Thank you for coming to speak with us, Mr. Jack Weatherford. It is an honor for me to talk with you. I'm glad to share your knowledge about the time when the Mongols flourished and were the most powerful in the world. Jack is a cultural anthropologist — a very interesting field. I too am someone deeply interested in human nature, but Jack is a true expert in this direction.
He is a respected professor who taught for over 30 years at Macalester College in the United States. He has written four books shown on this screen about the Mongols and their contribution to world history. In addition, he has written many books on other cultures, for example the culture of Native Americans and the history of money. So let me start with my first question about your profession, anthropology. What influenced you to choose this field? What were the most interesting qualities and lessons you discovered throughout your pure research and rich career?
Hello everyone. Thank you for having me today. Especially as a foreigner, it is remarkable to be talking to you about your own history. I am confident that many people in this room know Mongolian history better than I do. I look at history from a different angle, from the anthropological point of view.
In my view, anthropology and history are like twins, inseparably connected. History relies mainly on written sources, while anthropologists gather their sources by listening to people's voices and interviewing them on the ground. So for me it was very simple. I chose the Secret History of the Mongols as the main written source for my work here, took the Secret History, and traveled to every corner of Mongolia, going to the places where the events took place, meeting local people, seeing the sites with my own eyes, smelling the air, and feeling the soil.
Whether the soil is hard or loose, sandy or moist, dry or wet — feeling it played a key role in fully understanding the places where the events of Chinggis Khan's life occurred. Doing the research this way, anthropology and history seemed to merge. For me, it was very important to use the anthropological method of learning from present-day people. Although my source, the Secret History of the Mongols, is 800 years old, on the other hand it is embedded in the genes, blood, and history of today's Mongolian people. They know the land. They know where they can go in which season, and how to reach the next valley. For me, everything connected with the land was very important.
I read brief introductions to your earlier works about Native Americans. I noticed that Western historians viewed those tribal peoples as savage and barbaric. In the same way, Western historians saw the Mongols 20 or 30 years before your great book appeared as savages who only came to plunder and loot civilized cities. So I saw that before writing about the Mongols and Chinggis Khan, you began with works showing that nomads are not savage and barbaric as Western historians describe them. Could you explain this from your anthropological profession?
Yes, I was doing work on the tribes of the Americas, both North America and South America. But actually, the first people I wanted to study were the Mongols. In the 1960s, as an undergraduate student, I was writing letters to Mongolia looking for an opportunity to go there. Of course, there was no such opportunity at that time, so I received no reply. Later, while studying for my master's degree, I thought I would try again.
This time I wrote not to a university but to the writers' union. But again no reply came, so there was no opportunity to go to Mongolia. Since I was young, I naturally turned my attention to other things. And so my research moved toward the Native American peoples. At that time, what amazed me most was that although the Native peoples of North and South America — especially South America and Mexico — had great cultures and great civilizations, the Europeans came and destroyed them all. All the tribes were defeated. Yet the Mongols, the people who built the largest territorial empire in world history 800 years ago, are still here today, which greatly caught my attention. For me this difference was very interesting. Of course, the similarities were interesting too.
And when I actually came to Mongolia, in many ways its history resembled that of the Native Americans — much of its wealth was taken away, and it was under pressure and oppression for a long time. On the other hand, when I came to Mongolia, Mongolia was free. Mongolia had regained its independence and freedom and could return to its own history. There was freedom to talk about Chinggis Khan, freedom to do many things that had been impossible before. Although there were similarities with the Native Americans, here I found much more hope and confidence in Mongolia's future. Because the Native Americans were unfortunately crushed. Although their peoples exist today, they do not have their own independent rights as the Mongols do.
This is truly a very interesting perspective. Regarding Mongolia's great history, as Mr. Ganzorig said, this is a special time, because the Mongols want to revive their historical pride and rise again. But it is true that by many economic and social indicators we lag behind Japan, Korea, China, the United States, and some Western European countries. Having been born a Mongolian, I feel the enormous desire, drive, and aspiration within the Mongolian people. Of course, every time a new political party appears, new hope is born. But unfortunately, most of the time the expected results do not materialize. Politicians only care about enriching themselves.
And so, as a Mongolian growing together with my country, I think we should not only rely on politicians or wait for another Chinggis Khan to appear and make us great, but rather look inward and unlock the resources and potential within ourselves. Therefore, I think our conversation will proceed in two directions. First, about Chinggis Khan as a leader and exemplary person — his qualities, wisdom, and leadership style. Second, about the common wisdom, qualities, and values of the Mongols of that era. I have studied strategy for over 20 years, and looking at it, even if someone is a great strategist, without great followers that person is just a dreamer alone. So logically, the Mongols of that era possessed the qualities and values that we lack today. Therefore, let's begin with the first part: discussing the exemplary leader Chinggis Khan, his valuable qualities, and his leadership style. And since we have plenty of time, I will leave the microphone open to you.
