Historiographical analysis and translation of the source “Pi Tai Lu” written by Lu Ding Ji

In this article, we conduct a historiographical analysis and translation of a Chinese source related to the relations between Mongolia and the Ming dynasty in the 15th century. This source, called “Pi Tai lu”, or “Notes on Good and Bad Omens”, differs from other sources recounting the Battle of Tumu and the capture of Emperor Yingzong in that it was written significantly later than the events themselves. Unlike other sources written by eyewitnesses and participants of these events, this source by the Ming official Lu Dingji was written 20 years after the events themselves. When creating this source, the author relied on previous sources and, in his work, drew conclusions and provided an assessment of the events. We used the method of contextual analysis to decode and explain the hidden patternswithin the historical source. Furthermore, we compared two versions of the text, thereby revealing their differences and contradictions. Also we translated the full text into Mongolian and Russian for the first time. This article consists of two parts - a historiographical analysis and a translation with explanations and comments.