Altan Tobchi

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The initial page of the 1604 edition

The Altan Tobchi, or Golden Summary (Mongolian script: ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠲᠣᠪᠴᠢ Altan Tobči;[1] Mongolian Cyrillic: Алтан товч, Altan tovch), is a 17th-century Mongolian chronicle written by Guush Luvsandanzan. Its full title is Herein is contained the Golden Summary of the Principles of Statecraft as established by the Ancient Khans. The work is also named the Lu Altan Tobchi (Mongolian script: Lu Altan Tobči;[1] Mongolian Cyrillic: Лу Алтан товч, Lu Altan tovch) after its author to distinguish it from previous works with similar titles.

It is generally considered second in dignity to the

Byambyn Rinchen, and was translated into English by Charles Bawden in 1955. It is one of the most frequently quoted sources in Mongolian publications.[citation needed
]

Contents

The Altan Tobchi is composed of three major sections that differ significantly from each other, but nonetheless woven into a whole in order to meet Luvsandanzan's purpose of providing a summary of Mongolian state ideology at that time. It begins with a mythological genealogy of the descent of Borte Chino, the ancestor of

Ligdan Khan in 1634. The third section is followed by a brief summary of the Golden Summary, a statement of the author's identity and an eloquent prayer directed to the "spirits of the Khans descended from mighty Tengri
".

Purpose

Taken as a whole the Altan Tobchi is not a religious text, either of Tibetan Buddhism or of the well-developed shamanic Cult of Genghis Khan. It is largely secular and deals with affairs of the state. The

Khalkha (1570s-1639). It is not a simple king list from the legendary Chakravarti kings to Ligdan Khan. Although the title says it deals with "statecraft", the work is not political philosophy nor a treatise concerned with the machinations of the legislative, executive and judicial functions of the state. It does not treat of any state policy in detail (e.g. the relay post system or military strategy). Rather the work is clearly designed to be a manual of ethics for the Mongolian nobility with special emphasis on preserving the unity of the state. The work is essentially didactic and instructional in nature. Its code of conduct is loosely analogous to the Way of the Samurai and chivalry. Although the near entirety of the ethical code contained in the Altan Tobchi is authentically Mongolian or nomadic and thus derives from the sayings of Genghis Khan or nomadic tradition, there are also a few quotations here and there taken from Indian ethical works and Yuan dynasty Tibetan-inspired state ideology (i.e. the Teaching of the Two Orders, of Kublai Khan
).

References

  1. ^ a b Temu̇rpu̇rbu̇], [Lobsangdanjin ; belethėgsen So. Tȯrȯbatu ; erhelegėsen Bu. "Ertrn-u̇ qad-un u̇ndu̇su̇legsen tȯrȯ yoson-u jokiyal-i tobcilan quriyaġsan Altan tobci kemeku̇ orosibai". 東京外国語大学附属図書館ＯＰＡＣ. Retrieved 2017-02-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

  1. Full text in Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, www.asuult.net
  2. Searchable 1604 version in Mongolian script, Ritsumeikan University
  3. Searchable 1604 version in Mongolian script (alt. layout), Ritsumeikan University

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Altan_Tobchi&oldid=1210779607"