The Rise of the Mongols: Five Chinese Sources

by Christopher P. Atwood (Translator)

Rise of the Mongols offers readers a selection of five important works that detail the rise of the Mongol Empire through Chinese eyes. Three of these works were written by officials of South China's Southern Song dynasty and two are from officials from North China writing in the service of the Mongol rulers. Together, these accounts offer a view of the early Mongol Empire very different not just from those of Muslim and Christian travelers and chroniclers, but also from the Mongol tradition embodied in The Secret History of Mongols.
 
The five Chinese source texts (in English translation, each with their own preface):
Selections from Random Notes from Court and Country since the Jianyan Years, vol.2, by Li Xinchuan
"A Memorandum on the Mong-Tatars," by Zhao Gong
"A Sketch of the Black Tatars," by Peng Daya and Xu Ting
"Spirit-Path Stele for His Honor Yelü, Director of the Secretariat," by Song Zizhen
"Notes on a Journey," by Zhang Dehui

Also included are an introduction, index, bibliography, and appendices covering notes on the texts, tables and charts, and a glossary of Chinese and transcribed terms.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, History

248 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2021

Reviews

[Patrick]

Very good! Assumes some prior study of the Mongolian empire and adds some fascinating translations and up to date descriptions of historical and archaeological discoveries related to the topic.

[Lena]

This book represents early history of Mongol empire from a Chinese point of view. It shows many events in a different light. I would recommend this book if you already have some familiarity with history of Mongol empire and are not afraid of quite dry, but informative narrative.

[Edith]

We read the accounts of a Chinese (Song) diplomat visiting the Mongol court. It was interesting to compare the observations made by the eastern versus western envoys to the Mongols, what they found familiar, what was strange, and their overall attitudes and assessments of the Mongols.

[Madison McSweeney]

Very interesting collection of primary sources. Each volume has a distinct style and narrative voice; it’s fascinating to see how different cultures interpret and interact with each other.