Ligdan Khan

Name

The name is borrowed from the Classical Tibetan term legs-ldan. There, the letters s and l had already become silent, g before d could be realized as and a before n got palatalized. In Mongolian sources, the most frequent ways to write the name are Ligda/en and Linda/en, but the intermediate Lingda/en does appear as well. a and e are not differentiated in normal Mongolian writing in this position, but a is attested in a strict transcription from Tibetan letters in the chronicle Bolur Erdeni. However, for any Mongolian reader who does not immediately perceive the name to be a loan, the letter g would (by means of consonant harmony and its interaction with vowel harmony) indicate that the word only contains front vowels. This must have been perceived in this fashion at the time of i-breaking as well, as this phonological process took place in back-vocalic words only and would have resulted in * had it been . Today, western scholars tend to cling to the written form of the Tibetan word and write Ligdan, while Mongolian scholars will usually write Ligden, both pointing to a possible alternative with n. In Chinese, the name is written as 林丹, the standard Pinyin transcription being Líndān.

Family Consorts and issue:

Empress Dowager, of Yehe Nara clan (太后葉赫那拉氏), personal name Sutai (苏泰) Ejei, Khagan of Northen Yuan (額哲; d.1641), 1st son Empress Dowager Nangnang, of Abaga Borjigin clan (囊囊太后 博爾濟吉特氏? – 1674), personal name Namjung (娜木鐘) Abunai, Prince Chahar of the First Rank (察哈尔亲王 阿布奈; 1635 – 1675), 2nd son Shuchai (淑侪), 1st daughter Empress Dowager, of the Borjigin clan (太后 博爾濟吉特氏), personal name Erjei (俄尔哲依) Empress Dowager Boqi (伯奇太后), personal name Tasina (苔丝娜) Consort Doutumen of the Abaga Borjigin clan (窦土门福晋 博爾濟吉特氏) personal name Batmadzoo (巴特瑪璪) Consort Gortumen (郭尔土门福晋), married later Gunchusi Sengge (衮出斯僧格)