Outer Mongolia

This article is about a historical region of the Qing dynasty. For the present day country, see Mongolia. For the former communist state often referred to as Outer Mongolia, see Mongolian People's Republic.

Outer Mongolia^{[lower-alpha 1]} was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia^{[lower-alpha 2]} and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained de facto independence from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution.

Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia within the Qing dynasty.

Map of Asia in 1914. Mongolia's independence had not yet been widely recognized in the 1910s.

After the Treaty of Kyakhta (North) Mongolia in 1915.

Location of Mongolia Area as part of the Republic of China (claim only before 1946).

While the administrative region of Outer Mongolia during the Qing dynasty only consisted of the four Khalkha aimags (Setsen Khan Aimag, Tüsheet Khan Aimag, Sain Noyon Khan Aimag, and Zasagt Khan Aimag), in the late Qing period, "Outer Mongolia" was also used to refer to the combined Khalkha and Oirat regions, as well as the directly-ruled Tannu Uriankhai.

Much of the region was subsequently claimed by the Republic of China, which had acquired the legal right to inherit all Qing territories through the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor, as an integral part of the state. This is referred to as "Mongolia Area" to distinguish it from Outer Mongolia.^[4][5][6] Most of Outer Mongolia, however, was under the de facto control of the Bogd Khanate, which was largely unrecognized internationally. The Republic of China briefly established de facto rule over most of the region from 1919 to 1921. After the Mongolian People's Republic was founded in 1924, the Nationalist government of China de jure recognized Mongolian independence in 1946 under Soviet pressure,^[7] though this recognition was later rescinded by the Kuomintang government in 1953,^{[lower-alpha 3]} which had retreated to Taiwan because of continued Soviet support to the Chinese communists.^[10] The People's Republic of China continued recognition of the Mongolian People's Republic since 1949, and has established full diplomatic relations with Mongolia.^[11]

Names

The name "Outer Mongolia" is contrasted with Inner Mongolia,^[1] which corresponds to the region of Inner Mongolia in China. Inner Mongolia was given its name because it was more directly administered by the Qing court; Outer Mongolia (which is further from the capital Beijing) had a greater degree of autonomy within the Qing empire.^[12]

There are three alternate terms, including Ar Mongol, Mobei Mongol, and Outer Mongolia.

Ar Mongol

The term Ar mongol or Mobei Mongol (Chinese: 漠北蒙古; pinyin: Mòběi Měnggǔ; lit. 'North-of-the-Desert Mongolia') is sometimes used in Chinese and Mongolian languages to refer to North Mongolia^[13] when making a distinction with South Mongolia, so as to elide the history of Qing rule and rather imply a geographic unity or distinction of regions inhabited by Mongols in the Mongolian Plateau.^[14] There also exists an English term: Northern Mongolia.^[14]

Ar Mongol can also be used to refer to Mongolia synchronically, during that time period.^[15] In the Mongolian language, the word ar refers to the back side of something, which has been extended to mean the northern side of any spatial entity, e.g. a mountain or a yurt. The word öbür refers to the front/south (and thus protected) side of a mountain.^[16] So the difference between South Mongolia and the Mongolian state is conceived as the metaphor of the backward northern side and the south side of a mountain.

In contrast to Mobei Mongol (Chinese: 漠北蒙古), there is also Monan Mongol (Chinese: 漠南蒙古; pinyin: Mònán Měnggǔ; lit. 'South of the Desert Mongolia'), roughly referring to the region now known as South Mongolia.

Modern usage

Today, "Outer Mongolia" is sometimes still informally used to refer to the independent state of Mongolia. To avoid confusion between Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia, Chinese sources generally refer to the former as the "State of Mongolia" (Chinese: 蒙古国; pinyin: Měnggǔ Guó); that is, the translation of the official name in Mongolian, Монгол Улс/Mongol Uls, instead of just "Mongolia" (Chinese: 蒙古; pinyin: Měnggǔ), which could refer to the entire Mongolian region.

"Outer Mongolia" is also used sometimes used colloquially in the English language as a hyperbole to refer to a place that is very far away.

See also

• China portal
• Russia portal
• History portal

• Mongolia under Qing rule
• Tannu Uriankhai
• Dzungaria
• Outer Northwest China
• Outer Manchuria
• Mongolia–Taiwan relations

Notes

1. The term "Ar Mongol" (Mongolian: ᠠᠷᠤ
   ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ, Ар Монгол, IPA transcription: [ar ˈmɔɴɢɞɮ], lit. 'back side of Mongolia') appears to have first appeared at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. Initially, "Ar Mongol" referred to the Mongols west of the Greater Khingan, but later the scope of reference changed and was used to refer to the Khalkha Mongols north of the Gobi Desert. In the early 20th century, the name "Outer Mongolia" (Mongolian script: ᠭᠠᠳᠠᠭᠠᠳᠤ
   ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ，Cyrillic: Гадаад Монгол, Latin: Gadaad Mongol, [ɢaˈtaːt ˈmɔɴɢɞɮ]; Manchu: ᡨᡠᠯᡝᡵᡤᡳ
   ᠮᠣᠩᡤᠣ Tulergi Monggo; Chinese: 外蒙古; pinyin: Wài Měnggǔ)^[1] began to be used in official documents. In Mongolian reports and documents of the 1900s and 1920s, "Ar Mongol" was used interchangeably with "Outer Mongolia".^[2]
2. Sometimes called "Outer Mongolia" informally in current China.^[3]
3. In 2002, the ROC reaffirmed its recognition of Mongolia as an independent country again,^[8] and the Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement saying that "Mongolia (formerly known as Outer Mongolia in Taiwan) has never been part of its constitutionally claimed territory."^[9]

References

1. Huhbator Borjigin. 2004. The history and political character of the name of 'Nei Menggu' (South Mongolia). Inner Asia 6: 61-80.
2. Ц.Цэрэндорж (2016). "Ар Монгол" (in Mongolian). Монголын түүхийн тайлбар толь.
3. "History of Mongolia". Embassy of Mongolia in Washington.
4. Esherick, Joseph; Kayali, Hasan; Van Young, Eric (2006). Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 245. ISBN 9780742578159. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
5. Zhai, Zhiyong (2017). 憲法何以中國. City University of HK Press. p. 190. ISBN 9789629373214. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
6. Gao, Quanxi (2016). 政治憲法與未來憲制. City University of HK Press. p. 273. ISBN 9789629372910. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
7. Friters, Gerard M (1974). Outer Mongolia and its International Position. New York: Octagon Books. JSTOR 211232.
8. "Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year". Taipei Times. 11 October 2002. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009. In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory. {...} Long a province of China, Mongolia declared its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. After the Ministry of the Interior's recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official ROC map, on 3 Oct, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan recognizes Mongolia as an independent country – 81 years after Mongolia declared its independence.
9. "有關外蒙古是否為中華民國領土問題說明新聞參考資料" [Reference materials about the territory of the Republic of China excluding Outer Mongolia] (PDF) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Mainland Affairs Council. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
10. "Taiwan Veto Likely; Taipei Regime May Again Bar Outer Mongolia From U.N.", The New York Times, 22 April 1961, archived from the original on 22 July 2018, retrieved 5 February 2008
11. "China-Mongolia Boundary" (PDF). International Boundary Study (173). The Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research: 2–6. August 1984. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
12. The Cambridge History of China, volume 10, p 49.
13. cf. Norcin, C. (1999): Monggol kelen-ü toli. Ömnud monggol-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriya. Page 170.
14. Bulag, Uradyn (1998). Nationalism and Hybridity in Mongolia. Clarendon Press. pp. 179–180.
15. Bawden, Charles (1997): Mongolian-English dictionary. London: Kegan Paul. Page 23.
16. cf. Norcin, C. (1999): Monggol kelen-ü toli. Ömnud monggol-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriya. Page 169, 580. ömnud: agula dabagan-u engger tal-a-yin gajar.