Oirat: Cultural Changes in Western Mongolia

Author: Culture
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: The Oirat Mongols, also known as the Eleuth or Uriyangqin Mongols during the Qing Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, the Oirat consisted of four divisions: the Junggar, the Khoshut; the Durbet and the Torghut; the Torghut later migrated westward. The Khoit division, originally subordinate to the Durbet, joined the four divisions, forming the Oirat Four Divisions. Among these divisions, the Junggar and Durbet nobles bore the surname Chorlos, the Khoshut nobles bore the surname Borjigit, the Khoit nobles bore the surname Ikeminan, and the Torghut nobles' surnames were not recorded in historical texts. The Oirat Mongol divisions grazed in the eastern and southern regions of Lake Balkhash and around the lake. They began trade exchanges with the Qing Dynasty in the early years of the Chongde era. The Qing court placed great importance on the nomadic tribes in the remote northwest frontier. During the Kangxi era, Galdan invaded the Khalkha, advanced into Inner Mongolia, and posed a significant threat to the capital. Starting from the Kangxi era, the Qing court adopted military conquest and political persuasion to subdue the Oirat Mongols, eventually achieving complete conquest after the reigns of the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors.