Chapter 2 Section 2 Temujin’s social environment before his birth

Chilechuan, under the Yin Mountain, the sky is like a dome, covering the four fields. The sky is gray, the wild is vast, and the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low. This is the description of the grassland scenery by poets in the 6th century, and it is also the life of the Mongolian grassland herdsmen that we see today.For thousands of years, countless nomadic peoples lived under this dome, traveling today and staying tomorrow, living by animal husbandry.The Mongolian tribe where Genghis Khan lived - Borjijin - Qiyan tribe was a nomadic tribe supplemented by hunting.With the improvement of productivity, they have entered a relatively secure nomadic economy from a gathering and hunting economy. Clan public ownership has long since disappeared, and livestock and other properties have long been privately owned by individual families.The family is "Ayin Le", which has become the basic unit of social economy.Nayan's descendants inherited a piece of property and people from their father and grandfather according to the hereditary system of private property, and continued to form a new "circle of people" through plunder and mergers.In the Mongolian society at that time, due to frequent wars, the number of subjects and slaves in various Mongolian tribes was also increasing. They not only had to charge forward, but also engaged in productive labor, and were used for nomadism, hunting, agriculture and handicrafts.

All the economic activities of the subjects should be transferred by the will of the nobles to whom they belonged, and they should be pastored according to their will.Its burden is very heavy. It has to pay tribute and serve in peacetime, and it has to follow in war in wartime.The nomadic Mongols live mainly on horses, cattle, and sheep, and horses play an important role in their lives.Horses are the wealth of the Mongolians, and they are also "prairie boots".Prairie people rode on horses to fight and graze almost every day. Horses are widely used in transportation, warfare, hunting, production and as traction vehicles.And a variety of dairy products can be made from mare's milk.Kumis is called "Kumiz" by Europeans, and it is an indispensable substance in Mongolian economic life just like horse meat and leather.Followed by cattle and sheep, most of which are used for food and are practical property.Hunting is not only an important economic activity for the Mongols, but also can be used as group training and tactics in the military.Or as a kind of recreational activity, in order to improve the fighting spirit of soldiers.

The Mongolian religion is shamanism, which believes that there are gods in everything such as heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, vegetation, and fire.Because at that time, no matter day or night, what people saw was only the boundless and boundless grassland, and it was impossible to produce meditation religion in such an environment. "Shaman" means "Book" in Mongolian. It is said that it is a very primitive thing that is in charge of the relationship between gods and people, conveys the will of gods, and eradicates diseases.In the Mongolian grasslands, both heaven and gods are called "Tengri", and they are the highest gods.Among the nomadic peoples, no matter they are nobles, subjects or slaves, they all act according to the will of God, "everything will return to heaven".Therefore, phrases such as "Longevity Heaven", "Eternal Heaven" and "Eternal Heavenly Power" are often on the lips of Mongolians.The place where the Mongols offer sacrifices to heaven is called Zhuxili. They hang the sacrificial meat on a long pole and pour wine made from white horse milk into the heaven and earth.In many places of Mongolian tribes, herdsmen make naive and clumsy Wengen as a symbol of gods. "Aitaigen" is the god of the earth, and is believed to be the mother earth.In addition, there is another small religion in Mongolia—Lamaism, which together with Shamanism governs the souls of herdsmen, but it is always confused with Shamanism without a clear boundary.

The idea that everything is attributed to the destiny or the will of the gods has given the khans of all dynasties the basis in many aspects such as ruling and leading the tribe.As soon as the order is issued, it has incomparable appeal and irresistibility.Whether it is fighting or implementing policies, it is like sailing smoothly, and you can get twice the result with half the effort.Later, Temu really used this idea skillfully, and was able to proclaim Khan and even establish a powerful nomadic empire. Tataer Department: Before the rise of the Mongolian Department, the Tataer Department was a powerful and powerful department in the Mobei Grassland. It was located near Hulun Buir Lake. Its territory was vast, rich and beautiful.The Tatar tribes often fought with each other, and at the same time acted as accomplices of the Liao and Jin rulers to suppress other tribes, and were enemies of the Mongols and the Kelei tribe.

Mierqi tribe: It is said that Mierqi tribe is one of the Mongolian-speaking tribes. They lived in the valley from the Orkhon River to the Xuelingge (Selenge) River. "Yuan History" records that: Mierqi tribe "lived in the land of Bulihan Hareton for generations. Its customs are brave, good at riding and shooting, and all ethnic groups are quite afraid of it."These show that before the rise of the Mongols, the Mierqi tribe was also one of the strong tribes in Mobei, and his power had reached the "Bulihan Hareton", that is, Burhan Mountain. Naiman tribe: Naiman tribe is a Turkic tribe.They are more advanced than the Mongols in terms of geography, military, economy, and culture.They established an advanced tribal alliance, ruled with Uighur script, and believed in Nestorianism from the West.According to the "Yuan History Geographical Records", the Naiman tribe first lived in the Qianhe (Yenisei River) basin, and then lived in the western part of the Mongolian Plateau, controlling the vast area near the Altai Mountains.Because they are neighbors with Kerai and Mongolians, they "often have disputes with Wang Khan (Han) and are hostile to each other."

Kelie tribe: The Kelie tribe lived in the center of Mobei, the former homeland of the Uighur Khanate in the Tula River and Hanerhan River Basin. It was a powerful tribal alliance composed of six tribes.Adjacent to the Central Plains Dynasty and the Mongols, they believed in Nestorianism.Due to the influence of Turkic tribes in customs, language, living habits and many other aspects, Turkic names or titles are often used.At that time, the Kelei tribe was an independent major tribe in the Mobei Grassland. It not only stubbornly resisted the harassment from the major ministries, but also did not submit to the rule of Liao and Jin.

With the improvement of productivity and the development of private ownership, the Mongolian grasslands gradually became polarized between rich and poor, and the society was divided into two opposing classes: Nayan nobles, subjects, and slaves.The relationship between them is that of ruler and ruled.At that time, the strata and class divisions of the grassland ministries roughly included the following categories of people: Nayan—translated as "lord" or "official person", is the appellation of slave owners, nobles and officials of various ministries.They are the leaders and the ruling class of the various ministries, who enjoy high honors and many distinguished titles in the ministries.Some were even enshrined in the Tang, Liao, and Jin dynasties, and became the agents of the dynasties in these areas.Khan Hehan (Khan) is the leader of the Nayan class.

These people never engaged in productive labor, but specialized in war and plunder. They have their own political center - Han ears.There are official divisions inside, and the frontiers are guarded outside.It is the highest representative of the nobles of all ethnic groups, and has gradually developed into a local regime that exploits and oppresses the people in the headquarters. Hara - also known as "Halach", which means "untouchables" and "black people".Although they have a certain degree of personal freedom and a small amount of private property such as livestock, tents, and labor tools, they are in a dependent relationship with the Nayan nobles.Halata pays tribute to serve on weekdays, and fights with the army during wartime. The relationship between Nayan nobles and Halata is exploiting and being exploited, ruling and being ruled. The "white body" is the one with a higher status in the Hara lottery, and can participate in the election of the clan and tribe.But "white men" also acted as ordinary soldiers in wartime.

Subject - A vassal class.Also known as "Halan", it means "people" in Chinese, referring to a large number of common people.Subjects come from members of conquered or weakened tribes, or herdsmen of some tribes who surrendered for protection, or members of clans who have lost their property and declined.The relationship between the nobles of Nayan and the subjects is that of protecting and being protected.The subjects were in a vassal status and were exploited and ruled by the Nayan nobles. Bohanle - the meaning of "servant".Including hereditary slaves, trading slaves, dowry slaves, gift slaves, criminal slaves, slaves who voluntarily surrendered, slaves of close relatives of the same race, slaves of prisoners of war, etc.Among the Mongolian tribes at that time, Bohanle was at the bottom of society and engaged in the heaviest labor.They not only serve the family and engage in various productive labors, but also participate in hunting and war with their masters.They were even used as coolies in the army, or to build battlefield fortifications, or to charge forward when attacking.