Description
Book SynopsisThe Precious Summary is the most important work of Mongolian history on the three-hundred-year period before the rise of the Manchu Qing dynasty. Written by Sagang Sechen in 1662, shortly after the Mongols’ submission to the Qing, it spans Buddhist cosmology, Chinggis Khan, the post-Yuan Mongols, and the Mongols’ conversion to Buddhism.
Trade ReviewThis edition of
The Precious Summary shows, once again, that Johan Elverskog is the preeminent English-language translator of Mongolian classics working today. -- Lhamsuren Munkh-Erdene, author of
The Taiji Government and the Rise of the Warrior State: The Formation of the Qing Imperial ConstitutionNot since the
Secret History of the Mongols first appeared forty years ago has a Mongol masterpiece of equal importance found its way into English. Elverskog's linguistic intelligence and profound knowledge of Mongolian history make the prose and poetry of this historical classic shine. -- Timothy Brook, author of
Great State: China and the WorldAlmost two hundred years after I. J. Schmidt’s first translation into German, Elverskog has finally given us an authoritative English rendition of Sagang Sechen’s
Precious Summary, designed for a wide readership and accounting for the most modern scholarship.
The Precious Summary is a must-read for all those interested in Mongolian civilization. -- Christopher Atwood, editor and translator of
The Rise of the Mongols: Five Chinese SourcesJohan Elverskog’s annotated translation of a critically important Mongol text comes as the most comprehensive translation to date. Elverskog not only helps us in forming a unique understanding of the seventeenth-century text, but he also provides essential references and analyses to previous translations and other texts from Inner Asia which now can be seen in a new light. -- Uranchimeg Tsultemin, author of
A Monastery on the Move: Art and Politics in Later Buddhist Mongolia[An] extraordinary achievement . . . which will remain the standard reference work for this important Mongolian chronicle for many years to come. -- Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz * Journal of Chinese History *
Accessible and erudite, Johan Elverskog’s translation of this seventeenth-century classic of Mongolian literature is a major contribution to the study of Inner Asian history. -- David Sneath * The Seventeenth Century *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. History of the Universe, the Buddha, and India
2. History of Tibet
3. History of Chinggis Khan
4. History of the Yuan Dynasty
5. History of the Northern Yuan Dynasty
6. History of the Mongol-Oirat Wars
7. History of Dayan Khan
8. History of the Six Tümen
9. History of Khutugtai Sechen Khung Taiji
10. History of Altan Khan and the Buddhist Conversion
11. History of the Dalai Lamas and the Ordos
12. History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
13. Epilogue
14. Colophon
Notes
Bibliography
Index
