Huhhot （呼和浩特, meaning "Green City" in Mongolian）is the capital of Inner Mongolia, China. The Huhhot museum is a big, square, modern building erected in 1957, covering an
area of 3,500 square meters. The collections that it houses belong in four
categories: natural history, (including the famed, enormous dinosaur fossils),
archeology, folk customs, and modern history, the latter with emphasis on the
social development of Inner Mongolia under
communist rule since 1949. For there
can be no denying the magnitude of the social development that has taken place
in this region. Huhhot more than trebled
its population since the late 1920s, after completion of the railway connecting
it to Beijing and Tientsin to the east, and Baotou to the west.
The
sight of the construction sites that rise everywhere, and the chemical plants,
and other evident marks of modernity, leave us no doubt that this is an
important industrial center. It is also
the site of a university –the first medical school in Inner
Mongolia was established here. But none of this is the main focus
of our interest. We have come impelled
by the idea, perhaps inexcusably fanciful and overly romantic, of looking into
the heart and soul of Mongolia,
and on this score we begin to feel a little disappointed.
The Huhhot
Museum receives the
visitor with an equestrian statue of Genghis at the entrance (Fig. 1), a symbol of the pride universally felt for the
renowned warrior in this land. A
justified pride admittedly; but not much else reminds us of his person inside
the building. This museum boasts a total
collection of 10,000 objects, among which the most renowned are complete
skeletons of fossilized pre-historical herbivore dinosaurs. The largest one is
immense: 26 meters long, and a shoulder height of 6 meters, which could reach
12 meters with the extended neck and head. Another smaller dinosaur, a special variety of
the Mongolian highland, measures a “mere” 7.5 m in length. In
addition, there is also a complete skeleton of a mammoth, which stands 4.7 meters
high and 9 meters long (Fig. 2).
Fig.
1. Statue of Genghis Khn at the entrance
of the Huhhot Museum
Fig. 2
Skeleton of a mammoth
Historically, the Han
people, the dominant ethnic group in China, regarded the Mongols as
unsophisticated, and in many ways inferior.
And what are we to say about the
unalloyed racism with which they have been treated in the West? Here, prominent intellectuals have
been tainted with prejudice, always classifying the Mongols as ethnically
“inferior” and denying them any important historical achievement, apart from
acting as a plague for the rest of humankind.
One of the most infamous of them, the French
aristocrat and distinguished man of letters, Count Arthur de Gobineau
(1816-1882), went as far as to assert that the Mongols would have been
incapable of accomplishing the astounding military conquests that they did if
they had not been mixed with some “white” people, the Hakas of Southern
Siberia. Without the “felicitous
presence” of these “white principles diffused throughout the yellow multitudes”
and the consequent superiority of this admixing, wrote Gobineau, it would be
impossible to account for the formation of the great armies “that at different
times came out of Central Asia with the Huns, the Mongols of Genghis Khan, the
Tartars of Timur…”.1 Yet Mongoloid people form one of the major
human ethnic groups, and archeological finds in the region that we now visit
have included man-made objects dating back 700,000 years. During the Neolithic era, the inhabitants of
the grassland already produced beautiful artifacts. A jade “hog-dragon,” a museum piece carved 5,000-6,000
years ago, was found in the Hong Shan
(红山 “Red Mountain”) County of east Inner
Mongolia, and may be one of the earliest jade dragons in China. Among the exhibited items, I find especially striking
a bronze dagger made 4,000 years ago. We
tend to think of bronze culture as exclusively Chinese, and it is astonishing
to realize that similar progress had developed almost simultaneously in the
grassland, so remote from the core of China.
The displayed artifacts date long before the
Mongol Empire (i.e., Yuan Dynasty) of the 13th -14th century.
The people in this area may bear different tribe names throughout history, but
they all had similar language and culture, and were similar, if not identical,
in race.
The powerful grassland
empire of the Hsiung-nu (匈奴) was just as ancient and strong as the famed
Chinese Han Dynasty and this as far back in time as centuries before
Christ. Its territory, although bound on
its southern reaches by the Great Wall of China,
at one time surpassed in extension that of China proper, as it extended east to
the Pacific Ocean, north to include Siberia, and west into Central Asia. And it is particularly significant that long
before the time of the Hsiung-nu Empire, during the historical period known as
the Zhou dynasty (1120-249 B.C.), the northern tribes
were already strong enough for the Chinese people to conclude that the better
part of prudence was to build the Great Wall to keep them out.
Impressive as it is, the Great Wall did
little to prevent invasion from northern assailants. Some of these tribes
managed to smash a gap in the Wall and settled in China during the late Jin （晋）
Dynasty (4th century
A.D.). They were able to found their own
dynasties during a period spanning the 4th through the 6th
century, a historical era referred to as the Southern and Northern Dynasties (南北朝 439-589).
However, as happened more than once, in
the end, the Han Chinese established their supremacy. The defeat of the Hsiung-nu during Han
dynasty may have been a historical determinant of their migration westward and
the establishment of the mighty Hun Empire centuries later.
That the epithet of
“barbarian” is always a relative term, and that throughout history it has been
applied by the victors to the subjugated, is attested by the brilliant artistic
achievement of these northern tribes.
Surely, their artistic production is far from being the rude output of “barbarians.” Among these works are the many gigantic stone
statues of Buddha and the splendid, colorful murals that may be seen in the
grottoes of Datong (大同), Dunhuang (敦煌), and other sites in
the northern and northwestern provinces of China.
Various small gold and
silver decorative artifacts of the earlier grassland inhabitants are on display
in the museum. Unfortunately,
historical relics from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), that is, the Mongol
dynasty of China, were scarce, to say the least. One wonders if most of the precious artifacts
from China’s Mongol (Yuan) dynasty are now in the Taipei Palace Museum, in
Taiwan. During the communist revolution,
as is well known, an enormous quantity of artistic treasures was removed from
the mainland by the fleeing nationalist forces, and taken with them to their
refuge in Taiwan. One of the most priced possessions of the
Huhhot Museum collection is a beautiful gold crown with an eagle made of
semiprecious stones, which used to belong to one of the Hsiung-nu kings (Fig. 3). Unfortunately, objects of this high value on
display were rare.
Fig. 3. The golden
crown of a Hsiung-nu king (photo by Dr. Margaret Lin).
A display that attracts our attention consists of models
of tents used by Mongolian people in various regions. The most commonly used, indistinctly called
“yurt” (a Turkic word) or “ger” (in
Mongolian), is round with a cone-shaped roof and made of white felt. (White and blue, the colors of the sky, are
the favorite colors of the Mongols). The
ger exhibited here is a modest one,
approximately 3 to 4 meters in diameter and 2 to 2.5 meters high; it is
provided with a roof-top that may be opened or closed and a wooden door. This dwelling probably represents the kind
used by common herdsmen (Fig. 4a and b).
Gers are easy to assemble,
disassemble, and move around, thus being most suitable for nomadic life. The ancient Mongols, without any knowledge
of physics, built yurts incredibly resistant to the powerful wind of the
grassland. They are also water
impermeable: neither torrential rain nor heavy snow can penetrate inside. With wetting, as by rain or snow, the roof’s
weight can increase to hundreds of pounds, yet a roof collapse has never been
reported, even in the heaviest of rains or snow storms. The ger
also keeps the warmth within during the deep freezing Mongolian winter (fire is
usually lighted inside the ger during
the cold season), and the white color of the walls reflects the light and heat
in the summer. Although windowless, both
the roof top and the wall can be opened by removing the felt, thereby letting
the breeze in during the hot weather.
Fig. 4a. A ger in the
museum.
4b: Interior of ger (right).
The door of a ger, usually a square
frame made of wood and covered with felt, always faces southeast. Inside the ger, there are strict rules for placing objects and sitting locations. Men sit on the west side and women the east. Friar Capini, when visiting the ordo of Batu (拔都),8 Khan of the
Golden Horde, recorded the following:9
“Indeed, he (Batu) sits in
the highest place, as on a throne, with one of his wives. All others, however, whether brothers or sons,
and other nobles, sit below in the middle on a bench. The other men sit beyond them on the ground,
with the men on the right and the women on the left. He has great and beautiful tents of linen
which belonged to the King of Hungary.” 10
Carpini might have exaggerated somewhat when
describing the severity of Mongolian laws.
The Great Yassa (Jassaq), Genghis Khan’s law, stipulated that a horse
thief was to be executed if he could not pay a steep fine. This, of course, was due to the great importance
of horses in a Mongol’s livelihood.
Interestingly, the homicide did not have to pay for his crime with his
life, but was obligated to pay a pricey compensation.13 Yet,
this does not mean that the deceased man’s life was deemed valueless; rather,
the intent was to emphasize that the life of the living man was of paramount
importance. In this militaristic
society, under the constant threat of armed conflict, a man would be far more
useful alive than dead. The Mongol
population has always been low, so that in war all men between the ages of 15
and 70 were drafted into the army.
********************************
All
along, our museum guide, a young girl dressed
in traditional Mongolian garb, has been
reciting, apparently by rote, what sounds like an official speech extolling the
social benefits that Mongolia has derived from a communist government. Here, the rocks displayed are pretexts to
praise the advances in mining exploitation; there, maps and charts point out
the progress that the government has achieved in other fields. Somehow, harangues speeches of
this kind never seem to catch my undivided attention. On this occasion, while the guide recites her
encomium of the political system, my eye is caught by some very pretty garments
displayed in a window. Here the city of Huhhot puts on a fine show of the folk customs and elaborate attires typical of the various Mongol tribes.
The ordinary men’s
apparel varies little from tribe to tribe. It consists of a loose, long robe
with a long, wide, brightly colored, leathern or silk belt hung with various
objects of practical daily use, such as snuffbox, flints (usually decorated
with intricate silver carvings and semiprecious jewels), smoking instruments,
and the uniquely styled, small Mongolian knives with chopsticks (Fig. 6). The belt is worn low, to protect the waist
and lower back during long hours of riding.
The Mongolian boots look different from those usually seen in Western
countries; they are made of leather, but are slightly incurved at the toes,
although not so much as the medieval Arabian footwear. The boots may have embossed
Mongolian designs composed of complicated squares or circles (Fig. 7).
Fig. 6. Man’s costume and knife with chopsticks.
Fig. 7. Mongolian
boots.
The grandees’ apparel of the
past must have impressed visitors as a striking example of colorful, barbarian
extravagance, but not much of it remains.
Very few paintings are extant that show the costumes used at the peak of
the Mongolian Empire’s glory. We can only
imagine them from the chroniclers’ descriptions. In the early years of the empire, affairs of
state were usually held in huge, magnificent tents, and were accompanied by
feasts lasting many days. The most famous was the feast of Jisun (“color,” in Mongolian) or Jama (“garment,” in Persian).
During this extended celebration, the grassland was crowded with Mongol
princes and foreign dignitaries and ambassadors. 14 All the Mongol nobles were required
to wear a specified color for each day.
Wrote Friar Carpini:
“…. On the first day everyone dressed in purple
coats and on the second in red, and then when Cuyuc came to the tent on the
third day, everyone dressed in blue and on the fourth day in their best silk.” 15
A ceremony of great solemnity
was the Khuriltai (council) meeting to elect the Grand Khan. A 13th century
Persian chronicler, Juvaini, 16 witnessed the election of the
Grand Khan Ogodai 17 in 1229, and wrote
that during a period of forty days the attendees donned each day new clothes of
different color and drank abundant wine, at the same time discussing the
affairs of the kingdom.
The raiment of the
nobles underwent marked elaboration during the Yuan dynasty. However, unlike Chinese emperors and nobles,
who were usually dressed in elaborately embroidered costumes, the Mongol
noblemen preferred robes of a single color. Marco Polo described the festival
for Khubilai Khan’s (忽必烈) 18 birthdays:
“Now,
on his birthday, the Great Kaan [Khan] dresses in the best of his robes, all
wrought with beaten gold; and full 12,000 Barons and Knights on that day come
forth dressed in robes of the same colour, and precisely like those of the
Great Kaan, except that they are not so costly; but still they are all of the
same colour as his, and are also of silk and gold. Every man so clothed has also a girdle of
gold; and this as well as the dress is given him by the Sovereign. And I will aver that there are some of these
suits decked with so many pearls and precious stones that a single suit shall
be worth full 10,000 golden bezants.
And
of such raiment there are several sets. For you must know that the Great Kaan,
thirteen times in the year, presents to his Barons and Knights such suits of
raiment as I am speaking of. And on each
occasion they wear the same colour that he does, a different colour being
assigned to each festival”. 19
We don’t know what
colors were used for various occasions except that gold was used for the Khan’s
birthday, and, according to Marco Polo’s narrative, white was favored for New
Year’s day, on the belief that white clothing is lucky.
The symbolic
significance of clothes to Mongols is demonstrated in Marco Polo’s report that
the ruler, when he wished to honor his subjects, bestowed clothes upon them as
gifts:
“Now you must know that the
Great Kaasn hath set apart 12,000 of his men who are distinguished by the name
of ‘Keshican’ [royal guard – an honored position], as I have told you before;
and on each of these 12,000 Barons he bestows thirteen changes of raiment,
which are all different from one another: I mean that in one set the 12,000 of
one colour; the next 12,000 of another colour, and so on; so that they are of
thirteen different colours. These robes
are garnished with gems and pearls and other precious things in a very rich and
costly manner. And along with each of
these changes of raiment, i.e., 13 times in the year, he bestows on each of
these 12,000 Barons a fine golden girdle of great richness and value, and
likewise a pair of boots of ‘Camut’ [*leather made from the back skin of a
camel], that is to say of ‘Borgal’ [*Russian leather], curiously wrought with
silver thread; insomuch that when they are clothed in these dresses every man
of them looks like a king!” 20
Mongol men pay special
attention to the hat; not its style, but its symbolic meaning. It is a sign of dignity, and in the past it
was also a class symbol. The chronicles pointedly
note that when Genghis Khan punished his younger brother Khasar, he first took
away his hat and belt. 21 Upon
the death of a Khan or king, the ceremonial dictated that his subjects remove
all decorative objects from their hats. Hats were also removed when the noblemen swore allegiance
to the new Khan. Juvaini, described the
ceremony in these terms:
“In accordance
with their ancient custom they [the nobles] removed their hats and slung their
belts across their backs; and it being the year 1228-9 Chagatai [Ogodai’s older
brother] took his [Ogodai’s] right hand and Otegin his left, and by the
resolution of aged counsel and the support of youthful fortune, established him
upon the throne. Ulugh-Noyan took a cup, and all present in and outside the
Court thrice knelt down and uttered prayers, saying ‘May the kingdom prosper by
his being Khan!’”. 22
There was a unique type of
ancient Mongol hat that is illustrated in a famous oriental painting. Visitors to the Taipei Palace Museum of
Taiwan are always impressed by the portrait of Khubilai Khan’s wife, Empress
Chabi, which is kept there. It seems as
if this lady were carrying a tall, flared-mouth vase on top of her head. In effect, Chabi appears wearing a strikingly
tall, vase-like hat called boghta or boghtaq (Fig. 8). The materials used and the
manner of its construction were described in detail by Carpini:
“They
[the women] wear a round thing made of basketry or bark on the head, which
stands up a foot and a half, and at the top spreads into four.
From the base to the top it grows wider, and at the top it has a long a
graceful wand of gold, silver, wood or even feathers and it is sewed onto a cap
which drapes down to the shoulders. And
this cap, just like the outfit already described, is made either of buckram,
felt or silk.” 23
Fig. 8. Portrait of Empress Chabi,
wife of Khubilai. (Original in
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan).
Fig. 9. Enthronement scene. Redrawn
from an early 14th century illustration (detail). Original kept in the City
Library of Berlin.
This striking fashion was
obviously popular in the Yuan (Mongol) court in the 13th and 14th centuries. That it was used throughout the empire is
attested by its depiction in a 14th century Persian painting (Fig. 9). Unfortunately for lovers of colorful haute couture, this highly original
headgear seems to have totally disappeared, leaving no trace in the Mongolian
wardrobe.
In ancient times, customs
dictated that a hostess should wear her hat or headdress when receiving
guests. Elaborate headgear is uncommonly
seen today. Most women simply wear a
scarf around their hair in the summer and a warm hat in wintertime. Complex headdresses, reserved for important
occasions, are of
extraordinary richness and regional variety (Fig. 10). The women of Ordos
may be said to don the most intricate and laborious headdress, with many
strings of semiprecious stones hanging on the side and back (Fig. 11). The large headdresses of barhu and Khalkha Mongols,
probably harking back to some ancient fashion, we found especially impressive,
due to a unique style that looks
like ox horns upside down (Fig. 12a).
This singular style passes for having inspired the hairdo of Queen Amidala, a personage in the immensely
popular 1999 film, Star Wars, Episode 1 (Fig.
12b). Regardless
of the style, the headdress of Mongolian women is usually made of silver (gold
for the wealthy) and heavily decorated with corals, agates, turquoises, pearls, and jades.
Fig. 10. Headdresses and
costumes of women of various Mongol tribes shown in the museum.
Fig. 11. Headdress of Ordos women.
Fig. 11b. A young woman in traditional Ordos
headdress.
Fig. 12a. An old photograph of a Khalkha Mongol
noblewoman. (photograph taken by Arthur de Carle Sowerby. In: Mongolia, Nomad descendants of the Golden horde. The Amalgamated Press (1922) Ltd., London, 1923. The article appeared in “Peoples of All
Nations” magazine.)
Fig. 12b. Queen Amidala in the movie “Star War, Episode
1”.
In contrast to married women, single young women’s apparel
is surprisingly simple and, except for the earrings, not too different from the
men’s. This
custom also seems to date from the thirteenth century, as noted by a
chronicler’s remark: “Maidens and other young women can be told from men only
with great difficulty because they are dressed like the men.” 24 The fancy headdress belongs only to
adult married women.
We leave the museum feeling deeply intrigued by the
uniqueness of some features of the culture on display here. How was nomadic life for men, women, and
children? It is astonishing that Mongol
women should have developed such intricate, convoluted adornments in the midst
of an existence marked by deprivation and war alarms, and in a fierce climate
of extreme temperatures. Clearly, their
lives left little place for hedonist self-indulgence. Women drove the carts, placed the movable
dwellings on and off the carts, milked the cows, made butter and other
milk-derived products, and produced thread out of strong tendons of killed
animals. This thread they used to saw
skins, boots, and clothing. They made
felt for their tents, or to wrap themselves with, and they looked after the
sheep and goats in alternation with the men. They cooked and prepared the
animal skins. They had the babies under
precarious conditions (never lying down during delivery, as chroniclers tell
us), raised them, and were generally were in charge of the organization of
domestic life.
Will the ancient ways of the grassland culture die
out? In Inner
Mongolia they seem to us gravely threatened. The Mongol ethnic population here is greatly
outnumbered by the Han Chinese, in a proportion of approximately seven to
one. An American journalist commented
with humor that finding a true ethnic Mongolian in Inner Mongolia “is like
searching for a Sioux Indian in Sioux
City.” 25
Not quite: ethnic Mongolians, although outnumbered, still constitute in this
part of China
a population of about three million. Yet
it is true that the living source of their traditions is being inexorably sapped. A large part of the prairie that sustained
their way of life is now bulldozed, giving way to buildings and factories. Their religion is no longer actively
suppressed by a communist government, but it is far from being fostered:
priests are elderly, replaced only at their death, and must come from
elsewhere, since local conditions do not induce the young to take up a
religious calling. And young people must
look for jobs utterly alien to pastoral or nomadic life if they are going to
survive.
It is an inescapable law of life that those who fail to
adjust to changing conditions must perish. My own father left the grassland to pursue a high education, first in a high school in Naking and later in the university 西南联大. He never returned to his homeland. Many Mongols did the same. We don’t know how the Mongols will fare under the present challenging
conditions. But the Mongol people are indomitable, intense, and vigorous;
such a race, I believe, shall find a foothold in the modern world, and will
contribute to the common welfare of humanity with its endurance and resilience,
just as it once shook humanity with the terror of its ferocity and irresistible
might.
(This article has been edited by F. G. Crussi.)
****************************************
NOTES:
1.
Artur
de Gobineau: Essai sur l’inegalité des races humaines. Book 3, chapter V. In: Oeuvres.
Vol. 1 Gallimard. Collection Pléiade. Paris,
1983, pp 596-597.
2.
The Grand Khan Guyuk (古余克 or 贵由 ruled 1246-1248) was the
son of Ogodai (窝阔台) and grandson of Genghis Khan.
Friar Carpini described him as a man “40 or 45 years old or more, of
medium height, very wise and extremely clever and very serious, and strict in
his morals, so that no one ever easily sees him laugh or make a joke”. Carpini:
Story of the Mongols, p. 114.
3.
Ibid., p. 107.
4.
Friar William of Rubruck, born in French
Flanders, was sent by King Louis IX of France
(St. Louis) to Mongolia (1253-55). He met the Grand Khan Mongke （蒙哥）, son of Tolui （托雷）and grandson of Genghis Khan. Although sent by the French king, Friar William
was not an official envoy. He was more
interested in missionary work. When the
Franciscan friar threatened the Khan with hellfire if he did not convert to
Catholicism, Mongke is reported to have replied: “The nurse at first lets some
drops of milk into the infant’s suck; only then does she offer him her
breast. In the same way you should
persuade Us, who seem to be totally unacquainted
with this doctrine, in a simple and rational manner. Instead you immediately threaten Us with
eternal punishments.” Friar William was asked to join a public
debate with Moslems and Buddhists, and did so before his return to France. (I. de
Rachewiltz. “Papal Envoys to the Great Khans”.
Stanford University
Press, Stanford, CA, 1971. pp. 137-8. Henceforward referred to as Papal Envoys.)
5.
Henry Yule: The
Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian.
(In 2 vols.). Paris.
Henri Cordier. 1903. Vol. 1, engraving on page 247. This author was awarded a gold medal by the
British Geographical Society because of his explorations in Asia. He made interesting researches on the Mongols
in his book Cathay and the Way Thither.
Hakluyt Society, London.
1866.
6.
See the works of Commandant Richard Lefebvre des
Noettes: La Force Motrice Animale à Travers les Ages. Paris,
Berger-Levrault. 1924; and L’Attelage et le Cheval de Selle à Travers
les Ages. Paris, Picard. 1939.
7.
Carpini: Story of the Mongols. p. 109 and 111.
8.
Batu （拔都）, son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan,
was the founder of the Kipchak Khanate (钦察汗国， Golden Horde), and the leader of the
European campaign. Friar Capini
described him thus: “When he [Batu] rides, a canopy or little tent is carried
over his head on a spear point, and most of the great princes of the Tartars do
this and so do their wives. This Bati
(Batu) is very good to his people, yet they fear him greatly. He is most savage in battle and very wise and
most clever in war because he has fought so much”. Ibid.,
p. 102.
9.
Ibid.,
p. 101.
10.
The reference is to King Bela IV of Hungary,
who was defeated by Batu in 1241.
11.
Carpini: Story
of the Mongols, p. 53.
12.
Weatherford:
Genghis Khan and the Making of the
Modern World, p. 68.
13.
Li Dong-fang. (黎東方): Yuan Dynasty (細說元朝), chapter 21, p. 193.
14.
Friar Caprini wrote: “Outside there were Duke Ierozlal of Russian
Suzdal, and many Kytai and Solangi dukes, and two of the sons of the King of
Georgia, the ambassador of the Caliph of Baghdad who was a sultan, and more
than ten other Saracen sultans, which we believe and which was told us by
officials. Indeed, there were more than four thousand ambassadors among them
who brought tribute and gifts, and sultans and other dukes who came to submit
as well as those whom the Tartars had sent for and those who are governors of
territories.” Carpini: Story
of the Mongols, p. 108.
15.
Ibid.,
p. 107.
16.
Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini (1226 – 1283),
Persian historian and a high official of the Mongol Empire, began writing his history
of the Mongols (The Story of the World
Conqueror) when he visited the Mongol capital, Karakorum, in 1252-1253. He was with Ilkhan Hulagu, Khubilai’s younger
brother, during the conquests of
Almut and Baghdad (1258), and was subsequently appointed the governor of Baghdad,
Lower Mesoptamia and Khuzistan. Juvani attended a Khuriltai around 1282, a year before his death.
17.
Although Ogodai （窝阔台） was the designated heir by
Genghis Khan, a Khuriltai was still
held for his election. According to
Juvaini: “. …. all the princes with an unanimity unmingled with evil or strife said
to Ogetei (Ogodai): ‘In accordance with the command of Chingiz-Khan it behooves
thee with divine assistance to set thy foot upon the hand of kingship in order
that all the mighty ones may with one accord gird the loins of their lives with
the girdle of submission and servitude and incline their eyes and ears to
obeying thy command.” The Mongol custom was to name the youngest son as
heir. Thus they debated for 40 days
while they feasted and wined, in different clothes everyday. Juvaini: World Conqueror. Vol. 1, pp. 185-6.
18.
Marco Polo wrote of Khubilai （忽必烈）: “He is of a good
stature, neither tall nor short, but of a middle height. He has a becoming amount of flesh, and is
very shapely in all his limbs. His
complexion is white and red, the eyes black and
fine, the nose well formed and well set on.”
Travels of Marco Polo: Vol. 1,
pp. 185-6 and 356.
19.
Ibid., pp
386-7.
20.
Ibid.,
p. 394.
21.
Ardajab: Secret
History, p. 446.
22.
Juvaini tells us that “after much importunity on
their part and much refusing on the part of Ogetei, he obeyed the command of
his father and followed the advice of his brothers and uncles ” accepting the name of Qa’an (Grand Khan). Upon which, all the princes “knelt three times to the sun ouside the ordu; then re-entering they held an
assembly of mirth and sport and cleared the plains of merriment of the thorns
of sorrow”. Juvaini: World Conqueror,
p. 187.
23.
Carpini: Story of the Mongols, p. 40.
24.
Ibid: Story
of the Mongols, p. 41.
25.
Michael Kohn:
Dateline Mongolia. An American Journalist in Nomad’s Land. RDR Books, Muskegon, Michigan.
2006. page 247. Henceforward referred to as Kohn: Dateline Mongolia.
