Toghto

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Toghto was born in 1314, the first year of the Yanyou era under Emperor Renzong of Yuan, into a prominent Mongol Merkit noble family. His paternal uncle was Bayan, one of the most powerful officials of the late Yuan; his father, Majartai, had held important offices since the reign of Emperor Renzong. Toghto was raised from childhood in Bayan's household, and the historical account describes him as an unusually gifted child. As he grew older, he studied under the noted scholar Wu Zhifang of Pujiang, who became both his teacher and later one of his closest advisers.

As a youth, Toghto possessed exceptional physical strength and could draw a bow rated at one shi, marking him as an obvious military talent. Under Wu Zhifang's patient instruction, however, he also absorbed a substantial amount of Confucian learning. Although he was not accustomed to sitting all day reading classical texts, his intellectual progress was nevertheless considerable. He was skilled in calligraphy and painting: his vigorous handwriting was compared to Yan Zhenqing's, while his bamboo paintings were said to possess particular charm. The strongest Confucian influence on him, according to the source, was ethical. He adopted the ambition to “record each day the admirable sayings and good deeds of the ancients and practice them throughout life.”

In 1328, at age fifteen, Toghto served as a keshig officer in the household of Arigaba, crown prince of Emperor Taiding. That year Emperor Taiding died and the War of the Two Capitals broke out. Tugh Temür, second son of Emperor Wuzong and then based at Jiangling, was enthroned with the support of the powerful official El Temür as Emperor Wenzong. After Wenzong's accession, Toghto inherited the office of darughachi of the Chengzhi Directorate and gradually received further promotion.

Early Career and Bayan's Dominance

In 1329, the second year of Tianli, Toghto appeared at court before Emperor Wenzong, who predicted that he would “surely be capable of great use in the future.” He was then transferred to Deputy Director of the Inner Household Office while retaining his post in the Chengzhi Directorate. In the fifth month of that year, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Fuzheng Office. In 1331, the second year of Zhishun, he received a tiger tally and became commander of the Zhongyi Imperial Guard.

Toghto's uncle Bayan had been an old minister of Emperor Wuzong. After Emperor Taiding died, Bayan supported El Temür's coup and became the second-ranking figure in the movement that placed Tugh Temür on the throne. After El Temür's death, Bayan supported the accession of Toghon Temür, Emperor Shun of Yuan. Bayan monopolized state power, and Toghto's own career rose rapidly with him.

In 1334, Toghto was appointed Associate Administrator of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs while retaining his earlier duties. In the fifth month he was transferred to become Zhongzheng Commissioner, and in the sixth month he became Associate Administrator of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In 1335, Tangqishi, son of the former Right Chancellor El Temür, resented Bayan's control of government and attempted to stage an uprising, but Bayan seized and killed him. In fighting against surviving supporters of Tangqishi, including Dali and Talakhai, Toghto selected elite soldiers and won military merit. He was first appointed Commissioner of the Taixi Zongyin Court and then Vice Censor-in-Chief and commander of imperial troops, with supervisory responsibility for the Left Asud Guard. In 1338, he was promoted to Censor-in-Chief while retaining these responsibilities.

While serving as Censor-in-Chief, Toghto strongly enforced administrative discipline, and officials throughout the court and provinces were said to become respectful and cautious. On one occasion, he accompanied Toghon Temür from Shangdu back to Dadu. When they passed the Hun River at Jiming Mountain, the emperor intended to hunt at Bao'an Prefecture, but his horse stumbled. Toghto used the opportunity to remonstrate: “The emperors of antiquity dwelt with dignity in the innermost palace and every day discussed the principles of government with senior ministers and learned scholars. Amusements such as flying hawks and coursing hounds are not what an emperor ought to do.” Toghon Temür accepted the admonition and granted him the title Grand Master for Splendid Happiness as well as the post of Pacification Commissioner of Shaoxi.

Removal of Bayan

After Bayan eliminated his rivals, he “held the state's balance alone and exercised power without restraint,” and his reputation deteriorated. Bayan treated Toghto as a trusted subordinate and sought to have him serve within the palace guard so that he could monitor Toghon Temür's daily movements. Although Toghto had been raised in Bayan's household, he saw Bayan's increasingly arbitrary behavior and feared that if Bayan's dominance collapsed, the entire family might be destroyed and he himself implicated. A political confrontation within the family was therefore taking shape, one that also carried consequences for control of the government and the direction of policy.

Toghto first discussed the situation with his father Majartai, saying that Bayan's arrogance had become extreme and that if the emperor became angry the entire clan might be exterminated. He asked why they should not act before disaster and remove Bayan. Majartai also recognized the danger but did not dare move immediately. Toghto then consulted Wu Zhifang. Wu quoted the Zuo Tradition: “Great righteousness may require the destruction of one's own kin,” and told him that an official should recognize only the court, not private family interests. When Toghto asked what would happen if the plan failed, Wu replied that failure would be Heaven's will; one would merely die, and even in death would remain a loyal and righteous man. Toghto then resolved to act, declaring, “My decision is made.”

Success required the support of Toghon Temür. Although young, the emperor did not wish to remain a puppet. Toghto understood that the emperor was troubled by Bayan's concentration of power. Bayan's unauthorized execution of Prince Chechetu of Tan and his banishment of Prince Temür Buqa of Xuanrang and Prince Köke Temür of Weishun further angered the emperor. In 1338, Toghto also learned that Bayan and Grand Empress Dowager Budashiri, widow of Emperor Wenzong, allegedly intended to replace Toghon Temür with El Tegüs, son of Wenzong. Wu Zhifang advised Toghto to tell the emperor in secret so that he could prepare. This gave Toghto and the emperor a shared political basis for action. Yet amid the complex palace environment and Bayan's power, Toghon Temür did not immediately commit himself. He repeatedly tested Toghto through confidants Shijieban and Alu before finally expressing support.

In 1339 Toghto twice prepared to act but refrained because the preparations were insufficient. His conflict with Bayan had by then become apparent. In the eleventh month, Fan Meng, a minor clerk in the Henan provincial administration, dissatisfied with his low status, forged an imperial order, killed the head of the provincial government, installed former surveillance commissioner Duan Fu temporarily in charge of the province, and declared himself Grand Marshal of Henan. The affair was uncovered after five days and Fan Meng was killed. Because Duan Fu was implicated, Bayan ordered the Censorate to memorialize that Han Chinese should no longer serve as surveillance commissioners. As Censor-in-Chief, Toghto consulted Wu Zhifang, who argued that this was an ancestral institution that could not be abolished and urged him to inform the emperor first. Toghto did so, and the memorial from the Censorate was rejected. Bayan learned that the proposal had come from Toghto and angrily told the emperor that although Toghto was his nephew, “his heart is with the Han people” and he should be punished. Toghto's strengthening of the palace gates further deepened Bayan's suspicions.

In the second month of 1340, Bayan invited Toghon Temür to hunt at Liulin. The emperor pleaded illness and did not go, so Bayan invited the crown prince instead. Toghto secretly warned the emperor that Bayan had long harbored disloyal intentions and was now taking troops of the various guards outside the capital, which might endanger the state. Toghto, Shijieban, and Alu then conspired to use the troops under their control and the palace guards to secure the capital. They first took possession of the keys to the city gates and stationed trusted men beneath them. That night, Toghon Temür summoned close attendants and senior officials to the Yude Hall. During the second watch, he ordered the crown prince's keshig officer Yuekacha'er to ride with thirty horsemen to the crown prince's camp at Liulin and bring El Tegüs back to the capital during the night. An edict was drafted and Senior Vice Councillor Jirwaday of the Central Secretariat was ordered to take it to Liulin. It condemned Bayan for exercising power without restraint, deceiving the emperor because of his youth, overturning ancestral institutions, and harming the realm, and demoted him to Right Chancellor of the Henan provincial government.

At dawn, the gates of Dadu remained closed and Toghto sat atop the gate waiting. Bayan sent a messenger to ask the reason. Toghto transmitted the imperial order that all those who had accompanied Bayan were innocent and could disperse and return to their own guards, because the court intended to punish Bayan alone. Bayan asked permission to enter the capital and take leave of the emperor, but Toghto refused. Once Bayan's troops saw that he had lost power, they dispersed. Bayan had no choice but to depart south. In the third month, the emperor ordered him exiled to Yangchun County in Nan'en Prefecture, present-day Guangdong. Bayan died of illness on the way at a post station in Longxing Circuit, in present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi.

The struggle between Toghto and Bayan was a contest for power within the Yuan ruling elite, but the source also places it in a broader social and political context. Since Kublai Khan's promotion of “Han methods,” Mongol nobles had remained divided over whether to continue such policies or resist them. During Bayan's ascendancy he excluded Han officials, abolished the imperial examinations, and adopted a series of measures of ethnic discrimination. The source characterizes this as a major late-Yuan reaction against “Han methods.” Although Bayan was Toghto's uncle, Toghto, seeking what he regarded as the fundamental interests of Yuan rule, opposed Bayan's alteration of ancestral institutions and carried out the coup with the support of Toghon Temür. Some scholars of the time praised the removal of Bayan as “pulling out a great evil, like cutting away rotten vermin.”

First Chancellorship and the Toghto Renewal

After Bayan's removal, Toghon Temür made Toghto's father Majartai Grand Preceptor and Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, Toghto Administrator of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Toghto's younger brother Esen Temür Censor-in-Chief. After taking office, Majartai opened lodging houses, wine shops, and brewing operations at Tongzhou, reportedly processing enormous daily quantities, and also trafficked in salt from Changlu and Huainan, displaying an intense interest in commercial gain. Toghto arranged for Vice Director Fojiawen to impeach his father before the emperor, forcing Majartai to resign and “retire to recover from illness” at his private residence, though retaining the title Grand Preceptor. In the eleventh month of that year, Toghto became Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat.

Once in office, Toghto moved rapidly to abolish Bayan's “old policies” and implement a series of new measures, collectively known as the “Toghto Renewal.” Toghon Temür was at the time eager to improve government and trusted Toghto deeply, leaving major affairs of state in his hands. Assisted by Wu Zhifang and others, Toghto's policies were said to produce a situation in which “all under Heaven responded in harmony,” with the latter Zhiyuan administration compared favorably with the earlier Zhiyuan period.

During this first period in power, Toghto also served as chief director and assembled Confucian scholars to oversee compilation of the dynastic histories of Liao, Jin, and Song. Work began in the fourth month of 1343. In the third month of 1344, the History of Liao was completed. Toghto ordered clerks to conduct a formal procession with ritual music from the Historiography Institute to the Xuanwen Pavilion, making the presentation a highly ceremonial occasion.

In the fifth lunar month of 1344, Toghto resigned because of illness. Apart from an unsuccessful attempt to open the Jinkou River near Dadu—a project undertaken with insufficient experience that silted up, caused deaths and injuries among corvée laborers, and produced little benefit—the source describes most measures of his first administration as effective. His successors, including Berke Buqa, adopted policies contrary to his, granting more autonomy to local officials and garrisons, which the source says instead reduced fiscal revenue.

Second Chancellorship and the State Crisis

In 1347, Toghto escorted his impeached father to Gansu. In 1348 he was appointed Grand Preceptor and placed in charge of affairs of the Eastern Palace. In the intercalary seventh month of 1349, amid a worsening political situation, Emperor Shun appointed him Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, the second-ranking chancellorship.

In the fourth month of 1350, Toghto became Right Chancellor, the senior chancellor. He issued a new paper currency, the Zhizheng paper money, which raised some funds but also contributed to inflation.

Beginning in the fourth month of 1351, Toghto assigned Jia Lu to manage the Yellow River. The project mobilized 150,000 civilian laborers and 20,000 garrison troops and restored an old river channel so that the Yellow River again reached the sea through the Shandong Peninsula. The work was successfully completed in the eleventh month. The source praises the results as outstanding and says they won support among people affected by flooding. Toghto was granted the title Darhan and praised as a “worthy chancellor.” The emperor granted him Huai'an Circuit as a fief and commissioned the “Stele on the Pacification of the River” to commemorate the achievement.

Yet while Toghto was entrusting Jia Lu with the river works, Han Shantong and Liu Futong launched an uprising at Yingshang in early 1351 and organized the anti-Yuan Red Turban army. By the end of the year, rebel forces had risen throughout many regions. Emperor Shun rebuked Toghto: “Now the Red Army fills half the realm. What plan does the Chancellor have to deal with it?” Toghto initially had no answer. He soon personally led an army against the rebels, captured Xuzhou in the ninth month of 1352, and killed the Red Turban leader Sesame Li. Toghto insisted on massacring the city and was afterward rewarded for his military success with the title Grand Preceptor. Taking advantage of a temporary decline in the rebellion, he also promoted rice cultivation and military-agricultural colonies in northern China.

The Gaoyou Campaign and Death under False Accusation

In 1354, Toghto was sent against the increasingly powerful rebel Zhang Shicheng at Gaoyou in present-day Jiangsu. His younger brother Esen Temür temporarily managed affairs at court, while Toghto appointed Ruzhong Bo to assist him. Ruzhong Bo warned that the court official Hama would become a future danger, but Esen Temür did not act. When Hama learned of the warning, he used Toghto's delay of the formal investiture rites for Crown Prince Ayushiridara to sow discord between the crown prince and Toghto and had censors impeach him. Toghto was therefore removed just as his army was on the verge of capturing Gaoyou from Zhang Shicheng, bringing the campaign to nothing.

On April 27, 1355, the fifteenth day of the third month in the fifteenth year of Zhizheng, Toghto was dismissed and exiled to Yunnan. On January 10, 1356, the eighth day of the twelfth month of that year, Hama issued a forged order in the emperor's name commanding him to take his own life. In 1362, seven years after his death, Censor Zhang Chong and others secured his posthumous exoneration and restoration of office. His exiled sons, the elder Qarajang and the younger Sanbaonu, were also recalled.

Major Activities

Political Activities

The “Toghto Renewal” refers to the series of measures implemented during his first term as chancellor. These included restoring the imperial examinations that Bayan had abolished; later restoring the Imperial Academy and admitting Mongol, Semu, and Han students; establishing the Xuanwen Pavilion and opening imperial lectures, with selected Confucian scholars delivering presentations; and creating conditions for the later compilation of the three dynastic histories. By rehabilitating the Prince of Tan and recalling the Prince of Weishun, he sought to ease divisions within the ruling elite. He permitted private horse raising, reduced salt taxes and other levies, and reorganized official discipline by setting six new requirements for local administrators. He also cared for Crown Prince Ayushiridara in his own household and was trusted by Emperor Shun.

During his second term as chancellor, Toghto revised the paper-currency system and issued the Zhizheng notes to raise funds, though the policy also generated inflation. Beginning in the fourth month of 1351, he sent Jia Lu to manage the Yellow River, mobilizing 150,000 laborers and 20,000 garrison troops to restore the old channel and direct the river to the sea through the Shandong Peninsula. The project was completed in the eleventh month. The source again describes the result as outstanding and says that Toghto won the support of flood victims, received the title Darhan, was praised as a “worthy chancellor,” was granted Huai'an Circuit as a fief, and was commemorated by the “Stele on the Pacification of the River.”

Military Activities

In 1335, during fighting against surviving supporters of Tangqishi such as Dali and Talakhai, Toghto selected elite soldiers and earned military merit.

In early 1351, Han Shantong and Liu Futong rose in rebellion at Yingshang and organized the anti-Yuan Red Turban army. By the end of the year, rebellions had spread widely. Emperor Shun challenged Toghto over how to respond, and Toghto later personally led troops in suppression. In the ninth month of 1352 he captured Xuzhou and killed the Red Turban leader Sesame Li. Toghto insisted on massacring the city and was afterward awarded the title Grand Preceptor for his military achievements.

In 1354, Toghto was sent against Zhang Shicheng's rebel forces at Gaoyou. He was impeached at court just as the city was on the verge of falling, and the campaign failed to achieve its objective.

Cultural Contributions

Toghto possessed a high level of Chinese cultural education and served as chief director of three of the official dynastic histories later included among the Twenty-Four Histories: the History of Song, History of Liao, and History of Jin. In 1343 he assembled Confucian scholars and supervised the compilation of all three. In addition to Han historians, he recruited historians of Uyghur, Qarluq, Tangut, and Kipchak background. Funds from educational estates in Jiangnan were used to finance the work. By compiling the three histories separately and treating their dynasties on parallel terms, the project resolved the long-running debate over which dynasty should be treated as the legitimate succession. Compilation began in the fourth month of 1343, and the History of Liao was completed in the third month of 1344. Toghto arranged a formal procession with ritual music from the Historiography Institute to the Xuanwen Pavilion to present the work.

Toghto was also skilled in calligraphy and painting. His calligraphy was described as forceful and vigorous and compared to that of Yan Zhenqing; his bamboo paintings were praised for their charm.

Travels and Movements

Toghto's life centered largely on the Yuan political capitals of Dadu, present-day Beijing, and Shangdu, in present-day Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia. He accompanied Emperor Shun from Shangdu to Dadu and passed the Hun River at Jiming Mountain. During his second chancellorship, he personally led armies against the Red Turbans and captured Xuzhou. In 1354 he was sent against Zhang Shicheng at Gaoyou in present-day Jiangsu. After dismissal, he was exiled to Yijinai Circuit, Yunnan, and other places.

Relations with Contemporaries

Toghto maintained a close relationship with Toghon Temür, Emperor Shun. The two conspired to remove Bayan, and Toghto subsequently served for long periods as chancellor with the emperor's trust. He was also closely connected with Shijieban and Alu, confidants of Emperor Shun who helped plan Bayan's removal. Wu Zhifang was both his early teacher and trusted adviser and played an important role in the removal of Bayan and the implementation of Toghto's reforms. Toghto's relationship with Bayan was complex: Bayan was his uncle and had raised him from childhood, but Toghto eventually removed him because of political differences.

Personal Relations

Family

• Bayan: paternal uncle and powerful late-Yuan official, removed from power by Toghto because of his monopolization of government
• Majartai: father, a senior official since the reign of Emperor Renzong who later served as Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat
• Esen Temür: younger brother, once Censor-in-Chief and temporary manager of court affairs
• Qarajang: elder son, recalled after Toghto's posthumous rehabilitation
• Sanbaonu: younger son, recalled after Toghto's posthumous rehabilitation

Teachers and Associates

• Wu Zhifang: teacher and close adviser, a noted scholar of Pujiang
• Shijieban: confidant of Emperor Shun who conspired with Toghto to remove Bayan
• Alu: confidant of Emperor Shun who conspired with Toghto to remove Bayan
• Yang Yu: native of Qiantang who had served the emperor before his accession and participated in secret planning

Rulers

• Tugh Temür, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan: predicted that Toghto would “surely be capable of great use in the future”
• Toghon Temür, Emperor Shun of Yuan: conspired with Toghto to remove Bayan but later ceased to trust him because of slander

Conflicts

• Bayan: uncle removed by Toghto because of his concentration of power
• Hama: political rival who alienated the crown prince from Toghto, arranged his impeachment, and later forged the order that forced him to die
• Berke Buqa: successor who adopted policies opposite to those of Toghto

Historical Assessment

Yuan and Contemporary Assessments

• Volume 138 of the History of Yuan, in the biography of Toghto, describes him as unusually gifted from birth and records that he “greatly strengthened the institutions and discipline, so that the court and provinces alike became respectful and cautious.”
• Emperor Shun granted him the title Darhan, and he was praised as a “worthy chancellor.”
• Some scholars of the time described the expulsion of Bayan as “removing a great evil, like cutting away rotten vermin.”

Ming and Qing Periods

• Ming historians generally praised Toghto's role in directing compilation of the three dynastic histories and regarded the project as resolving the controversy over dynastic legitimacy among Liao, Song, and Jin.
• In Qing-period transliteration his name was rendered “Tuoketuo,” and the relevant accounts in the History of Yuan were widely cited.

Modern and Contemporary Assessments

• Modern scholars regard the Toghto Renewal as an important late-Yuan reform effort. The restoration of the imperial examinations and compilation of the three histories are generally treated as constructive measures.
• Toghto has been described as one of the relatively capable officials of the late Yuan. Although his reform efforts ultimately failed amid political conflict, they have been regarded as historically significant.