lettered by Abraham Ortelius, 1570
Written source · Chinese

The official History of the Ming: the Tatars, the Oirats and the Western Regions

The Qing court's official history of the Ming dynasty, with chapters on the Mongols (Dada, 'Tatars') and Central Asia, completed in 1739.

Full title History of the Ming: juan 327 Dada (Tatars / Eastern Mongols), 328 Wala (Oirats) and the Three Uriyangkhad Guards, 329-332 Xiyu (Western Regions 1-4: Hami, Turfan, Samarkand, Herat, Tibet and others)

明史

Zhang Tingyu and the Qing history office (completed 1739)

Read the 4 passagesOpen the original book

The Qing history office under Zhang Tingyu finished the History of the Ming in 1739, drawing on the Ming veritable records and private histories. Its 'foreign countries' chapters include juan 327 on the Dada (Tatars, meaning the Eastern Mongols after 1368), juan 328 on the Oirats and the Three Guards, and juan 329 to 332 on the Western Regions from Hami and Turfan to Samarkand and Tibet. The corpus holds poor CADAL scans and the Kanseki Repository transcription of the Siku quanshu manuscript copy, which is quoted here.

How they knew
Official record
Who “Tartar” means here
Dada (韃靼, Tatar) is the official Ming name for the Eastern Mongols, the descendants of the Yuan court after 1368, as distinct from the Oirats (Wala, here re-spelled Weilate). The chapter opens by saying so, and later (p. 536-6b) explains that after a usurper named Guilichi dropped the Yuan dynastic name around 1400 'they were called Dada'.
Why read it
It records in the Chinese state's own words that 'Tatar' meant the Mongols, and gives a vivid episode of Chinese renegades building a walled town and palace for the Tumed Mongol ruler Altan Khan in the 16th century.
Watch out
Written by the Qing (a Manchu dynasty) about the Ming, from a frontier-defence point of view. The Siku copy re-spells Mongol names (諳達 for 俺答 Altan, 衛拉特 for 瓦剌), so older prints differ. Translations are working translations.

What it says: 4 passages

BuildingsHohhot region, Inner Mongolia (Fengzhou)1550s

Chinese renegades build a walled town and palaces: 'bansheng' means 'house'

Editorial contextThe history says that Chinese outlaws led by Qiu Fu and Zhao Quan, who had gone over to the Mongols, gathered fugitives at Fengzhou, built a walled town to protect themselves, put up palaces and broke irrigated fields. Their settlements were called bansheng, which the history explains as the Mongol word for 'house'. Zhao Quan also taught the Mongols siege warfare.

At that time Qiu Fu and the others, living among the enemy, gathered fugitives and settled at Fengzhou. They built a walled town to defend themselves, put up palaces and opened irrigated rice fields, calling them baisheng; baisheng in Chinese means 'house'. Zhao Quan taught the enemy to become more practised in attack and warfare.

Working translation

Original wording

時富等在敵招集亡命居豐州築城自衛搆宮殿墾水田號曰拜甡拜甡華言屋也趙全教敵益習功戰事

Zhang Tingyu and the Qing history office, History of the Ming (Siku quanshu Wenyuange copy, Kanseki Repository transcription)
See the original page (p. 536-26b)

About Tumed Mongols under Altan Khan; Chinese deserters

Keep in mind

The Siku copy writes 拜甡 for the usual 板升 (bansheng, from Mongolian baishing 'building'). 功 is a copyist's slip for 攻 ('attack').

BuildingsHohhot region, Inner Mongolia1560s

A palace for Altan Khan, and a beam that fell

Editorial contextAfter Qiu Fu's death Zhao Quan became more powerful among the Mongols. He honoured Altan Khan as an emperor and built him a palace, but on the day the ridge-beam was raised a great wind blew it down, injuring several men, and Altan was too frightened to live there. The Mongol ruler's palace was a Chinese project, built by Chinese hands.

At that time Qiu Fu had died, and Zhao Quan, among the enemy, grew ever more powerful. He honoured Anda (Altan Khan) as emperor and built palaces for him. On the day set for raising the ridge-beam a great wind suddenly blew, the beam fell and injured several men, and Anda was afraid and did not dare to live there.

Working translation

Original wording

時邱富死趙全在敵中益用事尊諳達為帝治宫殿期日上棟忽大風棟墜傷數人諳達懼不敢復居

Zhang Tingyu and the Qing history office, History of the Ming (Siku quanshu Wenyuange copy, Kanseki Repository transcription)
See the original page (p. 536-29b)

About Tumed Mongols under Altan Khan; Chinese deserters

Keep in mind

Told as an omen story by a hostile Chinese source; the Siku copy writes 諳達 for 俺答 (Altan).

Daily lifeDatong and Zhangjiakou, northern China1571

Horse fairs on the Great Wall

Editorial contextAfter Altan Khan made peace in 1571, the Ming set rules for border markets: the Mongols would bring gold, silver, cattle, horses, hides and horsetail, and Chinese merchants satin, silk, cloth and iron cooking pots. Each market ran for a month, with three hundred Mongols camped outside the wall and five hundred Chinese troops guarding the marketplace. Iron pots were a key trade good because the Mongols could not easily make them.

One: establish border markets, on the model of the northern tribes' three tributes at the start of Hongzhi. The fan (Mongols) bring gold, silver, cattle, horses, hides, horse tails and such; the merchants bring satin, silk, cloth and iron pots and cauldrons. On market days three hundred of those who come are to camp outside the wall, and five hundred of our soldiers are to be stationed at the marketplace; the market lasts a full month.

Working translation

Original wording

一立互市其規如𢎞治初北部三貢例蕃以金銀牛馬皮張馬尾等物啇販以縀紬布匹釡鍋等物開市日来者以三百人駐邉外我兵五百駐市場期盡一月

Zhang Tingyu and the Qing history office, History of the Ming (Siku quanshu Wenyuange copy, Kanseki Repository transcription)
See the original page (p. 536-32b)

About Tumed and other Eastern Mongols ('Tatars')

Keep in mind

A summary of the governor Wang Chonggu's proposals as quoted in the history.

The nameMongolia1368 onward (recorded 1739)

'The Dada are the Mongols'

Editorial contextThe chapter on the Tatars opens with a flat definition: the Dada are the Mongols, the descendants of the former Yuan dynasty. It then tells how the last Yuan emperor fled Beijing beyond the passes in 1368. For Ming and Qing officials, 'Tatar' was simply the name for the Mongols of the steppe.

The Dada (Tatars) are the Mongols, the descendants of the former Yuan. In the first year of Hongwu (1368), under Taizu, the grand general Xu Da led an army to take the Yuan; the Yuan ruler fled from Beiping (Beijing) out beyond the frontier and stayed at Kaiping (Shangdu).

Working translation

Original wording

韃靼即䝉古故元後也太祖洪武元年大將軍徐逹率師取元元主自北平遁出塞居開平

Zhang Tingyu and the Qing history office, History of the Ming (Siku quanshu Wenyuange copy, Kanseki Repository transcription)
See the original page (p. 536-1a)

About Eastern Mongols (Dada, 'Tatars')

The fine print

How we know

compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.

official retrospective history compiled 1645-1739 from the Ming shilu and Ming private histories

Research notes
  • Siku quanshu (1770s-80s) manuscript copy: the Qianlong editors systematically re-transcribed Mongol, Jurchen and Khitan names following the Qinding Liao Jin Yuan san shi guoyu jie, so name forms differ from Ming and early Qing prints (seen on the Ming shi Wala chapter page: 衛拉特 for 瓦剌, 太平巴圖博囉 for 太平 and 把禿孛羅). Cite the pre-Siku editions for original orthography. The Ming shi Xiyu chapters draw on Chen Cheng's Xiyu fanguo zhi and on Ming shilu entries.

Why it matters

Ming official account of the Mongols and Oirats after 1368 and of the Central Asian embassies; the Xiyu chapters are the Chinese record of the Timurid world and Hami/Turfan, the lands European maps called Tartary.

Places named

Mongolia; Dzungaria; Tarim Basin; Transoxiana; Khorasan; Tibet; Manchuria (Uriyangkhad)

Peoples named

Mongols and the Mongol empire
Western Mongols (Oirat, Dzungar, Kalmyk)
Turkic and Central Asian peoples and states
Tibetans and Tibetan polities

Eastern Mongols (Dada); Oirats (Wala); Uriyangkhad; Hami; Turfan; Timurids (Samarkand, Herat); Tibetan polities

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