The present study examines in detail a letter sent from Galdantseren Khan (r. 1727-1745), the third ruler of the Dzungar Empire (1671-1755), to a Khalkha nobleman Lamajab in 1731, which was included in the Manchu source Jun gar-i ba be necihiyeme toktobuha bodogon-i bithe ‘Strategy Book for the Pacification of the Dzungarian Territory’ (in 1770), the official historical source of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). This narrative provides a rare glance into the interrelationships between the Mongols, namely the Khalkha Mongols, Oirat Mongols, Kalmyks, Inner Mongols, and Qinghai Mongols, during the eighteenth-century Qing Dynasty conquest of the Mongols. It sheds light on the Qing government’s response in this correspondence, the distinctions between the primary letter and its variant in the Jun gar-i bodogon-i bithe, and the intention of why the Qing Dynasty included the letter in its official historical source.
Ⅰ. Introduction
Ⅱ. Historical background
Ⅲ. Content and form of the letter
Ⅳ. The Qing Dynasty’s responses to the letter’s content and perlocutionary speech act
Ⅴ. Conclusion