Köke Temür (; Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Köketemür, Хөхтөмөр; died 1375),

sinicized Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

name Wang Baobao (), was a prominent general of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

of China.

History

He was born in

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province. His paternal line originated in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, probably of recent Bayad Mongol descent, but identified as ethnic

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

by the time of his birth. His mother was either of Naiman or Uyghur origin, and was the sister of

Chaghan Temür Chaghan Temur (, Mongolian:{{MongolUnicode, ᠼᠠᠭᠠᠨᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ), Courtesy name Tingrui (廷瑞), was a Yuan dynasty officer and military leader of Naiman Kazakh ethnicity. Life Chaghan Temur's family originated from Beshbaliq, toda ...

. Köke Temür was adopted by his maternal uncle Chaghan Temür, a Turkic pro-Mongol warlord who fought against the

Red Turban Rebellion The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

. When his uncle died in war in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

in 1362, he succeeded Chaghan Temür's post and corps, and soon demonstrated military talent in battles with the Red Turban Rebels in Shandong. He intensified a feud with Bolad Temür a Datong-based warlord, and entered

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

to confront him. He took the side of

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Ayushiridara (future Emperor Zhaozong) against the faction of

Toghon Temür Toghon Temür ( mn, Тогоонтөмөр; Mongolian script: ; ; 25 May 1320 – 23 May 1370), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Huizong of Yuan () bestowed by the Northern Yuan dynasty and by his posthumous ...

(Emperor Huizong) in a factional dispute in Dadu since Bolad Temür supported the anti-crown prince faction. In 1364, Bolad Temür advanced from Datong on Dadu and seized the reins of the central government under the khan. Crown Prince Ayushiridara fled to Taiyuan to seek support from Köke Temür. The Crown Prince struck back with Köke Temür, and Bolad Temür was betrayed when Köke Temür attacked Dadu in 1365. He reinstated the Crown Prince, and was appointed as vice minister of the Secretariat and the king of Henan in return. However, this conflict helped

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

's rise to power in southern China. Köke Temür commanded the Yuan army against anti-Yuan rebels, but faced betrayal by subordinates including ethnic Han officers who had followed him since the very early stage. What was worse was that he got alienated from Ayushiridara, who was given political and military controls by Toghon Temür. After two major defeats (he fled alone in both occasions), he lost Henan and Taiyuan to the rising Ming corps and fled to

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

. The Yuan dynasty was forced to retreat from

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...

in 1368. In 1370 when Toghon Temür died and Ayushiridara succeeded to the throne,The Cambridge history of China, by Denis Twitchett et al., pp 99–100, Cambridge University Press, Koke Temur entered the

Mongolian Plateau The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to th ...

from

and joined the new khan, who was based in

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the ...

. He undertook the defense of the khan. The

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

invited him seven times and offered bribes. But Koke Temur did not abandon his

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

in his misfortune.''Mingshi'' The most notable service was an overwhelming desert victory over a Ming army led by

Xu Da Xu Da (1332–1385), courtesy name Tiande, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived in the late Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty. He was a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder and first ruler of the Ming dynasty, and assist ...

in 1372. It is said that he killed 20,000 Ming soldiers. But in a further encounter against Xu Da in Gansu, Köke Temür's army was badly mauled by the Ming dynasty and forced to flee across the

Gobi desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

. Köke Temür's sister was married to prince

Zhu Shuang Zhu Shuang (; 3 December 1356 – 19 April 1395) was an imperial prince of the Chinese Ming dynasty. He was the second son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming. In May 1370, the Hongwu Emperor granted the title of Prince of Qin to him ...

, the second son of the Hongwu Emperor. He advanced southward with the Yuan troops to take China proper back for the Yuan remnants (known as the

Northern Yuan The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongols, Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen people, ...

in historiography), and expanded his influence to

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. However, he died in 1375Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle, by Shih-shan Henry Tsai, p 23, University of Washington Press, 2001, and was followed by Ayushiridara in 1378. Their deaths radically weakened the Northern Yuan dynasty, extinguishing any hope of recapturing China proper.

In popular culture

He is featured in

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia (" martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong d ...

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

novel ''

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' (), also translated as ''The Sword and the Knife'', is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the third and final installment in the ''Condor Trilogy'', preceded by ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes ...

'' and its television and movie adaptations as the older brother of one of the heroines,

Zhao Min Zhao Min (), birth name Minmin Temür (), formally Commanderial Princess Shaomin (), is one of the two female lead characters in the wuxia novel ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'' by Jin Yong. Jin Yong describes her appearance as "natu ...

. He is featured in some

drama television series such as '' The Legend of Beggar Emperor and the Big Foot Empress Consort''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temur, Koke Yuan dynasty generals Northern Yuan generals 1375 deaths Year of birth unknown Chinese princes Transition from Yuan to Ming People from Gushi County