Joseph Benson and Dr. Paul Hyer, Kennedy Center for International Studies
I spent several months this summer in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), where I studied how Chinggis Khan (Ghengis Khan) is an icon to the Mongolians of Inner Mongolian, the Chinese of Inner Mongolia and the Mongolians of Mongolian People’s Republic (MPR). My research naturally focused on the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum located in the Ordos region of Inner Mongolia because this mausoleum is the longest standing historical symbol of Chinggis Khan. The mausoleum was established in the late thirteenth century during the reign of Khublai Khan. The protectorate tribe of the Mausoleum, called Darkhad Mongolians, has been protecting the mausoleum for 40 generations. Historically, the mausoleum stood as a religious and national symbol to Mongolians of all of Asia. In the past hundred years, because of the many political changes in Asia, there has begun to be a split in the attitudes of Mongolians of different areas towards the Mausoleum and towards Chinggis Khan. Also the attitude of the Chinese toward Chinggis Khan has changed. This coming semester I will conclude my research and write an Honors Thesis where I will compare the differences between the attitudes of these three different groups toward Chinggis Khan and the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum. Using Chinggis Khan as a case study one can easily see on a grandeur scale how the different political climates of the MPR and the PRC have changed the Mongolians of Inner Mongolia, the Mongolians of the MPR, the Chinese of Inner Mongolia and their respective cultures.
I lived at the Normal University of Inner Mongolia located in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia. I conducted interviews with both Chinese and Mongolians of Inner Mongolia. I examined how these people revere Chinggis Khan as a symbol of Mongolian and/or Chinese nationalism. I then spent some time in Outer Mongolia where I also studied how Chinggis Khan has just recently, after the fall of the Soviet Union, emerged as a nationalistic symbol amongst the Mongolians of the Mongolia People’s Republic. I arrived in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia during the first part of July where I spent several weeks working with professors of both The University of Inner Mongolia and The Normal University of Inner Mongolia. I collected information on the history of the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum from libraries, professors, bookstores, and publishing houses. I also conducted many interviews with people located in the Huhhot region. I also spent a considerable amount of time in Ordos Mongolia where the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum is located. There I interviewed members of the Darkhad tribe and other Mongolians in the surrounding area. In order to get a better sample of the attitudes of Mongolians of Inner Mongolia towards Chinggis Khan I took a trip to Northern Inner Mongolia to an area that is predominantly inhabited my Mongolians.
Traditionally, all Mongolians of both Inner Mongolia and the MPR worshipped Chinggis Khan as the son of heaven. Furthermore the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum used to be a place of worship to all Mongolians. However, as a result of the occupations of the MPR by the Russians and the occupation of Inner Mongolia by the Communist Chinese this form of worship has changed. When interviewing Mongolians I focused on whether or not they worship Chinggis Khan and if so why and to what degreed do they worship him. In order to further understand the effects of China on Mongolians of Inner Mongolia, I also examined what the attitudes of the Mongolians of Inner Mongolia are towards the Chinese in Inner Mongolia and towards the PRC’s ethnic policies.
I found that most every Mongolian of the (PRC) that still spoke Mongolian claimed that he/she worshipped Chinggis Khan. However, I found that worship (shutekh) had many different meanings to many different Mongolians. As a result of the past fifty years of Chinese occupation of Inner Mongolia many Mongolians have lost their native tongue and only speak Chinese. These Mongolians have almost been completely sinicized. They don’t worship Chinggis Khan and their attitude towards Chinggis Khan follows the Communist Party line’s attitude that Chinggis Khan is merely a Chinese hero.
The Mongolians who have not lost their language worship of Chinggis Khan on basically two different levels. The first group of Mongolians isn’t particularly religious but has a strong sense of Mongolian nationalism. To this group of Mongolians ancestor worship is more a form of deep respect or veneration. Chinggis Khan united the Mongolians and established Mongolia. They claim that without him there would be no Mongolians. They keep a picture of Chinggis Khan hanging in their homes. When they visit the Mausoleum they will kowtow to Chinggis Khan and will light incense but this is done out of a deep sense of respect. The second group of Mongolians worships Chinggis Khan almost as a god. Even though the mausoleum has no direct affiliation with any religion this group of Mongolians frequents the Mausoleum to pray to Chinggis Khan.
Except during the Cultural Revolution the PRC has allowed these types of worship to continue under the prepossession that Chinggis Khan is a Chinese hero. China has in many ways tried to assimilate Chinggis Khan as well as much of the Mongolian culture into Chinese culture. The Chinese of Inner Mongolia have predominantly followed the party line and now sincerely believe that Chinggis Khan was a great Chinese hero. They will even visit the Mausoleum out of respect to Chinggis Khan. In recent years a few Chinese have begun to kowtow and worship Chinggis Khan like the Mongolians. Mainly the Chinese that visit the Mausoleum treat it much like a museum or a relic of Chinese history.
In the early nineties with the fall of the Soviet Union the MPR became a democratic nation. For the past ten years there has been a revival of Chinggis Khan as a symbol of Mongolia. You can find Chinggis Khan on the Mongolian national currency, carpets, t-shirts, and in hotels and tourist sites. Even Mongolia’s most famous vodka is named after Chinggis Khan. Even though there has been a revival of Mongolian nationalism, the past seventy years of communist rule has taken its toll. The communist party came down hard on Chinggis Khan as an anti-communist barbarian. Anybody who showed even the slightest respect for Chinggis Khan would find themselves in jail. As a result the Mongolians of the MPR have for the most part lost their religious feelings and affiliation towards Chinggis Khan.