(The following is a post by Susan Meinheit, Tibetan and Mongolian Reference Specialist, Asian Division)
On February 14, 2025, the Asian Division welcomed over 80 Mongolian scholars to the Library of Congress for the keynote session of the 17th Annual International Mongolian Studies Conference. The conference is a two-day event hosted by the Mongolian Cultural Association, based in Falls Church, Virginia, and the Embassy of Mongolia in Washington, D.C., and includes a visit to the Library of Congress for the keynote talk and Mongolian collection display.
This year, the conference keynote was “The Poetry and ‘Perfect Qualities’ of Danzanravjaa, the ‘Wild Saint’ of the Gobi,” by Dr. Simon Wickhamsmith. A recorded version of the keynote is available to view online.
Dr. Wickhamsmith is a translator and scholar of Mongolian literature. He teaches in the Writing Program at Rutgers University, where he is affiliated with the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures and the South Asian Studies Program. His work focuses on the period of Soviet influence, and on the life and legacy of Danzanravjaa. He has published several studies and translations of Mongolian poetry, including “Perfect Qualities: The Collected Poems of the 5th Noyon Khutagtu Danzanravjaa (1803-1856).”
Danzanrajvaa (1803-1856) is considered one of Mongolia’s most important cultural figures. Popularly known as the “Lama of the Gobi,” Danzanravjaa was born to nomadic herders in the Eastern Gobi. In 1812, while visiting Urga, he was recognized as the Fifth Gobi Noyon Khutuktu by the Fourth Jebtsundampa, Lobsang Tubten Wangchuk (Jebzundampa Khutukhts of Khalkh IV, Rje-btsun-dam-pa Blo-bzang-thub-bstan-dbang-phyug-ʼjigs-med-rgya-mtsho-dpal-bzang-po, 1775-1813), from whom he also received advanced Buddhist teachings. At that time, Mongolia was ruled by the Manchus, who had banned the recognition of reincarnated teachers in the lineage of the Gobi Noyon Khutuktu. Elements of intrigue thus complicated Danzanravjaa’s life and may have eventually led to his mysterious death.
Danzanrajvaa received advanced Buddhist training and initiations from many leading lamas of the time, in both Gelukpa and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, but his primary teacher was the Fourth Changkya Khutagt, Yeshe Tenpai Gyaltsan (Lcang-skya IV, Ye-shes-bstan-pa’i rgyal mtshan, 1787-1846). In addition to his traditional training, he became a prolific poet, composer, painter, playwright, educator, and outspoken critic of corrupt society. His unorthodox behavior was controversial to many but endeared him to the Mongolian people. Because of his use of natural imagery, and direct, ironic, humorous language, his poetry is still loved and recited today. He founded several important monasteries in the Gobi Desert, and his monastery in the eastern Gobi, Khamar Monastery (Khamariin Khiid), is a popular pilgrimage site even today. Within the monastery complex, he also founded a public school for both boys and girls, library, museum, and theatre, where his own didactic play, “Tale of the Moon Cuckoo” (“Saran kökögen-ü namtar”) was performed. This play was based on a Tibetan classic folktale and opera.
Danzanravjaa’s poems, said to number about 400, were written in both Mongolian and Tibetan. In his presentation, Dr. Wickhamsmith gave his translations of poems in each language to illustrate their different styles. The Mongolian poem, “Lovely rangy brown,” makes use of local imagery and horses.
“This lovely, rangy brown
runs in from the broad distance,
Here I sit, untiring, far away from you.
In my dreams it is clear
how I think I might forget
the river which appears misty
in our homeland that’s yours.
There is no thought here
to take for myself
the mountains which are called lofty
in our own homeland.”
(translation by Simon Wickhamsmith)
On the other hand, this poem, in Tibetan, reflects more traditional Buddhist concepts:
“…Appearances appear as though eternal, just as we want them,
and on the verge of throwing out these heavenly supports,
these appearances which are the joys of this time,
though lovely like rainbows, fade and depart.
It may sound like a dragon, yet it will diminish and disappear.
It may increase like a cloud, yet it will weaken and fade.”
(translation by Simon Wickhamsmith)
Following the keynote presentation, guests visited the Asian Reading Room to view a special display from the Mongolian collection prepared by Susan Meinheit, Tibetan and Mongolian reference specialist in the Asian Division. The display included over thirty books by and about Danzanravjaa, the Gobi Desert, and books by the speaker. Selected titles in the display included:
- “Noën khutagtyn zokhionguĭn tolʹt” – biographical novel about Danzanravjaa
- “Noën khutagt Danzanravzhaa” – philosophy of Danzanravjaa
- “Khoĭd du̇r” – historical novel about the 5th Khalkha reincarnate Danzanravjaa
- “I︠A︡ruu naĭrgiĭn t︠s︡omorlig” – poems by Danzanravjaa
- “U̇lėmzhiĭn chanar” – poems by Danzanravjaa
- “A Song Arising From Contemplation” – selected poems by Danzanravjaa in English translation
- “Lama of the Gobi” – English-language biography of Danzanravjaa
- “Yeke Ġobi-yin Dogsin Noyan Qutugtu” – biography of Danzanravjaa
- “Ikh urlagiĭn su̇md “Saran khȯkhȯȯ” dongodno” – Moon Cuckoo, work on the Mongolian classic drama “Saran khȯkhȯȯniĭ namtar”
The display also featured a 19th-century Mongolian manuscript of “The Story of the Paper Bird,” famous pieces of advice (surgaal), originally written in 1825 by Danzanravjaa.
It is hoped that future research and discoveries of yet unknown works can lead to a comprehensive anthology of Danzanravjaa’s writings, in both Mongolian and Tibetan, to fully reveal his complex legacy and contribution to our understanding of 19th-century Mongolia.
Printed works in Mongolian are accessible to registered readers in the Asian Reading Room. Manuscripts and other rare books are accessible only by prior appointment, which can be arranged by contacting reference staff through the Asian Division’s Ask a Librarian. For more information on the Mongolian Collection please see the Asian Division’s Mongolian collection research guide.