Mongolia

mon-go'li-a, a vast region in Central Asia belonging to the Chinese Empire. It lies between China proper and Siberia, surrounding the Desert of Gobi. It comprises about 1,300,000 square miles with a population estimated at 3,000,000. Under their great emporer Genghis Khan the Mongolians were the leading power in Asia. They made themselves master of China. They levied tribute on the Russians, invaded Poland and Silesia, and extended their conquests even to Moravia and Hungary. The Flight of a Tartar Tribe by De Quincey relates a return movement of this strange people. Subsequently they were expelled from China. The great Chinese wall was built over mountains and across valleys to keep them out of the Chinese territory. The Mongolians gave their name to the race. They are related to the Japanese and the Chinese. They are short people with broad noses, high cheek bones, oblique eyes, straight black hair, and a yellowish skin. The Mongolian wears a cone-shaped skull cap of red silk terminating in a tassel or button and having an upturned brim of black velvet. He wraps himself in a long cotton or silk tunic in the summertime and, in the winter, wears a coat of sheep or deerskin, or else a fur-lined silk garment. Like the Chinaman, he shaves and wears a queue. White trousers and calico shirts are worn. A knife, a tobacco bag, and a tinder box hang from a belt at the waist. Red, thick-soled leather shoes with upturned toes and high heels complete the costume. The shoemaker makes all boots of the same size. The true Mongolian, like a cowboy, is averse to walking. He springs on his horse to ride even a few hundred yards. The people are nomadic, living in tents of heavy cloth or skin stretched over a slight framework of wood. Their encampments are changed with the season. The people are Buddhists. The business of the province is confined chiefly to the transportation of goods by caravans over several routes between China and the Russian empire, and to the raising of cattle, camels, sheep, horses, and other domestic animals. Mongolia is ruled by a native chief chosen by the Mongolians themselves. He rules in conjunction with a representative of China, the two acting together in all important matters. See Chinese Empire; Siberia; Russia