Saghang Sechen
BornSaghang Sechen Qong Tayiji
1604
Ordos (Present day Inner Mongolia, China)[1]
Diedafter 1641
OccupationWriter
Notable worksErdeni-yin tobchi

Saghang Sechen (Saghang Sechen Qong Tayiji; Sagan Setsen)[2] (1604[3][4] – after 1641) was an ethnic Mongol writer, historian and prince from the Borjigin clan.

Early life

Saghang Sechen was an ethnic Mongol born into the Ordos tribe, the son of the Ordos Bat Khüngtaij.[2] He was a nephew of Altan Khan.[4] When he was just 17, Saghang Sechen became a military and administrative aide to Ligden Khan. The latter entitled him Setsen Khüngtaij.[4]

Work

Front-page of a 1829 German edition of the History of the Eastern Mongol by Sechen

He is best known as the author of the Erdeni-yin tobchi ("Jeweled Summary"), which was published in 1662.[5] The work is a history of the Mongol great Khans,[4] and came as part of a struggle for unity among the Mongols, and renewal of their literature.[5] The work has some anecdotes also found in the early-13th-century The Secret History of the Mongols and in Guush Luvsandanzan's Altan Tobchi or Khadyn ündsen khuraangui Altan tovch nert sudar orshivoi ('Short History of the Origins of the Khans Called the Golden Button'), also written in the early 17th century. In his work there are also citations from the Shar Tuuj (Sir-a tuguji, 'Yellow Story'), written as on ode to Dayan Khan in the 17th century by an anonymous author. It tells the story of the capture of Gürbeljin-gua ('Beautiful lizard'), queen of Tangut, whose husband (Tangut Khan) had been murdered by Genghis Khan after he destroyed their kingdom, the Tangut state. The story tells that before giving herself to Genghis Khan, she placed a pair of tweezers inside herself, which caused a fatal injury to Genghis Khan. She then drowned herself into the Yellow River. The work of Saghang Sechen has a strong folkloric note.[4]

He further wrote biographies of Godan Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, and of Buddha.[4]

Beside the literary value of his works, as an historian, he is said to have greatly contributed to the study of Mongol history.[6]

Death

According to one source, he refused to become a subject of the Manchu of the Qing dynasty, and was sentenced to death by dismemberment.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Sagan setsen". mongoltoli.mn. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Okada, Hidehiro; 岡田英弘 (1994). "Dayan Khan as a Yüan Emperor: The Political Legitimacy in 15th Century Mongolia". Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient. École française d'Extrême-Orient (JSTOR). Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient Vol. 81 (1994): 51–58. doi:10.3406/befeo.1994.2245. JSTOR 43731760.
  3. ^ Branko Soucek; Svat Soucek (2000). A history of inner Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-521-65704-4.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Sanders, Alan J. K. (2017). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia Volume 1. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 735. ISBN 978-1-5381-0227-5.
  5. ^ a b "Mongolian literature". Britannica. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  6. ^ Unesco. Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific (1984). Social Sciences in Asia and the Pacific. UNESCO. p. 325. ISBN 978-92-3-102148-0.
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