Journal paper

Issue No.	No. 57
Title	The Little Prince, the Tumote Tribe, and the Development of Guihua City
Author	Lee, Hua-yen
Page	35-82
Abstract	The formation of Guihua city (now known as Hohhot) first began to take place during the Jiajing era (1522-1567) of the Ming dynasty. During the Longqing (1567-1573) and Wanli (1573-1620) eras, the city grew in size and was fortified with city walls. Until the end of the Qing dynasty, it was an important juncture linking the Mongolian grasslands to the north and China to the south. The city has historically also been an important center for both commerce and Tibetan Buddhism. 　　Though there have been many studies discussing the evolution of Guihua, few of them have considered the role played by the Mongolian tribe known as the Tumote in the city’s history. In this paper I seek to remedy this gap in our knowledge by examining The Biography of Altan Khan (阿勒坦汗傳), a work originally written in Mongolian in the seventeenth century and subsequently translated into Chinese, and “The Biography of Anda Khan,” a chapter from the Ming-dynasty work The Military Achievements of the Wanli Emperor (萬曆武功錄．俺答列傳). 　　What I have found is that Altan Khan (阿勒坦汗), descended from the Golden Family of Genghis Khan, was a key player in the formation of Guihua. His grandfather was Dayan Khan (達延汗), who reunited many Mongolian tribes some one hundred years after the fall of the Northern Yuan dynasty (1368-1635). His father, Khan of Baersu Boluote, inherited Dayan Khan’s seat and wanted Altan to be different from all other nobles. Altan Khan was successful in war and strengthened the power of the Mongol tribes; but after reaching middle age he settled down to an agricultural life. He tried many times to establish commercial ties with the Ming court, and was finally successful after signing the Longqing Agreement, which allowed the Tumote to become even wealthier than the Mongolian Khan in the Chahar Plateau. This article also clarifies the relationship between the Esen (也先) family of the Wala tribe and the Dayan Khan, so as to better understand the link between Altan Khan (also known as “the Little Prince”) and the growth and development of Guihua as a commercial center.
Keyword	Hohhot, Altan, the little Prince, Mongolian history, commerce
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