Antoine Gaubil, a French Jesuit who lived in Peking from 1723 to 1759, translated and condensed the Chinese annals of the Mongol (Yuan) dynasty into a French history of 'Gentchiscan' and his successors, with his own footnotes on geography and names. He never saw Mongolia; his knowledge comes from Chinese books and informants in Peking. The book follows Chinggis Khan's wars, the fall of the Jin and Song, the building of Mongol capitals and the reign of Khubilai. This corpus copy is the 1739 Paris edition (Briasson and Piget), Wellcome Library scan.
How they knew
Compiled from others
Who “Tartar” means here
Gaubil uses 'Tartarie' for the whole steppe north of China and 'Tartares' for its peoples in general, but he separates the 'Horde des Tatars' (one tribe) from the 'Mongous', and calls the Jin (Jurchen) emperors 'Eastern Tartars'.
Why read it
The Chinese side of the Mongol story: who walled Karakorum, who designed Khubilai's summer capital, and how Chinese historians judged Mongol rule.
Watch out
It is a condensed translation of official Chinese histories, which have their own dynastic bias; Chinese transcriptions of names are hard to match with Persian and European forms, and the OCR mangles some names.
Ögedei puts walls round the camp at Karakorum, 1235
Editorial contextThe Chinese annals record that in spring 1235 Ögedei ordered walls built around the encampment of Holin (Karakorum) and a palace called Wan'an five li round. Gaubil elsewhere in the book says Holin is the Caracoram of other writers. It is a precise date for when the Mongol camp-capital became a walled town.
In the spring of the year 1235 the Emperor Ögedei ordered the camp of Holin to be enclosed with walls, and the palace called Ouangan to be made five li in circumference.
Working translation
Original wording
Au Printemps de l'an 1235 L'Empereur Ogotay ordonna de revêtir de murailles le campement de Holin, & de faire de cinq lis de tour le palais appellé Ouangan.
A Chinese monk lays out the Mongols' new capital (Shangdu)
Editorial contextFinding Holin (Karakorum) inconvenient, Möngke had a new capital chosen in Tartary. The task went to a learned Chinese Buddhist monk, Lieoupingtchong (Liu Bingzhong), who picked a site east of Huanzhou; a city, imperial palace, temples, lords' palaces and courts were built inside high thick walls, and it soon filled with Chinese and Tartars. Gaubil notes it was later called Changtou (Shangdu, the Xanadu of legend).
He ordered a place in Tartary to be chosen that would henceforth be the capital of his states. This task was given to a Chinese monk named Lieoupingtchong. … A great city was built there, a palace for the Emperor, temples, palaces for the lords, and courts of justice. It was enclosed with high, thick walls.
Working translation
Original wording
Il ordonna de choisir un lieu en Tartarie qui seroit désormais la capitale de ses Etats. Ce soin fut donné à un Bonze Chinois appellé Lieoupingtchong. … On y bâtit une grande ville, un palais pour l'Empereur, des temples, des palais pour les Seigneurs, & des tribunaux. On l'investit de hautes & épaisses murailles.
The Tatar horde revolts, and the Jin are 'Eastern Tartars'
Editorial contextIn the story of young Temüjin, Gaubil writes that 'the horde of the Tatars' rebelled against the Jin emperor, keeping the Tatars as one tribe distinct from the Mongols. His footnote explains that the Jin were 'Eastern Tartars' who ruled the steppe north and north-east of Liaodong and much of northern China, and to whom the petty princes of both Tartaries paid tribute.
The horde of the Tatars revolted against the Emperor of the Kin. … The Emperor of the Kin spoken of here is the Emperor of the Eastern Tartars, who were then masters of the part of Tartary lying north and north-east of Liaodong
Working translation
Original wording
La Horde des Tatars se révolta contre l'Empereur des Kin. … L'Empereur des Kin dont il est ici parlé, est l'Empereur des Tartares orientaux qui étoient alors maîtres de la Tartarie qui est au Nord, & Nord-Est du Leaotong
A Tibetan lama loots the Song tombs and builds a pyramid of bones
Editorial contextUnder Khubilai a Tibetan lama in favour with the Mongols dug up the tombs of the Song emperors near Shaoxing, reportedly finding much gold and jewels, and piled the bones with those of oxen and horses into a pyramid. The outraged local officials jailed him, but Mongol lords and court lamas got Khubilai to free him and return most of his treasure, which, Gaubil says, the Chinese never forgave.
His passion for gold and silver drove him to dig up the dead bodies of the Emperors and great men whose tombs were near Shaoxing. He found there, it is said, much gold, silver and jewels. From these bones, mixed with the bones of oxen and horses, he made a pyramid.
Working translation
Original wording
Sa passion pour l'or & l'argent le porta jusqu'à déterrer les corps morts des Empereurs, & des Grands dont le tombeau étoit près de Chaohing. Il y trouva, dit-on, beaucoup d'or, d'argent, & de bijoux. De ces ossemens mêlés avec des os de bœuf, & de chevaux il fit une pyramide.
About Mongols (Yuan court of Khubilai); a Tibetan lama; Chinese
Keep in mind
The Chinese histories were hostile to the lamas and to this episode; 'dit-on' marks the treasure as report.
The fine print
How we know
compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.
compilation of earlier sources: Gaubil, resident in Peking, worked from the Yuan shi and Chinese annals; no personal observation of Mongolia
Research notes
Gallica SRU returned zero hits for this title under Gaubil (catalogue spelling varies: Gentchiscan / Gentchis-Can). Complements Petis de la Croix (W077, Persian-based) and d'Ohsson.
Gaubil's manuscripts and letters (Correspondance de Pekin, ed. Simon 1970) are a further lead.
Why it matters
First European history of the Mongols built on Chinese rather than Persian sources; Gaubil consistently calls the steppe "la Tartarie" while distinguishing Mongous from other Tartars, so the book documents how a Sinologist in Peking mapped Chinese ethnonyms onto the European term.