Le séminaire des études mongoles et le Séminaire Histoire des sociétés steppiques anciennes et médiévales de l’EHESS organisent conjointement le mardi 14 avril prochain (10:30-12:30) une conférence de:

Christopher P. Atwood
University of Pennsylvania

« When, Where, and How Was the Mongol Empire? Mongolian and Chinese Views of the Mongol Empire’s Rise and Legitimate Extent from 1250 to 1350 »

Date et horaire : Mardi 14 avril, 10:30-12:30
Lieu : Institut des Civilisations, Collège de France, 52 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, Salle Françoise Héritier

Abstract:
As is well known, the Mongol Empire became just one stage into the sequence of dynasties in various countries. Particularly in Iran and China, the Mongol Il-Qans and the Qa’ans of Daidu were fitted into the well-known sequences of Persian and Chinese dynasties, respectively. But the Mongol Empire’s unprecedented size and its protracted rise made this process far from easy or uncontentious. Not only that, the Mongols themselves were not mere bystanders in this story and insisted that even if court scholar were writing in Persian or Chinese they adapt their viewpoints to Mongolian ideas and precedents. Even so private scholars in China and elsewhere writing in various genres still managed to express their views on how the Mongol rulers fit into the legitimate sequence of dynasties. A comparative consideration of how Mongolian and Chinese historians understood the dynasty’s form and function, from the Secret History of the Mongols, drafted in 1252, to Chen Jing’s Tongjian xubian, drafted in 1350, illuminates the ways in which scholars used “cut and paste” to creatively argue views of legitimacy and significance. Reading these works through the accepted historiographical language shows Mongolian and Chinese writers envisioned the proper historical and geographical position of the Mongol Empire.