Emperor of China: Toghon Temür Quiz

Answer: Mingzong of Yuan

Khutughtu Khan Kusala (1300-1329), also known by his temple name, Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, was the oldest son of Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan. They ruled the Yuan (that is, Mongol) dynasty which existed from 1206-1368.

In 1206, Genghis Khan (1162-1227) united the Mongols north of China and attacked the Jin dynasty. However, it was not until 1271 when Kublai Khan (1215-1294), also known as Emperor Shizu of Yuan, made the dynasty official in the traditional Han way. They also had the Southern Song dynasty to contend with until they were defeated in the Battle of Yamen in 1279, a battle which was the last stand against the invading Mongols by China. Toghon Temür was the last ruler of the Yuan dynasty before its collapse.

Toghon Temür's mother was Empress Mailaiti, who gave birth to him in Kuśala in 1320.

Answer: Arslan Khan

Arslan Khan was a prince of the Karluks, a Turkic tribe that was notable for their important role in the collapse of the Kök Türk, Uighur, and Karakhanid states throughout history. He was known to Genghis Khan, who bestowed upon him the title of "Sartaqtai," the name of Genghis Khans eldest son, a name which he turned into a title.

Mailaiti of the Karluks (1317-1329) was rumoured to have had an affair with Zhao Xian, also known as Emperor Gong of Song (1271-1323), and it has been suggested that it was he who fathered Toghon Temür.

Answer: Emperor Wenzong of Yuan

Born Tugh Temür, and also known as Jayaatu Khan, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan (1304-1332) was the brother of Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, Toghon Temür's father.

Upon the death of Yesün Temür, Emperor Taiding of Yuan (1293-1328), his son, Emperor Ragibagh Khan, the Tianshun Emperor of Yuan, briefly succeeded his father to the throne in 1328 when he was around 7-8 years old.

Tugh Temür staged a coup against the new young emperor, setting the stage to become Emperor Wenzong of Yuan upon the coup's success. He and his army broke through the Great Wall of China to get to Dadu, also known as Khanbaliq, the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty; today it is now modern-day Beijing, the capital of modern China. Ragibagh Khan is reported to have vanished during the coup, and it is widely believed that the boy was murdered so that Tugh Temür could seize power.

In 1329, Tugh Temür, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan, abdicated the throne and (perhaps falsely) tried to make peace with his brother, Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, who ended up dying after taking part in a banquet with his brother. It is suspected that he was poisoned. He had made Tugh Temür his heir before his death, therefore Tugh Temür reclaimed the throne.

Fearing that her husband's nephew would attempt to seize power from him, Tugh Temür's wife, Empress Budashiri (1307-1340) had Toghon Temür exiled to Goryeo, and later to the south of China. While Toghon was away from the court, Budashiri also ordered the execution of Toghon's stepmother, Babusha.

Answer: Emperor Ningzong of Yuan

Rinchinbal Khan, also known as Emperor Ningzong of Yuan (1326-1332), was the second son of Kuśala, Emperor Mingzong of Yuan. His mother was Babusha. Upon the death of his father and reinstatement of Tugh Temür as emperor, Rinchinbal Khan was granted the title of Prince of Fu.

Upon the death of Tugh Temür, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan in 1332, his wife, Budashri, became regent. The heir to the throne, their son Aratnadara, had died in 1331, a month after his father had appointed him as his successor. Tradition holds that Tugh Temür had a guilty conscience on his deathbed regarding his actions against his brother and wished for a son of Emperor Mingzong to ascend the throne as his successor.

Empress Budashri denied her own son, El Tegüs, from becoming heir in order to honour her husband's dying wish. El Temür, an advisor and councillor who had played a great role in staging the coup to obtain Tugh Temür the throne, strongly advised against having Toghon Temür as emperor, stating that it could have been him who poisoned Emperor Mingzong. Empress Budashri was insistent on honouring her husband's dying wish, therefore, a son of Emperor Mingzong was placed on the throne, the young Rinchinbal Khan, who was 6 years old.

Rinchinbal Khan died 2 months after his ascended the throne, with the cause of his death being lost to history. El Temür again suggested to place El Tegüs on the throne, but Empress Budashri resoundingly refused. Therefore, there was no choice but to retrieve Toghon Temür, who was in exile in southern China, to crown him as the new emperor.

El Temür did his best to make Toghon Temür's ascension to the throne difficult, to the point where the coronation was postponed for 6 months until the death of El Temür in 1333.

Answer: Danashiri

Danashiri (1320-1335) was the first wife of Toghon Temür. Her father, El Temür, had worked his way up to become prime minister during the beginning of Toghon Temür's reign as emperor.

Toghon Temür, however, did not only have eyes for Danashiri. He became infatuated with a Korean concubine he met in 1333, Lady Gi, who had been sent to him from the Goryeo king of Korea. This was an arrangement Korea had with China after the Mongol conquests, to send the emperor beautiful concubines every 3 years. Lady Gi was not only beautiful, but a skilled conversationalist, a great singer and dancer, and she also wrote poetry. Toghon Temür fell in love with her, and it became apparent that he was spending much more time with her than his first wife, Danashiri.

This enraged Danashiri who developed a profound hatred for Lady Gi. She often gave orders to have her beaten and is said to have once tortured her with a heated iron-brander. The rage of his first wife never dissuaded Toghon Temür from spending time with Lady Gi.

Answer: Tanggici

Tangqishi was the son of El Temür, and the brother of Danashiri. He was an official and military general under Toghon Temür. He was dissatisfied with his level of promotion in the court and conspired a rebellion against Toghon Temür, personally leading his soldiers to ambush his palace in 1335.

Tanggici's rebellion failed, and he ran to his sister who tried to hide him. Danashiri was caught trying to conceal her brother from a furious Toghon Temür's court. Both Danashiri and her brother were executed for treason.

Answer: Remove the imperial examination system

Bayan of the Merkid (died in 1340, birth year uncertain) was of the Merkid tribe, one of the major Mongol tribes of the 12th century. He opposed El Temür when he did not want Toghon Temür to become emperor.

The imperial examination system was a system of having potential civil servants take an exam to prove their intellectual capabilities, rather than employ them based on nepotism or noble birth. Bayan abolished the imperial examination system in order to promote more Mongols into positions of power, and limit the amount of Han Chinese that could gain these positions. He banned the Han Chinese from owning iron tools and horses, fearing that they could rebel against his authoritarianism.

Bayan had an authoritarian ruthlessness when it came to the Han Chinese, once even proposing to Toghon Temür that he should order the killing of Han Chinese with the most common surnames of their culture: Zhang, Zhao, Li, Liu and Wang. He had many Han Chinese members of the court exiled or removed from their positions, in favour of the Mongols.

Answer: Arrest and exile Bayan

Toqto'a (1314-1356), also known as The Great Historian Tuotuo, not only worked for Toghon Temür's court, he was a dedicated historian of the Yuan dynasty and was well-versed in Confucianism. He was responsible for writing and organising teams to write about the Liao, Jin, and Song dynasties in great detail. Bayan of the Merkid was his uncle.

In 1340, Toghon Temür was well aware that Toqto'a was having disagreements and problems with his uncle regularly. He was concerned about Bayan's dictatorial policies and how his actions could likely dishonour their family name. Toghon Temür took advantage of this, and Toqto'a, with the help of his father and approval of the emperor, plotted to overthrow Bayan.

Toqto'a waited until Bayan had left the palace to go hunting, shutting the palace gates to stop his uncle from returning. When he refused to leave, he was arrested and exiled. This gave Toqto'a the opportunity to seize power in the court for himself. Toqto'a used his new power to banish both Empress Budashiri and her son, El Tegüs, from Toghon Temür's court. Many Chinese intellectuals, writers, advisors, and scholars returned to the court once Toqto'a stopped the purges of Han Chinese given on his uncle's orders. He also rescinded exiles of previous court officials that were ordered by Bayan.

Answer: It was custom to only take second wives from Mongol clans

Lady Gi (1315-1369), also known as Lady Ki and Lady Qi, was born in Haengju (modern-day Goyang), Korea. Her father was Gi Cha-o, a Korean nobleman, and her mother was Lady Yi of the Iksan Yi clan.

Swiftly becoming Toghon Temür's favourite concubine, Lady Gi appeared to be set to marry the emperor. However, Bayan of the Merkid was one of the many who opposed the idea. Lady Gi was not only beautiful, she was intelligent and educated and Bayan viewed her as too smart to be controlled by him. Bayan's objections were compounded by the fact that it was custom for Mongol rulers to only take second wives from Mongol clans. The thought of a Korean second wife becoming a reality for Toghon Temür caused such an uproar in his court that he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea of marrying Lady Gi.

Answer: Bayan Khutugh

Bayan Khutugh (1324-1365) was the daughter of Bolad Temür, a military leader of the Khongirad tribe.

Bayan Khutugh's personality was said to be the complete opposite of Lady Gi. She was not interested in extravagance and preferred to live a simple life. Bayan Khutugh and Toghon Temür did have a child, however, the child died before even reaching two years old. This paved the way for Lady Gi and Toghon Temür's child to become heir to the throne.

When Bayan Khutugh died, Lady Gi is said to have been appalled at her modest choice of clothing which was damaged, which was not typical presentation for an empress, stating, "How can an empress and principal wife wear such attire?" This was perhaps bitterness regarding her not being allowed to marry Toghon Temür so easily as her.

Answer: Ayushiridara

Ayushiridara (1340-1378) becoming Toghon Temür's heir led to the eventual agreement that the emperor could acceptably marry Lady Gi, which he did in 1340. It took Danashiri's family being exiled from the court and Bayan's death for Ayushiridara to be accepted as heir to the throne.

In 1353, Ayushiridara was due to be officially made the heir apparent, however, Toqto'a postponed this ceremony for reasons that remain unclear. This enraged Lady Gi, who accused him of being a traitor. This led to Toqto'a being exiled.

Answer: Giovanni de' Marignolli

Giovanni de' Marignolli (born around 1290, died around 1369) was a Franciscan friar known for his work around China and India. The Catholics had long established their churches around China since 1317, and continued to do so under the orders of Pope John XXII and Pope Benedict XII.

When the Catholic archbishop of Khanbaliq, John of Montecorvino, died in 1328, Toghon Temür gave his approval to have the Asud (a Mongol clan ) to contact Pope Benedict XII in 1336 to request a replacement.
Giovanni de' Marignolli was welcomed into Khanbaliq by Toghon Temür in 1342. The Franciscan friar had bought gifts for the emperor, including the finest specimens of European horses.

Answer: Bayan Buka

Bayan Buka (died 1356, birth year unknown), also known as Ki Ch'ŏl, and Gi Cheol, greatly benefitted from his sister being married to the emperor of China. The positions given to him by Lady Gi effectively made him the real ruler of Goryeo, Korea, despite never being crowned as a king there. Goryeo was a vassal state of the Yuan dynasty, and the emperor's wife took advantage of her husband losing interest in politics to promote her brother to a high position.

The powerful position that his sister gave him would eventually cost Bayan Buka his life. In 1356, he was invited to a banquet by Gongmin of Goryeo (1330-1374), the 31st ruler of the Goryeo State. This was a trap. Gongmin accused him of treason due to his close ties with the Yuan dynasty, and Bayan Buka was executed in the place he had believed he was going to attend a banquet.

Answer: Bak Bulhwa

Bak Bulhwa (birthdate unknown, died in 1364) was a Korean eunuch revered by Lady Gi. Aged 7 years old as a training eunuch, he had entered the Chinese court when Tugh Temür, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan, was in power. Lady Gi was his childhood friend, and after she entered the court as a concubine and later became the empress, Bak Bulhwa was appointed to assist in taking her of Lady Gi and Toghon Temür's child, Ayushiridara.

Bak Bulhwa would work his way up through Toghon Temür's court, becoming responsible for certain areas of the court's finances.

Bak Bulhwa was executed by Bolud Temur, the father of one of Toghon Temür's wives, Bayan Khutugh, after he forcefully tried to implement Ayushiridara on the throne. The eunuch and Lady Gi had plotted to have Toghon Temür convinced to pass the throne down to Ayushiridara. Toghon Temür learned of this plot, and subsequently became unenamoured with Lady Gi, the woman who was once his favourite concubine whom he had ignored his previous wives in favour of.

Answer: Zhu Yuanzhang

Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398) was the Mng dynasty's first emperor, ruling from 1368 until his death in 1398. His is also known as the Hongwu Emperor, and his temple name is Emperor Taizu of Ming. He was not of noble birth and lost his family to the famines and natural disasters that Toghon Temür had failed to try to alleviate, when the emperor had lost interest in reigning China. He became a monk, however, he joined the Red Turban Rebellion upon his family home being destroyed and his temple being reduced to rubble in a fire. After witnessing so much bloodshed and sieges, Zhu returned to his birthplace, Zhongli village in Haozhou, to recruit men to fight the Yuan dynasty.

After recruiting troops from neighbouring areas of China after being entrusted with the title of military commander (despite his inexperience), Zhu had rallied over 30,000 soldiers willing to fight for him by 1355. By 1356, he had captured Nanjing. Although acknowledging the Mongols past power and reverence, he did not see them as leaders of China's future. He campaigned relentlessly with the help of his followers to "overthrow the barbarians" and "restore the Chinese" to power.

Answer: Toqto'a

Toqto'a was leading armies and quashing the Red Turban Rebellions. The rebellions were not the only thing plaguing Toghon Temür's reign, but they were certainly a symptom of other misfortunes of China at the time. China had been afflicted with floods, famine and droughts which combined with Toghon Temür's gradual disinterest in politics, led to a mass distrust of the government by Chinese citizens.

Toqto'a was dismissed in 1354 when Toghon Temür became paranoid that he was going to betray him. This infighting and distrust amongst his contemporaries gave Toghon Temür a vulnerability to be attacked by the impending Ming dynasty.

Answer: Köke Temür

Köke Temür (died in 1375, birthdate unknown) had a difficult task at hand in defending the Yuan dynasty and commanding its army. He was subject to a lot of betrayal from the Han Chinese soldiers he commanded who had not forgotten the treatment they had received by the Mongols. Also, although the Yuan dynasty in general wanted to oppose the upcoming Ming dynasty, infighting of the Yuans between the supporters of Toghon Temür and his son, Ayushiridara (who believed he should be the emperor) had spilt the army in two.

The fighting between the two Yuan factions greatly helped Zhu Yuanzhang, the future Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty, secure power across China. Once Toghon Temür was aware of these victories and approaching army, he fled to his summer capital, Shangdu. To this army, he lost Shangdu in 1368, and Dadu in 1369.

Answer: Yingchang

Located in what is modern-day Inner Mongolia, Yingchang was one of the most notable cities of the Yuan dynasty. This city became part of Northern Yuan, the dynasty that Toghon Temür was forced to establish after he had lost China to the Ming dynasty.

Toghon Temür died here of dysentery in 1370. It is unknown what became of Lady Gi, who went missing after Toghon Temür's death.

Answer: Emperor Shun of Yuan

Toghon Temür was both the first emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty, and the last emperor of the Yuan dynasty. The Ming gave him the title of "Shun of Yuan" in order to purport the idea that he adhered to the Mandate of Heaven, that is, he gave up the throne due to a divine force that instructed him to cede the throne to the Ming dynasty.

The Northern Yuan dynasty instead referred to Toghon Temür as "Emperor Xuanren Puxiao" and also by his temple name, "Emperor Huizong of Yuan."

Answer: Emperor Zhaozong of Northern Yuan

Ayushiridara, also known as Emperor Zhaozong of Northern Yuan, was the eldest son of Toghon Temür and Lady Gi. Upon the death of Toghon Temür, he reigned the Northern Yuan dynasty from 1370-1378. The Ming dynasty invaded the territory of the Northern Yuan dynasty in 1372, which Ayushiridara successfully defended. He also managed to win back some land that his father had lost to the Ming dynasty.

When Ayushiridara died in 1378, his half-brother, Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür, entitled the Tianyuan Emperor and the Last Lord of Northern Yuan, succeeded him.