A Review Of Charles Bowden's Mongolian Studie

The Mongol region is located in the middle of Asia,which determines its key role in the communication of the East and the West in recent history.As far as the 13th century,the Mongol region has already attracted the attention form the West.Travel notes and legends concerning Mongol have integrated into the western discourse related to the East.Western scholars’ research on the Mongol region originated from the 18th century,when works on Mongolian and Mongolian history began to appear.When entering the 19th century,Asian studies became one of the mainstreams of western academia.Explorations in Asia continuously stimulated the attention and interest of western society.The 20th century witnessed the development of western Mongol studies from the beginning to the climax.The outstanding Mongolists who appeared in the 20th century still have great influence nowadays.Charles Roskelly Bawden(1924-2016)as the world-famous Mongolist was the representative of British Mongol studies of the 20th century.He was a professor of the School of Oriental and African Studies(SOSA)of the University of London,the dean of the Far East Department of SOSA,a Fellow of the British Academy,vice president of the International Association for Mongol Studies.Professor Bawden had a broad research horizon and a wide range of writings,including Mongolian history,culture,literature,customs,religion,and other aspects.Professor Bawden published 12 books covering monographs,translations,and collections of essays,and he also published more than 40 papers concerning Mongol studies and a large-scale modern Mongolian-English dictionary.His research and publication of Mongolian historical classics and his works about modern Outer Mongolian history have received worldwide praise.Based on Charles Bawden’s works and papers,this paper classified his academic achievements into five aspects:the publication and study of Mongolian historical classics,the study of modern Outer Mongolian history,the study of Mongolian religion,the study of Mongolian literature and the study of missionaries.The first chapter is the study of Professor Bawden’s publication of Mongolian historical classics,which are Altan Tobci and The Jebtsundamba Khutukhtus of Urga.After the comparison between the versions of Bawden and Chinese scholars,this chapter summarized the pros and cons of Bawden’s version.Additionally,this chapter also discussed the strategies that Bawden adopted in the translation of the two historical classics with the theory of Thick Translation.The second chapter is about Professor Bawden’s study of modern Mongolian history.By analyzing The Modern History of Mongolia and related papers,this chapter commented on Bawden’s views concerning major historical events in modern Mongolian history.The third chapter reviewed Professor Bawden’s study of Mongolian religion and culture,which is mainly about Shamanism and folk religion.This chapter also illustrated characteristics and academic values of Bawden’s study.The forth chapter is the study of Professor Bawden’s research on Mongolian literature,and showed Bawden’s great contribution in the introduction of the famous Mongolian novelist Injanasi and Mongolian epics to the western world.In addition,this chapter commented on Bawden’s Mongolian Traditional Literature:An Anthology from the perspective of the concept of the history of literary culture.By comparing Bawden’s work with Chinese Mongolian literature history,this chapter also presented unique features and values of Mongolian Traditional Literature:An Anthology.The fifth chapter is around Professor Bawden’s investigation about British missionaries.This chapter went through Bawden’s research and summarized the process and activities of the missionary mission among the Kalmyks and the Buryats in the early years of the 19th century.And then this chapter illustrated the significance and value of the mission.In addition to the comprehensive conclusion of Professor Bawden’s academic views,this dissertation compared Professor Bawden’s publications and academic views with other scholars,in order to get objective comments on Professor Bawden’s Mongol studies.By comparing,this dissertation showed characteristics and academic contributions of Professor Bawden’s Mongol studies.In the meantime,this dissertation also pointed out limitations within Professor Bawden’s studies.The systematically analysis of Professor Bawden’s Mongol studies can provide valuable research materials for academia,help introduce the western scholars’ academic achievements and promote the communication between the west and the east.