China Tried to Wipe Words 'Genghis Khan' From Khan Exhibit

A French museum has postponed a planned exhibition about Genghis Khan, saying the Chinese government is trying to rewrite history—specifically, the part of history where Khan and his heirs conquered China in the 13th century as rulers of the Mongol Empire. The Château des ducs de Bretagne museum in Nantes says the exhibit was planned as a joint effort with the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, China. But it says Chinese authorities recently demanded that words including "Mongol," "Empire," and even "Genghis Khan" be removed from the show, AFP reports.

The museum says Chinese authorities also demanded control over exhibit maps and texts as part of an effort to introduce "elements of biased rewriting of Mongol culture in favor of a new national narrative." The institution said the attempts to erase Mongol history followed a crackdown on Mongol culture in China in recent months, with Mongolian language lessons replaced by Mandarin lessons in areas inhabited by the country's Mongolian minority, Next reports. "We made the decision to stop this production in the name of the human, scientific, and ethical values that we defend," says museum director Bertrand Guillet. (More China stories.)