The Early 20th Century Shaping of the Mongolian Intelligentsia in China’s Inner Mongolia

Abstract

Introduction. The 20th-century shaping and development of the intelligentsia in China’s Inner Mongolia remains understudied in Russian Mongolian studies. Goals. The study aims at exploring the development of Inner Mongolia’s education system, including in Daur-inhabited areas, in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, at determining the place and role of the Mongolian-Tibetan Special School in training of Inner Mongolia’s advanced youth. Materials and methods. The article analyzes a wide range of sources, including documents from the Russian State Archive of Sociopolitical History (RGASPI) and Central Archives of the Federal Security Service of Russia (CA FSB). It also examines a number of publications, such as collected documents and memoirs titled ‘Notes of Disasters and Sufferings’, one reference book on Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, and the Neimenggu ribao (Inner Mongolia Daily) newspaper. Certain attention is paid to works by Russian and foreign historians that touch upon some aspects of education development in ethnic regions of China. Results. In the early 20th century, the youth of Inner Mongolia gained opportunities to study at educational institutions of China and other countries. Subsequently, the revolutionary youth to further constitute a large proportion of the Mongolian intelligentsia took an active part in the sociopolitical events of the examined period. Conclusions. The reforms of the Qing and ROC governments in ethnic minorities education system gave rise to a large number of educational institutions to be attended by commoners’ children in Inner Mongolia. This proved a crucial factor to have formed a new social stratum in the region throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The latter was shaped by young Mongols to have undergone training not only in China but also in Japan, Mongolia, and the USSR. They played a significant role in the all-Mongolian national liberation movement. The paper asserts important impacts of the Mongolian-Tibetan Special School which had educated political elites of 20th-century Inner Mongolia.

Keywords

• inner mongolia
• hulunbuir
• mongolian intelligentsia
• national liberation movement
• chinese education system