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| Launching ceremony for US Ambassador Jonathon Addleton’s (C) new book |
On January 27, the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and U.S, the U.S. Embassy and Weatherford Foundation jointly organized a book launching. The book launching, ‘A most helpful factor: U.S-Mongolia Diplomatic Relations, 1987-2012’, and a ceremony to award the Weatherford Prize to an extraordinary work on Mongolian history of the year took place at the Elite Center in Ulaanbaatar.
To begin the event, national anthems of two countries were sounded and Mr. Jonathan Addleton, US Ambassador to Mongolia, delivered a greeting and made a speech. He authored the book and gave some explanations about the book. The book starts with a chapter about the first arrival of American adventurers, missioners and entrepreneurs to the remotely located ‘Outer Mongolia’ in the 1860s. The second chapter describes some actions such as ‘unsuccessful efforts’ to establish ties between the two countries and ‘unexpected changes’. It also states in detail about the two sides’ decision to establish diplomatic ties, exchange Ambassadors and opening embassies in 1987.
In the following five chapters, the development of US-Mongolia relations was detailed in many sectors. These five chapters discussed contributions and efforts of Mongolians and Americans for strengthening democracy, cooperating to enhance prosperity, developing trade relations, satisfying security and supporting inter-personal relations.
In the conclusion of his speech, he said, “My sincere desire is to provide Americans and Mongolians a comprehensive essay that reflects on important actions that both countries took to overcome the first phase of the historical US-Mongolia relations. With this book, I believe that broader knowledge about our history can be helpful to strengthen our present continuity, actively expand long-term relations, and develop relations much further”.
At the ceremony to award the Weatherford Prize, it was announced that the outstanding work of the year was selected through the survey taken from over 30 organizations, including the Mongolia’s Academy of Sciences, Archaeological Institute, International Studies Institute, Philosophy and Law Institute, Literature Institute, American Cultural Information Center, Mongolia Society at the University of Indiana, museums and research centers, prominent historians and scholars and individuals.
S. Erdenebold, head of the Jack Weather Foundation Mongolia, delivered a speech and congratulated the prize winners. Professor B. Sumyabaatar received the Weatherford Prize in recognition of his several books of studies on the Secret History of Mongols and comparative cultural studies on 1000 characters of Mongolian, Korean and Sinitic languages. Through his book ‘Comparative studies on 1000 characters of Mongolian, Korean and Sinitic languages’, he proved that the word ‘Yuan’ has the meaning ‘Blue color’. He also explained the Altan Hun inscription, valuable memorial items of the Hun Dynasty and linguistic history, and wrote a book on Chinggis Khaan’s lineage. His works are considered a valuable resource for scientific studies.
More of his works were introduced, such as historical sources about Mongolians creation of an encyclopedia in 1282, a presence of a library with 17 thousand notebooks in the 12th Century, and unveiling a 5-meter high Mongol Script monument in Korea in 1639 when Mongolia’s first capital was founded.
Special prizes were granted for two works; Gol Mod-2 archaeological studies and scientific studies book published in a foreign language. As a result of the archaeological studies, finding about tribes who lived in early and middle Bronze Age in Mongolian territory were unearthed.
The result of research works on the Hunnu Khaan grave provided records of the grave size, duration of digging, investment, number of archaeologists and archaeological finds.
Dr. and Prof D. Bayarsaikhan authored a book titled ‘Mongols and Armenians, 1220-1335’ published in the UK. The book describes ally relations between the Great Mongolian Empire and Armenia and Mongolia’s then policy of military-politics on the Muslim world. It made a quality turnabout in historical studies on the Great Mongolian Empire. Also, publication of the book in the UK became a valuable contribution to publicize Mongolian history worldwide.
Jack Weatherford is a former professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He spent many years studying Chinggis Khaan and wrote the books, ‘Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World’ and the ‘Secret History of Mongolian Queens’. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest national honor for foreigners.
Source: THE MONGOL MESSENGER
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