A Research On Border Dispute Between Hulunbuir Barga Mongols And Khalkha’s Chechen Khanate During Xianfeng And Tongzhi Periods Of Qing Dynasty

Hulunbuir lies in China’s Northeast border area, adjacent to Russia in the north and Khalkha in the south. During Qing’s Yongzheng period, Hulunbuir area was garrisoned by Eight-Banner troops under the control of Hulunbuir deputy governor. In the twelfth year of Yongzheng, Qing government moved Barga Mongols from the Khalkha’s Chechen Khanate to Hulunbuir area and located them in the southwest part of the area and marked the boundries against Chechen Khanate on the border. However, the boundries never successfully settled their border disputes. Until Outer Mongolia announced their independence during the late Qing dynasty, the border dispute escalated into national conflict, which directly contributed to the formation of contemporary China’s territory. That explains the practical significance in researching this border dispute. This thesis mainly makes reference to the copies of Chinese memorials to the throne by Qing Court Privy Council reserved in the first historical archives of China, and focuses on several conflict cases occurred during Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods.The thesis is composed of three parts—introduction, main body and conclusion. The introduction explains the reasons for choosing the topic, material review and current research situations. The first chapter of the main body introduces the historical origins of the border dispute between Hulunbuir Barga Mongols and Khalkha Chechen Khanate during Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods, starting with a presentation on the Qing court early rule over this area to a detailed description of the situation before Qing garrisoning of Eight Banners and the process of garrisoning. Chapter two is the core of the thesis, mainly exploring the process of the border dispute and the details of ruling decisions of Qing government during Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods. Chapter three mainly explores the effects and makes comments on the border dispute between the two tribes during the periods: serious cases like the death of people and livestock from frozen coldness and guiding water to flood temples, which seriously destroyed the friendship of the two tribes. Hundred years of dispute and lawsuit badly aggravated people’s burdens when they had to supply Ulaa and mobilize their people. However, the dispute never ended and sowed the seeds for the Battle of Halhyn-Gol. A the end of the paper we conclude with a retrospection of the historical influences of the border disputes between Khalkhas and Bargas. The Barga Mongols was separated from Chechen Khanate and moved to Hulunbuir area and set pass on their border in the tenth year of Yongzheng; since that day the long disputes began, lasting through more than one hundred years without final resolution and at the end led to the Battle of Halhyn-Gol. For Qing Court then the disputes on the land were just civil disagrees for pasture, but in the wake of the fall of Empire the tribal boundaries developed into national boundaries, civil disputes turned into international disputes, which fell beyond the control and directly affected the later historical progress.