'For the memory of the hero is his second life': Truth, history and politics in late twentieth century Mongolia.

摘要

This dissertation examines the relationship between changes in the portrayals of historical figures and political change in Mongolia during the late socialist and early post-socialist period. By mapping the shifts and continuities in the images of six historical figures: Chinggis Khaan, Suhbaatar, the Bogd Khaan, Manduhai, Zanabazar and Chingunjav, I seek to achieve an understanding of how perceptions of these figures reflect the political climate. I argue that in the post-socialist context, the image of these six figures clearly indicate a concern with the construction of a sense of being a Mongol, in opposition to the Russians, and especially the Chinese. These shifts also clearly indicate that the socialist period (1921-1970) is being represented as an foreign imposition upon Mongolians, and hence not a true part of the Mongolian heritage.; I further show in this work that these concerns were not necessarily absent in socialist historiography, but rather were present in the form of "evocative transcripts." That is, the history texts as written under socialism were often amenable to readings which recovered an interpretation that was in line with socialist ideology, as well as one that was in line with nationalist concerns. These evocative transcripts served as a form of social memory which also served as a form of oppositional history seen as preserving the "truth." Further, influences from presocialist historiography, which was largely derived from folk beliefs and Tibetan Buddhism, remained under socialism, and have become much more prevalent in the contemporary period.; In the course of this dissertation, I also consider the influence of ways of thinking about history on the perceptions of historical events, examining the democratic revolution of 1989/90, and the ways in which it has been thought about in the past few years.