Inner Mongolia history and culture?

Diversified Mongolian Culture

According to historical records, the Mongols entered the stage of history around the 7th century AD. However, long before this, the ancestors of the Mongols were active in the Mongolian grasslands. "Chile Song" says: "Chile River is at the foot of Yinshan Mountain; the sky is like a dome, covering the four fields; the sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass, and cattle and sheep are low." It simply describes their understanding of nature, It is a profile of the cultural portrayal of nomadic people. From a geographical perspective, it reaches the Great Wall of China in the south, the Greater Khingan Mountains in the east, the Siberian grasslands in the north, and the vast Central Asian grasslands in the west. On this extremely vast grassland, the social development of various ethnic groups from the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Turks to the Khitan and Jurchens has reached a certain level, and some have even established prominent empires. Although the rulers have different ethnic compositions and different cultures, these cultures have a certain inheritance from each other. Mongolian culture can be said to be a multicultural culture developed on the above basis to a considerable extent. At the same time, it can also be said that the nomadic culture has developed into the Mongolian nation and has reached maturity and perfection.

The Chinese believe that their agricultural civilization is more advanced than the nomadic civilization, and that the nomadic people are backward. Few people have ever doubted this. In fact, the open "mobility" of nomadic peoples is more progressive than the conservative "relocation" of ancient agricultural peoples. Nomadic culture is rooted in the vast grasslands. People's horizons are extremely broad. In addition, the nomadic production method of "living for water and grass" means that they move to different pastures and camps in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Therefore, they often view things from a flowing and changing perspective. Observing nature, people's way of thinking becomes more dialectical. The nomadic people have struggled with nature for a long time and lived in a difficult environment. Therefore, they have a full spirit of adventure and a brave and enterprising national character. On the other hand, due to the fragility of the nomadic economy and the need for daily necessities, there is an urgent need to trade with agricultural peoples and sometimes even plunder in the form of war. Therefore, nomadic culture still has a certain degree of openness. The culture of the Mongolian nation has distinctive grassland characteristics, which is often referred to as nomadic culture.

After the establishment of the Great Mongol Kingdom in 1206 AD, two major events occurred in the history of the Mongols: one was the westward expedition to Central Asia and Eastern Europe; the other was the southward invasion of China. These two events have had immeasurable significance to the traditional culture of the Mongolian nation. The Western Expedition and the Southward Expedition broadened the Mongols' horizons, and they made extensive contact with and absorbed the culture of various ethnic groups in the East and the West, especially the contact with Turkic peoples and Chinese culture. For example, during the Western Expedition, the Mongolian army captured a large number of Central Asian craftsmen and brought them back to Mongolia. With the arrival of these people, some Central Asian Islamic civilizations were also introduced to the Mongolian region, adding new content to Mongolian culture. Another example is the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, which brought the Mongols into a close relationship with the highly developed Chinese culture at that time. Its territory is so-called "over the Yin Mountains in the north, the quicksand in the west, the Liaozuo in the east, and the sea surface in the south". The Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was actually the result of the conflict and integration of nomadic culture and agricultural culture. For a time, five religions, namely Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Shamanism, coexisted. They influenced each other and incorporated the strengths of each religion, thus bridging the cultural exchanges between the East and the West and the connections between various ethnic groups. The cultural conflict and integration between the Mongolian nomadic production methods and the Chinese agricultural production methods have made the traditional Mongolian culture make a leap forward and show new and stronger vitality.

The history of Mongolian culture and thought shows that it is difficult for a closed nation to find a way out. Every civilization contains its own unique wisdom and knowledge. The enlightenment effect of multiple civilizations on a nation is not added, but multiplied. The result of the collision of heterogeneous cultures is exponential growth. The great aspect of Genghis Khan is his learning, reference and tolerance of foreign cultures. Because of this,

The traditional culture of the Mongolian nation has shown its tenacious vitality and occupied a certain position in the cultural history of the medieval world.

Therefore, in our reflection on Mongolian traditional culture and modernization, we advocate the diversification of cultural development and emphasize diversity.