Among the five ethnic autonomous regions in China, the administrative division system of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is relatively ethnic, and the league at the prefecture level and the banner at the county level are all characteristic structures that distinguish Inner Mongolia from other provinces and autonomous regions.
The reason why Inner Mongolia is called Inner Mongolia, in addition to the local dominant ethnic group, the Mongols, is largely the name of the alliance flag system and the unique administrative divisions it adopts.
It can be said that the league flag is closely linked to Inner Mongolia, and without the league flag, there would be no Inner Mongolia.
In the past, the Mongols migrated nomadically in the steppes, whether they swept across the Eurasian continent, entered the Central Plains, or retreated to the desert north, in the minds of the Mongols themselves, there was no distinction between inner and outer Mongolia, and some were just a variety of tribes.
The emergence of the name inner Mongolia began when the southern Mongolian tribes changed from allies of the Later Jin to subordinates of the Qing Dynasty.
Originally, the Qing rulers' names for Mongolia were divided into southern, northern, or tribal names. Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty adopted a policy of "divide and rule" against the submissive Mongol tribes, and the Qing rulers fixed the Mongol tribes on a piece of land, and they could only nomadic herding within the demarcated range, forbidding nomadism outside the jurisdiction of the ministry, and from then on, the steppe peoples freely lived in the water and grass became history. The Qing rulers replaced the Mongol tribes with the system and order of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, dividing the Mongol ministries into banners, under which there were Zuoling (Sumu), and all the Mongols were organized into Zuoling, produced in peacetime, and conscripted in wartime. Each banner was ruled by a hereditary Zasak (banner lord), and Zasak ranged from Prince Heshuo to Prince of Doro County to Duke Fuguo according to the rank of knighthood.
In the qing dynasty, there were 6 leagues in Inner Mongolia, namely the Zhelim League, the Zhaowuda League, the Zhuosotu League, the Xilin Gol League, the Ulanchabu League, and the Yikezhao League, which were divided into 49 banners by tribe. The largest number of Chouda Leagues has 11 flags, and the least Chosotu League has 5 flags. The league chief and deputy league chief are selected from among the princes of this banner, and each league meets once every three years.
The first southern Mongols to submit to the Qing Dynasty were known as the Nezasak Mongols, and they had the closest relationship with the Qing Dynasty. After the Kangxi Dynasty, the four parts of the Northern Khalkha were called the Outer Zasak Mongols. Later, the Qing Dynasty also established a perfect Zazak system among the Mongols in Qinghai, Xinjiang, and the western Part of Hetao.
After the Kangxi Dynasty, Southern Mongolia was gradually called Inner Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia began to become a geographical term with political connotations.
In the current inner mongolia autonomous region, in addition to the 6 leagues and 49 banners, there are four more special places: the Chahar Governor Banner, the naturalized city of Tumut Unified Banner, Hulunbuir Metropolitan Banner, and Taoxi Second Banner.
The Chahar tribe used to be the tribe of the Great Mongol Khan, and the naturalized city of Tumut was a descendant of the Qata Khan, who had a higher status and posed a greater threat to the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, so the Qing Dynasty abolished their autonomy and instead sent officials from the imperial court to govern directly. The Balhu and Erut people of Hulunbuir were migrated from other places to submit to the Qing Dynasty, and were under the unified management of the Qing Dynasty. The Two Banners of Taoxi included the Alxa Banner and the Ejin Natur Special Banner, which were composed of the Heshuo Special Andu Special Department and the Turk Special Banner that had earlier submitted to the Qing Dynasty, and were directly under the jurisdiction of the Li Fan Yuan, and did not belong to any one alliance.
Inner Mongolia's alliance flag system continued from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, although the Republic of China implemented a republican system, but in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other places, the local Mongol princes and nobles have continued their feudal ruling order and retained the right to rule the flag.
After the Communist Party of China led the Mongolian people to launch a national democratic revolution, all feudal princely privileges were abolished in Inner Mongolia, and the alliance flag system existed in name only, but the league and flag as place names have continued to this day, but the frequent adjustment of regional divisions has made the scope of the leagues completely different from the six leagues of the Qing Dynasty, and even some new league flags that did not appear in the Qing Dynasty have emerged. include:
The Chahar League, an alliance based on the four banners of the left wing of the former Qing Dynasty Chahar Department, was established in 1937 and abolished in 1958, and its region was merged into the Xilin Gol League.
The Bayantara League, based on the four banners of the right wing of the former Chahar Department of the Qing Dynasty and the counties near the naturalized city of Tumut, was established by the German king of the "puppet Mongolian government" in November 1937 and abolished immediately after the surrender of Japan in August 1945.
Alxa League, in 1961, split the Alxa Banner into the Alxa Left Banner and the Alxa Right Banner. In 1980, the Alxa Left Banner, the Alxa Right Banner and the Ejin Banner together formed the Alxa League. After the establishment of the Alxa League, it has continued to this day.
The Xing'an League, which had established a pseudo-"Xing'an Province" during the "pseudo-Manchu" period, mainly included part of the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty Zhelim League, was first established in 1946, abolished in 1952, and restored again in 1980.
Hulunbuir League, with the Hulunbuir Dutong Banner of the Qing Dynasty and the pseudo-"Xing'an East Province" and "Xing'an North Province" of the puppet Manchu period as its jurisdiction, was established in 1948, which was successively administered by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province, and in October 2001, the Hulunbuir League was abolished and the prefecture-level City of Hulunbuir was established.
Navin Muren League, founded in 1946, has jurisdiction over the eastern part of Daxing'anling, and the capital of the league is now The city of Zalantun. In 1949, the Navin Muren League was merged into the Hulunbuir League.
Today there are three leagues in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Among the newly created leagues, only the Alxa League and the Xing'an League have continued to this day.
In the Qing Dynasty's Inner Mongolia 6 Leagues, except for the Xilin Gol League, all other leagues have been abolished, and new prefecture-level cities have been established on the basis of these old leagues. Among them, the Zhaowuda League was changed to Chifeng City, the Zhelim League was changed to Tongliao City, the Yikezhao League was changed to Ordos City, the Ulanqab League was changed to Ulanqab City, and the Bayannaoer League was changed to Bayannaoer City.
As far as these three leagues are concerned, the Alxa League and the Xing'an League were established relatively late, and there is actually only one that can really continue the original historical essence and realistic foundation of the alliance flag system, that is, the Xilingol League.
The original 49 flags have also been merged, and some new flags that did not exist in the Qing Dynasty have emerged, such as the Joint Banner of Dalkhan Maoming'an, the Banner of Arong, and the Banner of Molidava. Some flags have also changed their names, such as the Abahanar Banner was renamed Xilinhot City, the Erguna Left Banner was renamed Genhe City, and the Ergun Right Banner was renamed Kalguna City.
The flag of the present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
There are many kinds of national cultures, and the forms of carriers are also rich and diverse, including language, writing, song and dance, clothing, craftsmanship, food, and place name culture is undoubtedly a very important national culture.
In the past, among the various ethnic autonomous regions in China, except for Inner Mongolia, only Tibet had its own unique place name "Zong", but before and after the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region, it was merged on the basis of "Zong" to form a county, and only Inner Mongolia had a special geographical name.
With the advancement of the urbanization process, it is probably only a matter of time before the three remaining leagues in Inner Mongolia "withdraw from the alliance and set up cities" will only happen.
As an alliance equivalent to a region, it is not surprising that the prefecture-level city has been revoked, in essence, the league and the "region" and "prefecture-level city" have no difference except the name, they are all first-level administrative divisions between the provincial and county levels, but the league and the flag still have a very obvious Mongolian national brand, retaining a strong historical imprint.
It is normal for cities and counties to be used for general naming, but for the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, place names with strong ethnic characteristics can not only highlight the characteristics of ethnic regions, but also retain the place names of this special title intact, but also an orderly historical inheritance of valuable intangible cultural heritage.
As a witness of history, the preservation of the "League" and "Flag" still has important historical and cultural significance. Whatever it meant at first, the league and the flag have long since become a symbol of the Mongol nation, and it is necessary to adopt a kind of protection.
Just like the demolition of the city wall and city gate tower of old Beijing, the only remaining Zhengyang Gate and Desheng Gate Arrow Tower can be preserved, which finally leaves a vision for the "old Beijing" left by history.
In order to adapt to urbanization, perhaps we can give the "league" a complete administrative sense of power, just like those "prefecture-level cities" that now enjoy more and greater power, but our "city" is very special, it is not called "city", it is called "league", why not?
If we regard the alliance flag system as a historical resource to protect and rationally develop, then please leave a testimony. Within the scope of Inner Mongolia, please keep the banner of the League Banner!