The present article deals with the meaning of Chingis Khan’s saying qoq ideǰü qoma’ul tüleǰü yabutuqai towards Dödei čerbi in § 234 of the Secret History of the Mongols which is commonly translated and – necessarily – interpreted as an expression of disrespect (“Eating scraps of leftovers, Burning dried dung” (transl. de Rachewiltz)). Since Dödei čerbi is a highly decorated military leader and appointed very important tasks by Chingis Khan these manners seem quite puzzling. I will try to solve this riddle by means of a thorough study of the respective words etymology and historical semantics, thus tracing the original meaning of the saying while comparing it to some of its hitherto undertaken translations and interpretations. The result of this research shows that the saying has to be rendered as “eating small things, burning horse dung” and meant “eating (only) small things, burning (only) small fires” (and, according to the addition of a parallel version: “drinking (only) small amounts of water”). The contextual interpretation clarifies that the saying was no insult at all but, on the contrary, underlined the importance of Dödei čerbi s tasks in the fulfillment of which he shall “neither halt nor rest”.
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of Korean FDI in Mongolia: Low diversification
3. Mongolia’s FDI policy context and FDI diversification opportunities for Korean firms
4. FDI diversification strategies and fit between strategies: Win-win economic cooperation
5. Conclusion