The Jewel Translucent Sutra: the life of Altan Khan
A Mongolian court biography of Altan Khan (1508 to 1582), composed about 1607, in Elverskog's 2003 edition.
Full title The Jewel Translucent Sutra: Altan Khan and the Mongols in the Sixteenth Century (Brill 2003; Mongolian text, English translation and study)
Erdeni tunumal neretü sudur
Anonymous biographer of Altan Khan; Johan Elverskog
The Erdeni Tunumal Neretu Sudur is a near contemporary Mongolian biography of Altan Khan of the Tumed (1508 to 1582), composed about 1607. It follows his wars with the Ming and the Oirats and the Mongol and Tibetan alliance of 1578 that led to the title Dalai Lama. The card calls it the only substantial Mongolian narrative of the sixteenth century between the Secret History and the seventeenth century chronicles. It lists Johan Elverskog's 2003 Brill edition, with Mongolian text, English translation and study. The atlas does not hold the text of this edition: the card says the upload is of a copyrighted book, and the corpus stores no text of it, so nothing was read for this guide.
- How they knew
- Compiled from others
- Who “Tartar” means here
- Not recorded. The card names the Tumed and Ordos Mongols under Altan Khan, the Oirats, the Ming and the Tibetan Gelugpa leaders.
- Why read it
- It is a Mongolian account of the sixteenth century from within the court, documenting Altan Khan's wars and his alliance with Tibetan Buddhism.
- Watch out
- It survives in a single manuscript found in 1958, and Elverskog's edition supersedes the 1984 Beijing edition.
What it says
No quotes from this one yet. Its text is out of reach for now, or the scan could not be read.
The fine print
How we know
official or contemporary record An official document or a record made at the time.
near-contemporary court biography (c.1607) of Altan Khan of the Tümed (1508-1582), with the Mongol-Tibetan alliance of 1578
Research notes
- Single manuscript discovered in 1958; Elverskog's edition supersedes Jürungga 1984. Upload is of a copyrighted book.
Why it matters
Only substantial Mongolian narrative source for the 16th century between the Secret History and the 17th-century chronicles; documents Altan Khan's wars with the Ming and Oirats and the adoption of the Dalai Lama title.
Places named
Inner Mongolia (Tümed, Ordos); Kokonor; Tibet; Ming frontier
Peoples named
Tümed and Ordos Mongols (Altan Khan); Oirats; Ming; Tibetan Gelugpa (Third Dalai Lama)