception of tragic geography, stepping out into the centre of the emergent world traffic.

This international symposium will bring together Mongolian and international scholars and policy-makers to assess the development of Steppe Road in relation to the Chinese initiative of Silk Road Economic Belt, and Russia’s Eurasian Transport Network. We aim to reconceptualise Mongolia’s geopoliticality as a ‘transit nation’ between China and Russia, and promote Mongolia’s zam sudlal (‘roadology’) to make zam (‘road’) into both an object of study and a prism to view Mongolia in terms of Mongolia’s ‘connectivity’ to its neighbours and the world beyond. This is going to be the third (and last) conference of ‘Entangled Lines: Railways, Resource Booms, and Transnational Politics in Mongolia’ — a British Academy funded international network and mobility project between the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (Cambridge University), and Institute of International Affairs (Mongolian Academy of Sciences).

The concept of Pan-Asianism focused on the common origins and cultures of Asian peoples, and the common purpose of protecting this common culture from Western intrusion. Many Asian peoples were inspired by this idea. However, the attitude of the Mongols was ambiguous because Pan-Asianism was an idea used by big powers, Japan and China, to protect their own interests. This idea would potentially undermine Mongol aspiration for creating an independent state from China. Mongols avoided using the term pan-Asianism or Asianism, but instead used various indirect expressions such as "Peace in East Asia,"  "Order in East Asia," or "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" to showed their interest in the wide-area international community. This paper examines how Mongols under Japanese influence in the 1930s understood and imagined an East Asian Community.

By examining Mongol and Chinese documents, this article analyses Mongolian official titles from the 14th to the 16th centuries. It shows that there are many historical layers in the set of official titles. The titles inherited from the Mongol-Yuan administration were still used within the ordinary nobility. In the late 15th century, the Mongol royal family suppressed all non-royal warlords. At that moment, it was frequently Chinese captives who suggested the 'updated' official nomenclature to the Mongolian warlords. The official titles recorded in the Mongolian "White History" Chaghan Teuke clearly preserve these historical layers. This proves that the White history was indeed written in the late 16th century, and not during the Yuan era (13-14 centuries).

Milk and milk tea occupy a special place in Mongolian hearts. Historical writings of Roman Catholic missionaries confirm the sacredness of milk and its abundant use for Mongolians. Milk offerings, sprinkled into the air, are offered to Tenger (Sky/ Sky God), Buddha, ancestors or nature spirits, and are an everyday part of traditional Mongolian worship, nearly always in the morning. This ceremony traditionally is performed alone by women, mothers praying in a supplication of blessing and protection for their families. Yet in recent times a few men have been doing this ancient ritual. Are possible Mongolian Christian responses to reject this traditional custom as being syncretistic, or to see it as being a potential form of Christian expression of devotion to God? May there be analogies from milk offerings to better engage in discipleship or worship? If this ancient practice is not addressed, there is the risk, especially for women, of this ritual being driven underground, of split-level living among Christians.

For Mongols, sharing food is more than just eating meals. Through a process of “opening” and “closing”, on a daily basis or at events, in the family circle or with visitors, sharing food guarantees the proper order of social relations. It also ensures the course of the seasons and the cycle of human life. Through food sharing, humans thus invite happiness to their families and herds. Sandrine Ruhlmann has lived long months, since 2000, in the Mongolian steppe and in the city. She describes and analyses in detail the contemporary food system and recognizes intertwined ideas and values inherited from shamanism, Buddhism and communist ideology. Through meat-on-the-bone, creamy milk skin, dumplings or sole-shaped cakes, she highlights a whole way of thinking and living.

Text revised and expanded by Sandrine Ruhlmann
Translated from the French by Nora Scott

Translated from L’appel du bonheur. Le partage alimentaire mongol by Sandrine Ruhlmann, first published in French in 2016 by the Centre d’Études Mongoles et Sibériennes, as the 5th volume of the series Nord- Asie, the supplement to Études mongoles & sibériennes, centrasiatiques & tibétaines.

ISBN 978-90-04-40965-1
https://brill.com/view/title/54850?lang=en

The article discusses the Qonggirad migration to the Jochid ulus in the aftermath of the Mongol conquests as well as the roles the Qonggirad elite played in the Jochid and Khwārazmian political history in the late 13th – early 15th centuries. Based on genealogical and numismatic analyses, this paper, on the one hand, provides insights into the formation and developments of the autonomous Qonggirad power in Khwārazm in the second half of the 14th century and, on the other hand, stresses the importance of the Islamisation for the Mongol tribal elite’s accustomisation to the regional and geopolitical historical setting during the troubled period of 1359‑1380s in the Jochid ulus.
Available via: https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/11105

There are three approaches to promoting judicial ethics: the code approach, the guidebook approach and the reflective approach. The code approach uses an enforceable code of judicial conduct. The guidebook approach involves explaining the principles of judicial ethics and advising judges to conduct themselves ethically. The reflective approach involves providing judges with lists of questions that allow them to reflect on issues related to judicial ethics and develop their own answers. Mongolia relies on the code approach, but has never used the other two approaches. This paper analyses the advantages and disadvantages of these three approaches, and argues that the Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers could make the judiciary in Mongolia more independent, impartial and fair if it were to incorporate elements from the guidebook and the reflective approaches.

Full book available at https://brill.com/view/title/32241. In this book, the author offers a complete reconstruction of the Chinese-Mongol vocabulary of the 17th century comprehensive Chinese military work called Lulongsai lüe (盧龍塞略, LLSL), a document of key importance containing one of the last Sino-Mongol glossaries without proper critical reconstruction until now. The work has resulted in a clarification of the earlier sources the compilers of LLSL used in the bilingual part. Apatóczky argues that contrary to what scholars have thought of it until now, the linguistic corpus of the glossary is not homogeneous and does not represent a single linguistic status; it does, however, shed some light on chronological and philological questions concerning the earlier works incorporated in it.

This article examines how Ladakhi songs represent cultural self-images through associated musical, textual, and visual tropes. Many songs of the past, both from the old royal house and the rural Buddhist populations, reflect the socio-political structure of Ladakhi society. Although some songs, past and present, reflect a pan-Tibetan identity, a distinct Ladakhi identity is nevertheless consistently asserted. Situated on the caravan routes between India, Tibet, China, and Central Asia, Ladakhi culture developed distinctive hybrid characteristics, including in its musical styles. The article discusses this tradition of hybridity from the 17th Century to the present day. Ladakhi music has moved into modern media space, portrayed through scholarly works, concerts, mass media, and the internet. The article examines various contemporary representations of “tradition” and ethnic identity in both traditional and popular music. Looking at Ladakhi popular music, we see further hybridity base...