Studies On The Han Courtiers Group In The Early Mongol Empire Period

This master thesis consists of five parts, including Preface, the first chapter:the Background and Official Careers of Han Courtiers, the second chapter:Political Preferences, the third chapter: Cultural Preferences, and conclusion. The first, second and third chapters comprise the main content of the thesis, which is followed by the bibliography.The preface at first introduces the reason why the author chooses this topic as her master thesis. This topic is worth studying because it can help us understand the mutual influences between Mongol and Han people against the backdrop of the multiethnic Mongol empire. Then the author tries to give a definition to the "Mongolized Han people" in terms of political and cultural aspects. The sources, though limited and scattered, are sufficient for a master thesis study. After above discussion, the author briefly introduces her sources, which can be divided into three categories. The first is the collected works of Yuan literati. The second category includes some important stone steles and inscriptions. The third one is related to gazetteers and local sources.The first chapter:the Background and Official Careers of Han Courtiers categorizes the "Han Courtiers" into three groups according to their background, respectively "the adopted orphans","the hostage sons and children from martial officer families" and "those with special skills".The second chapter:Political Preferences contains three parts. The first part discusses the struggle between the "Han Institution" adherents and the "Huihui Institution" adherents. From the fact that both groups had the "Han Courtiers" activists, the author suggests that the identity of "Han Courtiers", as a single group, was rather vague. The second part introduces the protections of Han culture these "Han Courtiers" offered. The third part mainly examines the contribution "Han Courtiers" made to disabuse the Mongols of their massacre customs.The third part:Cultural Preferences also has three parts. The first one contains charts and graphics about names, family backgrounds, official careers and the connections of marriages. The second part explores the status of Mongolization of "Han Courtiers" through their Mongol-styled names and marriage connections. The third part examines several ways through which "Han Courtiers" progeny entered into the officialdom.The first part of the fourth chapter analyzes two stone inscriptions about Zhang Yingrui family. The second part examines several sources about Hao Heshang Batur and makes a chronology about his life.