| Tsagaanlamyn Dügersüren | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 17, 1910 Urga. Qing Dynasty(  Urga, China) |
| Died | December 5, 1988 Huhot, China |
| Ethnicity | Mongol |
| Citizenship |  Mongolia |
| Religion | Bön religion |
Tsagaanlamyn Dügersüren (Mongolian: 
; January 17, 1910 - December 5, 1988) also known by was a Mongolian military commander and politician, who served as the Marshal of Mongolia from ??? to ??? and the the Prince of Karakorum, and the founder of the princely House of Karakorum. In addition, he was also a Tengrist and not a Tibetan Buddhist as other Mongolian elite, and he had controversial ties to the Tiandi-Jao and Hei-Tao religions, both of which venerate him as an immortal, and is known by them by the posthumous name Jian Zao (建造, lit. "Builder"). He also fomented political ties in Russia, namely Kalmykia, Buryatia and Yakutia, forming a personal cult of personality and influence that led many to believe that he was Kublai Khan incarnated.
An ally of Urzhin Garmaev, Marshal Dügersüren had served in the Japanese puppet Forces of Greater Mongolia.
Known one of the forefathers of Modern Mongolia, he was also a controversial figure in Mongolian politics and history. Having studied in both elite Imperial universities in China and Russia, upon ascending to Governor-General of the Khaganate of Mongolia, he turned against the nomadic lifestyle and tradition of the Mongols, and made aggressive efforts to re-adopt Mongols to a sedentary lifestyle.
He passed the "anti-squatter law", which banned "nomadic squatters", which in turn, triggered the Nomad Revolution, a failed revolution. His policies helped re-integrate Mongolia economically with the rest of the Eastern Bloc, resulting in the large-scale construction of railways across Mongolia to other parts of China. Two of his most famous building and urbanization projects were the restoration of Karakoram and the building of the city of Ulan Khur Luu.
Due to his rebuilding of Karakorum, the ancient city, he was crowned as the Prince of Karakorum.
Due to his policies, Mongolia is not nomadic (as it was in our timeline) and he today, is considered a National Hero of Mongolia.
Biography[]
Tsagaanlamyn Dügersüren was born to a nomadic and Buddhist Mongol family, near Urga, the capital city of Mongolia. Dügersüren states in his memoir Yuǎnlí Yěmán Rén (遠離野蠻人, lit. "Away from the Savages") that he grew to actively despise the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols. Eventually, the family transitioned, after getting a job at a farm in Buryatia. Dügersüren studied in Russia for a while, and later China amid the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, a revolution that he initially supported, but grew to oppose as he felt "close spiritual ties" to the monarchy.
While in a religious pilgrimage to Tibet, Dügersüren encountered followers of the Bon religion, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. He would later replaced Tibetan Buddhism with this religion as his new, and was known for bringing the Bon religion to Mongolia.
World War II[]
When the Second World War broke out, Dügersüren served as part of the armed forces of Mengukuo. Although servin as a regular soldier, in the 2nd Army Group of Mengukuo, he was transferred to serve in the command of Fujibayashi Akimatsu, Japanese-trained Buryat general, to undergo the anti-nomadic campaigns of the Enforcer Command. Dügersüren came to understand both Akimatsu and Urzhin Garmaev's hatred of the nomadic life, although initially opposing and questioning the anti-nomadic order.
Akimatsu showed great faith in Dügersüren, and both of them were also staunchly anti-Buddhist. In 1943, Akimatsu briefly placed Dügersüren on paid leave, to go to Tibet, which is where Dügersüren became infatuated with the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Akimatsu ordered Dügersüren to take Bon practitioners back to Mongolia, as Akimatsu felt they were in "danger thanks to the sub-human Buddhists".
Dügersüren arrived back with 40 Bon religion practitioners, who would eventually become part of the pro-Japanese Tibetan Corps, fighting alongside the Mongolians.
Governor-General of Mongolia[]
Upon being the Governor-General of Mongolia, Dügersüren wasted no time attempting to fulfill his dream of a modernized Mongolia. He soon passed the "Anti-Squatter Law" (反擅自佔地法) which labeled nomadic peoples as tuihua (退化, lit. "degenerates"), banning "nomadic squatters" as he referred to them, this was for the massive and aggressive development of Urga.
He infamously stated, "You will achieve absolutely nothing living a nomadic life, look at the history of nomadic empires, what they did was destroy and destroy, destroy China, destroy Europe, and what-have-you, we, the proud Mongols must burn the bridges of that."
He requested increased Chinese troop presence across Mongolia, to sent nomadic families to re-education camps. In spite of what humanitarians claim, these re-education camps were taught in both Mongolian and Chinese, and were not death camps.
The Nomads Revolution failed against the Governor-General. However, he did agree that he allow a national holiday across Mongolia, known as the "Earth Festival", a camping holiday, and horses were allowed in the big cities as regular means of transportation. Additionally, he allowed people to still in yurts, but adopted a system a requiring them to settle in registered plots, similar to Native American reservations in the United States. Many of them began to resemble trailer parks in the United States, equipped with communal facilities.
However, he attached a huge social stigma to those wanting to live a nomadic life, which succeeding in severely pressuring many families to adopt to a modern lifestyle. Additionally, the Tengrist religion was also Sinofied during his time (today the Tiandi-Jao).
Policies[]
Buddhist purge[]
Hypocritically, in spite of avoiding an ethnic cleansing at the hands of Russians, Dugursuren emarked on his own "cleansing", particularly against Buddhists and nomads, promoting a quasi-Sinofied form of Tengrism (known today as the Tiandi Jao), as he blamed Buddhists for causing the desecration and desolation of Mongolia. Dügersüren confiscated Tibetan Buddhist temples, and instead replaced them with practitioners of the Bön religion, a religion he showed extreme interest in, just like his teacher Fujibayashi Akimatsu.
Although the the advice of the Chaoxiang Emperor, Dügersüren didn't go after Buddhists among the regular people, as this would violate Constitutional law, but targeted the clergy, and promoted a state-sponsored and "approved" version of Tibetan Buddhism, which venerated him as a Buddha and a god incarnated. Thus, his legacy survives within the Tibetan Buddhists as a form of controlled opposition.
Nomadic life was banned in Mongolia during his reign, and all people were required to work on urbanization projects. This resulted in the imprisonment of thousands, and the re-populated of outer Mongolia by those of Inner Mongolian origin, with the latter vi
Urbanization projects[]
Karakorum restoration and Ulan Khur Luu development[]
One of Dügersüren's key goals was to restore the ancient city of Karakorum as a Mongol capital city once-more. He achieved this by hiring Mongols from already sedentary communities, not only in Mongolia and northern China, but also Kalmyks, Tuvans, Siberians and Central Asians from Russia. Via his Anti-Squatter Laws, he set apart designated spaces in the city for nomadic traditions to dwell, however he pushed through with the aggressive urbanization of the city.
Within a couple decades, Karakorum again, blossomed as one of the active cities in Greater Mongolia. Not only were rail stations built in Karakorum, but also temples, restaurants, libraries, schools and universities - all based on reconstructed models of what the ancient city may have looked like.
Due to his success, he was crowned as the Prince of Karakorum, establishing a new princely line based on the city.
Assassination attempts[]
Tsagaanlamyn Dügersüren underwent a total of 11 assassination attempts in his political career. This is what led followers of the Tengrist (and its Chinese variant, Tiandi-Jao) and Hei-Tao religions to post-humously venerate him as an immortal.
Later, in 2011, followers of these three religions believe him to be the reincarnation of Kublai Khan, or the Shizu Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
Post-humous veneration[]
After passing away, Dügersüren was cremated as requested. Half of his ashes were interned in his Mongolian homeland, where it was further divided among mausoleums in Urga (his birth place), Karakorum (Mongolia's major economic center), Ulan-Ude and Ulan Khar Luu (a city he practically ordered into being). The other half of his ashes are interned in Huhot and Beijing for his contributions to broader Empire of China. Tengrists, Tiandists, Bon religion, certain factions of Tibetan Buddhists and Hei-Tao followers venerate and immortalize him. In the Tiandi Jao and Hei-Tao traditions, he is immortalized as Jian Zao (建造), where as Yungdrung Bon, Tengrists and some faction of Tibetan Buddhists venerate him as Barilgachin, also meaning "the builder" in Mongolian. Although the Dalai Lama does not recognize him as a god, due to his persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, some factions of Tibetan Buddhists do honor him.
His feast is on his birthday, January 17, 1910, celebrated in both Mongolia and China.