The ''Shengwu qinzheng lu'' (; ) is a Chinese translation of a

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

describing the lives of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

(previously named Temüjin) and his son

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khan (also Ögedei Khagan or Ogodei; 11 December 1241) was the second Khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. Born in 1186 AD, Öged ...

. Much of the chronicle was derived from the ''

Altan Debter The ''Altan Debter'', ''Golden Book'' (Mongolian Cyrillic: Алтан дэвтэр , Mongolian script: ) is an early, now lost history of the Mongols. Rashid-al-Din Hamadani had access to it when writing his Chronicles, Jami al-Tawarikh. Some bel ...

'' (), a now-lost state history of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

. Both the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Jami' al-tawarikh ''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'' () is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work has caused it to be call ...

'', written by Rashid al-Din at the start of the 14th century, and the Chinese Yuán Shǐ, drew upon the ''Altan Debter''. By combining the three extant works, historians are able to adequately reconstruct the ''Altan Debter's'' original content. The earliest mention of the ''Shengwu'' in documents was as a presentation to

Khubilai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the dyn ...

by one of his ministers in 1288, under the name ''Shilu'' (). Unsatisfied, the Khan demanded that the minister revise the sections on Ögedei, which were finalized in 1290. The work was then transcribed into the Mongolian-Uyghur script. The later translation into Chinese came in 1369, as editors under the succeeding

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

compiled the entire Yuán Shǐ. By comparing the translation to the ''Jami' al-tawarikh'', it becomes clear that these transcribers misunderstood the original script in several places, creating problems for modern historians. The ''Shengwu'' serves as an interesting contrast to the most famous Mongol chronicle, ''

The Secret History of the Mongols The ''Secret History of the Mongols'' is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolic languages. Written for the Borjigin, Mongol royal family some time after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, it recounts his life and conquests, and parti ...

''. It does not mention potentially objectionable moments that the ''Secret History'' openly describes, such as the young Temüjin's murder of his half-brother

Behter Behter or Bekter (; died 1180) was the son of Yesugei, chief of the Khamag Mongol, and a junior wife named Sochigel or Suchigu in some sources and Ko'agjin in others. He was also a half-brother of Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüj ...

or the abduction and rape of his wife

Börte Börte Üjin (; Mongolian: ), better known as Börte (), was the first wife of Temüjin, who became Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghis Khan, and Grand Empress of his Empire. S ...

. It was probably intended as an official history. The consequential lack of drama in the text, alongside some fragmentation of the work, has led to it being overshadowed by the ''Secret History''.

References

Sources

* * * {{Mongol Empire chronicles Mongol Empire Mongolian literature 13th-century history books Works of unknown authorship Genghis Khan Chinese chronicles