Chingunjav

Early life and career

Chingunjav was born in 1710 at the shore of lake Sangiin Dalai nuur, in the Khotgoid's Erdeneduuregch vangiin khoshuu of Zasagt Khan aimag, or today's Burentogtokh sum of Khovsgol aimag. His father Bandi was the khoshuu's Zasag Noyon. In 1738, Chingunjav succeeded his father. Chingunjav made a career in the Manchu military and eventually reached the rank of an assistant general of Zasagt Khan aimag.

Conspiracy with Amursana

During the 1755 Manchu campaign against the Dzungar Khanate, Chingunjav and Amursana conspired to start a rebellion in autumn of the same year. However, their seniors came to know of their plans and separated them. Chingunjav was sent to fight in Uriankhai, and Amursana was summoned to Beijing for demanding too big a share of the Dzungar Khanate. On the way, his escort let him escape. This led to the trial and execution of the commander of the escort, a brother of the Jebtsundamba Khutugtu and direct descendant of Chingis Khan, in early 1756, an event that gravely disturbed the Khalkha nobility.

Rebellion

In the summer of 1756, Chingunjav began his rebellion by leaving his post, gathering troops in his home area, and sending a letter to the Qianlong Emperor. However, although there was widespread unrest throughout Khalkha, support from other nobles and even from the 2nd Jebtsundamba Khutughtu was not forthcoming, and Chingunjav never managed to command more than 1,000-2,000 troops. By the time the Manchu were able to reinforce their loyal Outer Mongolian troops with detachments from Inner Mongolia, Chingunjav had achieved little more than spending time by waiting for an answer for his appeals to the nobility and the Jebtsundamba, and consequently was not able to face the Manchu in an open battle. He retreated northward towards the Darkhad area, with his force continuously shrinking through desertions. When he was captured at a place now known as Wang Tolgoi, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Khankh, in January 1757, all but 50 of his men had left him.

Aftermath

Chingunjav, together with almost his whole family, was brought to Beijing and executed. The Manchu, although not as brutal as they had been towards the Dzungars, sent punitive units to Mongolia to deal on the spot with all those rebels they could find. Nobles that were suspected of having sympathized with Chingunjav were also executed. The Jebtsundamba Khutugtu "died" in 1758, the Tusheet Khan shortly afterwards. The Qianlong Emperor declared that all future incarnations of the Jebtsundamba Khutugtu were to be found in Tibet to undermine local autonomy. On the other hand, the Mongolian debts to Chinese trading firms were partially annulled, and the rest being paid for by the emperor, in order to tackle the economic sources of the unrest in Khalkha.

Legacy

Although never having had a realistic chance to succeed, Chingunjav passed into the realm of folklore. A small monument has been raised at remains of a fort attributed to him, some kilometres south of Burentogtokh, in 1978. A statue of him was erected in Moron in 1992 and another one in 2010.

Literature

Charles R. Bawden, The Modern History of the Mongols, London 1968, p. 114 - 134