When it comes to the vast outer Mongolia, countless Chinese people will feel sorry, after all, in a long time ago, Outer Mongolia was an inalienable part of China's territory, and this region was officially separated from China, not even for a hundred years. In the tenth year of the Republic of China (1921 AD), Outer Mongolia unilaterally declared its independence from the Republic of China, which was not recognized by the Beiyang government, and three years later, Outer Mongolia established an independent state with the support of the Soviet Union and officially broke away from Chinese control.
▲Color photos of the Yalta conference
After the establishment of the National Government, the independent status of Outer Mongolia was not recognized. Until the end of World War II, under international pressure and previously signed international agreements, the National Government in Nanjing was forced to recognize Mongolia's independence, and since then, Mongolia, the world's second largest landlocked country, has begun to survive as a buffer zone between China and the Soviet Union, and has not been recovered by Chinese. However, few people think of the question, when Mongolia was independent, there were more than 100,000 Han Chinese stranded here, what was the end of their situation?
▲Old photos of the princes of Outer Mongolia in the early years of the Republic of China
Before independence, the capital of Outer Mongolia was Kulun (present-day Ulaanbaatar), which was founded in the fourth year of the Qing Dynasty Emperor Taiji Chongde (1639 AD), and was the seat of Jebtsundamba Hutuktu, one of the four living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism, and one of the jurisdictions of the Qing Dynasty general Ulya Sutai. In the early years of the Republic of China, a large number of Han merchants gathered here, plus other Han craftsmen and their families who were active in Kulun City, and the number of Han people in the entire Kulun City was as high as more than 100,000, which was more than the indigenous Mongols at that time.
▲ Wax statue of the eighth Jebtsundamba and his wife
Later, the Mongol princes and ministers led by the eighth Jebtsundamba, with the support of Tsarist Russia, launched a rebellion and led an army to besiege Kulun, and after the destruction of the city of Kulun, the more than 100,000 Han Chinese who remained in it basically chose to return to the south and flee the turbulent Outer Mongolia. However, at this time, the road from Outer Mongolia to the country had been blocked by the rebels, and if you wanted to leave, you could only choose to take a detour through the Gobi Desert. Eventually, many people chose to return home via Kyakhta and then by Russian train. In order to be able to return home smoothly, all these Han people gathered on the Sino-Russian border, but the number of trains returning home was too small, and only those Han people who had money and connections could ride, and if the Han people who had no money and no relationship wanted to survive, in addition to staying in Russia to do things for the Russians, they could only return to Kulen the same way.
▲Old photos of The Outer Mongolian Han People
However, those Han Chinese who were lucky enough to return to China by train actually lived in no better situation than those who stayed in Russia and Cullen- they were always exploited by the officials of the Republic of China, and their lives were extremely difficult; those Han chinese who remained in Russia were either reduced to slaves or became the cheapest labor force in the factories. As for the Han Chinese who remained in Outer Mongolia, they were even more miserable, not only often oppressed by the rulers, but even some ordinary Mongols bullied them. For them, the only thing they could do was to wait for the Beiyang government to lead an army to counterattack Ulaanbaatar and rescue them from the water and fire, who wanted to wait for thirty years.
▲ The streets of Mongolia today
After the founding of New China, the Soviet Union took the lead in establishing diplomatic relations with China, and under the leadership of Big Brother, other countries in the socialist camp have established diplomatic relations with China, and Mongolia is no exception. In 1950, China officially sent an ambassador to Mongolia, and the first ambassador to Mongolia was named Ji Yatai, who came to Ulaanbaatar with the people's trust to comfort the Han people who were stranded there. The accompanying reporters were surprised to see that the Han people who were stranded here thirty years ago were dressed in rags and stains, and some even had long braids, and when they learned that the people from the motherland had come to comfort them, they wept bitterly, thinking that the Beiyang government had finally sent someone to rescue them, so they kowtowed to Ambassador Ji Yatai in Mongolia, stated their sufferings, and only after opening their mouths to inquire did they know that the Beiyang government and the Republic of China had long since perished. This scene brought tears to everyone present at the time, and it is still lamentable to read.
Resources:
Historical Materials of Sino-Russian Relations in Outer Mongolia and the Yalta Agreement