Altan Tobchi

The Altan Tobchi, or Golden Summary (Mongolian Cyrillic: Алтан товч), is a 17th century Mongolian chronicle written by Guush Luvsandanzan. Its full title is "Herein is contained the Golden Summary of the Principles of Statecraft as established by the Ancient Khans". Mongolian scholars typically call the work the "Lu Altan Tovch". It is generally considered second in dignity to the Secret History of the Mongols as a historical chronicle and piece of classical literature. In fact, the work is special in that it contains 233 of the 282 chapters of the Secret History not only verbatim but with additional detail in certain parts. It is also significant in that it is a major source of knowledge on the "Chingisiin Bilig" or Wisdom of Genghis, a code of ethical conduct specifically directed toward future generations of Mongolian ruling nobility. Duke Jamiyan discovered and brought the original pen copy of the Altan Tobchi to Ulaanbaatar in 1926 from a Taiji (Genghisid prince) called Dari living in Dornod Province, Mongolia. It was studied in depth by Jamsrangiin Tseveen and Byambyn Rinchen, and was translated into English by Charles Bawden in 1955. It is one of the most frequently quoted sources in Mongolian publications.

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