Genghis Khan: From A Historical Narrative To Narrative Literature

Genghis Khan, formerly named Tiemuzhen, is the founder of Mongolia, a great statesman in Mongolian history , a strategist and thinker. The image of Genghis Khan was originated from the Secret History of Mongolia .Through the handing down of the past millennium, the history of Genghis Khan has been transformed gradually into literature, whose image has constantly been shaped and transmitted . And gradually the image of Genghis Khan was enlarged, overstated and even twisted, far beyond the image of being a Founding Monarch. Thus the definition of Khan was more lofty, well-developed and exaggerated than its actual one in the history of Genghis Khan. From The Secret History of Mongols to the Historian, Origin of Mongolian, Golden History and Yuan's History and Legacy Kingdoms, the image of Genghis Khan has undergone a evolutionary process from the " hero on Prairie " to the "military genius" and to the "enlightened kind-hearted monarch" and this process has not only embodied differences between the historical narrative and the literary narrative, but also reflects the cultural impact on the history and literature. In this paper, I'll analyze the existing differences about the image of Genghis Khan among different versions, from the view of how the image was generated and accepted. I'll also interpret the culture on a preliminary basis. The generation, dissemination and cultural stereotypes of Genghis Khan's image are the result of cultural choice. Culture propagators with different cultural backgrounds shape the ideal image of Genghis Khan in accordance with their own group's cultural needs. Genghis Khan's image transforms from a historical view into a literature view, forming a cultural symbol with particular symbolic significance and complex connotation. The evolution of the Genghis Khan's image is a process in which history literature, religion and culture integrated together continuously.