Ulaanbaatar
Lecture Organized on Rinchen Byamba’s Contribution to Novel Genre
Society
Ulaanbaatar, November 10, 2025
/MONTSAME/.
The event was organized within the
framework of the 120th anniversary of the birth of Rinchen Byamba, one of the
founders of modern Mongolian literature, a leading Mongolist scholar, and a prominent
intellectual of the 20th century.
A presentation was delivered by A.
Amardalai, lecturer and doctoral candidate at the Teachers’ College of the
Mongolian National University of Education, who analyzed Rinchen’s novels “Uuriin
Tuya” (Dawn), “Ikh Nuudel” (The Great Migration), and “Zaan Zaluudai”.
The novel “Uuriin Tuya,” which
spans a broad historical period from the late 19th century to the mid-20th
century, artistically depicts real events and historical figures, portraying
the dreams of ordinary people through characters representing good and bad.
Linguistically, the novel has a unique tone. It consists of 7,038 sentences,
generally characterized by long sentence structures. B. Rinchen incorporated
folk songs, proverbs, idioms, historical facts, and statistical data in the
original form. The novel provides clear descriptions of traditional customs,
rituals, and religious practices, and is notable for its creative use of
inverted expressions, satire, and official terminology.
Meanwhile, the novel “Zaan
Zaluudai” depicts the lifestyle of the prehistoric tribal era. It narrates how
people living 10,000-6,000 years ago perceived and interpreted natural
phenomena and achieved advanced lifestyles, covering a vast geographical area
stretching from China in the south to Lake Baikal in the north.
“Ikh Nuudel” was written based on
archaeological findings and Chinese historical sources. It recounts Hunnu
history, including Modun’s youth, his time as a hostage in a neighboring
country, his escape, and his rise from a Noyon of a Tumt (Commander of 10,000) to
becoming a Khaan.
Scholars regard B. Rinchen as the
founder of the historical novel genre in modern Mongolian literature, a major
theme that developed further after him.
Rinchen Byamba was born in 1905 in Altanbulag soum, Selenge aimag. He learned to read and write at the age of seven and studied in the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1927. He wrote poetry, short stories, screenplays, and novels.
