On the Torgud ( Kalmyks of the Volga Region ) Banner in Western Qalqa during the Middle Years of the Yongzheng Reign ( 1728-1731 )

As the result of the first QingDzungar confrontation at the end of the 17th century, different Oyirad groups were incorporated into the empire. This essay discusses one Torgud (Kalmyk) jasaγbanner among them, which, unlike its betterknown counterpart on the Etsina River, has remained virtually unknown to scholarship. The Qing government, hoping to ally against the Dzungars with the KalmykTorgud polity in the UralVolga region, offered favorable treatment to Torguds who entered its territory. The formation of this second, littleknown Torgud jasaγbanner was a manifestation of this policy. However, this policy failed when the strains of war caused their loyalty to fellow Oyirads to overcome that owed to the Qing government.

When the Qalqa noblemen submitted to the Kangxi emperor in 1691, the Qing empire incorporated most of the eastern Mongols of the so-called Six Myriarchies of the time of Batu-Möngke Dayan Qaγan.As a result, the Qing empire was now bordered by the Dzungar state on its northwestern and western frontiers.Once he had defeated Galdan, Kangxi immediately set about incorporating the Dzungar state, now headed by Tsewang Rabtan Joriγtu Qungtayiji, and armed conflict ensued.O. Oyunjargal's recent Manj Ching ulsaas mongolchuudyg zakhirsan bodlogo has described the Qing empire's policy toward the Dzungar state and the roles played within the Qing empire by the submitted Oyirad groups formerly under Galdan and by the relatives of the Khošud Očirtu Sečen Qaγan.Among these populations incorporated into the Qing empire was even one group of Torguds from the Volga region, who were organized by the Qing into a banner ruled by a jasaγ and later settled along the Etsina River.But there was also another banner of Torguds from the Volga region that remained in western Qalqa during the first years of the Yongzheng emperor's reign.What follows is an analysis of these latter Volga Torguds.
1.The Torgud Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso (?-1710)Among the holdings of the Mongolian National Central Archives related to the Küriy e amban and the Uliyasutai governor-general, there are fragmented documents, particularly correspondence between the vice-general of the Qalqa left wing Doroi efu Dan-zandorji and General Basai, dating from Yongzheng (YZ) 10 (1732).Their letters concern this western Qalqa Torgud banner and the nearby Oyirad banners and the Qalqa banner of the Duke Tongmok in the Jasaγtu Khan Ayimaγ.From these documents we learn that their tayijis were relatives of the Torgud Ayuki Khan's Gomang Lama. 1 In the historical literature, we find hardly any information about this Gomang Lama.There are just a few written sources about him: the "Crystal Mirror" by Tugan Qutuqtu Lobsang Choikyi Nyima, 2 the Biography of I Jamyan Shadba by Gonchok Jigmed Wangbo, 3 and the biography of the VI Dalai Lama Tsangyan Gyatso. 4Based on these sources, there are brief mentions of Gomang Lama in studies by Ge.Lijei and L. Terbish, and from these we can sketch an outline of his life.
Dondub Gyatso was born to aristocratic family among the Volga Torguds and studied at the Dashi Gomang within the Drepung monastery in Lhasa.In 1673 he was elected as the twenty-ninth abbot of Dashi Gomang and served in this position for three years.For this reason, he was known more as Gomang Lama 5 than as Dondub Gyatso. 6After retiring as abbot, Gomang Lama returned to the Volga steppe and actively spread Buddhism among the Torguds.He then came back to Tibet in 1704 and made many offerings to Lhasa monasteries, after which he was appointed abbot of Litang Monastery.In 1708 he was still residing there, preventing the deposed sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyan Gyatso from visiting there for more than three days.After his death (his dates of birth and death are both unknown) he was reincarnated, and the residences of subsequent reincarnations of Gomang Gegen were all located among the Qarašar Torguds of Xinjiang province. 7The addition of further sources makes possible an even fuller picture of Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso's political life.
We have already seen that Dondub Gyatso was a well-educated and high-ranking lama and also, as Buddhist historian Tugan Qutuqtu has suggested, a pioneer in spreading Buddhism among the Volga Kalmyks. 8But he returned suddenly to Central Asia to meet with the Dzungar leader Galdan Bošoγtu Khan in 1688, at his encampment in Kobdo. 9This meeting was supposedly related to the migration of three thousand Dzungar households to the Ural-Volga region in 1687, under the leadership of Tsagan Batur, the son of Chökür Ubashi.This migration led, in turn, to conflicts between Ayuki and Galdan Bošoγtu Khan. 10 I would suggest that as a high-ranking Torgud lama, he was sent to Galdan Bošoγtu Khan by Ayuki to negotiate between the two Oyirad powers on this problem.But from the sources reviewed below, the negotiations ended inconclusively.After the death of Galdan Bošoγtu Khan in 1697 one of his commanders, Danjila, headed to Dzungar territory to claim his khan's remains, but near Boγda Eren Qabirγa he was suddenly stopped by Gomang Lama's troops.
Danjila's envoy said to him: Galdan Bošoγtu has passed away.I am heading to Tsewang Rabtan.You, Lama, are the lama of all.All the cases in the past were the deeds of Galdan Bošoγtu.Now, I will send my envoy to Tsewang Rabtan.And you, Lama, also send with my envoy one good person [to him]. 11mang Lama withdrew his troops and sent his representative Darqan Gelung to Tsewang Rabtan with Danjila's envoy.But the Qing emissaries were able to persuade Danjila to submit to Kangxi while he was waiting for the return of his envoys to Tsewang Rabtan. 12Then Tsewang Rabtan sent one thousand troops under Tsering Dondub, and they captured most of Danjila's men.Danjila and his son, Dorji Sebten, ultimately reached Hami with just seventy-nine men. 13One might suspect from this that Gomang Lama and Tsewang Rabtan were allies; later events reveal that they were not.
From this time on Gomang Lama would occasionally communicate with the Qing.The Qing emperor had blamed the Torgud lama on three points, but Dondub Gyatso did not recognize the first and only partially accepted the other two.The details of Danjila's adventure can be seen in the above sources.But what does it mean that he "admonished Galdandorji for his escape"?
Galdandorji was the eldest grandson of the Qošud Wčirtu Cecen Khan, who was defeated by Galdan Bošoγtu in 1677 and submitted to the Qing in 1679. 15In 1697 he escaped from the Bulungir and Qing troops under Ananda.But some of his own subjects and some of the Qoyids of Lubsang did not follow him and were settled by the Qing administration in Alashan. 16Kangxi accepted Tsewang Rabtan's submission but ordered that if Galdandorji wanted to return and offered an apology, he should not be stopped.Tsewang Rabtan's envoy Yondan Gelung then reported orally in Beijing at the beginning of Kangxi 37: Tsewang Rabtan has ordered me to report orally as follows: "Galdandorji did not come to me after his escape but remained with Gomang Lama.When I went to war with Galdandorji did not submit to Tsewang Rabtan but sought Gomang Lama's support.From this, one can surmise that Dondub Gyatso was powerful enough to be independent of Tsewang Rabtan.Following Galdandorji's death, the relationship between the Qing court and Gomang Lama was again normalized.Envoys from Gomang Lama visited Beijing in 1699, 1700, and 1702 and inquired after the emperor's health.In 1701 there was no mission from Gomang Lama because he had gone to Tibet.Gomang Lama's messenger, who arrived in Beijing in 1702, asked the officials of the Lifanyuan for a protection document, as he had been robbed on the way from Tibet to Beijing. 18omang Lama went to Tibet, both for pilgrimage and also under strong pressure from Tsewang Rabtan, who had begun pursuing a policy of Oyirad unification, as had his predecessor Galdan Bošoγtu Khan.Arriving in Lhasa, Dondub Gyatso met his disciple Jamyang Shadba I--an abbot of Gomang datsan, as Dondub Gyatso had once been.
Gomang Lama made generous donations to the disciples of Gomang datsan and, at the request of Jamyang Shadba, received an allotment of land for the construction of a hostel for lamas and disciples, thereby making great donations to the Dalai Lama's treasury. 19Soon after this, the Dalai Lama's administration appointed Gomang Lama abbot of Litang monastery, in eastern Tibet in Kham.But he then came into conflict with Gombo Tsering-'warlord' of the Changtui region on the Tibetan-Chinese frontier 20who attacked him.Gombo Tsering, who shortly before this conflict had submitted to the Qing, complained to the Qing administration in Dajianlu in Sichuan and asked for help. 21Envoys of Gomang Lama came to Dajianlu bearing a letter from their master: This place named Changtui has been ruled by Litang since ancient times.We have records of their tax collection and military service.Local inhabitants used their adverse terrain to freely rob merchants and travelers . . . .When I came here from Central Tibet, about thirty robbers from Changtui killed my people-Rinčin Jayisang and Erke Baγatur -and stole their horses, saddles, rifles, and clothing. . . .Resenting their evil behavior, I have sent my troops to peacefully bring them here.My troops took their two forts, which offered resistance.Another four or five forts capitulated. . . .Now, at your request, my troops have withdrawn. 22is letter was received in Beijing on KX 42 /8/30 (Oct.10, 1703).The further course of events there are unknown to me.But from the biography of the sixth Dalai Lama, one learns that Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso was still on the abbot's throne in the Litang monastery in 1708. 23orking with Manchu-language microfilm held by the First Historical Archives in Beijing, I have found new evidence regarding Gomang Lama.One document, from which only the imperial rescript portion survives, reads: Because of Gomang Lama's rebellious actions, one cannot retain him there for a single day.When this janggin arrives there, send him along with his disciples and servants, totaling not more than ten people, by way of internal post stations.Send the other people with one janggin to his subjects in Dang Serten and wait for further orders.For the others, let it be as originally recommended. 24e can see here that the Qing government finally decided to intervene in the conflict between Dondub Gyatso and the Nyag rong ruler.There is another memorial with an imperial rescript in red ink from KX 49 (1710).From this memorial by Bafušeo we find out that Gomang Lama came into conflict with local people.And he also has bad relations with the inhabitants of Köke naγur (Qinghai).If we send him to Dang Serteng, we cannot be sure that he will not cause problems.Six hundred households in Dang Serteng and 22. Manchu translation of a Tibetan letter from Gomang Lama to the Qing official in Dajianlu Dambaserji: "jan dui serengge daci litang ni harangga ba.yaya alban gaiha coohai hacin, alban de / yabubuha hacin gemu dangse de bi.jan dui urse ini ba na i haksan de hafirahūn de erdufi / yaya hūdašara yabure urse be heturefi durime cuwangname gūnin i cihai/ yabumbi . . .bi zang-ni baci / ebsi jiderede jan dui i gūsin funcere hūlha jifi mini fejergi rincin jaizang / erke batur juwenofi be miyoocilame wafi morin enggemu miyoocan, etuku i jergi jakan be / durifi gamaha. . . .tesei / ere gese ehe yabun i yabure de bi fancafi mini ubaci cooha unggifi damu / hūwaliyasun i wajikini sehe bihe.mini unggihe cooha de tese iseleme ofi / juwe gašan be gaiha.ini cisui dahame dosika gašan duin sunja bi . . .suweni tacibuha gisun i songkoi cooha be gocika."Dayičing gürün-ü dotuγadu yamun-u mongγol bičig-ün ger-ün dangsa, 243-50.23."tende-eče bi γaγčaγar degesi töbed-ün jüg-tü yabul-a.daraγalan kam-un orun-u litang keyid-tü γomang dačang-un siregen blam-a bayiγsan nigen torγud blam-a odu litang keyid-ün ubadiya bolju bayiqu tula taniγdan medegdekü-eče seremjilejü γurban qonuγ-ača ilegüü ülü saγubai."Aγvanglhüngdübdarji and Lubsangtübdenjamčo, Jirγuduγar dalai blam-a-yin namtar qoyar jüyil, 50.24."g'omang lama emgeri afatame facuhūn yabuha be dahame, tubade emu inenggi fulu bibuci ojorakū.ere janggin isinahai ini hanci yabure šabi kutule be juwan niyalma be tulemburakū, dorgi juhūn (sic!), giyamun yalubufi gajikini.funcehe niyalma jai emu janggin tucibufi dang serteng de bisire niyalma de acabufi hese be baikini.gūwa be gisurehe songkoi obu."Kangxi chao Manwen zhupi zouzhe 康熙朝満文朱批奏折, microfiche 8.
one hundred men with Šanjotba have resettled from Litang and must be resettled in Köke qota (Hohhot) with Gomang Lama.Šanjotba and the others who were resettled from Litang have thin clothes, and their cattle are exhausted.Thus Šanjotba and the others cannot be resettled in Köke qota immediately.Let Šanjotba and the others live temporarily in Dang Serteng for one or two years, and then move them immediately [to Köke qota].Because they will not be moved now to [Köke qota], send one janggin there to supervise them." 25 While the emperor was away from the capital, Gomang Lama waited for him in the imperial horse pastures north of Zhangjiakou.But on his way to Beijing, on KX 49/5/22 (June 18, 1710), Gomang Lama passed away near Anguli naγur in modernday Hebei province. 26As was customary in the hot season, his disciples cremated his body after receiving permission. 27The Qing official Bafušeo, who escorted them, memorialized the emperor and recommended sending his senior disciple Erke Ončon to the capital in place of the deceased Gomang Lama.Erke Ončon would then return when the subjects of Gomang Lama arrived in Köke qota from the pasturelands of Dang Serteng. 28I regret that I cannot trace the development of these events further.
submit to the Qing.Here one question arises: why were the šabi-subjects of Gomang Lama not moved to Köke qota but resettled in western Qalqa instead?This question is the central concern of the next section.

Šabi subjects of Gomang Lama, headed by Mergen Tsorji
In the Yongzheng emperor's edict to the Kalmyk khan Tserin Donduk in 1729, he mentioned the šabi subjects of Gomang Lama as follows: When your Arabjur, son of Nazar Mamud, tried to return after the pilgrimage with his mother to Tibet, Tsewang Rabtan did not permit him to pass through, and he could not go back.I then mercifully granted him the title of beise and much grace and gave him pastureland of his own.Also, the disciples of Gomang Lama were captured by Tibetans and could not return [to you].I gathered them all and granted my favor. 29t from this letter one cannot determine the exact date of the events mentioned or how Gomang Lama's people arrived in western Qalqa.At the beginning of this paper, I mentioned the Manchu language documents from the National Central Archives in Mongolia.In one, which has lost its beginning and end, Mergen Tsorji, the ruler of this group, said: Among us there are three tayijis who are relatives of Ayuki Khan and twelve tayijis who are relatives of our Gomang Lama. . . .We are all from the Kalmyk 30 state. . . .In the past our Ayuki Khan advised us by letter, "The people who left with [Gomang] Lama, the lamas, and others are all my subjects.Because Amuhūlang khan rules over the Celestial Empire, you do not have to worry.You can live where you want and submit to whom you want."We have sent this letter for presentation to Emperor Shengzu [the Kangxi emperor].And we have received an imperial rescript, under which we were living freely. 3129."tan-u najar mamud-un köbegün arabjur öber-ün eke lüge qamtu baraγun töbed-tür mörgür-e irejü qariju odqui-dur, čevengrabdan-dur boγoγdaju odču bolqu ügei učir-i nigülsen örüsiyejü, öbtegsi niγur-tai bolγan beyise ergümjilejü, ürgülji kesig kürtegülün kümüjigüljü öber-e tejiyejü saγulγajuqui.basa k'omang blam-a-yin šabi nar tangγud-tur ejelegdejü qoyisi qariju bolqu ügei-yin tulada, čöm quriyaγad kesig kürtegülün tejiyebei."Altanorgil Badai and Erdeni, Oyirad teüke-yin durasqal-ud (Ürümči: Sinjiyang-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriy-a, 1992), 457-59.30.I've translated Turgūt here as Kalmyk, since it included more than only Torguds.31."damu meni dorgi ayuki han i mugūn i / taiji ilan, meni k'omang lama i mugūn i / taijisa juwan juwe . . .be gemu turgūt gurun i niyalma. . . .damu neneme meni ayuki han i / mende unggihe bithede, lama i / emgi genehe lama albatu gemu / mini harangga / amuhūlang han, abkai fejergi baita / icihiyara be dahame suwembe jobobure / ba akū.we ya de ome / alibure suweni cihanggai bade / banjime tekini sehe bithe be / šengzu ejen de tuwabume / wesimbufi, baiha songkoi šangnaha / ejehe bithe be It seems that, although Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso was not a close relative of Ayuki Khan, he was still a representative of the Torgud ruling lineage.And for this reason he could receive Ayuki Khan's permission to rule that part of his subjects who went with him to the east.This letter from Ayuki Khan was probably presented to the Kangxi emperor after the death of Gomang Lama in 1710.
Before going further, I must identify the above-mentioned Mergen Tsorji, who ruled the subjects of Gomang Lama after his death.On KX 46/10/20 (Nov.13, 1707) the Qing Lifanyuan received the letter of a certain Noyon Corji, son of the older brother of the Torgud Gomang Lama, written in Todo script, asking after the emperor's health. 32 suspect that this man was Mergen Tsorji.Since Dondub Gyatso was from the Torgud noble family, his nephew could be titled Noyon Corji (lit., noble abbot).The location of this group under the rule of Mergen Tsorji/Noyon Corji is known from the Qing official chronicle of the conquest of the Dzungar state.On the red tiger day of KX 54/11 (1715) the Qing official Funingga begged the emperor's permission to send scouts to the region of Gas.His memorial read: Funingga memorializes again.Serteng, where the beise Arabjur and Noyan Corji resided, and Caidam, where the subject-tayijis of Dayan Taiji resided, are connected to the road between Cagan Cilootu and the pass of Gas. 33e letter from General Basai to Vice-General Danjindorji, dated YZ 6/3/7 (April 15, 1728), cited another letter from Mergen Tsorji, from which one can determine when the Torguds had left the above-mentioned pasture: The letter presented from Mergen Tsorji, which he begs to transmit, said: "When we moved out from Dang Bulunggir the people of forty-nine households escaped.After finding out that thirteen men from that group are now subject to Duke Baji, seven to Duke Tongmok, and twenty-two to Duke Tuba, we have written to the Lifanyuan and received back our thirty-three men.The Lifanyuan ordered Duke Tuba to hand over to me the nine men who were not obtained.When I asked Duke Tuba to give me [those nine] men, Duke Tuba said: 'When I reported to the Lifanyuan, those nine men were under me.Then I divided them with Duke Tongmok, and now they are under him.You have to request them from Duke Tongmok!' When I requested them from Duke Tongmok, he said: 'I already returned your seven men.These nine men were given to me by General Arna.They cannot be handed over to you.' Now, in the sixth month, our men recognized another six men besides those nine in the banner of Duke Tongmok.Six men were found in the banner of Duke Baji, other than those thirteen who were returned to us earlier.When I asked them to return those people, they replied that 'you must report to the Lifanyuan to get them.Without the permission of the Lifanyuan, they cannot be returned.'" 34 The Dang and Bulunggir mentioned here are rivers in the northwestern Köke naγur region.River Dang empties into Lake Serteng.Obviously, the Torguds of Mergen Tsorji moved into western Qalqa from this region.Mergen Tsorji requested the return of his subjects who had fled during this migration and had been kept in several banners of western Qalqa.One of the banner rulers, Duke Tongmok, did not return his Torguds, reasoning that they were given to him by the Qing General Arna.
From the official biography of Tongmok one finds that in YZ 2 (1724), he joined the expeditionary forces of General Arna, which were to block the withdrawal of Lubsangdanjin's rebel army. 35General Arna, stationed at Turfan, died at the end of that same year.Thus it seems that those nine men were given by Arna to Tongmok in 1724, at the same time that the Torguds moved out from that region to Qalqa.
The reason for that migration was presumably as follows.In YZ 1/7 (1723), before the arrival of the Turfan general and on account of Lubsangdanjin's uprising, General Nian Gengyao recommended that the emperor build a fortress in Bulunggir and garrison an army there.The emperor granted permission for this. 36By imperial edict the Mongols were prohibited from nomadizing in this region. 37 gen Tsorji moved to western Qalqa.Duke Tongmok and Duke Tuba from western Qalqa, who had nomadized together with the Qošuds in the Köke naγur region after the Dzungar invasion of Qalqa at the end of the seventeenth century, served in the army of General Arna.Additionally, the banners formed from the Oyirads who had submitted to the Qing Empire had been organized in western Qalqa by that time.

The establishment of the Torgud jasaγ banner-1728
The Torguds of Mergen Tsorji had arrived in western Qalqa in 1724.According to the Kangxi emperor's rescript, they could not live "freely" in this new place, as they had in their previous location; rather, they were to be organized into the Qing administrative system.Regarding this situation, the undated document cited above says: [Our] people thought: "Qalqa and Oyirads were all separately organized into banners and nirus, with their nobles at the head.No one was given to other people.We are all people of the Kalmyk state.It is true that we do not want to be included in any Qalqa or Oyirad jasaγ's banner.How could we lie to the Emperor fearlessly?Likewise, we will be organized separately."Now how could I, Mergen Tsorji, dare to disobey the Lifanyuan's order, even though the mind of [our] people is different?The banner of the Oyirad jasaγ beise Dorjisebten lies next to us.So let us be included in the banner of Beise Dorjisebten. 38e Lifanyuan's order is also cited in this document: "The letter of the Lifanyuan [says], 'You are a monk.It is difficult for you to rule so many people.You should be organized administratively and included in the one of the neighboring banners.'"39 Obviously, the Torguds did not want to obey anyone from the beginning.But since their leader Mergen Tsorji was a clergyman, the Qing administration ordered them to obey one of the neighboring jasaγs.So Mergen Tsorji's choice of Dorjisebten's banner was motivated by the earlier relationship between Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso and Danjila, the father of Dorjisebten.But Mergen Tsorji's subjects were not willing to obey anyone, reasoning that they were people of the Kalmyk khanate.The Qing administration in Qalqa also took this situation into account.In a secret memorial by the 38."geren i gūnin, kalka, / ūlet sebe gūsa, niru banjibufi / meni meni wang taiji sebe jasak / obufi, ceni harangga urse be kamcibuhabi.umai encu niyalma de / kamcibuha ba akū.be gemu turgūt gurun i niyalma. kaa, ūlet i / jasak sede cihanggai kamciki sere / gūnin yargiyan i akū bime.ai / gelhun akū cihangga seme enduringge ejen be holtombi.ainci membe / enculebumbi tere seme ereme gūniha / bihe mergen corji bi udu geren i / gūnin encu de jobošocibe, ne / jurgan ci dahūme / wesimbufi isinjiha be dahame, ai / gelhun akū jurcembi.ūlet i / jasak beise dorjisebten meni / hanci tehe be dahame, beise / dorjisebten de kamcifi teki seme / alibuhabi."NCA Mongolia, M1D1-2492.6.39.NCA Mongolia, M1D1-2492.6.
vice-general, imperial-son-in-law Tsering, dated YZ 5/12/25 (1727), he reports to the emperor on the current situation: Your servant previously spoke with Prince Danjindorji, General Basai, and Vice-General Bubei on the following topic: "Mergen Tsorji has refused to be organized into a banner, even though the generals had instructed him on the necessity of it.They are not willing to be put in the banner."Your servant does not know whether Mergen Tsorji really wants to move here.Currently he and his men live in western Qalqa.[We] need to resolve this problem in a different way.I am somewhat worried about this.Western Qalqa is very close to Tsewang Rabtan's territory.Also Princes Tsering Wangbu and Sebten Wangbu are themselves in the inland area [China], and their subjects dwell in the region of the River Tui.They go continually into Tuvan territory to collect tribute from the Tuvans and to trade with them.And at the same time they feed Tsewang Rabtan with information.[We] should not trust these Oyirads.Their older generation is already dead, and they now have just the younger generation.Let us move them into Köke qota near to their princes and move the disciples of Mergen Tsorji into the land thereby opened up.Informing Tsering Wangbu and Sebten Wangbu about it will let us send a small number of households to Tuva to collect that tribute and to live with the Tuvans.Let them send the collected tribute to Köke qota at the end of each year.This kind of decision will not burden their lives and can preclude any problems.For this reason, I, your servant, secretly memorialize you.I respectfully request your imperial edict. 40e emperor ordered the Lifanyuan to explore this issue in detail and recommend a decision.At the same time the administration of General Basai started to organize the subjects of Mergen Tsorji into the banner system.
Our administration has again asked Mergen Tsorji.He said that they are willing to be included in the banner of the Oyirad Dorjisebten.So we have appointed the banner commander, military commander, arrow commanders, and other officials of the banner, putting 150 men in each arrow.What should we do with the remaining fiftyfive men: give them as the servants to those princes who will be ranked by law or who have own subjects, or organize from them into half-arrows?We will follow the order after receiving it from the Lifanyuan. 4140.Zhongguo diyi lishi dang'anguan 中国第一历史档案馆et al., eds., Yongzheng chao Manwen zhupi quanyi 雍正朝满文 朱批全译 (Beijing: Huangshan shushe, 1998), no.2807, pp.1552-53.I am deeply grateful to professor O. Oyunjargal (National University of Mongolia) for translating this passage from Chinese into Mongolian.41.Letter from General Basai to the vice-general Prince Danjindorji, YZ 6/3/7: "meni baci lama mergen corji de, dasame / fonjifi cihangga ūlet i beise dorjisebten de / kamciki seme gūsa be kadalara janggin, / meiren i janggin, nirui janggin i jergi hafasa / sindafi emu tanggū susai haha be emu niru / obuhaci tulgiyen, funcehe susai sunja haha / eici taijisa de jergi bahabufi kamcigan General Basai organized three nirus from the Torguds of Mergen Tsorji (the document earlier states that Mergen Tsorji had about five hundred households). 42One can see that the total number of people under Gomang Lama decreased from six hundred households in 1710 to five hundred in 1728, obviously caused by migration.Much was written about the search for escapees who fled along the way to western Qalqa.Some escapees were found in the banners of the Qalqa Princes Tongmok, Tuba, and Cedenjab, and among the banner of Qoyid Prince Baji. 43hortly after this General Basai submitted another memorial, in which he requested the organization of a banner for Mergen Tsorji's Torguds under a separate jasaγ.
O. Oyunjargal has found that the Oyirad league, which consisted of the submitted Oyirad banners, was established in western Qalqa during the same sixth year of Yongzheng (1728). 51In Qing sources the total number of banners varies between five and six.Based on the Biographies and Records of the Outer Mongolian and Muslim Princes and Dukes, she found that the Oyirad League consisted of the following banners: 1) Jasaγ Prince Tsering Wangbu; 2) Jasaγ Prince Sebten Wangbu; 3) Jasaγ Prince Muuqai; 4) Jasaγ Prince Dorji Sebten; 5) Jasaγ Prince Abuu; 6) Jasaγ Prince Baji.The first four were Dzungar nobles, while the fifth and sixth were Qošud and Qoyid, respectively.From their original locations, Abuu had moved to the Köke naγur region, and this is the reason that Oyunjargal offers for the documents sometimes recording varying numbers of banners.
My conclusion is that instead of the banner of the Qošud Prince Abuu, which was in the Köke naγur region at this time (1724-1729), Mergen Tsorji's Torguds, neighbors of the other five banners in western Qalqa, were the Oyirad League's sixth banner from the beginning.As recorded in extant documents, the Torguds still considered themselves "people of the Torgud state" and tried to keep their distance from the Dzungars (in general, Manchu ūlet means Oyirad, but strictly it indicates the Dzungars ruled by the Coros lineage).After fifty years the history of the existence of an independent Torgud banner in western Qalqa was not common knowledge for the composers of the Biographies and Records of the Outer Mongolian and Muslim Princes and Dukes, leading them to include the later Alashan Qošuds, located at that time in the Köke naγur region, as a banner of the Oyirad League.
But why was almost nothing known about the Torgud jasaγ banner--which really existed--after just fifty years?The Grand Council copies of Manchu-language archives held in Beijing provide an answer.

The End of the Torgud jasaγ Banner-1731
After the death of Dzungar leader Tsewang Rabtan in 1727, Galdan Tsering succeeded to the throne of his father and began to implement an active policy toward the Mongols of the Qing Empire.In the last winter month of the eighth year of Yongzheng (Jan.8-Feb.6, 1731) General Furdan of the north army in Qalqa memorialized: It is uncertain whether Dzungar thieves would attack the pasturelands of the Qalqa Prince Tongmok and Qoyid Prince Baji, passing through the posts of the Aji and Baji.I have ordered General Basai to collect about two thousand hand-picked troops and send them under the official Dengšou and commanders Marči and Raši to Köbger, to join the 1,300 Qalqa and Čaqar troops and then redeploy as a group to Lake Ikes.[I have] also ordered [him] to send Princes Geleg Yampil, Tongmok, and Daši Darja with one thousand troops to Dengšou to join him.And send two thousand troops under Commander Asan and Prince Dafu to Köbger for joint operations. 52 the following year, 1731, Dzungar forces passed the Altai Mountains, near Lake Khoton-naγur, destroyed one of the Qing armies, and eventually advanced deep into the Qalqa banners.In YZ 9/10 (Oct.31-Nov.28, 1731), Qing General Marsai reported: 52.Dayičing ulus-un maγad qauli.Qorin nigedüger emkidkel.Šizung tölübtü quvangdi-yin maγad qauli (tabu) (Qayilar: Öbür mongγol-un soyol-un keblel-ün qoriy-a, 1992), 59-60.
The commander of the twenty-ninth relay station, Dalai, reports: "Rebels have traversed the Nam dabaγan Pass and entered the pastures of Biger čaγan örge.[They have] attacked and captured Qoyid Prince Baji, disciples of the Torgud Gomang Lama, and Bandi of the Dzungar Prince Sebten Wangbu.Half of the rebel troops headed to the fortress of Godoli, passing through Sirγayin γobi.One part of them headed to the Khangai Mountains and to the Tuul River.They wish to join each other near the monastery of Erdeni Juu and capture the pasture lands of Qalqa." 53t soon afterwards, it became clear that Oyirads had not been captured but had defected to the enemy and were used by the latter as guides in the vanguard of the Dzungar army.A general, Prince Sibao, reported to the emperor based on the captives' testimony: When both [elder and younger] Tsering Dondubs and Dorji Damba entered [our]  territory with thirty thousand rebels, the Torgud Mergen Tsorji and Qoyid Prince Baji went over to the rebels with the people of their banners and directed them to join the banners of Princes Tongmok and Tsedenjab. 54ma Lubsang Geleg, a subject of the Qoyid Prince Baji who would flee Dzungar captivity in the following year, told Qing officers that Mergen Tsorji's Torguds and Prince Baji's Qoyids had surrendered to the Dzungar army in YZ 9/9 (Oct.1-30,  1731). 55In YZ 10/2/6 (Mar.2, 1732) Qing border guards arrested the lamas Nawang Jamcu and Nawang Odzer, former subjects of Prince Pungcuk Daičing from the banner of Qalqa Prince Tongmok, who had been captured by the Dzungars the previous year.Then Prince Pungcuk Daičing was surrounded by 1,500 troops of the Dzungar Jaisang Haliun and was forced to surrender and submit to them.His men were left behind in Urunggu for the winter.The Qing generals memorialized: When we asked Nawang Jamcu and others to tell all of what they had found out and heard, they answered: When the rebels resettled them to the place called Urunggu, they sent envoys together with the envoys of both [elder and younger] Tsering Dondubs.Our prince Pungcuk Daičing sent the man named Damba, Prince Baji sent the noble Ahai taiji, and Mergen Tsorji of the Torguds sent the man named Lubsang Širab.In the eleventh month (Nov.29-Dec.28, 1731) our envoys, headed by Damba, came back and reported as follows, "When we got in there we met with Galdan Tsering.Galdan Tsering asked us, 'Who rules the seven banners of Qalqa, and who commands the Manchu and Mongol troops?'We answered that our seven banners of Qalqa are ruled by three men: Jasaktu Khan, Prince Danjin[dorji], and Prince Cecen (Tsering).All of the Manchu, Mongol, and Qalqa troops are commanded by the general prince (Tsering). 56e questioning of Dzungar refugee Bureči, a subject of Qoyid Prince Darjijab of the Dolot Otok, captured at the Qing-Dzungar border on YZ 10/2/3 (Feb.28, 1732), revealed where exactly the defectors from the Qalqa had wintered.
who learned about it from the Dzungars.I saw the Jahacin people of the Dzungars, who were going to the place named Usun Ariktai with their families and children to cultivate the fields there, when they passed through Huwa Erčis.The subjects of Mergen Tsorji were also saying that Baji, who submitted to the rebels, said to Galdan Tsering: 'If [the emperor] plans to send a great army from the capital city (Beijing) this year, the army cannot easily come here on account of the distance.Even if they could reach here, their horses and cattle would be exhausted.So it would be better to send an army within the current year.'One hundred troops were drafted from the subjects of the Torgud Mergen Tsorji, levying one man from each household.Their women and children will be sent to Jair.The troops were drafted when I escaped from there. 58 the Torguds of Mergen Tsorji were moved into Emil Jair 59 in mid-1732.On YZ 10/11/26 (Jan.11, 1733), a runaway Qalqa named Yum arrived at the border post Haiči bulak from the banner of Tsering Wangčuk, having fled Dzungar captivity.He said: The subjects of Prince Punsuk Daičing from the banner of our Qalqa Prince Tongmok and the subjects of Baji all live together now in the place called Kara Maili near Jair.Moohai was settled in Oola Ariktai and Gool Ariktai beyond the Altai Mountains.The people of Sebten Wangbu were divided among the tribes.The Torgud lama Mergen Tsorji was settled in Kara Ajirgan and Sira near the Jair.Among them, the Torgud lama Mergen Tsorji and Moohai have good relations with Galdan Tsering.When I fled, there were rumors that the people of Baji and our Qalqas would be divided like the Dzungars of Sebten Wangbu. 6058."omšon biyade juwe ceringdondub cooha be gaifi hada cinggil i bade isinaha manggi abaldak sere niyalma, turgūt i lama mergen corji ci emu temen gaifi mimbe uncaha.bi mergen corji be dahame oola ariktai i bade tuweri hetuhe.ere aniya sunja biyai orin de, turgūt i urse ercis i cala jair i bade gurime genefi tembi serede, bi sunja biyai juwan juwe i dobori emu temen yalufi, hūwa ercis i baci tucifi, julergi gobi deri šurdeme yabufi anagan i sunja biyai ice de aji karun de isinjiha.bi tubade bihede turgūt i mergen corji i fejergi ursei gisurehengge, ere aniya jun gar i nukte ci ilan tumen cooha tucibufi amba ceringdondub dalafi anagan i sunja biyai tofohon de kirang ni bade isinjimbi.ajige ceringdondub juwe tumen cooha be tucibufi hasak i ergide unggimbi.amba ceringdondub i gaifi jidere ilan tumen cooha kirang ni bade tefi morin be ujifi tarhūha erinde, tulergideri šurdeme genefi, kalkasai nukte be necinjimbi seme turgūt i fejergi urse jun gar i niyalma ci donjifi, gisurere be bi donjiha, jai jun gar i jahacin urse usun ariktai de usin tarime jimbi seme ilan biyade hehe juse suwaliyame gurifi, hūwa ercis deri tulere be sabuha.mergen corji i urse geli gisurehengge hūlha de dahaha baji, k'aldang cering de alahangge, ere aniya ging hecen ci amba cooha jici, jugūn goro, ja de isiname muterakū, uthai jicibe, inu ulha macufi teni isinjici ojoro dabala, ubaci ere aniya be amcame cooha dosici sain seme jombume alaha sembi.geli turgūt i mergen corji i fejergi ursei dorgici boigon tome emte haha be sonjome, uheri emu tanggū cooha tucibumbi, funcehe urse be ceni hehe juse i emgi jair i bade guribumbi seme, mini jidere de cooha tucibumbihe seme alambi."Junjichu Manwen lufu zouzhe, microfiche 25.000598-605.59.Zair is the name of a mountain, located at 45°9' N and 8°' E, on the border between the PRC and Kazakhstan, in the territory of Toli xian, Tarbagatay county, in the Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous region of the PRC.Radnabhadara, Zay-a Bandida, 83.60. "jai duleke aniya tabcilabuha musei kalkai gung tongmok i gūsai taiji punsuk daicing sei urse gemu baji i niyalmai sasa jair ba i hanci kara maila i bade tehebi, moohai be ini fejergi ursei sasa altai i cargi oola ariktai, gool ariktai i bade tebuhebi.sebten wangbu i niyalma be ceni nukte de isiname gemu aiman aiman de facabume dendehe.turgūt i lama mergen corji be jair ba i hanci kara ajirgan, sira i jergi bade nukteme tebuhe.desei dorgide k'aldan cering kemuni turgūt i lama mergen corji, moohai be The Torguds ended their journey in Kara Ajirga and Sira near the Jair, where the Qoyids of Baji and the Qalqas of Pungcuk Daičing were also settled.Beginning with the Dzungar invasion in 1731, the banner ruler Jasaγ Prince Keirub is nowhere mentioned.Perhaps he had been long dead by that time.In this way, the Torgud banner, which actually came from the Volga region on the western frontier of Qing-ruled Qalqa, ended up near the Jair.At the same time the league of the Oyirads fell apart as a result of the Dzungar invasion of Qalqa.
Because the banner only existed for about three years and its population defected to the Dzungars from the Qing side, few documents survive.For that reason, there is no mention of this banner in Qing official historical works.The composers of the late Iledkel šastir mixed up Mergen Tsorji's group with the other Torguds under Arabjur, who also came from the Volga region.The biography of the banner prince Arabjur in the Iledkel šastir says: Danjung, who initially inherited the title, was the elder son of Arabjur.He inherited the title of banner-beise.In the seventh year of the Yongzheng reign (1729) he had an imperial audience and was given the title of doroi-beile.In the ninth year (1731) the Dzungars sent spies to the Qalqas and Oyirads who had submitted.And they also sent troops in several directions to attack the pasturelands.Then a Danjung subject named Mergen Tsorji deserted to the Dzungars. 61e reason for such a mistake by the composers of Iledkel šastir likewise lies in the fact that the Torguds under Mergen Tsorji did not return to Qalqa after the conquest of Dzungar land in 1755, in contrast to the Qoyids of Baji and the Qalqas of Tongmok.

Conclusion
From the above, one can see that Gomang Lama Dondub Gyatso from the Volga-Kalmyk khanate was a remarkable person who played an active role on the Inner Asian political scene.Once sent by his remote relative Ayuki Khan, probably, on a diplomatic mission to the Dzungar leader Galdan Bošoγtu Khan, he could not normalize the relations between the two Oyirad leaders.And after the usurpation of Tsewang Rabtan and after Galdan Bošoγtu Khan's heavy defeats by the Qing army in 1690, he started to represent his own small but strong domain between the two Dzungar leaders.After the death of Galdan Bošoγtu Khan and facing the unification policy of the new Dzungar leader Tsewang Rabtan, Gomang Lama moved his šabi subjects to the northwestern region of Köke naγur.After longstanding conflicts with the Tibetan tribes of the Sino-Tibetan frontier who had submitted to the Qing, Gomang Lama, as the representative of the Dalai Lama's government, was ultimately forced to submit to the Qing.Those of his subjects ruled by his nephew Mergen Tsorji, living relative freely in the northwestern Köke naγur region, were forced to leave that area because of the Qošud Lubsang Danjin's uprising.Although the Qing military administration in Qalqa tried to incorporate them into one of the neighboring banners there, they were in the end organized into a separate banner ruled by a relative of Ayuki Khan on account of their silent resistance.
The organization of one more banner from the Torguds of the Kalmyk khanate in addition to the group of Arabjur, which, for several reasons, could not rejoin its brothers in the Volga region, was an excellent illustration of the special treatment shown by the Qing Empire to the Kalmyk khanate, a desirable ally against the Dzungar state.But the all-Oyirad identity of this group was stronger than the grace of the Manchu emperor, and during the Dzungar-Qing war the population of this new banner submitted to the Dzungar state, as did the other Oyirad banners of the Oyirad league in Western Qalqa.This was the main reason for late Qing official chroniclers' ignorance of this banner, which, in fact, existed for just three years.It shows once again the importance of Manchu-and Mongol-language primary documents for the study of the history of the non-Chinese territories of the Qing Empire.