Examines how Ming China perceived Mongol immigrants and how the immigrants became associated with the imperial Chinese army. Mongols moving to China from 1368 to 1449 were categorized into hereditary military households for administrative purposes. Their households paid taxes, provided labor or military service, and farmed assigned garrison land. In the 15th and 16th centuries many were troublesome and violent, often defaulting on tax payments and taking to highway robbery. Although Mongol and Chinese military records were kept separately, even for mixed units, Mongols served in the esteemed Brocade Guard, defended border areas, officiated at imperial exams, and attended court functions. Gui E, a scholar with the Hanlin academy, wrote in 1529 a basic description of Mongols that was regularly used in other works, forming the Mongol stereotype that continued through the Ming.
