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| Mongolia Frequently Asked Questions Version 7 (July 7th, 2000) |
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Prepare yourself for brown-outs (unstable electricity supply) and
black-outs (complete electricity failure) at unregular intervals for
everything between fractions of a second and several hours.
3. Mongolia - Land, People, Language
3.1. Where do Mongolians live?
Mongolians live in:
· Mongolia proper, the huge, land-locked country between China and
the Siberian part of the Russian Federation (see also the CIA --
The World Fact Book -- Mongolia, URL
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mg.html)
· Southern Mongolia, or Inner Mongol Autonomous Region which
politically belongs to China;
· There are about 600,000-700,000 Mongols living in western Liaoning
province. Most of them are Kharchin Mongols and the land they are
living formerly called Zosot Aimag. Now there are still two Mongol
Autonomous Counties in Liaoning;
· There are about 150,000 Mongols living in western Jilin province.
Most of them are Khorchin Mongols. They form one Mongol autonomous
county there;
· There are about 160,000 Mongols living in southwest Heilongjiang
province. Most of them are Khorchin Mongols. There is one Mongol
autonomous county in Heilongjiang. However, there are also four or
five thousands of Kalmyks (Oirat) living in Yimin County (formerly
the Ikh Mingan Banner). They were moved to the present area in
early 18th century by the Qing government;
· Buryatia, direct north of Mongolia proper, south and south-east of
Lake Baikal. Buryatia is an Autonomous Republic, the capital is
Ulaan-Üüd (Ulan-Ude) (see also Buryatia Fact File in Infosystem
Mongolei);
· An important number of Mongols who are known as Kalmyks live in
Russia in Kalmykia, the capital being Elista. Kalmyks are also
known as Oirats;
· In Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, there are also Kalmyks
holding strong ties with their brethren in Kalmykia. Yet even among
the Oirats, groups are differentiated which has a strong political
repercussion even today. There are also some Chahar Mongols in
Xinjiang, and they may not consider themselves belonging to the
mainstream Oirat, but be more interested in Inner Mongolia;
· In Qinghai (modern Chinese name of what used to be known as Huhnuur
or Koko-Nuur in old maps - which means Blue Lake in Mongolian and
Chinese, being the Amdo region of Tibet) there are several
communities of Mongolians and their descendants. They can be
divided into two groups: 1. Mongols to the west of Xöxnuur (Prince
Lubsandanjin's group), i.e. Haixi Tibetan and Mongolian autonomous
prefecture. They speak good Mongolian (Hoshot dialect). 2. The
Mongols in Henan prefecture, i.e. those who earlier belonged to
Prince Chagaandanjin, now speak Tibetan, but are still regarded and
officially recognized as Mongolians;
· In north Gansu there is a Mongol community which is largely of a
mixed Khalkha-Hoshot origin. Some of the were descendants of
Khalkha refugees fled Mongolia in the late twenties and early
thirties of the 20th century;
These groups deserve mentioning because they do not think they are
living in `Chinese' provinces, but living in their original
homeland. Jungaria is particularly important, it is also the
homeland of the Kalmyks and Mongols in Germany and USA;
· There are about 60,000 Mongols in Henan province, mainly
concentrated around Nanyang Prefecture. They are descendants of the
Mongol army during the Yuan dynasty. They do not speak Mongolian
any more, but politically they are considered Mongols;
· A significant number of Mongolians live dispersed in other Chinese
provinces. Some of them form their own nationalities, e.g. the
Dagurs, the Dongxiang (Sarts), the Bao'an etc. with languages being
quite distant from modern Mongolian (cf. below);
· Small communities of an ancient Mongol tribe named Moghols live in
Afghanistan. Their language spoken today has only little in common
with Xalx or Qaxar Mongolian;
· There is also a worldwide somewhat scattered community of Mongol
scholars, students and professionals living in many countries from
America to New Zealand. About 500 or more Mongols live in Germany.
Many of them came to Germany during the existence of the German
Democratic Republic which is now united with the Federal Republic
of Germany;
· A significant number of Kalmyks became expatriated during World War
II. Having the status of Displaced Persons (DP) they were relocated
to Munich, Germany immediately after the war from where many of
them went on to the United States of America where they settled in
New Jersey and formed the nucleus of the present Kalmyk community
in the US;
3.2. What Happened When? A Chronological View at Mongolian History
An overview of Mongolian history is given here in tabular manner.
There are still many gaps in this list which are to be filled later.
This is a starter, and should actually be accompanied by the notorious
Site under Construction warning. Since this is an overview only,
neither all geographical nor all personal names can be explained and
commented in detail here. The reader interested in in-depth
information is kindly requested to consult history books on Mongolian
history; an introductory bibliography (see also the last item of this
FAQ) can be found at SROM - Suggested Readings on Mongolia.
Speaking in geopolitical terms, the epicentres of Mongolian history
are the conquest of Central Asia in the 13th century, the Golden Horde
(m. altan orda) in today's Russia lasting to the beginning of the 16th
century, the comparatively shortlived Il Khanate (from 1220 to ca.
1350) and the Yuan Khanate (dynasty, ulus) in China (from 1279 to
1368), and, by the point of view of the Golden Horde, East Mongolia
which is more or less identical with modern Mongolia and Inner
Mongolia. This very brief sketch does not contain the history of
Mongolians in India, nor many other contacts between Mongolia and the
West. Huge volumes have been written about every single of these
subjects, and the researcher who wants to fully understand by own
reading of historical sources the panorama of Mongolian history has to
master, besides Mongolian, a range of about a dozen totally different
languages, from Latin to Chinese as geographical poles, with Arabian,
Persian, Turkish, Armenian etc. etc. in between. Few scholars have
ever achieved this first source knowledge, which is one of the reasons
why we have no all-encompassing history of the Mongols out of the
hands of one author alone.
At this point the onset of this historical overview coincides with
Khabul Khan's activities. Neither the early Hunnu (Xiongnu) nor the
East Turkic empires are included here.
1130-50
Khabul Khan unites the Mongxol and forms a tribal group.
around 1167
Birth of Temujin, grandson Khabul Khan's, who will later receive
the name Chinggis.
around 1195
Temujin reigns the Mongxol and is entitled Khan besides
receiving the name Chinggis. The etymology of this name could
not yet be clarified in a satisfactory manner.
1206
At the Onon river, clean leaders hold an assembly (m. xuriltai)
at which Chinggis Khan is confirmed as the leader of the Mongol
Federation.
1209
Mongols invade Xixia, also known as Tangut.
1215
Beijing falls to Mongols.
1218-1220
Mongol campaign towards the West; Karakitai falls in 1218;
Buchara and Samarkand fall in 1220. The latter date is
considered by some as the initial year of the Il Khanate.
1223
Mongols beat a united army of Qipchak Turks (Cumans) and
Russians at the Kalka river (enters the Sea of Azov near Zhdanov
via the Kal'mius river); modern name Kal'qik, it is a tributary
to the Kal'mius river, but some sources give the name Kalec and
point to the modern city of Taganrog as its mouth); this date is
considered by some as the beginning of the Golden Horde.
1227
Death of Chinggis Khan. Fall of the Tangut.
1229
Election of Ögödäi as Great Khan.
1240
The Secret History of the Mongols probably written in this year,
if not 12 years later. Marking the onset of Mongolian
literature, the Secret History of the Mongols of which no truly
original text is preserved (only a transcription of the
Mongolian language with Chinese characters survived) is at the
same time Mongolia's first history, her first genealogy and her
first epos. Besides that, it is as well a piece of poetry as a
piece of lore; until today it is a keystone of Mongolian
literature.
1241
Battle of Liegnitz marking the westernmost expansion of the
Mongol empire. Death of Ögödäi.
1245-1247
John of Plano Carpini travels to Mongolia.
1253
Begin of the campaigns against Korea.
1253-1255
William Rubruk travels to the Mongols and is sent to Karakorum.
Carpini's and Rubruk's travelogues belong to the earliest
western sources on medieval Mongolia.
1255
Death of Batu, first Khan of the Golden Horde.
1258
Bagdad conquered by Hülägü.
1259
Death of Möngkä.
1265
Death of Hülägü, the first Il Khan.
1267
Death of Bärkä, Khan of the Golden Horde.
1272
Khubilai adopts Chinese dynastic title Yuan.
1274
First attempt to conquer Japan.
1279
End of Song resistance against Mongols is considered the
founding date of the Yuan dynasty, or Yuan Ulus.
1281
Second attempt to conquer Japan. Fleet defeated prior to landing
in Japan by storms praised by Japanese as ``Winds of Godly
power'' - kamikaze.
1291-2
Mongols defeated in Java.
1287
Rabban Sauma (also known as Bar Sawma) sent to Europe by Il Khan
Arghun.
1313
Özbäg becomes the last powerful Mongol ruler of the Golden
Horde.
1335
Death of Abu Sa'id, the last Il Khan of Hülägü's line, probably
by poisoning. Beginning decline of the Il Khanate. No new ruler
powerful enough to govern the whole Khanate emerges. Within a
few years, the Il Khanate collapses.
1368
The Yuan rule in China collapses and yields to the Ming dynasty.
1485
Sheikh Ahmad becomes last Khan of the Golden Horde.
1502
Sheikh Ahmad's troups defeated by Mengli Girai.
1503
The peace between Lituania and Russia is considered as the end
of the Golden Horde.
1505
Alexander of Lituania has Sheikh Ahmad executed.
1586
Ärdänä Zuu founded.
1578
Altan Khan awards the title of Dalai Lama to the Tibetan priest
Bsod-nams Rgya-mcho. Eastern Mongolia embraces Tibetan
buddhism.
1604
Ligdan Khan becomes last of the Mongolian Great Khans.
1604-1634
Mongolian rulers fail to recognize Ligdan Khan's attempts to
unify the Mongolian tribes; at Ligdan's death in 1634 even the
remaining Caxar flee; the collapse of Mongolian power leads to
Manchu claims over southern and east Mongolian territory which
will now be called ``Inner Mongolia''.
1636
Ming toppled with Mongolian assistance; Qing dynasty founded.
1638
Lifan Yuan founded. The equivalent of the ``India Office'' in
some aspects, it was responsible for Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur
and Russian affairs.
around 1651
Ix Xürää probably founded as a nomadic monastery.
1686
Zanabazar invents Soyombo script.
1689
Manchu-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk. Russian border defined.
1691
Council of Dolon nor. Xalx Mongol rulers submit formally to the
Manchu Court.
1761
Final organization of the Lifan Yuan.
around 1779
Ix Xürää becoming settled.
1911
End of Qing Dynasty. 8th Yebcundamba Xutugtu enthroned as Head
of Autonomous Mongolia.
1915
Treaty of Kyakhta. Russia and China maintain various privileges
in Autonomous Mongolia (the third partner) without Autonomous
Mongolia being able to decide her own territorial issues.
1921
Baron of Ungern-Sternberg in Xalx.
1921-1924
Provisional Revolutionary People's Government in Xalx.
1923
Death of Süxbaatar, revolutionary hero of modern Mongolia.
1924
Death of the 8th (and last) Zebcundamba Xutugtu. Foundation of
the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR; in Mongolian: BNMAU, Bügd
Naïramdax Mongol Ard Uls); first national assembly, Ardyn Ix
Xural or Great People's Hural held. Örgöö (Urga) renamed
Ulaanbaatar.
1939
Battle of Xalxyn Gol between Japanese-Manchukuo and Soviet-
Mongolian forces.
1945
Inner Mongol Autonomous Region founded.
1961
Mongolian People's Republic joins UNO; membership strongly
supported by India.
1962
Mongolian People's Republic becomes COMECOM member.
March 1986
The 19th Party Congress of MAXN addresses issues of political
openness and economic efficiency. Similar to Gorbachev's
reforms in the Soviet Union, this was originally intended as an
attempt to revitalize socialism. It was, in retrospect, the
start of the end of socialism in Mongolia.
December 1989
The first opposition group, the Mongolian Democratic Union is
formed on 10 December (now a national holiday). This coincides
with MAXN's Seventh Central Committee Plenum, which considered
the need for greater reforms.
January 1990
Social-Democratic Movement (forerunner of the Mongolian Social-
Democratic Party) founded.
1990, March
Mongolian demonstrators demand reforms, glasnost' and multi-
party elections. New parties are founded by young Mongolian
intellectuals.
1991
COMECON dismantled; Mongolia deeply hit by economical crisis.
1992, Feb.
Mongolian People's Republic adopts new constitution and is
renamed Mongol Uls - Mongolia.
1992, June
Mongolia hold elections; the old Communist party MAXN wins with
a comfortable majority of seats in the new parliament. Jasraï
becomes Prime Minister.
1996, June
Mongolia holds elections; the old Communist party MAXN is
defeated, and the Democrats gain a landslide victory. They come
close by one seat to the two-thirds majority needed for
constitutional amendmends. New Prime Minister is Änxsaïxan.
1997, May 18
Bagabandi (MAXN) elected President of Mongolia, replacing P.
Oqirbat.
1998, spring
The Mongolian government, crippled by internal disputes, forces
the cabinet to resign. Mongolia is effectively without
government during several months.
1999, December 24
The recent experiences with nominations for Prime Ministers and
their consequent repeated denial by the President leads to an
amendment of the constitution; seven issues are discussed and
passed in less than 40 minutes. Major items concern the quorum,
or required presence of a simple majority of MPs, as well as the
simplification of the nomination procedure for cabinet members.
2000, July 2nd
Mongolia holds parliamentary elections; the MAXN, after their
first defeat in history, claims a stunning victory and gains 72
of 76 seats in Parliament. The Democratic Parties are ---
despite their positive record on inflation and economic
stability --- punished by the voters for their mismanagement,
their corruption scandals and their in-fighting between various
factions culminating in the founding of a handful of new parties
within months of the election.
3.3. Who is Who among the Khans?
The genealogy of the founders of the Mongolian empires is given here;
complete biographies exceed the scope of the FAQ and will be found in
the Who is Who part of Infosystem Mongolei.
______________________________________________________________________
[I] Chinggis Khan (*1167? -- +1227)
|
+--------+---------------+--------------+
| | [II] |
Four sons: Jochi Chaghatai Ögädäi Tolui
(*1180?) (*1186) (*1190?)
(+1227) (+1242) (+1241) (+1232/3)
| | | |
| | | |
Batu, Chaghatai | |
2nd son Khans [III] |
(*1207) Guyuk |
| |
| |
| |
Khans of the |
Golden Horde |
|
+---------------+---------+------------+
[IV] [V] | |
Möngkä Khubilai Hulegu Ariq-Bökä
(*1208) (*1215) (*1218) (*?)
(+1259) (+1294) (+1265) (+1266)
| |
Yuan Il Khans
Emperors
The Great Khans ruled in following chronological order:
Chinggis Khan: 1206-1227
Ögädäi: 1229-1241
Guyuk: 1246-1248
Möngkä: 1251-1259
Khubilai: 1260-1294
______________________________________________________________________
3.4. How does the Mongolian National Flag look like, and what does it
mean?
The Mongolian flag consists of three bands, red, blue, and red, of
equal width. In the left red band there is the national symbol, called
Soyombo. Its history dates back to the 17th century AD to the creation
of the Soyombo script by Zanabazar (see also the paragraph on
Mongolian writing below).
The three-tongued flame on top symbolizes the nation's past, present
and future prosperity (this and the following paragraph quoted from:
This is Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 1991), sun and crescent, immediately
below the flame, are old Mongolian totems. The two triangles in the
upper and lower part tell about the people's determination to uphold
their freedom and independence. The rectangles and walls stand for
strength, uprightness and honesty. The Yin-Yang symbol in the center
is interpreted in two ways: some see the unity of pairs of natural
elements, fire and water, earth and sky, man and woman; others see two
fishes standing for continuous movement since fishes neever sleep as
they cannot close their eyes.
In 1924 the first Great People's Hural (National Assembly) decided to
crown the symbol with a 5-pointed star which was abolished with the
new constitution of 1992.
3.5. How do Mongolians live? (Economy Basics)
3.5.1.
Pastoral Nomadism
The prevailing Mongolian style of life is pastoral nomadism. Mongolia
proper has an immense richness in livestock; the Five Species of
Animal, as they are traditionally counted in Mongolian (tawun xoshuu
mal) are sheep, goat, camel, horse and cattle. Sheep deliver wool,
goat and cattle deliver milk and meat, camel and cattle provide
transport, and horses are used for riding.
Between twice and four times a year a typical herders' family moves
between a winter camp and a summer camp.
Depending on the area (grasslands in the east, semi-desert and desert
in the south (gobi literally means desert)) the composition of the
livestock changes significantly.
Traditionally, pastoral nomadism secures a kind of self-sufficient
life; the wool is used to produce fabric and felt for the gär, the
traditional Mongolian round tent (aka yurt); hides are processed into
leather for all kinds of goods from boots to household ustensils; in
the summer, milk is processed into dairy products; only surplus meat
is traded against grain and rice. Only around one percent of
Mongolia's surface is used as arable land for grain production.
3.5.2.
Industrialized Cities
The nomadic type of economy is challenged by modern-day's industrial
production with its typical and profound division of labour; the
industrial society which prevails in the few major cities of Mongolia,
Ulaanbaatar (being the capital), Darxan (in the north) and Ärdänät
(the mining centre) is based on trade and the exploitation of natural
resources like ores and coal; this economy is virtually detached from
the countryside and was hit hardest during the economical crisis of
the early 1990s.
The rift between countryside and city is so big that food stores in
Ulaanbaatar offer German jam, butter from New Zealand, cheese from
Russia, mustard from Czechia, and juice from Poland (these are just
examples), but virtually no products of Mongolian origin besides bread
and sausage. Mongolia lacks the technical means to produce and
transport dairy products in winter; with temperatures below -30
centigrades milk and cheese have to be heated rather than to be
cooled! As a consequence, relying on imported foodstuff without access
to local resources is an expensive endeavour for the average city
dweller stretching the family budget to its limits.
3.5.3.
Mongolian Economy in China
In some areas (e.g. in Gansu and Yunnan) the population of Mongolian
origin leads a sedentary life and engages in agricultural work.
The life in Southern Mongolia (Inner Mongol Autonomous Region) is
mainly determined by the industrialization which took place in the
first quarter of the 20th century; big cities like Xöxxot (Huhhot) and
Baotou (the major metal-processing centre of Southern Mongolia) show
little affinity to traditional Mongolian life.
3.5.4.
What Currency is used in Mongolia?
The currency unit of Mongolia is named tögrög, conventionally rendered
as Tugrik in western languages. One American dollar is roughly
equivalent to anything from 1000 to 1080 tugrik (subject to daily
fluctuation) in recent years. The currency symbol is a double-barred
T.
Inner Mongolia uses the Chinese Yuan (Renminbi or RMB). The Chinese
banknotes carry inscriptions in five languages (Chinese, Mongol,
Tibetan, Uighur and Zhuang).
3.6. Where to call in distress?
Nobody hopes to run into emergency situations, but it is nonetheless
good to know which telephone number to call in case of a case. In
Ulaanbaatar, dial 101 for fire alarm, 102 for police, and 103 for
medical emergencies.
Ulaanbaatar is implementing a Japanese-style police system in the city
with little police booths in the residential areas. At least for long-
term residents it is advised to contact the nearest police booth and
enquire for their telephone number.
3.7. Who speaks Mongolian?
Virtually all citizens of Mongolia proper speak Mongolian. Some do not
because they are either of Kazakh or other ethnic origin. Not all
ethnic Mongols in Southern Mongolia do speak Mongol, many of them have
switched to Chinese. Similar phenomena can be observed in Buryatia
where many inhabitants speak Russian. The minor communities scattered
over China (Dongxiang (cf. article in Infosystem Mongolei), Dagur,
Eastern Yugur, Tuzu, Bao'an etc.) and Afghanistan (Moghol) speak some
very old varieties of Mongolian which have developed into proper
languages in their own right. Some of these languages are not well
documented. The Kalmyks speak a form of Mongolian known as Kalmyk
which even developed its own modified form of writing known as ``Tod''
or ``clear'' writing because it identifies vowels and some consonants
(k/g, t/d) in an unambiguous manner.
3.8. What kind of a language is Mongolian?
3.8.1. Mongolian - Language
Mongolian belongs to the Altaic family of languages showing structural
(and partially lexical) similarities with languages of the Tungusic
group of this family (e.g. Manju) and the Turkic group of this family
(e.g. Turkish). Mongolian has strong vowel harmony: all vowels within
one word and even all grammatical particles must be chosen from one of
two vowel sets which are known as male and female or back and front
vowels. Mongolian has a total of seven short vowels. There are also
seven long vowels. The distinction between short and long vowels is
essential as it alters the meaning: [tos] is ``grease, oil'' while
[toos] is ``dust''. Besides simple short and long vowels there are
also diphtongs which have duration values similar to long vowels. The
stress is usually put on the first syllable if all syllables of a word
are short; otherwise the stress is put on the first syllable carrying
a long vowel. The set of consonants has many constraints: [r] may not
occur at the beginning of a word. [f] only occurs in foreign loans and
is frequently converted to [p]. [w] and [b] though phonetically
different do not form an opposition on the phonological level. The
same holds true for [c] and [q] ([c] as [ts]ar, [q] as [ch]ill) as
well as [j] (as in [j]eep) and [z] (best described as fairly unvoiced
[ds]). Both pairs are expressed by the same symbol in Classical
writing and the development of different phonetical realisations is
mainly due to vowel environment and dialect situation. The consonants
[k] and [g] are linked to vowel harmony. In words containing back
vowels, [k] changes to [x] and [g] becomes [G] (a voiced velar).
Beginners frequently confuse the latter with something like a French
[r].
3.8.2. Mongolian - Grammar
The grammar is fairly simple: all predicates are put at the end of the
sentence resulting in a S.O.P. (subject - object - predicate)
structure. There are no subordinate clauses in the sense of Indo-
European languages. Attributes are placed in front of the denominated
entity. Indo-European style subordinate clauses (Relativsatz, etc.)
are resolved as attribute constructions. Verbs can be collated to form
new meanings or expand or intensify the meaning of the main verb.
Verbs occur in two distinct categories: 1) the ``genuine'' or finite
verb forms finish phrases, serve as predicates and can be compared to
ordinary verbs of Indo-European languages; 2) all other verb forms, be
they converbs (modifiers of other verbs), verbal nouns (usually
translated as verbs but with the complete behaviour of nouns like the
ability to form oblique cases) or the equivalents to participles and
gerundial forms cannot be used to finish phrases. As a rule of thumb,
a Mongolian phrase usually has numerous occurrences of verbs of the
second class but only one finite verb at the end of the phrase. As an
exception to this rule of thumb, under certain circumstances phrases
may also end with a verbal noun as predicate. All grammatical
functions and relations are expressed by suffixes which are ``glued''
to the end of a root be it noun or verb hence the term ``agglutinative
language''. More than one suffix can be attached to a word: e.g.
tääsh ``bag''; tääshääs ``out of the bag''; tääshääsää ``out of
his/her bag''); bolgoomj ``care''; bolgoomjtoï ``with care'' ->
careful (as adjective); bolgoomjtoïgoor ``acting with care'' -> doing
something carefully (as adverb).
The repetitive nature of similar endings has strongly influenced
traditional lyrics which uses line alliterations and line-internal
alliterations as a main element for structuring versed speech. The
emphasized beginnings of words thus form a healthy offset to the
grammatical suffices.
3.8.3. Mongolian - Writing
Mongolian writing is a fairly complex topic. In the history of the
written language, numerous scripts were either accepted from other
cultures or domestically designed. The most important scripts are
Uighur, Chinese, Phagsba, Soyombo and Cyrillic. Other scripts than
these five were also employed at given times in history, e.g. Latin
which had been used during the 1930s.
3.8.3.1. Mongolian Writing: Uighur
The traditional Mongolian script is written in vertical lines from
left to right, very much like an Arab page turned counter-clockwise by
90 degrees. Though this script (called Uighur script because the
Uighurs had used it first) has been the main vehicle of written
Mongolian, a number of other writing systems have been and are being
employed. The earliest documents still existing date back to the 13th
century.
Despite numerous other attempts to introduce different types of
writing, this script has proven to be to most stable vehicle of
written Mongolian. It was used up to the 1930s in Mongolia when it was
first replaced with a short-lived Latin script (until 1938) and then
replaced by a modified Cyrillic script in 1940.
In Southern Mongolia or China's Inner Mongolia (Inner Mongol
Autonomous Region, or Öwörr Mongol Öörtöö Zasax Oron) Uighur or
Classical Mongolian writing is still the official writing system.
Similar to the historical orthography of English, Classical Mongolian
as it is used today contains a lot of phonological archaisms and
historical features which make it sometimes not perfectly easy to
learn but which offer valuable insight for linguists and provide
enough of dialect neutrality for modern-day speakers from most
Mongolian language areas.
In the beginning of the 1990s, Mongolia was considering the return to
the Classical script despite the heavy financial and social cost: New
schoolbooks had to be compiled and many adults who were born after
1940 must now learn a completely different writing system which does
not only look different but which also represents a different
historical development stage of the Mongolian language. In 1992, A
law was passed to the effect that from 1994 on Mongolian Classical
script be the official writing of Mongolia again. Even the new
constitution of Mongolia passed in 1992 was printed in Modern
(Cyrillic) and Classical (Uighur) Mongolian (see the Constitution in
Modern Mongolian, MLS-encoded and Constitution in Classical Mongolian,
MLS-encoded, both in Infosystem Mongolei) but one year after this
magic date nothing really changed substantially.
3.8.3.2. Mongolian Writing: Chinese
Astonishing as it may sound, Chinese has been the writing of choice
for important Mongolian documents during the 13th and 14th century.
Chinese characters (a virtually canonical set of some 500 characters)
were used according to their pronounciation. Some characters failed to
render the pronounciation and were prefixed (or affixed) with
modifiers, small Chinese characters indicating whether the main
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