Altan Khan

Altan Khan
Shunyi prince (順義王)
Reign21 April 1571 – 13 January 1582
PredecessorFirst
SuccessorSengge Düüreng
Born2 January 1508 (1508-01-02)
Died13 January 1582
SpouseErketü Qatun
HouseBorjigin
FatherBars Bolud Jinong
ReligionTibetan Buddhism

Altan Khan (2 January 1508[1] – 13 January 1582;[2] Mongolian: ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠬᠠᠨ, Алтан хан; Chinese: 阿勒坦汗), whose given name was Anda (Mongolian: Аньда;[3] Chinese: 俺答), was the leader of the Tümed Mongols,[4][5][6] the de facto ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols. He was the grandson of Dayan Khan (1464–1543), a descendant of Kublai Khan (1215–1294). Altan Khan managed to unite a tribal league between the Khalkha Mongols in the north and the Chahars (Tsakhars) to the east. He later swore allegiance to the Ming dynasty of China as the Shunyi prince and became a patron of the Gelug Tibetan Buddhists.

Consolidation of power

Borjigin Barsboladiin Altan was the second son of Bars Bolud Jinong and a grandson of Dayan Khan, who had re-unified the Mongolian nobility in an attempt to regain the glory of the Yuan dynasty. After Dayan Khan's time, the Mongol tribes constituted six myriads (tümen), which in turn were divided into a Left Wing and a Right Wing. The Left Wing was ruled by the Great Khan, descendants of grandson and successor Bodi Alagh. The Right Wing was ruled by Altan's father, Bars Bolud, who held the position of Jinong (vice-regent). Altan Khan ruled the Tümed subgroup of Mongols as his ulus (patrimonial territory); the Tümed's pastures were north of the border with Shanxi, in present-day Inner Mongolia. Altan's elder brother, Gün Bilig, inherited the position of Jinong and ruled the Ordos Mongols.[7] After Gün Bilig's death in 1542, Altan became the de facto leader of the whole of the Right Wing and was given the title, "Tösheetü Sechen Khan".

When Bodi Alagh Khan, the Khagan of the Mongols from the Chahar, died in 1547, Altan forced Bodi Alagh's successor Darayisung Küdeng Khan to flee eastward. In 1551 Darayisung made a compromise with Altan in exchange for giving the title "Gegeen Khan" to him.[8] Altan Khan, who controlled the Ordos tumen of the Yellow River was well placed to keep pressure on the Chinese and the Oirat Mongols in Tibet while developing both agriculture and trade.[9]

Altan Khan also founded the city of Köke Khota (Hohhot, meaning "The Blue City"), now the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.[10]

Relations with the Ming dynasty

Altan Khan wanted to trade horses with the Ming dynasty in exchange for agricultural products and Chinese textiles.[11] Due to the Ming court's suspicion of him and opposition from scholar-officials, his attempts were repeatedly rebuffed, and his envoys were sometimes even killed. Local border officials and garrisons however were more open to trading with the Mongols and often did so clandestinely despite the prohibition. In 1529, 1530 and 1542, Altan Khan raided nothern China partly in retaliation and partly for livestock and agricultural produce, but the plunders lacked the finer goods that he really desired.[11] In 1550 he crossed gaps in the Great Wall and besieged Beijing, setting its suburbs on fire.[12]: 141  To support his military campaigns, Altan Khan economically strengthened his Tümed base by welcoming Chinese refugees to settle there and nurtured a network of Ming conspirators led by a White Lotus disciple named Zhao Quan (赵全).[11]

In 1552 Altan Khan gained control of the remains of Karakorum, the old Mongol capital.[13] In 1570 Altan Khan's grandson Daičing Ejei Taiji defected to the Ming due to a family strife.[14] Ministers of the Longqing Emperor proposed that Altan Khan should accept Ming title and turn over Zhao in exchange for Daičing Ejei and trading rights with the Ming. After verifying that his grandson was appointed by the Ming as a commander, Altan Khan agreed to the proposal. Zhao and his co-conspirators were subsequently executed by the Ming. Longqing Emperor conferred the title of Shunyi prince (順義王, 'obedient and righteous prince') to Altan Khan and renamed his capital to Guihua (歸化, 'returning to civilization', present-day Hohhot).[4][15][12]: 143  Despite his submission to the Ming, Altan Khan retained significant autonomy. American Orientalist Owen Lattimore writes that while the Mongols were nominally vassals and paying the tribute, the Ming was also eager to please them and the arrangement was more or less mutually beneficial.[16]

Alliance with the Gelug school

Altan Khan is particularly remembered for establishing ties between Mongolia and the religious leaders of the Tibetan Gelug order. He became very interested in the Gelug, and Beijing was happy to provide him with Tibetan lamas (teachers), Tibetan scriptures, and translations.[4] Altan Khan first invited Sonam Gyatso to Tümed in 1569, but apparently he refused to go and sent a disciple instead, who reported back to him about the great opportunity to spread Buddhist teachings throughout Mongolia.[17]

Sonam Gyatso accepted Altan Khan's invitation to Tümed in 1577.[18] Altan Khan later had Thegchen Chonkhor, Mongolia's first monastery, built at the place of the meeting.[12]: 144  Also, the ruler of the Khalkha Mongols, Abtai Sain Khan, rushed to Tümed to meet the Dalai Lama. He built the Erdene Zuu Monastery in 1586, at the site of the former Mongol capital of Karakorum following his adoption of Buddhism as the state religion.[19] This monastery is also often (wrongly) referred to as the first monastery in Mongolia and it grew into a massive establishment. In 1792, it contained 68 temples and some 15,000 lamas.[20]

Sonam Gyatso publicly announced that he was a reincarnation of the Tibetan Sakya monk Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235–1280) who had converted Kublai Khan. He also claimed Altan Khan was a reincarnation of Kublai Khan (1215–1294), the famous ruler of the Mongol Empire and Emperor of China, and that they had come together again to cooperate in propagating the Buddhist religion.[12]: 146 [21]

Altan Khan designated Sonam Gyatso as "Dalai" (a translation into Mongolian of the name Gyatso, meaning "ocean") in 1578,[18] and in October 1587, as requested by the family of Altan Khan, Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso was promoted to Duǒ Er Zhǐ Chàng (Chinese:朵儿只唱) by the emperor of China, seal of authority and golden sheets were granted.[22] As a result, Sonam Gyatso became known as the Dalai Lama – frequently translated into English as "Ocean of Wisdom" – which since then has been used as a title. The title was also posthumously given to Gendun Drup and Gendun Gyatso, who were considered Sonam Gyatso's previous incarnations.[23] Thus, Sonam Gyatso was recognized as being already the 3rd Dalai Lama.[23]

Sonam Gyatso never returned to Tibet but remained proselytizing among the Mongols.[23] The Tümed Mongols and their allies were brought into the Gelug tradition, which was to become the main spiritual orientation of the Mongols in the ensuing centuries.[23]

Sonam Gyatso's message was that the time had come for Mongolia to embrace Buddhism, that from that time on there should be no more animal sacrifices, there must be no taking of life, animal or human, military action must be pursued only with purpose and the immolation of women on the funeral pyres of their husbands must be abolished.[24] He also secured an edict abolishing the Mongol custom of blood-sacrifices.[25] "These and many other such laws were set forth by Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso and were instituted by Altan Khan."[26]

A massive program of translating Tibetan (and Sanskrit)[27] texts into Mongolian was commenced, with letters written in silver and gold and paid for by the Dalai Lama's Mongolian devotees. Within 50 years virtually all Mongols had become Buddhist, with tens of thousands of monks, who were members of the Gelug order, loyal to the Dalai Lama.[12]: 144 

When Sonam Gyatso died in 1588, his incarnation – and thus, the new Dalai Lama – was Altan Khan's great-grandson.[23]

Death and legacy

Altan Khan died on 13 January 1582 at the age of 74 or 75.[12]: 146  His title of Shunyi prince was succeeded by his son Sengge Düüreng with support from the Ming.[28] Altan Khan's great-grandson, Yonten Gyatso, was selected as the 4th Dalai Lama in 1601.[23] In order to commemorate Altan Khan's contribution to Hohhot, a seated statue of him was completed in 2011 using money donated by businesses. It sits in the square in front of the Dazhao Temple that he had ordered to build in 1579.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ 楊紹猷 (March 1992). 《俺答汗評傳》 (in Chinese). People's Republic of China: China Social Sciences Press. p. 10. ISBN 9787500410027. ①據蒙文抄本《俺答汗傳》第4頁上記載，俺答汗生於藏曆「火吉祥母兔年十二月三十牛日」。經北京圖書館藏曆專家黃明信先生驗證，此紀年無錯。他認為藏地各時代各教派使用的藏曆紀年不一，格魯派使用蒲派歷算，薩迦派使用薩迦派歷算。上述紀年如按蒲派推算，應為正德三年正月初一（合公元1508年2月1日）；如按薩迦派推算，應為正德二年十一月三十日（合公元1508年1月2日）。因薩迦派歷算傳入蒙古最早，且影響深遠，直至清康熙元年（1662）成書的《蒙古源流》還使用薩迦派曆法。而《俺答汗傳》成書於明萬曆三十五年（1607），早於《蒙古源流》半個世紀，格魯派也剛傳入蒙古，故上述紀年當按薩迦派推算，應為正德二年十一月三十日（公元1508年1月2日）。
  2. ^ 楊紹猷 (January 1987). 中國社會科學院民族研究所民族歷史研究室 (ed.). "〈太平卒年考〉". 《民族史論叢‧第一輯》 (in Chinese). People's Republic of China: Zhonghua Book Company: 129. 第一，《明史》為了文字的簡練，往往作概括性的記述，有時將不同年代發生的事件記在同一年代之下，前一事件是因，後一事件是果，年代指的是後一事件發生的時間。又如，《明史·韃靼傳》云，「（萬曆）十年春，俺答死，帝特賜祭壇，彩幣十二表里，布百匹，示優恤。實際上萬曆十年春（《明神宗實錄》作十年二月）是明廷得到邊臣的報告後，下達「賜祭」的時間，並不是俺答汗的卒年。《萬曆武功錄》卷八和蒙文抄本《俺答汗傳》關於俺答的卒年記載完全一致，為萬曆九年（辛巳年）十二月十九日（即公元一五八二年一月十三日）。
  3. ^ Алтан хан Mongoltoli.mn
  4. ^ a b c John W. Dardess (2012). Ming China, 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-4422-0491-1.
  5. ^ Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, pp. 81-82. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. ISBN 978-0-8047-0806-7 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-8047-0901-9 (paper).
  6. ^ Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). Tibet & its History. Second Edition, Revised and Updated, p. 41. Shambhala, Boston & London. ISBN 978-0-87773-376-8 (pbk).
  7. ^ Veit, Veronika (2014). "The Eastern Steppe: Mongol Regimes after the Yuan (1368–1636)". In Di Cosmo, Nicola; Frank, Allen J.; Golden, P. B. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Inner Asia: The Chinggisid Age. Cambridge University Press. pp. 168–169. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139056045.012. ISBN 9781139056045.
  8. ^ Sampildondov Chuluun; Uradyn E. Bulag (28 June 2013). The Thirteenth Dalai Lama on the Run (1904-1906): Archival Documents from Mongolia. BRILL. p. 16. ISBN 978-90-04-25455-8.
  9. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th Edition (1977), Vol. 12, p. 373.
  10. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th Edition (1977), Vol. I, p. 275.
  11. ^ a b c Cui, Guanran (29 May 2024). "The Ming-Mongol Wars and Borderland Society in the Mid-Sixteenth Century". Footnotes: A Journal of History. 6 (1).
  12. ^ a b c d e f Laird, Thomas (2006). The Story of Tibet : Conversations with the Dalai Lama. New York : Grove Press : Distributed by Publishers Group West. ISBN 978-0-8021-1827-1.
  13. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th Edition (1977), Vol. 9, p. 601.
  14. ^ Temule, Temur (28 February 2016). "The Great Wall as Perilous Frontier for the Mongols in 16th Century: Reconsidering Nomadic-Sedentary Relations in Premodern Inner Asia". International Journal of Korean History. 21 (1): 121–155. doi:10.22372/ijkh.2016.21.1.121. ISSN 1598-2041.
  15. ^ Peter C Perdue (30 June 2009). China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia. Harvard University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-674-04202-5.
  16. ^ Serruys, Henry (1959). Chinese in Southern Mongolia During the Sixteenth Century. C.I.C.M. pp. 1–95.
  17. ^ Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). Tibet: An account of the history, religion and the people of Tibet, p. 218. Touchstone Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-671-20099-2 (hbk); ISBN 978-0-671-20559-1 (pbk).
  18. ^ a b McKay 2003, p. 18
  19. ^ "Erdene Zuu Monastery" "Erdene Zuu Monastery - mandal". Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007. accessed 7 December 2007.
  20. ^ Discover Mongolia Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 7 December 2007.
  21. ^ Norbu, Thubten Jigme; Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). Tibet: An account of the history, religion and the people of Tibet. Simon & Schuster. p. 219. ISBN 9780671205591.
  22. ^ 《明实录》又载："万历十五年（1587）十月丁卯......番僧答赖（即达赖）准升'朵儿只唱名号，仍给敕命、图书......"
  23. ^ a b c d e f McKay 2003, p. 19
  24. ^ Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). Tibet: An account of the history, religion and the people of Tibet, p. 219. Touchstone Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-671-20099-2 (hbk); ISBN 978-0-671-20559-1 (pbk).
  25. ^ Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 82. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. ISBN 978-0-8047-0806-7 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-8047-0901-9 (paper).
  26. ^ Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation, p. 146. Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 978-1-57416-092-5.
  27. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th Edition (1977), Vol. 12, p. 374.
  28. ^ Vesna A. Wallace (2015). Buddhism in Mongolian History, Culture, and Society. Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-19-995866-5.
  29. ^ "阿拉坦汗是谁？他的一生都有哪些功绩？". kan.china.com. Retrieved 17 December 2025.

Sources

  • McKay, Alex, ed. (2003). The History of Tibet. Vol. 2. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-1508-4.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altan Khan.
  • Serruys, Henry (1976). "Altan-qaghan". In Goodrich, L. Carrington; Fang, C. Y. (eds.). Dictionary of Ming Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 6–9.
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