View source for Outer Mongolia

{{Short description|Historical region}}
{{About|a historical region of the Qing dynasty|the present day country|Mongolia|the former communist state often referred to as Outer Mongolia|Mongolian People's Republic}}
[[File:Qing dynasty and Mongolia.jpg|thumb|Outer Mongolia and [[Inner Mongolia]] within the Qing dynasty.]]
[[File:1914 map of Asia.jpg|thumb|Map of Asia in 1914. Mongolia's independence had not yet been widely recognized in the 1910s.]]
{{contains special characters|Mongolian}}

'''Outer Mongolia'''{{efn|The term "Ar Mongol" ([[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠠᠷᠤ<br />ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ}}, {{lang|mn|Ар Монгол}}, [[Help:IPA/Mongolian|IPA transcription]]: {{IPA|mn|ar ˈmɔɴɢɞɮ|}}, {{lit|back side of Mongolia}}) appears to have first appeared at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. Initially, "Ar Mongol" referred to the Mongols west of the [[Greater Khingan]], but later the scope of reference changed and was used to refer to the [[Khalkha Mongols]] north of the Gobi Desert. In the early 20th century, the name "Outer Mongolia" ([[Mongolian script]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠭᠠᠳᠠᠭᠠᠳᠤ<br />ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ}}，[[Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]]: {{lang|mn|Гадаад Монгол}}, [[Mongolian Latin alphabet|Latin]]: {{lang|mn-latn|Gadaad Mongol}}, {{IPA|mn|ɢaˈtaːt ˈmɔɴɢɞɮ|}}; [[Manchu language|Manchu]]: {{ManchuSibeUnicode|ᡨᡠᠯᡝᡵᡤᡳ<br />ᠮᠣᠩᡤᠣ|lang=mnc}} ''Tulergi Monggo''; {{zh|c=外蒙古|p=Wài Měnggǔ}})<ref name="Borjigin2">Huhbator Borjigin. 2004. The history and political character of the name of 'Nei Menggu' (South Mongolia). Inner Asia 6: 61-80.</ref> began to be used in official documents. In Mongolian reports and documents of the 1900s and 1920s, "Ar Mongol" was used interchangeably with "Outer Mongolia".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Ц.Цэрэндорж |title=Ар Монгол |url=https://mongoltoli.mn/history/h/127 |publisher=Монголын түүхийн тайлбар толь |year=2016 |language=mn}}</ref>}} was the name of a territory in the [[Manchu people|Manchu]]-led [[Qing dynasty]] of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of [[Mongolia]]{{efn|Sometimes called "Outer Mongolia" informally in current China.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Mongolia |url=https://mongolianembassy.us/about-mongolia/history/#.Y53Z7crCahA |publisher=Embassy of Mongolia in Washington}}</ref>}} and the Russian republic of [[Tuva]]. The historical region gained [[Mongolian Revolution of 1911|''de facto'' independence]] from Qing China during the [[1911 Revolution|Xinhai Revolution]] and the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] formally recognized the independence of Mongolia on January 5, 1946.<ref>{{cite web |title=China/Mongolia (1911–1946) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/chinamongolia-1911-1946/ |website=University of Central Arkansas |publisher=Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies |access-date=2024-02-14 |quote=On August 14, 1945, the Chinese government agreed to recognize the independence of Mongolia if Mongolians approved of independence from China in a referendum.  Mongolians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum held on October 20, 1945.  The government of the Republic of China formally recognized the independence of Mongolia on January 5, 1946.}}</ref>

==History==

{{Infobox former subdivision
| native_name            = {{nobold|{{lang|zh|蒙古地方}}<br />{{bo-textonly|ᠭᠠᠳᠠᠭᠠᠳᠤ ᠮᠣᠩᠭ᠋ᠣᠯ}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Mongolia Area
| common_name            = Mongolia
| subdivision            = 
| nation                 = Republic of China
| government_type        = Independent country ''(de facto)''<br/>[[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China|Area]] of the Republic of China ''(de jure)''
| status_text            = [[History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–1949)|Area]] of the [[Nationalist government|Republic of China]]
<!-- General information -->| life_span              = 1912–1945
| capital                = [[Ulanbataar|Kulun]]
| today                  = [[China]]<br /> '''∟''' [[Inner Mongolia]]<br>[[Mongolia]]<br>[[Russia]]<br /> '''∟''' [[Tuva]]
<!-- Rise and fall, events, years and dates -->
<!-- Only fill in the start/end event entry if a specific article exists. Don't just say "abolition" or "declaration". -->
| date_pre               = 1 January 1912
| event_pre              = Mongolia Area claimed by the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)|ROC Provisional Government]]
| year_start             = 1912
| year_end               = 1945
| event2                 = [[Occupation of Mongolia|Mongolia re-occupied by China]]
| date_event2            = October 1919
| event3                 = [[Mongolian People's Republic]] [[Mongolian Revolution of 1921|proclaimed]]
| date_event3            = 1 March 1921
| era                    = 
| event_end              = [[1945 Mongolian independence referendum|Mongolia’s independence]] recognised by China
| date_end               = 20 October 1945
<!-- Images -->
| image_flag             = 
| flag_caption           = 
| image_map              = Republic of China edcp location map (disputed territories) Mongolia Area.svg
| image_map_caption      = Location of Mongolia Area as part of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (claim only)
| p1                     = 
| flag_p1                = 
| p2                     = 
| s1                     = 
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
}}

While the administrative region of Outer Mongolia during the Qing dynasty only consisted of the four [[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkha]] aimags ([[Sechen Khan|Setsen Khan]] Aimag, [[Tüsheet Khan]] Aimag, [[Sain Noyon Khan]] Aimag, and [[Zasagt Khan]] Aimag), in the late Qing period, "Outer Mongolia" was also used to refer to the combined Khalkha and [[Oirats|Oirat]] regions, as well as the directly-ruled [[Tannu Uriankhai]].

Much of the region was subsequently claimed by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], which had acquired the legal right to inherit all Qing territories through the [[Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor]], as an integral part of the state.<ref name="Edict1">{{cite book|last1=Esherick|first1=Joseph|last2=Kayali|first2=Hasan|last3=Van Young|first3=Eric|title=Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reKxAAAAQBAJ&q=complete+territories+of+manchu,+han,+mongol,+hui,+tibetan&pg=PA245|page=245|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=9780742578159|access-date=5 December 2020|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623163006/https://books.google.com/books?id=reKxAAAAQBAJ&q=complete+territories+of+manchu,+han,+mongol,+hui,+tibetan&pg=PA245|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Edict2">{{cite book|last1=Zhai|first1=Zhiyong|title=憲法何以中國|year=2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziEwDwAAQBAJ&q=仍合滿、漢、蒙、回、藏五族完全領土為一大中華民國&pg=PA190|page=190|publisher=City University of HK Press |isbn=9789629373214|access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623161632/https://books.google.com/books?id=ziEwDwAAQBAJ&q=%E4%BB%8D%E5%90%88%E6%BB%BF%E3%80%81%E6%BC%A2%E3%80%81%E8%92%99%E3%80%81%E5%9B%9E%E3%80%81%E8%97%8F%E4%BA%94%E6%97%8F%E5%AE%8C%E5%85%A8%E9%A0%98%E5%9C%9F%E7%82%BA%E4%B8%80%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%AD%E8%8F%AF%E6%B0%91%E5%9C%8B&pg=PA190|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Edict3">{{cite book|last1=Gao|first1=Quanxi|title=政治憲法與未來憲制|year=2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P46rDAAAQBAJ&q=仍合滿、漢、蒙、回、藏五族完全領土為一大中華民國&pg=PA273|page=273|publisher=City University of HK Press |isbn=9789629372910|access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623163135/https://books.google.com/books?id=P46rDAAAQBAJ&q=%E4%BB%8D%E5%90%88%E6%BB%BF%E3%80%81%E6%BC%A2%E3%80%81%E8%92%99%E3%80%81%E5%9B%9E%E3%80%81%E8%97%8F%E4%BA%94%E6%97%8F%E5%AE%8C%E5%85%A8%E9%A0%98%E5%9C%9F%E7%82%BA%E4%B8%80%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%AD%E8%8F%AF%E6%B0%91%E5%9C%8B&pg=PA273|url-status=live}}</ref> This is referred to as "Mongolia Area" ({{lang-zh|蒙古地方}}) by Kuomintang to distinguish it from Outer Mongolia since 1928.<ref>{{cite web |author1=許哲明 |title=蒙古之歷史地圖(同治8年〜民國37年) |url=http://www.ccartoa.org.tw/news/2023/202311.html |publisher=中華民國地圖學會 |language=zh-tw |quote=民國17年(1928年)，中華民國國民政府設置「蒙古地方」}}</ref> Most of Outer Mongolia, however, was under the ''de facto'' control of the [[Bogd Khanate of Mongolia|Bogd Khanate]], which was largely unrecognized internationally. The Republic of China briefly established [[Occupation of Mongolia|''de facto'' rule]] over most of the region from 1919 to 1921. After the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] was founded in 1924, the [[Nationalist government]] of China ''[[de jure]]'' recognized Mongolian independence in 1946 under Soviet pressure,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friters |first1=Gerard M |title=Outer Mongolia and its International Position |date=1974 |publisher=Octagon Books |location=New York |jstor=211232 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/211232}}</ref> though this recognition was later rescinded by the Kuomintang government in 1953,{{efn|In 2002, the ROC reaffirmed its recognition of Mongolia as an independent country again,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237 |title = Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year |work = [[Taipei Times]] |date = 11 October 2002 |access-date = 28 May 2009|quote=In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory. {...} Long a province of China, Mongolia declared its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. After the Ministry of the Interior's recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official ROC map, on 3 Oct, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan recognizes Mongolia as an independent country – 81 years after Mongolia declared its independence.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192036/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|archive-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> and the Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement saying that "Mongolia (formerly known as Outer Mongolia in Taiwan) has never been part of its [[Constitution of the Republic of China|constitutionally]] claimed territory."<ref>{{cite news |title=有關外蒙古是否為中華民國領土問題說明新聞參考資料 |trans-title=Reference materials about the territory of the Republic of China excluding Outer Mongolia |url=http://www.mac.gov.tw/public/Attachment/252122204856.pdf |access-date=22 May 2012 |agency=[[Mainland Affairs Council]] |language=zh-tw}}</ref>}} [[Retreat of the government of Republic of China to Taiwan|which had retreated to Taiwan]] because of continued Soviet support to the Chinese communists.<ref>{{citation|title=Taiwan Veto Likely; Taipei Regime May Again Bar Outer Mongolia From U.N.|date=22 April 1961|access-date=5 February 2008|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/22/archives/taiwan-veto-likely-taipei-regime-may-again-bar-outer-mongolia-from.html|archive-date=22 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722213652/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/04/22/archives/taiwan-veto-likely-taipei-regime-may-again-bar-outer-mongolia-from.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The People's Republic of China continued recognition of the Mongolian People's Republic since 1949, and has established full diplomatic relations with Mongolia.<ref name="IBS">{{cite journal |date=August 1984 |title=China-Mongolia Boundary |journal=International Boundary Study |issue=173 |pages=2–6 |url=http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS173.pdf |publisher=The Geographer, [[Bureau of Intelligence and Research]] |access-date=2008-06-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916040248/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS173.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-16 }}</ref>

== Names ==
The name "Outer Mongolia" is contrasted with [[Inner Mongolia]],<ref name="Borjigin2" /> which corresponds to the region of Inner Mongolia in China. Inner Mongolia was given its name because it was more directly administered by the Qing court; Outer Mongolia (which is further from the capital [[Beijing]]) had a greater degree of autonomy within the Qing empire.<ref>''The Cambridge History of China'', volume 10, p&nbsp;49.</ref>

There are three alternate terms, including Ar Mongol, Mobei Mongol, and Outer Mongolia.

=== Ar Mongol ===
The term ''Ar mongol'' or ''Mobei Mongol'' ({{zh |s = 漠北蒙古 |p = Mòběi Měnggǔ |l = North-of-the-[[Gobi Desert|Desert]] Mongolia}}) is sometimes used in Chinese and Mongolian languages to refer to North Mongolia<ref>cf. Norcin, C. (1999): ''Monggol kelen-ü toli''. Ömnud monggol-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriya. Page 170.</ref> when making a distinction with South Mongolia, so as to elide the history of [[Mongolia under Qing rule|Qing rule]] and rather imply a geographic unity or distinction of regions inhabited by Mongols in the [[Mongolian Plateau]].<ref name="Bulag">{{cite book |last=Bulag |first=Uradyn |title = Nationalism and Hybridity in Mongolia |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1998 |pages=179–180 }}</ref> There also exists an English term: ''Northern Mongolia''.<ref name="Bulag" />

Ar Mongol can also be used to refer to [[Mongolia]] synchronically, during that time period.<ref>Bawden, Charles (1997): Mongolian-English dictionary. London: Kegan Paul. Page 23.</ref> In the [[Mongolian language]], the word ''ar'' refers to the back side of something, which has been extended to mean the northern side of any spatial entity, e.g. a mountain or a yurt. The word ''öbür'' refers to the front/south (and thus protected) side of a mountain.<ref>cf. Norcin, C. (1999): ''Monggol kelen-ü toli''. Ömnud monggol-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriya. Page 169, 580. ''ömnud: agula dabagan-u engger tal-a-yin gajar''.</ref> So the difference between South Mongolia and the Mongolian state is conceived as the metaphor of the backward northern side and the south side of a mountain.

In contrast to Mobei Mongol ({{zh|c=漠北蒙古}}), there is also Monan Mongol ({{zh|c=漠南蒙古|p=Mònán Měnggǔ|l=South of the [[Gobi Desert|Desert]] Mongolia}}), roughly referring to the region now known as South Mongolia.

== Modern usage ==
Today, "Outer Mongolia" is sometimes still informally used to refer to the independent state of [[Mongolia]]. To avoid confusion between Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia, Chinese sources generally refer to the former as the "State of Mongolia" ({{zh |s = 蒙古国 |p = Měnggǔ Guó }}); that is, the translation of the official name in Mongolian, {{lang|mn-Cyrl|Монгол Улс}}/{{lang|mn-Latn|Mongol Uls}}, instead of just "Mongolia" ({{zh |c = 蒙古 |p = Měnggǔ }}), which could refer to the entire Mongolian region.

"Outer Mongolia" is also used sometimes [[Colloquialism|colloquially]] in the [[English language]] as a [[hyperbole]] to refer to a place that is very far away.

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Russia|History}}
* [[Mongolia under Qing rule]]
* [[Tannu Uriankhai]]
* [[Dzungaria]]
* [[Outer Northwest China]]
* [[Outer Manchuria]]
* [[Mongolia–Taiwan relations]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{-}}
{{Mongolia during Qing rule}}
{{Defunct Chinese provinces}}

[[Category:Historical geography of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Inner Asia]]
[[Category:Mongolia under Qing rule|.]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1644]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:1644 establishments in China]]
[[Category:1922 disestablishments in China]]
[[Category:17th-century establishments in Mongolia]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of the Republic of China]]
[[Category:Historical regions of China]]