“Tamgagui Tur”: Mongolian Theatrical Production Abruptly Cancelled in China  

After completing a record-breaking 151 sell-out performances at the Mongolian State Academic Theatre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a planned run of performances in Inner Mongolia’s Hohhot were abruptly cancelled by the Chinese authorities in September 2023.

Not to be deterred, the stage production, entitled The Mongol Khan for British audiences, began a two–week run at the London Coliseum (Nov-Dec 2023). The Mongolian original is known as Tamgagui Tur, literally “State without a Seal,” and the Chinese adaptation (失传玉玺) means “The Lost Seal.”

Set some two millennia ago in the early days of the Xiongnu Empire, the fictionalized story — a tragedy — depicts the heroic Archug Khan’s struggles to build a lasting dynasty by ensuring his heir is legitimate and worthy of his throne.

According to a report (失传玉玺) by Anand Tumurtogoo, on the eve of the performance in Hohhot, the Chinese side suddenly informed the cast and crew that they were to be moved 300 kilometers away to Ordos for the show. Just before the first performance was to begin there, the power supply was reportedly interrupted, and in the end, the show did not proceed.

“The terms ‘Xiongnu Empire’ (匈奴帝国) and ‘Khan’ (可汗) seem to have aroused the concern of the Communist Party of China,” said a spokeswoman for the theater group, according to Tumurtogoo’s report.

For a review of the London performance, see here.

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