2 Life on the Steppe

Chapter 1 Life on the Steppe Temujin's mother, Hoelun, came from the eastern steppe. At sixteen, she married a Merkid tribesman named Chiledu. The man traveled a long way to seek her hand in marriage. On their way back to Chiledu's homeland, someone was watching. Yesugei was hunting with his falcon when he spotted the couple from atop a cliff. He thought Hoelun was beautiful. Yesugei already had a wife, but he decided he wanted another. He rode back to camp, returned with his brothers, and chased after the

铁木真的母亲和伦来自东部草原。 16岁时，她嫁给了一个叫Chiledu的Merkid部落成员。 这个男人不远万里来寻求她的求婚。 在他们回Chiledu家乡的路上，有人在监视他们。 Yesugei在悬崖顶上发现了这对夫妇，当时他正带着猎鹰打猎。 他觉得和伦很美。 Yesugei已经有了一个妻子，但他决定再要一个。 他骑马回到营地，和他的兄弟们一起回来，追赶

newlyweds. Hoelun knew they could not outrun the men. She told Chiledu to run. If he was captured, she said, he would be killed. So Chiledu fled, and Yesugei took Hoelun to his clan. This was life on the steppe: brutal, unforgiving, dramatic. It had been this way for centuries. Hoelun's new life with Yesugei was different from her childhood. She grew up on the open grassland. Her people raised cows, goats, sheep,

新婚夫妇。和伦知道他们不可能跑得过那些人。 她让Chiledu跑。她说，如果他被抓住，就会被杀死。 于是基利都逃跑了。耶素益将会伦带到自己的宗族里。 这就是草原上的生活：残酷、无情、戏剧性。 这种情况已经持续了几个世纪。 会伦和Yesugei的新生活与她的童年不同。 她在开阔的草原上长大。 她的族人养牛、山羊、绵羊，

and horses for meat and milk. But Yesugei lived where the grassland met the wooded mountains. They had little livestock, and hunted in the forest for food: rodents, birds, fish—whatever they could get. In the spring of 1162, about a year after being kidnapped, Hoelun gave birth. Temujin, the boy who would one day be called Genghis Khan, was born on a hill overlooking the Onon River, near the modern-day border of Mongolia and Siberia. Yesugei had just returned from fighting the Tatar tribe in the east. He named his son after a warrior he had killed: Temujin. Temujin grew up playing along the Onon River with his younger brothers and sister. He also had two half brothers—Begter and Belgutei. Like all children on the steppe, Temujin grew up hunting and riding horses. By four, he could ride alone—and soon after, while standing up! Once his legs were long enough to reach the

还有买肉和牛奶的马。 但Yesugei住在草原与树木繁茂的山脉相交的地方。 他们几乎没有牲畜，在森林里捕猎食物：啮齿动物、鸟类、鱼类——任何他们能得到的。 1162年春，也就是被绑架一年后，和伦生下了孩子。 铁木真，这个后来被称为成吉思汗的男孩，出生在一座俯瞰俄农河的小山上，靠近今天的蒙古和西伯利亚边界。 Yesugei刚从东部与鞑靼部落作战回来。 他以自己杀死的一名战士的名字给儿子取名：铁木真。 铁木真和他的弟弟妹妹们在俄农河边玩耍长大。 他还有两个同父异母的兄弟——贝格特和贝尔古特。 像草原上所有的孩子一样，铁木真从小就是打猎和骑马长大的。 到四岁时，他可以独自骑马了——不久之后，他就可以站起来了！一旦他的腿长到够得着

stirrups, he shot arrows and threw lassos while riding. When Temujin was eight or nine, his father decided to find him a wife. Together they journeyed east. Yesugei met with a man who had a daughter named Borte. She was a year older than Temujin. The fathers decided their children should marry. Temujin was to stay and work for Borte's father until it was time to marry her. On his way back home, Yesugei saw a group of feasting Tatars. Tired and hungry, he stopped to join the party. Eight years had passed since Yesugei killed the Tatar warrior who was also named Temujin. But he was recognized, and his food was poisoned. As Yesugei rode home after the feast, he fell ill. He sent a messenger to his son. He was dying. Temujin needed to come home. When Temujin returned, his father was dead.

骑着马镫，他射箭，扔套索。 当铁木真八九岁的时候，他的父亲决定给他找个妻子。 他们一起向东旅行。 Yesugei遇到了一个男人，他有一个女儿叫Borte。 她比铁木真大一岁。 父亲们决定他们的孩子应该结婚。 铁木真要留下来为伯特的父亲工作，直到娶她的时候。 在回家的路上，Yesugei看到一群正在大吃大喝的鞑靼人。 他又累又饿，停下来加入了聚会。 自Yesugei杀死也被称为铁木真的鞑靼战士以来，已经过去了八年。 但他被认出来了，他的食物被下了毒。 当Yesugei在宴会结束后骑马回家时，他病倒了。 他派了一个信使给他儿子。 他快死了。铁木真需要回家。 当铁木真回来时，他的父亲已经死了。

Yesugei's two widows were unimportant now. They had come from other clans. They were outsiders. Their children were too young to contribute. When the clan packed up to move to their summer home, the leader ordered his people to abandon Yesugei's family. One person, an old man, objected. The clan leader responded by driving a spear through the old man's body. Temujin rushed to help him as everyone rode off. As the old man lay dying, Temujin sobbed. What would become of his family now?

Yesugei的两个寡妇现在不重要了。 他们来自其他部族。 他们是外人。他们的孩子还太小，不能捐款。 当族人收拾行装搬到他们的避暑别墅时，首领命令他的族人抛弃Yesugei的家人。 有一个老人反对。 氏族首领的反应是用长矛刺穿老人的身体。 大家都骑着马离开了，铁木真冲过去帮助他。 老人奄奄一息，铁木真啜泣着。 现在他的家庭将会怎样呢？

THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE THE HIGH, TREELESS PLAINS OF MONGOLIA ARE KNOWN AS THE STEPPE. THIS ROLLING GRASSLAND COVERS AN AREA LARGER THAN TEXAS. IT IS BORDERED TO THE NORTH AND EAST BY THE FORESTS OF SIBERIA AND MANCHURIA. TO ITS WEST RISE THE SNOW-COVERED ALTAI MOUNTAINS, AND THE ARID GOBI DESERT FORMS ITS SOUTHERN BOUNDARY. IT IS A LAND OF EXTREME WEATHER. TEMPERATURES CAN RISE TO NINETY DEGREES IN THE SUMMER, AND FALL TO FIFTY BELOW ZERO IN THE WINTER. RAINFALL IS SCARCE AND UNPREDICTABLE, SO FARMING IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. BUT MELTING WINTER SNOW AND AN ABUNDANCE OF LAKES AND RIVERS MAKE IT THE PERFECT PLACE FOR RAISING LIVESTOCK.

蒙古草原蒙古高原上没有树木的平原被称为大草原。 这片连绵起伏的草原面积比德克萨斯州还大。 它的北部和东部与西伯利亚和满洲的森林接壤。 它的西部是白雪覆盖的阿尔泰山，南部是干旱的戈壁沙漠。 这是一个极端天气的地方。 夏天气温可升至华氏90度，冬天则降至零下50度。 降雨稀少且难以预测，因此农业几乎是不可能的。 但融化的冬雪和丰富的湖泊和河流使它成为饲养牲畜的理想场所。