A large number of publications are devoted to the topic of the ancestral homeland and early history of the Turkic-Tugus, as well as interpretations of their genealogical legends. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of studies by historians and archaeologists on this topic are secondary to the translation and interpretation of Chinese dynastic chronicles by sinologists. The quality of the translation, the scope of particular Chinese dynastic chronicles, the study of the same toponyms within a broad historical perspective spanning several centuries (or the absence of such a study), and the interpretation and specific localization of the ancestral homeland of the Turkic-Tugus—Jinshan—by sinologists have directly influenced all subsequent hypotheses by historians and archaeologists on this topic. It is precisely these factors that defined the region of the search for the ancestral homeland of the Turkic-Tugus and the setting of their genealogical legends. Therefore, only translations regarding Jinshan and its localization by well-known sinologists are considered.
Perhaps the first statements regarding Altai as the ancestral homeland of the Tujue Turks date back to the mid-18th century and were penned by the French orientalist J. de Guigne. He identified the mountain ranges of the Greater and Lesser Altai on both banks of the Irtysh, from Lake Zaisan to its headwaters. They are called Altai or Altan, meaning “Golden Mountains,” or in Chinese, Jinshan. In his view, the helmet-shaped mountain Tou-kin-shan, which the Turkic khans chose as their residence, was located at the headwaters of the Irtysh. J. de Guigne cites legends regarding the origin of the Tughu Turks. Citing some historians, he writes that the Turks of the Ashina clan belonged to the numerous hordes of the Huns scattered around Pingliang, that is, in the territory of Gansu Province. After suffering defeat, five hundred Ashina families fled northwest to the Rouran, who settled them in the Altai Mountains. One of these famous mountains was shaped like a helmet, which in the local dialect was called “Turk.”
Mentioning the visit of the Byzantine embassy led by Zemarch, J. de Guigne writes that the residence of the Turkic khagan was located near Mount Ektag, that is, the “Golden Mountain.” It can be stated that J. de Guigne was one of the first to express the view that the concepts “Kin-shan/Jin-shan” = “Golden Mountains” = “Altai” are identical. He was the first to compare information from various written sources regarding the revered ancestral “Golden Mountain” of the Turks—Ektag (Greek) and Kin-shan/Jin-shan (Chinese). The notion of the Russian Altai as the ancestral homeland of the Tughu Turks emerged later, in the first half to the middle of the 19th century, in the works of Russian Orientalists. The founder of Russian Sinology, N.Y. Bichurin, was the first to collect, translate, and interpret a large number of Chinese historical sources. He was undoubtedly familiar with the work of J. de Guigne, who linked the Jinshan of Chinese sources with the Altai. The Russian sinologist speaks very critically of his writings and translations.
Instead of rendering Jinshan as the Golden Mountain(s), N.Y. Bichurin translates this geographical term exclusively as Altai or the Altai Mountains. Thus, N.Y. Bichurin’s translation of the Chinese text already incorporated his own interpretation. An analysis of N.Y. Bichurin’s translation and his commentary on this fragment of the Chinese text makes it clear that the presence of the highest ridge (Tavyn-Bogdo-Ula) and the outline of the Altai Mountains on the map, supposedly in the shape of a helmet, served as an argument for him to identify Jinshan with the mountains of the southern Russian Altai and, in his opinion, confirmed his translation. It is not entirely clear which specific part of the Russian Altai he regarded as a helmet. However, the “natural configuration of the Altai Mountains”—their outline in the shape of a helmet—is a highly implausible argument regarding the possible perception of the mountains by the Turks themselves. It is far more logical to imagine the mountain Jinshan, sacred to the Turks, in the shape of a helmet. This is precisely what was implied in this fragment of the Chinese text.
The French orientalist St. Julien is the author of a voluminous publication containing his translations of Chinese chronicles on the history of the Tughu Turks. St. Julien’s translation of key moments in the early history of the Tughu Turks, which includes a mention of Jinshan, is very close to the account by J. de Guigne. Undoubtedly, St. Julien translated Jinshan as the Golden Mountains, that is, the Altai. However, unlike his predecessor, he did not attempt to locate the Golden Ancestral Mountain of the Turks in any specific part of the Altai Mountains. The Orientalist translated a key passage from the Chinese chronicle as “one of the Qingshan Mountains, shaped like a helmet.” G.V. Kubarev