To Wang

To Wang , actually Toghtakhu Törö , different spelling including: Toytaqutörü, (* 1797 ; † 1887 ) was a Mongolian prince and reformer of the 19th century.

He was a grandson of Chechen-Khan Sangjayidorji and officiated as Jasaq in the east of Chechen-Khan Aimag with the Khalka ( Outer Mongolia ). He was well educated, spoke Manchurian , Chinese and Tibetan , and made several trips to other parts of China , including Tibet .

Around 1820 he began reforming his banner. He had taxes paid in cash, set up farms and sold the surplus to his neighbors (growing grain, building water mills). He also had mineral springs developed in his area, brought in Chinese for textile processing and to train the Mongols, had gold mined and salt and soda extracted . He founded schools for the children of his banner, regardless of their origin, and also put together the teaching material himself. In 1853 he wrote a book entitled Teachings, which explain the way of life , with which he disseminated recommendations on pasture management and daily life in prose form . In 1864 he had a textbook on Mongolian orthography printed.

To Wang criticized the Mongolian Church for the fact that the monastery residents were exempt from paying taxes and accused them of failing to follow the moral rules. As a consequence, in 1837 he planned to merge eleven monasteries and over 1,000 monks into a single monastery. When he founded a brick factory for the purpose of building a new monastery and building a palace, he encountered widespread opposition from both lamas - who feared the loss of their influence and privileges among the local nomads, and from nomads , who in turn passed on to the local ones Used to temples. A strike broke out on the verge of armed conflict between To Wang's soldiers and the protesters. In 1842 the Amban in Urga decided the dispute to the disadvantage of To Wang, but also had the rioters punished.

Remarks

1. ^ Title of the official banner regent in the 18th and 19th centuries Century: The Jasaq were appointed by the Manchurian emperor of China with a patent and seal, mostly on the basis of ancestry, and from 1781 their posts and ranks were finally hereditary, if not without extensive bribery. The Jasaq performed civil and military functions and received a salary. Their personal serfs were not liable to tax against the Reich.

literature

• John King Fairbank (Ed.): The Cambridge History of China. Volume 10. Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911. Part 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1978.
• Michael Weiers (ed.): The Mongols: Contributions to their history . Darmstadt 1986