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Menggu tongjian changbian 蒙古通鑑長編

Feb 19, 2023 © Ulrich Theobald

Menggu tongjian changbian 蒙古通鑑長編 is a chronicle of the Mongol and the Yuan empire 元 (1279-1368) compiled by Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842-1918). The book of 8 juan length and one supplementary fascicle covers the time from the origins of the Mongols to the year 1259.

The largest part of the book makes use of the first two chapters of the official dynastic history Yuanshi 元史, but rearranges the stuff in annalistic form. These materials are enriched by information from the "Secret History of the Mongols", Menggu mishi 蒙古秘史, and Yuanshi yiwen zhengbu 元史譯文證補 of Hong Jun 洪鈞 (1839-1893) which made use of non-Chinese sources on the Mongols. Apart from that, Wang made use of further Chinese-language sources on the Mongols like Shengwu qinzheng lu 聖武親征錄, Tongjian jilan 通鑒輯覽, Menggu yuanliu 蒙古源流, Tao Zongyi's 陶宗儀 (1322-1403) Chuogenglu 輟耕錄, Yuelü Zhu's 耶律鑄 (1221-1285) collection Shuangxi zuiyin ji 雙溪醉隱集, Kültegin's stele (732) Quegele bei 闕特勤碑, Ye Ziqi's 葉子奇 (f. 1375) essay Caomuzi 草木子, Zhou Gongwang's 周恭王 (i.e. Zhu Youdun 朱有燉, 1379-1439) poetry collection Yuan gongci 元宮詞, Yang Weizhen's 楊維楨 (1296-1370) Yuan gongci 元宮詞, Chen Cheng's 陳檉 (late 13th cent.) Zizhi tongjian xubian 資治通鑒續編, xxx Lidai dafang tongjian 歷史大方通鑒 of Li Tingji 李廷機 and Ye Xianggao 葉向高, the linguistic study Yuanshi yujie 元史語解, the anthology Yuanwenlei 元文類, Hong Hao's 洪皓 (1088-1155) Songmo jiwen 松漠紀聞, fragments of the Qidan shiji 契丹事蹟, the book Mengda beilu 蒙韃備錄 and Zhang Dehui's 張德輝 (1195-1275) travel report Lingbei ixing 嶺北紀行.

The appendix includes 12 biographies of Mongol leaders like Sübügätäi (Ch. Subute 蘇布特), Jebe (Ch. Zhebie 哲別) and Jöchi (Ch. Zhuchi 朮赤).

Of Wang Xianqian's draft Yuanshi shibu 元史拾補, only the preface survives. This book seems to have been a kind of previous work for the project Menggu tongjian changbian.

His book belongs to a whole series of studies on the Mongol empire that emerged in the mid- and late 19the century, like Qian Daxin's 錢大昕(1728-1804) Bu Yuanshi shizu biao 補元史氏族表, Wei Yuan' 魏源 (1794-1857) Yuanshi xinbian 元史新編, He Qiutao's 何秋濤 (1824-1862) Shengwu qinzheng lu jiaozheng 聖武親征錄校正, Li Wentian's 李文田 (1834-1895) Yuan mishi zhu 元秘史注, Tu Ji's 屠寄 (1856-1921) Mengwu'er shiji 蒙兀兒史記 or Ke Shaomin's 柯劭忞 (1850–1933) Xin Yuanshi 新元史.

The value of Wang Xianqian's book lies in its novel attempts to arrange the pre-history of the Yuan dynasty in annalistic order, and second, the integration of non-Chinese sources like Histoire des Mongols depuis Tchinguis-Khan jusqu'à Timour (in Chinese Duosang Menggu shi 多桑蒙古史) by the Swedish scholar Abraham Constantine Mouradgea d'Ohsson (1779-1851), Jāmiʿ at-tawārīkh (Ch. Shiji 史集) by the Persian historian Rashīd ad-Dīn (1247–1318) or Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā (Ch. Shijie zhengfu zhe shi 世界征服者史) by ʿAṭā-Malik Ǧuvainī (1226–1283), as well as Chinese sources that attracted less attention like xxx 西書》《西域史.

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