Chaghan Temur (,
Mongolian:{{MongolUnicode, ᠼᠠᠭᠠᠨᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ),
Courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China
China, officially the People's R ...
Tingrui (廷瑞), was a
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongols, Mongol-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Division of the M ...
officer and military leader of
Naiman Kazakh
Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kazakhstan
*Kazakhs, an ethnic group
*Kazakh language
*The Kazakh Khanate
* Kazakh cuisine
* Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan
*Qazax, Azerbaijan
*Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...
ethnicity.
Life
Chaghan Temur's family originated from Beshbaliq, today Jimsar County in Xinjiang. His great grandfather migrated to China following the Mongols' invasion. When he was young, Chaghan Temur passed the
imperial exam
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil service examination, civil-service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the ...
and obtained the degree of
Juren
''Juren'' (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the ''xiangshi'' () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The ''xiangshi'' is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank hig ...
.
In the year of 1351, there was an outburst of bandit raids in Chaghan Temur's hometown. Counties nearby were attacked and sacked. Out of self defense, Chaghan Temur organized local militia in Shenqiu to fight off the bandits. The news of a Juren improving public security was heard in the court. In 1352, Chaghan Temur became the
darughachi
''Darughachi'' (Mongol form) or ''Basqaq'' (Turkic form) were originally designated officials in the Mongol Empire that were in charge of taxes and administration in a certain province. The plural form of the Mongolian word is '' darugha''. They ...
of Runing
Fu. He was able to gather as many as 10,000 people under his command at the time.
In 1355, he marched northward. After a series of successful battles, he managed to pacify the chaos of
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...
. The imperial court rewarded him with a civil position. In 1356, he was appointed the Bingbu Shangshu (Minister of war).
The rest of his life was spent on battlefield. The Yuan dynasty was in utter turbulence.
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
farmers were oppressed under Yuan rule. Riot leader such as
Han Shantong and
Liu Futong caused the dynasty to strive for survival. Chaghan Temur managed to defeat Liu's force in Henan and consequently rescued
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu of Yuan () was the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty of China in what is now Beijing, also the capital of the People's Republic of China today. It was located at the center of modern Beijing. The Secretariat directly admi ...
from the starvation resulted by the disruption of transportation of essential food supplies from South to North.
[Chen,Bangzhan. Yuanshi Jishi Benmo(元史紀事本末).vol.4] Eventually Chaghan Temur was assassinated by
Wang Shichen, a surrendered leader of farmer riots, in the year of 1362.
Posthumously, he was granted the title "Prince of Yingchuan" (潁川王) and a posthumous name "Zhongxiang" (忠襄), according to Confucian traditions.
His nephew and step-son
Köke Temür
Köke Temür (; Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Köketemür, Хөхтөмөр; died 1375), sinicized name Wang Baobao (), was a prominent general of the Yuan dynasty of China.
History
He was born in Henan province. His paternal line orig ...
was also a general who fought for the failing Yuan dynasty.
Sources
Yuan dynasty generals
Yuan dynasty politicians