The ''Shengwu qizheng lu'' (; ) is a Chinese translation of a Mongolian chronicle describing the lives of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin ...

(previously named Temüjin) and his son

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan- emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...

. 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 be ...

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

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in 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 Europe ...

. 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 The ''Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh'' ( Persian/ Arabic: , ) 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 ...

, 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.

History

The earliest mention of the ''Shengwu'' in documents was as a presentation to Khubilai Khan 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 in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

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.

Differences to other chronicles

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'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fa ...

. 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 ( mn, Бэхтэр; died 1180) was the son of Yesugei, chief of the Kiyad clan, and a junior wife named Sochigel or Suchigu in some sources and Ko'agjin in others. He was also half-brother of Genghis Khan, then known as Temujin. ...

or the abduction and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

of his wife

Börte Börte (simply Borte, also Börte Üjin; Mongolian: ; Cyrillic: Бөртэ үжин; c. 1161–1230) 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 ...

. 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 History of Mongolia Mongolian literature 13th-century history books Works of unknown authorship Genghis Khan Chinese chronicles