Outer Mongolia [lower-alpha 1] was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia [lower-alpha 2] and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained de facto independence from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution.
While the administrative region of Outer Mongolia during the Qing dynasty only consisted of the four Khalkha aimags (Setsen Khan Aimag, Tüsheet Khan Aimag, Sain Noyon Khan Aimag, and Zasagt Khan Aimag), in the late Qing period, "Outer Mongolia" was also used to refer to the combined Khalkha and Oirat regions, as well as the directly-ruled Tannu Uriankhai.
Much of the region was subsequently claimed by the Republic of China, which had acquired the legal right to inherit all Qing territories through the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor, as an integral part of the state. This is referred to as "Mongolia Area" to distinguish it from Outer Mongolia. [3] [4] [5] Most of Outer Mongolia, however, was under the de facto control of the Bogd Khanate, which was largely unrecognized internationally. The Republic of China briefly established de facto rule over most of the region from 1919 to 1921. After the Mongolian People's Republic was founded in 1924, the Nationalist government of China de jure recognized Mongolian independence in 1946 under Soviet pressure. [6]
The name "Outer Mongolia" is contrasted with Inner Mongolia, [1] which corresponds to the region of Inner Mongolia in China. Inner Mongolia was given its name because it was more directly administered by the Qing court; Outer Mongolia (which is further from the capital Beijing) had a greater degree of autonomy within the Qing empire. [7]
There are three alternate terms, including Ar Mongol, Mobei Mongol, and Outer Mongolia.
The term Ar mongol or Mobei Mongol (Chinese :漠北蒙古; pinyin :Mòběi Měnggǔ; lit.'North-of-the- Desert Mongolia') is sometimes used in Chinese and Mongolian languages to refer to North Mongolia [8] when making a distinction with South Mongolia, so as to elide the history of Qing rule and rather imply a geographic unity or distinction of regions inhabited by Mongols in the Mongolian Plateau. [9] There also exists an English term: Northern Mongolia. [9]
Ar Mongol can also be used to refer to Mongolia synchronically, during that time period. [10] In the Mongolian language, the word ar refers to the back side of something, which has been extended to mean the northern side of any spatial entity, e.g. a mountain or a yurt. The word öbür refers to the south (and thus protected) side of a mountain. [11] So the difference between South Mongolia and the Mongolian state is conceived as the metaphor of the backward northern side and the south side of a mountain.
In contrast to Mobei Mongol (Chinese :漠北蒙古), there is also Monan Mongol (Chinese :漠南蒙古; pinyin :Mònán Měnggǔ; lit.'South of the Desert Mongolia'), roughly referring to the region now known as South Mongolia.
Today, "Outer Mongolia" is sometimes still informally used to refer to the independent state of Mongolia. To avoid confusion between Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia, Chinese sources generally refer to the former as the "State of Mongolia" (Chinese :蒙古国; pinyin :Měnggǔ Guó); that is, the translation of the official name in Mongolian, Монгол Улс/Mongol Uls, instead of just "Mongolia" (Chinese :蒙古; pinyin :Měnggǔ), which could refer to the entire Mongolian region.
"Outer Mongolia" is also used sometimes used colloquially in the English language as a hyperbole to refer to a place that is very far away.
The Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China, and the Republic of Buryatia of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of Mongolic peoples. The Oirats in Western Mongolia as well as the Buryats and Kalmyks of Russia are classified either as distinct ethno-linguistic groups or subgroups of Mongols.
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a small section of China's border with Russia. Its capital is Hohhot; other major cities include Baotou, Chifeng, Tongliao, and Ordos.
The Khalkha or Kalka have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirats, who were ruled by Dzungar nobles or the Khorchins, who were ruled by Qasar's descendants.
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of China, with traditions related to Tuvan music and Mongolian music. Popular musicians including the yangqin player Urna Chahar-Tugchi, formerly of Robert Zollitsch’s Gaoshan Liushui, a world music ensemble. The singer-songwriter Tengger has been well known throughout China since his 1986 hit "I am a Mongolian" ; he has since formed a band called Blue Wolf.
Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative center is located at Hailar District, its largest urban area. Major scenic features are the high steppes of the Hulun Buir grasslands, the Hulun and Buir lakes, and the Khingan range. Hulun Buir borders Russia to the north and west, Mongolia to the south and west, Heilongjiang province to the east and Hinggan League to the direct south. Hulunbuir is a linguistically diverse area: next to Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian dialects such as Khorchin and Buryat, the Mongolic language Daur, and some Tungusic languages, including Oroqen and Solon, are spoken there.
Banner is a type of administrative division, and may more specifically refer to:
Pan-Mongolism is an irredentist idea that advocates cultural and political solidarity of Mongols. The proposed territory, called "Greater Mongolia" or "Whole Mongolia" usually includes the independent state of Mongolia, the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, and the Russian region of Buryatia. Sometimes the autonomous republic Tuva, the Altai Republic and parts of Xinjiang, Zabaykalsky Krai, and Irkutsk Oblast are included as well. As of 2006, all areas in Greater Mongolia except Mongolia have non-Mongol majorities.
Mongolia under Qing rule was the rule of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China over the Mongolian Plateau, including the four Outer Mongolian aimags and the six Inner Mongolian aimags from the 17th century to the end of the dynasty. The term "Mongolia" is used here in the broader historical sense, and includes an area much larger than the modern-day state of Mongolia. Ligdan saw much of his power weakened due to the disunity of the Mongol tribes. He was subsequently defeated by the Later Jin dynasty and died soon afterwards. His son Ejei handed the Yuan imperial seal over to Hong Taiji in 1635, thus ending the rule of the Northern Yuan dynasty in Inner Mongolia. However, the Khalkha Mongols in Outer Mongolia continued to rule until they were overrun by the Dzungar Khanate in 1690, and they submitted to the Qing dynasty in 1691.
The Kharchin, or Kharachin, is a subgroup of the Mongols residing mainly in North-western Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. There are Khalkha-Kharchin Mongols in Dorno-Gobi Province and in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The Qing dynasty of China ruled over the Mongolian Plateau, including Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. Both regions, however, were separately administered within the empire.
China–Mongolia relations refer to the bilateral relations between Mongolia and China. These relations have long been determined by the relations between China and the Soviet Union, Mongolia's other neighbour and main ally until early 1990. With the rapprochement between the USSR and China in the late 1980s, Chinese-Mongolian relations also began to improve. Since the 1990s, China has become Mongolia's biggest trading partner, and a number of Chinese businesses operate in Mongolia.
Ordos Mongolian is a variety of Central Mongolic spoken in the Ordos City region in Inner Mongolia and historically by Ordos Mongols. It is alternatively classified as a language within the Mongolic language family or as a dialect of the standard Mongolian language. Due to the research of Antoine Mostaert, the development of this dialect can be traced back 100 years.
The Northern Yuan was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty in 1635. The Northern Yuan dynasty began with the retreat of the Yuan imperial court led by Toghon Temür to the Mongolian steppe. This period featured factional struggles and the often only nominal role of the Great Khan.
The Mongolian Revolution of 1911 occurred when the region of Outer Mongolia declared its independence from the Manchu-led Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. A combination of factors, including economic hardship and failure to resist Western imperialism, led many in China to be unhappy with the Qing government. When a new program to settle Mongolia with ethnic Han and assimilate the natives was unveiled, it was met with resistance that resulted in a relatively bloodless separation from the Qing Empire. Many Barga and Inner Mongolian chieftains assisted in the revolution and became the revolution leaders.
The Bogd Khanate of Mongolia was the de facto government of Outer Mongolia between 1911 and 1919 and again from 1921 to 1924. By the spring of 1911, some prominent Mongol nobles including Prince Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren persuaded the Jebstundamba Khutukhtu to convene a meeting of nobles and ecclesiastical officials to discuss independence from Qing China. On 30 November 1911 the Mongols established the Temporary Government of Khalkha. On 29 December 1911 the Mongols declared their independence from the collapsing Qing dynasty following the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution. They installed as theocratic sovereign the 8th Bogd Gegeen, highest authority of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia, who took the title Bogd Khan or "Holy Ruler". The Bogd Khaan was last khagan of the Mongols. This ushered in the period of "Theocratic Mongolia", and the realm of the Bogd Khan is usually known as the "Bogd Khanate".
In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, the Mongolian language is the official provincial language. Mongols are the second largest ethnic group, comprising about 17 percent of the population. There are at least 4.1 million ethnic Mongols in Inner Mongolia, including subgroups like the Chahars, Ordos, Baarin, Khorchin, Kharchin, and Buryats. While there is a standardized dialect of the Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia, different Mongolian dialects continue to be spoken by different subgroups of the Mongols. Some proposed the Peripheral Mongolian dialect group to cover the Mongolian dialects in Inner Mongolia.
The Altai Uriankhai refers to a Mongol tribe around the Altai Mountains that was organized by the Qing dynasty. They now form a subgroup in western Mongolia and eastern Xinjiang.
The territory currently known as Tuva has been occupied by various groups throughout its history. Sources are rare and unclear for most of Tuva's early history. Archeological evidence indicates a Scythian presence possibly as early as the 9th century BC. Tuva was conquered relatively easily by the succession of empires which swept across the region. It was most likely held by various Turkic khanates until 1207. It was then ruled by various Mongol-led regimes until the 18th century, when it submitted to the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. Slow Russian colonization during the 19th century led to progressive annexation of the region to Russia in the 20th century. The region was then controlled by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union before finally joining the Russian Federation in 1992. Throughout this whole time, the borders of Tuva have seen very little modification.
Jodbajab, also known under the courtesy name of Shih Hai was an Inner Mongolian military officer and government official during the late Qing dynasty and Mengjiang governments. He was an ethnic Mongol belonging to the Plain and Bordered White Banner of Xilin Gol League.
The Inner Mongolia Radio Broadcasting Network was a radio broadcasting network headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1950 as Inner Mongolia People's Broadcasting Station. In June 2016 it merged with NMTV.