The Secret History of the Mongols: a Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century

Western Washington University Western CEDAR A Collection of Open Access Books and Monographs Books and Monographs 12-2015 The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century Igor de Rachewiltz The Australian National University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/cedarbooks Part of the Asian History Commons, and the East Asian Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Rachewiltz, Igor de, "The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century" (2015). Shorter version edited by John C. Street, University of Wisconsin―Madison. Books and Monographs. Book 4. http://cedar.wwu.edu/cedarbooks/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Books and Monographs at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in A Collection of Open Access Books and Monographs by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Th e Secret History of the Mongols A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century TRANSLATED BY IGOR DE RACHEWILTZ The Australian National University SHORTER VERSION Edited by John C. Street December 11, 2015 The Secret History of the Mongols, Translation by Igor de Rachewiltz is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial -NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit www.creativecommons.org . Cover illustration : Ögödei Qa’an (Ogedei Khan), third son and successor of ƒinggis Qan (Genghis Khan, ?1162-1227), reigned from 1229 to 1241. He was the real founder of the Mongol empire and, in the author’s opinion, he played an essential role in the composition of the Secret History of the Mongols . Colour on silk, date unknown (? 14 th c). Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. CONTENTS Preface ………………………………….………......….............. v Abbreviations and Special Conventions ...................................... vi Introduction …………………......…………............................. vii Origin and History of the Text ........................................ viii The Secret History as History and Literature …………… xvi Later Editions and Translations of the Text .…….……. xviii The Present Translation ………………………….…........ xx Translation Chapter 1 ............................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 ......................................................................... 16 Chapter 3 ......................................................................... 32 Chapter 4 ..............................................................…....... 50 Chapter 5 ...........................................................……..... 66 Chapter 6 ......................................................................... 84 Chapter 7 ......................................................................... 102 Chapter 8 ............................................................…..…. 118 Chapter 9 ....................................................................... 134 Chapter 10 ..................................................................... 150 Chapter 11 (= Sup. 1) .................................................... 165 Chapter 12 (= Sup. 2) .................................................... 185 Index of Proper and Place Names ............................................ 207 Index of Subjects...................................................................... 237 Literature and Abbreviations ................................................... 260 Table: Genealogy of Činggis Qan ............................................ 266 Map 1: Mongolia ca. AD 1200 ................................................ 270 Map 2: Eurasia ca. AD 1210 ..................................................... 271 PREFACE The pages below represent a shortened version of the three volumes — totaling over 1700 pages — of Igor de Rachewiltz’s similarly-titled work published by Brill in 2004 and 2013. The first two of these volumes provides a full English translation of the 13th century Middle Mongolian text known as the Secret History of the Mongols, with lengthy introduction explain- ing the nature and origin of that text (with much background information) plus detailed commentary on details in this new translation. After these come seven appendixes, full bibliography, and indexes of names, subjects, grammar and lexis. The volumes include also various maps and illustrations, and a table showing the genealogy of the man named Temü†in who became Činggis Qan – better known in the west as Genghis Khan. Volume 3 consists of addenda and corrigenda to the earlier two, correcting a number of minor errors and omissions discovered after publication, and adding information provided by newly published works or other scholars. Publishing such a massive work must, of course, have been very expensive, and Brill can scarcely be blamed for passing such expense on to purchasers. But the high price for all three books makes it likely that most copies will remain in libraries or be owned by specialists or one sort or another. The de Rachewiltz translation deserves a much broader audience, for unlike earlier attempts in English, it is pleasant and easy to read while remaining close to the spirit of the original. It is hoped that the present shortened version of this invaluable work will be useful to students in various fields of study other than merely linguistics, philology, and Mongolian studies: to students of history, cultural anthropology, and geography, for example, or East Asian or Central Asian studies in general. And that it may give pleasure to many general readers as well. John C. Street 14 June 2015 Madison, Wisconsin ABBREVIATIONS AND SPECIAL CONVENTIONS Common and conventional abbreviations are not listed mo. = Written or Script Mongolian n. = note N.F. = Neue Folge (‘New Series’) SH = the Secret History tu. = Turkic ~ alternates with = corresponds to, is the same as § one of the 282 sections of the Secret History text ? doubtful form ( ) for explanatory matter in the text [ ] for lacunae in the text < > for dittographies and redundancies in the text In the translation only: Italic type is used for English words added by the translator Monotype Corsiva type is used for a few Mongol and foreign terms retained in their original form We are extremely grateful to Prof. Dr. Manfred Taube for allowing us to include, at the end of the present book (as in the longer version of 2004), a table based on that in his Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen. Herkunft, Leben und Aufstieg Dschingis Khans. INTRODUCTION ‘The 13th century work known as the The Secret History of the Mongols (Mongqol-un niuča [ = ni’uča] to[b]a=an) is the earliest and most important literary monument of the Mongol-speaking people... [It] is the only genuine (not to be confused with reliable) native account of the life and deeds of Činggis Qan – our Genghis Khan – one of the world’s outstanding figures.’ So begins the Introduction (pp. xxv-lxxxii) to de Rache- wiltz’s volumes of 2004-2013, hereinafter abbreviated RSH, the chief points of which are summarized below. The author continues: In form, too, the Secret History is unique, ‘for no other nomadic or semi-nomadic people has ever created a literary masterpiece like it, in which epic poetry and narrative are so skilfully and indeed artistically blended with fictional and historical accounts.’ ‘Its poetry reflects the pure, unmitigated tradition of the nomadic tribes of Mongolia and of the Turkic- and Mongolian-speaking inhabitants of the vast steppe-lands of Inner Asia.’1 ‘Linguistically too, the Secret History provides the finest and richest source of Preclassical Mongolian (in its reconstructed “written” form) dating from the first half of the 13th century, and of Middle Mongolian, the language actually spoken in the second half of the 14th century – a language lacking any artificiality, simple and direct in style, [and] far removed from the learned and often convoluted syntax of so-called Classical Mongolian. In this respect, one can say with A. Waley that its “story-tellers’ tales…are some of the most vivid primitive literature that exists anywhere in the world”, words echoed by F. W. Cleaves who called the Secret History “one of the great literary monuments of the world”.’2 Although at a later date the text was divided quite arbitrarily into twelve or fifteen chapters and 282 sections or paragraphs, ‘the Secret History is a continuous narrative with comparatively few lacunae and interpolations in the text. … The order of events discussed is chronological, but the first date, corresponding to AD 1201, appears only in §141 (Chapter 4). Chapters 1-12 (up to §268) describe the life and career of Činggis Qan from his birth, probably in 1162 (§59), to his death viii INTRODUCTION in 1227 (§268), prior sections being devoted to his ancestry and the legendary origins of the Mongol tribe and clans. The final portion of the work (§§269-281; see below) deals with the election of Ögödei Qa’an…and with some events of his reign (1229-41), without however mentioning his death. The narrative ends (§282) with a brief and apparently incomplete colophon recording where and when our text was completed.’ 1. Origin and History of the Text The colophon just mentioned is deceptively precise: it states that ‘The writing was completed at the time when the Great Assembly convened and when, in the Year of the Rat, in the month of the Roebuck, the Palaces (ordos) were established at Dolo’an Boldaq... .’ The month

Load more