Boroqul

Boroqul

Contents

Boroqul (simplified: 博尔忽, traditional: 博爾忽, pinyin: Bó’ěrhū, jyutping: bok3 ji5 fat1) was a Mongol general under Temüjin, later Genghis Khan, and one of his Four Heroes, alongside Muqali, Bo’orchu and Tchila’un. He was the teacher of Temüjin’s youngest son, Tolui, and one of the generals who trained the young Guo Jing.

Biography

Tolui’s teacher

When the Jin princes Wanyan Hongxi and Wanyan Honglie came to confer titles on Temüjin, Boroqul was already Tolui’s teacher, and was alarmed when the boy was late for the escort. In the battle against the Naiman on the way to Wang Khan’s camp he led troops on the left, keeping the nine-year-old Tolui at his side. At Wang Khan’s camp he was presented to the Jin princes with the other Four Heroes, and he was among them when Senggum taunted the Four Heroes with his hunting leopards. When Senggum’s son Tusakha loosed the leopards on Tolui and Guo Jing, Boroqul and the other three rode to stop it.

Temüjin then had Boroqul reward the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan with furs and gold for saving his daughter Huazheng, and put them in his care. While the Six Eccentrics taught Tolui and Guo Jing hand-to-hand fighting, the boys’ riding, archery and battlefield skills were taught chiefly by Jebe and Boroqul, who also schooled Guo Jing in Mongol wrestling.

The battle on the hill

When Senggum and Jamukha trapped Temüjin on a hill, Boroqul held the hilltop with the others. Wanyan Honglie sent the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River up to seize Temüjin, and Boroqul and Tchila’un met them hand to hand. When two of the Four Ghosts set on the unarmed Guo Jing, Boroqul and Jebe joined in with long daos, but they were great battlefield fighters, not skilled in close footwork, and both were disarmed; Guo Jing saved Boroqul with a palm strike at the eldest Ghost. After Temüjin’s victory over Wang Khan and Jamukha and his proclamation as Genghis Khan, Boroqul was made a commander of a thousand along with the other Four Heroes.

Mission to the south

Boroqul accompanied Tolui and Jebe on a mission to the south. Pursued by Jin troops, the three took refuge in a flagpole basket and held them off with their bows until Guo Jing scattered the pursuers. Later, with Tolui, Jebe and Huazheng, he came to Niu Family Village, where Yang Kang told them that Guo Jing was dead. They were then captured by Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren and tied to trees, until Guo Jing and his companions freed them. Guo Jing, before Tolui and “his two shifus, Jebe and Boroqul”, declared that he would keep his word and marry Huazheng. Boroqul then took his leave of Guo Jing and rode off with the others.

The western campaign

In the years that followed, Boroqul and the other Four Heroes won many victories for Genghis Khan. Before the campaign against the Khwarezmian Empire, Boroqul told the assembled army how the Shah’s men had robbed the Mongol merchants and killed them, and, at Wanyan Honglie’s urging, killed Genghis Khan’s envoy. Guo Jing, made a commander for the campaign, turned to Tolui, Jebe, Subutai and Boroqul to learn the art of war. When Guo Jing later broke out of the Mongol camp with his mother’s body, Boroqul led a unit of a thousand against him under orders to take him alive, and Guo Jing cut his way through it.

Personality & traits

Boroqul was short, wiry and quick on his feet. He was devoted to his pupil Tolui and close to Guo Jing; on hearing the false news of Guo Jing’s death, he wept with Tolui, Huazheng and Jebe.

Martial arts abilities

Boroqul was a battlefield general. He was a formidable archer and fought with a long dao, but lacked the close-quarters skills of jianghu fighters such as the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River.

Relationships

Temüjin

Boroqul served Temüjin as one of his Four Heroes.

Tolui and Guo Jing

He was Tolui’s teacher, and with Jebe one of Guo Jing’s teachers in riding, archery and wrestling. Guo Jing called him shifu.

The Four Heroes

His fellow Four Heroes were Muqali, Bo’orchu and Tchila’un.

Behind the scenes

Historical foundations

Boroqul is based on the historical Boroqul (died 1217), one of Genghis Khan’s four foremost companions, alongside Muqali, Bo’orchu and Chila’un. According to The Secret History of the Mongols, he was a foundling taken from the Jurkin and raised by Genghis Khan’s mother, Hö’elün; he rescued the wounded Ögedei after the battle of Qalaqaljid Sands in 1203, and was killed in 1217 while campaigning against the Tumad, a forest people of Siberia. He was later posthumously titled Prince of Qiyang (淇阳王). The novel does not mention his death, and still has him serving in the western campaign against Khwarezm, which historically began in 1219.

See also

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