THE TŪQMĀQ AND THE MING CHINA: THE TŪQMĀQ AND THE CHINESE RELATIONS DURING THE MING PERIOD (1394–1456)

Objective: Little is known about diplomatic relations between the Jūchīd Ulūs and Ming China (1368–1644), even though some evidence of early tributary trade relations exists. The first extant Chinese account about the country of Salai (Saray) dates to around 1394, when accounts of diplomatic exchange between the Ming court and the Jūchīd Ulūs began to appear in the Ming shilu (The Veritable Records of the Ming). Research materials: This article analyzes the Ming shilu in order to understand the character of Chinese knowledge about the Jūchīd Ulūs during their years of contact between 1394 and 1456. Additional sources like geographic accounts and maps help define the extent of Chinese knowledge about the khanate, clarify the kinds of information that the Chinese sought and the reasons why, and measure the influence of cross-cultural contact on Ming Chinese understanding of the Jūchīd Ulūs. Results and novelty of the research: The Ming shilu suggests that at least by the end of the fourteenth and the early years of the fifteenth century, Salai (Saray) became an integral, and possibly the most important, element in the name that the Ming court used for the country of the Jūchīd Ulūs. The Persian and Mongol historians used the term Tūqmāq and Togmog to refer to the Jūchīd Ulūs, while Ming Chinese historians used the term Tuohema to refer to the Jūchīd Ulūs or the whole Dasht-i Qipchāq, in post-Mongol Central Eurasia. The diplomatic contact between Ming China and the Tuohuma occurred through the Chinese system of tribute trade during the mid-fifteenth century. Under the reign of Yongle (1402–1424), Zhengtong (1435–1449), and Jingtai (1449–1457), the foundations for a flourishing relationship between Ming China and the Jūchīd Ulūs were established. At that time, the Chinese knew the Jūchīd Ulūs by the name Salai (Saray) and Tuohuma (Tūqmāq). Despite the political turmoil that erupted after the fall of the Jūchīd Ulūs, the Chinese continued to glean new information about the Jūchīd Ulūs from envoys who arrived from Central Asia.