involved colourfully illustrated, they cover topics of interest to children. Through reading
Doll’s Party, children can learn about the different kinds of houses, foods and clothes to
be found in each country, and learn the words of greeting used there. Water, Water,
Everywhere describes how water is used in industry and in water sports, includes
legends and descriptions of festivals connected with water, and tells the reader about
the plant and animal-life.
In most countries of the Far East, despite the problems, there is a promising future for
children’s literature.
MongoliaIn Mongolia there is a long tradition of oral story-telling and at an early age most
children hear the popular tales of ‘The White Mare of Tsut’ or ‘The White Little Orphan
Camel’, or the poem, ‘The Young Hare’, in which the hare describes his sufferings as he
grows up with the threat of being hounded by dogs, shot by a hunter or snatched by a
bird of prey.
The Secret History of Mongolia, containing the historical and literary oral tradition of
the Mongols, which was first written down in the thirteenth century, includes a wide
variety of stories about the origins of the Mongols, the life and deeds of Genghis Khan,
fairy tales, and stories which contain gems of popular wisdom. One story which finds
parallels elsewhere is the tale of Mother Alan Ghua who summons her five sons and
demonstrates the idea that ‘together we stand, divided we fall’ by showing them that
although each of them can break a single arrow, none of them can manage to break a
whole bunch. Since it was translated from Old Mongolian into the modern Mongolian
literary language in the middle of the twentieth century by Céndijn Damdinsürén,
editions of The Secret History intended for children have appeared regularly. A new
edition, illustrated in colour by S.Mižiddorž and with silhouettes by S.Torburam, was
published in 1990. In the same year an illustrated edition of Altan Tovč [The Golden
Summary] written in the seventeenth century and providing the same kind of stories as
The Secret History, was also published for children.
The founder of modern Mongolian literature was Natsagdorge Dashdorge who wrote the
Pioneer’s Hymn for children in 1925. Since the 1950s writers who specialise in writing
for children have emerged. For example, Ts.Damdinsürén whose titles include Pioneer
Camp and A Tale of Wishes, and U.Basanjar, author of The Golden Swallow, are amongst
the many authors whose books have found a ready response among readers.
Animals have always played a major role in Mongolian literature and sheep, dogs,
horses, camels and cattle frequently feature in stories for children. Most children can
recite the poem, ‘My Tardy Lamb’, which is said to appeal to all Mongolian children who
are the descendants of cattle breeders. Although books by Hans Christian Andersen,
Mark Twain, Astrid Lindgren and others are known in Mongolia, it is thought to be
important to have books which contain images and characters familiar to Mongolian
children. L.Tudev, winner of a State prize for Literature, in Vanity is Worthless (1977)
and Discovering the World (1987), uses autobiographical material to entertain children
with stories about his boyhood, both at school and in the outdoor world amongst the
Mongolian mountains. P. Horloo’s The Snap of the Whip (1981) consists of three stories
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