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Secondary sourceBook1369

Shengwu qinzheng lu

1369

A Chinese translation of a now-lost Mongolian chronicle recording the campaigns of Genghis Khan and his son Ögedei.

This chronicle is one of the earliest surviving records of Genghis Khan's campaigns, independent of the Secret History.

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About this source

What it is

The Shengwu qinzheng lu ('Records of the Campaigns') is a Chinese translation, completed in 1369, of a Mongolian chronicle about the lives of Genghis Khan and his son Ögedei Khan. Much of it derives from the lost Mongol state history known as the Altan Debter. It was first presented to Khubilai Khan in 1288 and later transcribed into Mongolian script before its Chinese translation.

Why it matters

Together with Rashid al-Din's Persian history and the Chinese Yuán Shǐ, this text lets historians reconstruct the lost Altan Debter. It offers an official, more restrained account of Genghis Khan's rise compared with the Secret History of the Mongols, which includes darker episodes the Shengwu leaves out.

Look closer

  • Why might an official court chronicle omit certain events that another source includes?
  • What does comparing different histories of the same ruler teach us about bias in historical writing?
  • Why was this text translated and revised over nearly a century before reaching its final form?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Genghis Khan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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