Mongolia History

In the Dick Eastman Newsletter we find:

Mongolians have had a long and rich history with several unusual genealogy twists. More than sixty years ago, the population was ordered to stop using family surnames. The Communist rulers proclaimed that each person was to use only their given names. A few years ago, the new generation of leaders reversed the older rule and ordered everyone to again start using surnames. A lot of confusion resulted, as many families had been dispersed in sixty years of war and turmoil. Many people did not know what surname to use.

Now, in a unique turnabout, newly-discovered Mongolian genealogy records are providing insights into the history of Mongolia and China. In fact, the records are correcting errors found in many history books. The studies of the newly-discovered Mongol genealogy may help unveil some mysteries in Chinese history, such as the whereabouts of the remains of Genghis Khan (1167-1227), the great Mongol emperor whose grandson founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and the fate of his descendants.

The 25-foot-long genealogy, the largest Mongolian genealogy ever found, lists 14 generations of over 1,900 Mongols of the family, most of whom served as high-ranking officials between 1635 and the early 1900s. On top of the family tree was Tulin Gujen, a man who lived in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and whose forefather, Djelme, contributed tremendously to Genghis Khan's unification of Mongolian tribes.

"Genghis Khan therefore decreed that his family ally with the Djelme's, and his own daughter was married to Djelme's son," said Hu Guozhi, a Mongolian scholar in the Harqin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County, west of Liaoning Province, northeast China, where the genealogy was found. Since then, the two families have been closely linked by marriage between their offspring. Tulin Gujen, like his forefathers, married an offspring of Genghis Khan. In history books, Tulin Gujen was referred to as the last "fuma," or son-in-law of Genghis Khan.