Mongolia Old and Young

Mongolia is old, and young, at the same time.  It is old, because it has been a distinctive people with a glorious history for more than 2,000 years. From Chinese history books, we learned that by the 3rd century BC, a confederation of tribes called the Xiongnu (匈奴) lived in the land to the north of China, roughly where the present day Mongolia is.  The Xiongnu fought the Chinese for many hundreds of years, sometimes winning and sometimes losing.  At one point, the Han Dynasty Emperor sent a famous general 霍去病 to chase the Xiongnu all the way to a sacred mountain, the famous Langjuxu  Mountain (狼居胥山), where he offered sacrifices to Heaven after a major victory.  Scholars believe that this is the present day Khentii Mountains, to the east of Ulaanbaatar. The story was told from the Chinese perspective.  I am still trying to find the Mongolese version. 

In the mean time the tribes continue to splinter, merge, and evolve continuously, making it difficult to trace exactly who becomes who.   By the 12th century, some 1,500 years later, the Mongols emerged among the descendants.  Genghis Khan unified some of the tribes and conquered others. His sons and grandsons continued and vastly expanded on his work, creating a gigantic empire stretching from Korea in the east, to eastern Europe in the west.  It is believed that Genghis Khan also came from the Kentii Mountains, and was buried there somewhere, even though no one seems to know the exact site.  A gigantic stainless steel statue of Genghis Khan mounted on a horse stands on the main road to the south of those mountains.  

Subsequently, the Empire, like others before and after, splintered and faded away.  In the 1600s, the Manchu, a small, related tribe to the east, rose rapidly from the forests of Manchuria in northeast China to conquer Ming Dynasty China, drafting in the Mongols as a junior partner, as the Manchus created the Qing Dynasty.  In the waning days of the Qing Dynasty in the 1900s Mongolia came under the dominance of Russia and subsequently, the Soviet Union.  

It was only when the Soviet Union collapsed on its own in 1991, that Mongolia became independent.   Hence it is quite young as a modern, independent state.  

The Mogols have been nomadic herders for thousands of years.  They live in distinctive, circular tents called gers, which can be moved from time to time as the herds move.  Their lives center around the horses and cattle.  They have no permanent houses, palaces, and cities. They had little use for academic knowledge other than those related to their cattle, horses, weapons and war.  They had no written script for a long long tim, until around 400 years ago.  

Now the majority of the population live in cities.  Although many still live in gers scattered around the perimeters of the city.  Many young people still do not feel a great urgency to acquire an advanced education.  Even though they are just as eager as youths elsewhere to get their hands on mobile phones and associated technology.  The capital, Ulaanbaatar, has no elevated highways, nor underground railways.  Even though the roads are in permanent traffic jams.  Many people do not ride horses or engage in heavy physical activities, yet their diet continue to be mostly meat and potatoes.  Land continues to be valuable, for mining and houses, in addition to cattle raising.  Everything is in flux.  Everybody is adapting.  

It is quite a fascinating country, where history is in motion, being fast forwarded.