Articles

“The Tumu Crisis” and Its Heroes in the Light of Sacred Character of Supreme Power

Vostok/Oriens '2014, №5

 
In the focus of the article, there is so-called “Tumu crisis” of 1449 when the Ming emperor Zhu Qizhen (Zhengtong) was captured by Esen Tayshi of the Oyirad. Esen pretended to rule over all the nomads of Inner Asia as a political descendant of Genghis Khan, but he had no such a right as not being his descendant. His supremacy was not accepted in Mongolia, China, and Eastern Turkestan. However, a new Chinese emperor Zhu Qiyu (Jingtai) who ascended the throne after his brother’s capture was in fact a usurper. Sources offer many examples how the Eternal Sky demonstrated its will by different portents against abundant breaks of legitimacy. Some of these portents could have natural causes, including the catastrophic explosion of the Kuwae volcano in 1452.

Keywords: “Tumu crisis”, Oyrads, Esen-taishi, Zhu Qizhen, the legitimacy of the supreme power, portents

Pages: С. 5–24