#Mongolmaral

[eruverse]

So my Mongolia is based off of a few actual Mongolians I admire and like, and this post is going to be dedicated to them 🌞 they’re all public/famous figures, so please be rest assured as I would never divulge any private information of a random person!!

Anyway, my Mongolia isn’t a carbon copy of any of these people tho, but rather he is a culmination of many traits that I like to see in a person with key ones belonging to these people I made as a source of inspiration. To give a spoiler: Mongolia is wholesome because I think he is wholesome, I want him to be wholesome, and the people I based him off of are also all wholesome people. Not that he doesn’t have any fault whatsoever (I think he’s rather perfect tho) BUT even on top of those faults he is wholesome, okay?

I’m going to do key traits + a Mongolian as a source of inspiration.

1) High spirit + good naturedness + humor = this answer by Togi Chinbat on quora

I was immediately hooked with this answer, I love it so much ❤️

Anyway, that ‘Mongolians never gets depressed’ is just his opinion and likely made in pure humor, as well as the bit on ‘beating the first person you run into on the street’. Please never think that Mongolians just go up and beat a random person like that, that’s totally untrue!! They’re the same as everyone else!! Rather, I think this quora dude here just wants to show the high spirit Mongolians in general have (according to his opinion), even if his choice of words are kinda weird because it’s made in jest!!

I prob took ‘never gets depressed’ to a new height when it comes to characterizing Mongolia as an individual tho LOL but I have no remorse. He DOES feel down, but he prefers (and is able to) keep himself in high spirits because one, that's the mental state he prefers for himself, and two, he's too prideful to look as if he is in a slump. More on this pride later!!

I also chose to make Mongolia inherently hot-headed (even though it's controlled well; Mongolia is a relaxed person in appearance). Obviously not all Mongolians are like this tho, they all come in different shapes and shades like everyone else -- but @mongolmaral once told me, and I've seen some other Mongolians say also, that the name Mongol is thought to come from two words mönkh and gal which together means 'eternal fire'. I love this so much so I want to make Mongolia embody fire in all aspects: full of energy, with his soul constantly burning, high spirited, you name it!! He is a fire that shall never be extinguished.

2) Bravery + tenacity = Manlaibaatar Damdinsüren

This sir here is an actual national hero who appears in historical textbooks in Mongolian schools. He was an Inner Mongolian Pan-Mongolist military commander who fought against China. He died in the prison after being tortured by Chinese authorities for 107 days and it was reported that he refused to kneel to them, that in the end he died standing because he 'won't be lying dead in front of his enemies'. That is how I view Mongolia -- that even if he had to die, he will die with pride!!

3) Also bravery + determination = dr. Boldsaikhan Bundan

A few years ago, I watched a documentary in NHK-World Japan that deeply impressed me. It was about a cardiac surgeon in UB who, together with his team, made long trips to Mongolian countrysides to find young children with heart defects so they could be operated on for free in UB. Mongolia is a vast country with only a few people so it's often hard for people in the countryside to get proper medical checkup that he and his team found it important to come fetch the patients themselves. In all actuality, not all these heart defects are instantly life threatening but if left untreated they could progress into a whole set of conditions that leave those children permanently disabled as adults.

The thing is the good doctor himself was battling stage 4 stomach cancer (Mongolia has the highest rate of stomach (and liver) cancer in the world). The chemo and radiation often left him ill and sometimes prevented him from making rounds to the countryside, but he was still largely present in the team as its founder and most skilled surgeon. He was clearly in a lot of pain but he refused to let it show, that he kept being in high spirit for everyone's sake. His family and people around him were all in such high spirit too, and bear the doctor's burden together bravely!!

This is the same video I watched on TV and apparently it was uploaded by the youtube channel of dr. Boldsaikhan's team, Beyond the Limits!! I was overjoyed to learn that the doctor seems to still be ok!! There is another similar video also by NHK in this channel, dunno why they're different even though covering the same topic and definitely were made using the same footages; in it is an awesome quote by the doctor: "I can't let my soul die before my body does". THAT is definitely how I see Mongolia.

4) Good naturedness + humor = Nargie from ARTGER

Actually Nargie is the most unlike Mongolia out of all the people here but he's such a good natured guy that he makes me happy whenever I watch videos with him in it. That is how Mongolia is too me too; he makes me happy and spirited all the time. Anyway go watch ARTGER videos!!

[eruverse]

Thanks for the tag 🌞

Tagging @mongolmaral @papaveronamu and anyone who wants to, no pressure!!

tagged by: @zoe8stay ‹3

link

no pressure tags: @sstarryoong ; @oshimee ; @therhythmafterthesummer ; @alyszaen ; @jerirose ; @writerracha ; @byjeekies ; @bbujiikseu ; @comet-falls ; @ppiri-bahng ; @portalhan ; @ipegchangbin ; @lix-ables

[tianshiisdead]

Hello again! Back to asking you some more questions out of curiosity! You’re answers have always been so detailed and insightful!

After seeing a few posts of yours, I wanted to ask, why do you ship China/ Mongolia? It’s a fairly unliked, or at least unpopular ship in the English Hetalia fandom, so I’m curious to see your perspective? That, and how do you imagine their dynamic?

Hii! I'm so glad my answers have been good, I love talking so thank you for the questions! I'm sorry about how long this reply is, its pretty rambly

quick disclaimer: these r my opinions and thoughts, there r sensitive topics and such here as well that I try to treat carefully

SHORT ANSWER

(ignore the 'show' lol it's jus fav x fav)

LONG ANSWER (warning. its pretty long)

Hmmm to be honest, the simplest answer is just that I like and ship everyone with China who is my fav, I really like Mongolia, they have shared history, so I smash them together and call it a ship LOL

It's also bc I like Chinese history and the Yuan dynasty is a pretty prominent dynasty. Plus it's incredibly funny to me to see China bounced from one foreign ruler to the next in that little pocket of time where a part of China passed from Mongolic to Tungusic rulers while the Song dynasty grew and then shrank until it was finally fully conquered by Kublai Khan + going with the headcanon that nation-tans lived with their conquerers, I think China chilling with Mongolia during the Yuan dynasty is a fun image. It's a little difficult to write about because Mongolia (and, less relevantly, China as well) like, fractured a lot? It's not a single line of successive nations, and modern groupings and borders haven't always been this way ofc, so it's always a little hard to parse that in Hetalia terms. But it's fun to think about : )

Also, I will say I follow mainly Japanese artists on twitter and there's surprisingly a rather developed niche of Mongolia/China shippers

Dynamics

Dynamic wise, I focus on old history, but I like a variety of things! ぴよEX from pixiv has some really fun historical comics, the super serious Mongolian Empire and arrogant but expressive China are really cute when interacting, their casual day to day dynamic and interactions despite the situation are fun too. As a big China fan from a purely Hetalia point of view abt an event from many centuries ago, there's a feeling like 'wow he put a lot of effort into conquering China huh he tried really hard lol that's kind of cute... also he was the only one to Truly Have all of China until Qing dynasty came along... the Khitans and Jurchens all tried but were unable to fully conquer China... it was only Him 🥺'

I personally really love clingy China who reminisces about the old days and Mongolia who's a little tired of it, even though it's very unrealistic because the Yuan dynasty obviously wasn't a fun time for Yaoyao and then the Qing dynasty. ALSO was not a fun time for him haha so what would he even reminisce about... it exists in my heart though, a nebulous 'yeah maybe they hang out sometimes and China gets jealous over stupid shit and reminisces thru nostalgia lenses about how he once sat side by side with Mongolia and Mongolia tries to focus on the meal and not on the yandere beside him'. I also have a specific image in my head of Mongolian empire era Mongolia walking around with Song dynasty China tagging along to complain about stuff despite the lack of friendliness between their respective nations. Ahistorical but fun! The few Mongolia/China fics I've read in the English fandom that aren't openly anti-shipping are rather angsty fics about the Yuan dynasty, and though I can see why, I think it's much more entertaining to see their coexistence and casual day-to-day interactions in the ~century that the Yuan dynasty lasted, China's annoying peppiness, Mongolia half-listening to his flights of fancy while doing Big Ruling Things, etc. In general, the base of the ship for me is 'tall, annoyed, and serious x small, annoying, and expressive'. Like the first image I doodled specifically for this ask lol

Its place in English fandom

On the topic of popularity, I can understand why it's not as popular in the English fandom tbh the history between the countries has been very antagonistic and fraught w violence, esp in modern history, the 1900s and Mongolia's struggle for independence and such. and culturally there aren't that many similarities, aside from what's left over from the past rule's influence on culture and then there's a bit of cultural influence up north ofc. And then the topic of Inner Mongolia, as well as ethnic tensions... I'm not really in a place to comment and I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to say anything, so this is just an acknowledgment it exists and also that it in my experience influences the English fandom, which, I mean good for them doing some research and staying away from sensitive topics and potentially offensive depictions

also the people who ship Mongolia ships in the English fandom tend to be Mongolia biases, and this ship is more of a China fan ship if that makes any sense? Like, if you liked Mongolia you might ship him with like, Tibet, have something fluffy and sweet and not... this toxic ship fraught with recent suffering, but if you like China there's a bigger chance of shipping him with Mongolia focusing on the Yuan dynasty. A bit of bullying for our fav little arrogant old guy. Meanwhile, there aren't that many China mains in the English fandom and the ones who are out there tend to ship him with yt ppl and focus on either AUs or modern history with a focus on China/western relations 😅 which I mean, fine, I do as well dsjjghfljk but fun historical ships like Mongolia/China aren't really popular.

Qing Dynasty rambles, kinda off topic

Another thing: the Qing dynasty! Okay so, I've read like. at least one english fic that had China turned into an oppressive little dickhead in this time period, but IMO and it's a very very personal and subjective thing, I don't think having China, that is Yaoyao, being the main force in the Qing dynasty makes much sense. This isn't like Yaoyao apologia LMAO it's more like, if each distinct and separate people and culture have their own nation-tan, I don't see why Manchu wouldn't. We may be sinicized now and I consider myself Chinese, but we are still a distinct people to the Han and Manchu were NOT Chinese back then!! It should also be noted that while the Manchu ruling class encouraged the mindset of a diverse China, 'Manchu Mongol Han' (满蒙汉) type thing, they were still conquerors who conquered China, Mongolia, and then a bunch of other places, and there was a hierarchy involved that had Han Chinese below Manchu. There were Han (and Mongolians and other ppl) who were promoted and integrated into the banner system or given Manchu clans or whatever and they were allowed to send their daughters in as concubines but the upper class was generally Manchu and there was a (failed) effort to retain traditional culture, meaning it can't be taken as 'Manchuria was consumed' sort of integration. Shoving 'well China was not in charge of China' in there kind of... changes the dynamics of Mongolia and aph China a little? Another, maybe more important point, is that Mongolia being conquered by the Qing dynasty in many cases wasn't initially a China Mongolia thing so much as a Manchu/Jurchen tribes vs Mongolian groups sort of thing, some groups fought with the Manchu, others were allied w Manchu Qing for protection against other groups, also iirc there were enmity/alliances left over from when Manchu were a bunch of little Jurchen tribes who either fought with the nearby Mongolic groups or turned to certain Mongolic groups for trade and alliances as protection. Like I get that in modern times HOW exactly the conquering went down doesn't matter as much as that it did and at that time China was the main force even ruled by outside conquerors, especially because the Qing dynasty is acknowledged as Chinese and the current country is a direct successor state to the successor state of this dynasty, but Hetalia content that directly addresses this history should take it into account. It's sort of like hmmm the Yuan dynasty's attack on Japan?

Of course, this is a sensitive topic! Lots of violence. Sooo it's the sort of thing that I'm hesitant to make 'content' about, but I do think about it sometimes. How would the relations go down? Idk bc Qing dynasty isn't one of my preferred periods for Mongolia/China but I thought I'd include it anyways since I've seen this era around in the English fandom and I had a Hot Take I wanted to express. It would be an interesting dynamic, though, bc then China goes hard trying to keep Mongolia in the republic era which was VERY VERY ruled by Han who were miffed about centuries of oppression under Manchu rule, lots of anti ethnic minority sentiment arose from that and the, ah, other events going on in during the late 1800s and early 1900s. so it's like... as a country it makes sense but how do you fit this into the characters? It's not like the characters have to like what's happening in their country of course, but I'd like to situate them in the time and atmosphere nonetheless. It's also a situation where China was getting hella brutalized during the late Qing/Republic era by western powers and Japan, so the usual line about this era for it is 'wow poor baby : (' which I admit I love, but it does leave Mongolia, any and all suppression of culture, and its independence movement by the wayside. A country and its systems can be very complicated because everything happens all the time and there's like a billion people involved but then u gotta find a way to balance it within these individual characters which is hard!! I've read so many fics in this era and it always focuses on a few specific character/country relations and inevitably leaves many big things out, everything just happens all the time huh!

I guess the timeline would be roughly:

Stirrings of trouble -> Manchuria gathering. some Jurchen groups are directly allied with Mongolian groups for protection while other Jurchen groups waged war on them and the Ming dynasty so this is awkward -> wowee China has been conquered uwu Yaoyao enters another Jin dynasty -> battle with Mongolia ig? or talks of alliance? The same thing applies to pre-Manchu unification, it's hard when all the different groups represented by one dude are doing different things and it's hard to say who gets the nation-tan -> ok now Qing dynasty is at its largest. China and Mongolia are both under Manchu rule, Mongolia has a bit more status but China gets kept closer to the rulers and in the palace cause obvious reasons. Do they interact? probably sometimes? i'd have to do more research on the details -> oh no the westies have arrived to do a bit of war and opium -> China has attacked and gotten rid of Manchuria, preferably while crying for the spice, but now that he has Mongolia he doesn't want to let go : ( misery -> and the rest is history. i guess

Closing

I'm sorry if nothing makes sense but I started writing and editing at midnight and I can see daylight through the windows so I'll leave it here

Finally: here's a link to PiyoEX's Mongolia/China compilation! There's a bunch of short comics about the Mongolian Empire/Song Dynasty part of history, some Russia Mongolia China, and one timeline of events with Mongolia celebrating Yuan dynasty, China celebrating Ming dynasty, and both of them side eyeing the new guy for the Qing dynasty dksljhgf

To be honest I don't usually think too deeply about this ship aside from teehee funny 1100s AD interactions and wow what if they went out in modern times and Mongolia had a horrible time and China couldn't stop clinging to his arm like a bug! And ofc that one irl video where China was thanking Mongolia for some sheep the gov sent, and some dude sang this song of thanks that was autotuned to hell, but the ship has a lot of potential for exploration, though it's sensitive and hard to handle correctly imo

[jankybones]

Hi there, friend!

I've been an avid follower of you since I discovered your Steven Universe art, and I just wanted to tell you that I really do enjoy Zii and the entire trio dynamic you've created for Onward, as well as Spellblind and the concepts you have created for it! I guess what I'm trying to say is that, whatever you draw, I, and I'm sure your other loyal followers will enjoy it nonetheless!

;-; holy crap thank you, this is such a nice nice message!! I know I’ve been going all over fandoms and such lately, and getting into new ones, but those of yall who still enjoy my art and stick around mean so much to me!! Thank you <3

[eruverse]

Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!

Tagged by @tianshiisdead thank youuu 🌞

What book are you currently reading?

I should finish The Secret History of the Mongols… I generally don’t read books because my reading focus is abysmal lol. I read what I want to read exactly at that moment and immediately jump to other things I want to know about, so it’s rare that I finish thick books.

What’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this year?

Since the pandemic happened I have never visited one lol. But in general I also don’t really watch movies.

What do you usually wear?

Long dresses. Also I usually wear hijab to meet people I know. My clothes have to be comfortable and easily manageable, if not I get grumpy easily. I’m also rather particular about sleeves because one of my pet peeves is long sleeves catching on food and I dislike white because I have to really take care not to stain it.

How tall are you?

151 cm 🌞

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Irl I go by my birth name but I have a nickname around family.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Nooo lol. But now I want to have a plot of land I can garden in.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

Single and ready to mingle. Mongolia is my crush, tell me where I can find a guy like him.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

I have a very good intrapersonal skill and bad at people’ing. I’m quite asocial and still discovering social norms and dynamic at my age lol.

Dogs or cats?

Cats.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

I’m already making contents for what I like. Usually only make contents for what I really like also.

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?

Is it bad to admit that I really love my drawing style? I think I have a unique drawing style that people can hardly find anywhere but in mine, and I work hard for it🌞 My coloring though needs Work. But I both am kinda afraid of color and in principle dislike it compared to creating shapes.

I used to have shoujo artstyle. This year my drawing style has changed rapidly, and I was told now my artstyle looks josei. I am very pleased with this development 🌞

I also love my oc designs. I care a Lot and work very hard on them.

Contentwise if it doesn’t pass at least 80% of my current standards I’m not releasing it. Comics and writings tho, doodles not included.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

What I personally call trifecta; in Hetalia, Mongolia-Kazakhstan-Russia. Or what I also call Russia and his Boobs. I think about them everyday.

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

My thesis. God I hate school.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

Designing clothes. But unlike gardening I don’t find much value in designing, even though I quite like it, so I guess it’ll stay mostly unexplored but we’ll see in the future.

Are you religious?

I am a believer. But I’m a Muslim who doesn’t actually pray, so… 💦 but I fast, don’t eat pork and other kinds of forbidden meat, and don’t consume alcohol. But another reason I don’t drink is also for a fear that I might stab people. What if I’m a crazy drunk? So I guess in general I’m actually pretty religious.

On praying: it’s laziness usually, don’t copy me please.

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

Always, always wish for more courage, more and more courage.

Tagging: @flyingmerdekaman @cookieshower @mongolmaral @justknocking @ariuka-munkh only if you really want to tho!! No pressure!!

[tianshiisdead]

Hello! It’s so cool to see more Chinese people in the Hetalia fandom - especially here on Tumblr!

You seem to know a bit about the Chinese Hetalia fandom, and it’s so interesting to read their views on certain characters and subjects, so I was wondering - what is their general opinion towards Mongolia?

Hii!! Tbh I'm not the best person to ask because I take pretty much all my assumptions from chinese fanfic I read on ao3 and lofter + I'm not on weibo which seems like another platform with a big fandom presence 😅 the chinese hetalia fandom is Very Very Very Big with a wealth of different opinions and I just read fic more than participate.

Mongolia isn't super popular since he's not a very well established character in canon, however just because the chinese fandom has bigger numbers (always) you can find more content of him compared to eng? On lofter there's a few hundred pieces when you search 蒙/古 (slash is to keep it out of the general Mongolia country tag I think) amd thats not including much ship art bc lots of people only tag ship and not characters, so there is a fandom it does exist, and the people who like him tend to have him as their fav character, as is the nature of niche favs I suppose. The most popular ships are Mongolia/China and Russia/Mongolia. There's a bunch of drawings of him as a catboy. The vibes I'm getting in a lot of the drawings is 'serious character who's smile is more precious bc its so rare' or smthn. Idk if he shows up as much in fics not focused on him, given I primarily read shorter ship fic bc reading long fic in Chinese is tiring _(:3」∠)_

I will say Chinese fandom seems a little more prone to separating politics from Hetalia, not in the sense that there isn't any history/politics fic (there is) but whereas with many English fandom spaces (not all ofc) you can tell a bit about someone's opinions irl with how they portray and treat the characters and ships, in Chinese fandom history is a backdrop and the characters are often portrayed and treated purely as characters. At least I haven't seen as much demonization of official enemies as you'd find in the English fandom, or as many serious takes about modern politics... that is to say I can't surmise any general views on the country itself farther than 'cool culture'

Although one exception to the less politics rule may be China (lol) he's everyone's meow meow

And to leave off here's a cute drawing of hws Mongolia as one of those Halloween chibi that came out recently

[tianshiisdead]

Hello again! Thank you for answering the last question!

I remember you mentioning in a post that you disliked how Hetalia’s Russia was portrayed in canon? Could you elaborate on this? And maybe give us some insights into how you would change him if you could?

Hii again! To be honest, I don't remember what I was thinking when I wrote that I'm sorry 😅

I'm pretty fond of canon Russia, although if I had to guess I probably said that while thinking of the 'oooh big scary Russia that everyone hates' trope which I'm not a fan of. I feel like there are plenty of countries who would reasonably be on good terms with/very fond of Russia (China in modern times included, maybe India?) and sometimes I'm a little bothered by how he gets singled out as the evil scary one, out of all the main characters. On the other hand, I really like his cunning moments and the interplay between sweet + genuine and calculating + scary, though sometimes it feels like it's too unintentional and sporadic, which isn't unusual for a comedy show that will take the comedic route over the strictly character-building route.

Another thing I was thinking about is just the perception of each country's character I guess? Like the idea of a well-meaning America paired with a scary dark Russia that no one likes seems like a pretty specific POV that not every place in the world shares, it's not unusual or necessarily a bad thing but you can immediately tell where in the world Hima comes from and what countries are allied with/against his country haha, from a slightly different perspective this can be a little jarring or irritating. I was also influenced at the time by a good friend from Russia who has complaints about the character and depictions which I sympathize with, though China isn't portrayed that way by Hima I've definitely seen jarring situations in fanworks where he's comparatively more heartless and cunning and monstrous while even western colonial powers are nice and genuine, and that always irritates me a little. It's not bad at all the explore the dark and morally grey aspects that exist within many characters given what Hetalia is, and some far more than others, but it's pretty jarring to see one country singled out, especially if it's your own.

[eruverse]

No third wheel in this whatsoever

(Kazakhstan gets to be so lucky sometimes)

Gift for @mongolmaral

.

.

Omake:

[irithnova]

This has been very interesting to read. I am not Mongolian myself (I'm half Filipino) so I do hope I don't come across as insensitive in my reply.

I wouldn't say I ship Mongolia and China, because to me, "ship" has positive connotations. And with the history between Mongolia and China... Yeah "ship" is not the right word I would personally use to describe how I think they interact with each other, I'm not sure, but that's just me though, I'm not saying people who do ship them are bad people. I understand the term "ship" can be applied to any two characters too without having positive connotations.

I think, from my point of view, any kind of romantic relationship they'd have with each other would be pretty complicated. And while I am into that dynamic, because they're representations of nations, and I'm not Mongolian/Chinese myself, I feel a bit awkward when I try to delve into the complexities of this kind of relationship because I don't know everything and I'm not from those cultures.

Honestly, I like seeing or looking at content of Mongolia and China interacting with each other, even in a shipping sense, as long as the history between them is acknowledged or the person who created the content is aware of the history between the two. Not just because it would be tone deaf to make content of them without knowing their histories, but also because the whole point of Hetalia is watching these ancient beings with lots of history with each other interact with one another.

I remember there was a creator who made monchu art/content that I just really couldn't bring myself to enjoy because they seemed completely unaware of the history between the two countries thus the characterisation and the way they interacted with each other was incredibly off to me. Also found it a bit insensitive but then again their portrayal of Mongolia and his relationship with China was... tame, compared to other, way more insensitive and sometimes downright racist portrayals I've seen elsewhere.

I'm just someone who's very interested in the dynamics between Mongolia and China because of the history they have with each other. And I'm not saying all content between them has to be angsty and edgy and deep all the time in order for it to be "acceptable", and as someone who is not Mongolian/Chinese I don't want to come across as overstepping the boundaries by making up rules as to what I think is acceptable content between the two, its just my opinion and I could be very wrong.

As @mongolmaral said, Mongolia and China being two bickering old men/divorced couple is something that I do find quite funny, and yeah I guess Hetalia is supposed to be a funny show after all, but the fact that the characters are literal nations does complicate things more than they usually would than with normal characters from other animes, which is why discussions like these are needed.

I'm glad everyone is being so respectful to each other in this discussion, and as someone who has been interested in Mongolian culture and history for quite a few years now, I'm happy to see more generous portrayals of Mongolia in the fandom. I hope I haven't come across as insensitive 💜

Hello again! Back to asking you some more questions out of curiosity! You’re answers have always been so detailed and insightful!

After seeing a few posts of yours, I wanted to ask, why do you ship China/ Mongolia? It’s a fairly unliked, or at least unpopular ship in the English Hetalia fandom, so I’m curious to see your perspective? That, and how do you imagine their dynamic?

Hii! I'm so glad my answers have been good, I love talking so thank you for the questions! I'm sorry about how long this reply is, its pretty rambly

quick disclaimer: these r my opinions and thoughts, there r sensitive topics and such here as well that I try to treat carefully

SHORT ANSWER

(ignore the 'show' lol it's jus fav x fav)

LONG ANSWER (warning. its pretty long)

Hmmm to be honest, the simplest answer is just that I like and ship everyone with China who is my fav, I really like Mongolia, they have shared history, so I smash them together and call it a ship LOL

It's also bc I like Chinese history and the Yuan dynasty is a pretty prominent dynasty. Plus it's incredibly funny to me to see China bounced from one foreign ruler to the next in that little pocket of time where a part of China passed from Mongolic to Tungusic rulers while the Song dynasty grew and then shrank until it was finally fully conquered by Kublai Khan + going with the headcanon that nation-tans lived with their conquerers, I think China chilling with Mongolia during the Yuan dynasty is a fun image. It's a little difficult to write about because Mongolia (and, less relevantly, China as well) like, fractured a lot? It's not a single line of successive nations, and modern groupings and borders haven't always been this way ofc, so it's always a little hard to parse that in Hetalia terms. But it's fun to think about : )

Also, I will say I follow mainly Japanese artists on twitter and there's surprisingly a rather developed niche of Mongolia/China shippers

Dynamics

Dynamic wise, I focus on old history, but I like a variety of things! ぴよEX from pixiv has some really fun historical comics, the super serious Mongolian Empire and arrogant but expressive China are really cute when interacting, their casual day to day dynamic and interactions despite the situation are fun too. As a big China fan from a purely Hetalia point of view abt an event from many centuries ago, there's a feeling like 'wow he put a lot of effort into conquering China huh he tried really hard lol that's kind of cute... also he was the only one to Truly Have all of China until Qing dynasty came along... the Khitans and Jurchens all tried but were unable to fully conquer China... it was only Him 🥺'

I personally really love clingy China who reminisces about the old days and Mongolia who's a little tired of it, even though it's very unrealistic because the Yuan dynasty obviously wasn't a fun time for Yaoyao and then the Qing dynasty. ALSO was not a fun time for him haha so what would he even reminisce about... it exists in my heart though, a nebulous 'yeah maybe they hang out sometimes and China gets jealous over stupid shit and reminisces thru nostalgia lenses about how he once sat side by side with Mongolia and Mongolia tries to focus on the meal and not on the yandere beside him'. I also have a specific image in my head of Mongolian empire era Mongolia walking around with Song dynasty China tagging along to complain about stuff despite the lack of friendliness between their respective nations. Ahistorical but fun! The few Mongolia/China fics I've read in the English fandom that aren't openly anti-shipping are rather angsty fics about the Yuan dynasty, and though I can see why, I think it's much more entertaining to see their coexistence and casual day-to-day interactions in the ~century that the Yuan dynasty lasted, China's annoying peppiness, Mongolia half-listening to his flights of fancy while doing Big Ruling Things, etc. In general, the base of the ship for me is 'tall, annoyed, and serious x small, annoying, and expressive'. Like the first image I doodled specifically for this ask lol

Its place in English fandom

On the topic of popularity, I can understand why it's not as popular in the English fandom tbh the history between the countries has been very antagonistic and fraught w violence, esp in modern history, the 1900s and Mongolia's struggle for independence and such. and culturally there aren't that many similarities, aside from what's left over from the past rule's influence on culture and then there's a bit of cultural influence up north ofc. And then the topic of Inner Mongolia, as well as ethnic tensions... I'm not really in a place to comment and I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to say anything, so this is just an acknowledgment it exists and also that it in my experience influences the English fandom, which, I mean good for them doing some research and staying away from sensitive topics and potentially offensive depictions

also the people who ship Mongolia ships in the English fandom tend to be Mongolia biases, and this ship is more of a China fan ship if that makes any sense? Like, if you liked Mongolia you might ship him with like, Tibet, have something fluffy and sweet and not... this toxic ship fraught with recent suffering, but if you like China there's a bigger chance of shipping him with Mongolia focusing on the Yuan dynasty. A bit of bullying for our fav little arrogant old guy. Meanwhile, there aren't that many China mains in the English fandom and the ones who are out there tend to ship him with yt ppl and focus on either AUs or modern history with a focus on China/western relations 😅 which I mean, fine, I do as well dsjjghfljk but fun historical ships like Mongolia/China aren't really popular.

Qing Dynasty rambles, kinda off topic

Another thing: the Qing dynasty! Okay so, I've read like. at least one english fic that had China turned into an oppressive little dickhead in this time period, but IMO and it's a very very personal and subjective thing, I don't think having China, that is Yaoyao, being the main force in the Qing dynasty makes much sense. This isn't like Yaoyao apologia LMAO it's more like, if each distinct and separate people and culture have their own nation-tan, I don't see why Manchu wouldn't. We may be sinicized now and I consider myself Chinese, but we are still a distinct people to the Han and Manchu were NOT Chinese back then!! It should also be noted that while the Manchu ruling class encouraged the mindset of a diverse China, 'Manchu Mongol Han' (满蒙汉) type thing, they were still conquerors who conquered China, Mongolia, and then a bunch of other places, and there was a hierarchy involved that had Han Chinese below Manchu. There were Han (and Mongolians and other ppl) who were promoted and integrated into the banner system or given Manchu clans or whatever and they were allowed to send their daughters in as concubines but the upper class was generally Manchu and there was a (failed) effort to retain traditional culture, meaning it can't be taken as 'Manchuria was consumed' sort of integration. Shoving 'well China was not in charge of China' in there kind of... changes the dynamics of Mongolia and aph China a little? Another, maybe more important point, is that Mongolia being conquered by the Qing dynasty in many cases wasn't initially a China Mongolia thing so much as a Manchu/Jurchen tribes vs Mongolian groups sort of thing, some groups fought with the Manchu, others were allied w Manchu Qing for protection against other groups, also iirc there were enmity/alliances left over from when Manchu were a bunch of little Jurchen tribes who either fought with the nearby Mongolic groups or turned to certain Mongolic groups for trade and alliances as protection. Like I get that in modern times HOW exactly the conquering went down doesn't matter as much as that it did and at that time China was the main force even ruled by outside conquerors, especially because the Qing dynasty is acknowledged as Chinese and the current country is a direct successor state to the successor state of this dynasty, but Hetalia content that directly addresses this history should take it into account. It's sort of like hmmm the Yuan dynasty's attack on Japan?

Of course, this is a sensitive topic! Lots of violence. Sooo it's the sort of thing that I'm hesitant to make 'content' about, but I do think about it sometimes. How would the relations go down? Idk bc Qing dynasty isn't one of my preferred periods for Mongolia/China but I thought I'd include it anyways since I've seen this era around in the English fandom and I had a Hot Take I wanted to express. It would be an interesting dynamic, though, bc then China goes hard trying to keep Mongolia in the republic era which was VERY VERY ruled by Han who were miffed about centuries of oppression under Manchu rule, lots of anti ethnic minority sentiment arose from that and the, ah, other events going on in during the late 1800s and early 1900s. so it's like... as a country it makes sense but how do you fit this into the characters? It's not like the characters have to like what's happening in their country of course, but I'd like to situate them in the time and atmosphere nonetheless. It's also a situation where China was getting hella brutalized during the late Qing/Republic era by western powers and Japan, so the usual line about this era for it is 'wow poor baby : (' which I admit I love, but it does leave Mongolia, any and all suppression of culture, and its independence movement by the wayside. A country and its systems can be very complicated because everything happens all the time and there's like a billion people involved but then u gotta find a way to balance it within these individual characters which is hard!! I've read so many fics in this era and it always focuses on a few specific character/country relations and inevitably leaves many big things out, everything just happens all the time huh!

I guess the timeline would be roughly:

Stirrings of trouble -> Manchuria gathering. some Jurchen groups are directly allied with Mongolian groups for protection while other Jurchen groups waged war on them and the Ming dynasty so this is awkward -> wowee China has been conquered uwu Yaoyao enters another Jin dynasty -> battle with Mongolia ig? or talks of alliance? The same thing applies to pre-Manchu unification, it's hard when all the different groups represented by one dude are doing different things and it's hard to say who gets the nation-tan -> ok now Qing dynasty is at its largest. China and Mongolia are both under Manchu rule, Mongolia has a bit more status but China gets kept closer to the rulers and in the palace cause obvious reasons. Do they interact? probably sometimes? i'd have to do more research on the details -> oh no the westies have arrived to do a bit of war and opium -> China has attacked and gotten rid of Manchuria, preferably while crying for the spice, but now that he has Mongolia he doesn't want to let go : ( misery -> and the rest is history. i guess

Closing

I'm sorry if nothing makes sense but I started writing and editing at midnight and I can see daylight through the windows so I'll leave it here

Finally: here's a link to PiyoEX's Mongolia/China compilation! There's a bunch of short comics about the Mongolian Empire/Song Dynasty part of history, some Russia Mongolia China, and one timeline of events with Mongolia celebrating Yuan dynasty, China celebrating Ming dynasty, and both of them side eyeing the new guy for the Qing dynasty dksljhgf

To be honest I don't usually think too deeply about this ship aside from teehee funny 1100s AD interactions and wow what if they went out in modern times and Mongolia had a horrible time and China couldn't stop clinging to his arm like a bug! And ofc that one irl video where China was thanking Mongolia for some sheep the gov sent, and some dude sang this song of thanks that was autotuned to hell, but the ship has a lot of potential for exploration, though it's sensitive and hard to handle correctly imo