Tümengken Tsoghtu Khong Tayiji (

Classical Mongolian Classical Mongolian was the literary language of Mongolian which was first introduced shortly after 1600, when Ligdan Khan set his clergy the task of translating the whole of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, consisting of the Kanjur and Tanjur, int ...

: , ''Tümengken čoγtu qong tayiǰi''; modern Mongolian: , , Tümenkhen Tsogt Khun Taij; ; 1581–1637), was a noble in Northern

Khalkha The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin k ...

. He expanded into

Amdo Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...

(present-day

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

) to help the

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, ...

sect of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

but was overthrown by

Güshi Khan Güshi Khan (1582 – 14 January 1655; ) was a Khoshut prince and founder of the Khoshut Khanate, who supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan as the main benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1637, Güshi ...

, who supported the rival

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

sect. He is also known for writing a famous poem in 1621, which was transcribed on the surface of a rock in 1624, and still exists. He established a base on the

Tuul river , , "to wade through" , nickname = Queen Tuul , image = Tuul River Mongolia.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Tuul flowing through the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park , map = Toula (riv ...

. Known as an intellectual, he embraced the Karma sect and built monasteries and castles. In 1601, he built the White Castle, or the

White House of Choghtu Khong Tayiji The White House of Choghtu Khong Tayiji or White House of Tsogt, also known as the White Castle ( mn, Цогтын цагаан байшин, ''Tsogtyn tsagaan baishin''), is a building located in the Dashinchilen sum of Bulgan Aimag, Mongolia. It ...

. He submitted himself to

Ligdan Khan Khutugtu Khan ( mn, Хутагт Хаан; ), born Ligdan ( mn, Лигдэн; ), (1588–1634) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1604 to 1634. During his reign, he vigorously attempted to reunify the divided Mongol Empire, a ...

, last grand khan of the Mongols. He took part in Ligdan's campaign to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

to help the Karma sect although Ligdan Khan died in 1634 before they joined together. But he pursued the campaign. In the same year, he conquered the

Tümed The Tümed (Tumad, ; "The many or ten thousands" derived from Tumen) are a Mongol subgroup. They live in Tumed Left Banner, district of Hohhot and Tumed Right Banner, district of Baotou in China. Most engage in sedentary agriculture, living in m ...

around Kokonor (Qinghai Lake) and moved his base there. By request from Shamar Rabjampa, he sent an army under his son Arslan to central Tibet in 1635. However, Arslan attacked his ally Tsang army. He met the

fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

and paid homage to Gelukpa monasteries instead of destroying them. Arslan was eventually assassinated by Tsoghtu's order. The Geluk sect asked for help Törü Bayikhu (Güshi Khan), the leader of the Khoshuud tribe of the Oirat confederation. In 1636, Törö Bayikhu led the Khoshuud and the

Dzungars The Dzungar people (also written as Zunghar; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') were the many Mongol Oirat tribes who formed and maintained the Dzungar Khanate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Historically they were one of major tr ...

to Tibet. In the next year a decisive war between Tsoghtu Khong Tayiji and Törü Bayikhu ended in the latter's victory and Tsoght was killed. Descendants of Sutai Yeldeng, Tsoghtu's grandson, succeeded the jasagh of a banner in Sain Noyon Khan Aimag. He has traditionally been portrayed as evil by the Geluk sect. On the other hand, the Mongolian movie '' Tsogt taij'' (1945) treated him as a national hero.

References

*Okada Hidehiro 岡田英弘, Čoɤtu Qong Tayiǰi ni tsuite Čoɤtu Qong Tayiǰi について, ''Ajia Afurika gengo kenkyū 1'' アジア・アフリカ言語研究 1, February 1968, pp. 111–125. He provided a brief biography of Choghtu Khong Tayiji and the inscription of Čaɤan bayising. *Yamaguchi Zuihō (山口瑞鳳), Chibetto (チベット), University of Tokyo Press, 1988. He utilized Tibetan materials. His paper is also cited by Okada's work. Kojitsu Kan no Chibetto shihai ni itaru keii 顧実汗のチベット支配に至る経緯, ''Iwai Daisetsu hakushi koki kinen tenseki ronshū'' 岩井大慧博士古希記念典籍論集, 1963. *Oyunbilig (乌云毕力格): On Choktu Taidji (关于绰克图台吉), 内蒙古大学学报哲学社会科学版 1987 No.3, pp. 52–57. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tayiji, Choghtu Khong 1581 births 1637 deaths History of Mongolia Khalkha