Unenbayin (8 February 1896-), also known as Wu Ho-ling, leading intellectual in the Inner Mongolian autonomy movement. After serving as head of the Mongolian section of the Mongolian-Tibetan Affairs Commission from 1930 to 1936, he returned to his native region. In 1942-45 he headed the political affairs department of the Mongolian Federated Autonomous Government. A Mongol of the Right Kharchin Banner of the Josuto League, Unenbayin was the son of Lamajab (Wu Feng-sheng), a commoner who was commander of the banner's forces. Unenbayin received his early education at home under the tutelage of Chang Kung-chien, a Shantung Chinese who held the chu-jen degree. He then attended the Normal School at Chengteh, Jehol, after which he entered the Cheng-fa ta-hsueh [university of politics and law] , from which he was graduated in 1917. In 1926 he became the first Mongol to be graduated from Peking University, where he majored in Chinese literature.

While studying at Peking, Unenbayin taught, beginning in 1918, at the Mongolian-Tibetan Academy. This school for young Mongols had been founded in 1912 by Gungsang Xorbu, the prince of the Right Kharchin Banner, and its graduates included Buyantai (q.v.), Merse, and Fumingtai. Unenbayin also assisted Gungsang Xorbu at the bureau of Mongolian- Tibetan affairs and held a position in the ministry of the interior at Peking. In addition, after 1924 he taught at the Chu-shih Middle School, worked at the Ching-kuan kao-teng hsueh-hsiao, and served as vice president of the Peking YMCA.

Unenbayin was a conscientious student, and his thinking was influenced by new trends in China. Still, he remained aloof from the radical and revolutionary currents of the day. While such young Mongols as Merse, Buyantai, Fumingtai, and Ulanfu (q.v.) pressed for social revolution in Mongolia, Unenbayin advocated the unification and strengthening of Mongolia through gradual reforms. He favored the attainment of Mongolian autonomy purely through political means, and, although pan-Mongolism appealed to him emotionally, he believed that Inner Mongolia had lost its opportunity for independence from China and unification with Outer Mongolia at the time of the 1911 revolution. Because of this belief, he consistently worked for political self-determination and cultural preservation of the Mongols through the complex and tedious process of strengthening the legal position of Mongolian autonomy within the administrative structure of the Chinese republic. At the same time, he urged reforms in the quasi-feudalistic administration of the Mongol banners.

After the successful completion of the Northern Expedition in June 1928, Buyantai was given responsibility for the reorganization of the Mongolian-Tibetan affairs office at Peking. Unenbayin and other Mongols at Peking were distressed by this decision, and their unease increased when the Kuomintang Central Political Council on 29 August 1928 passed a proposal to convert the Mongolian special districts of Jehol, Chahar, and Suiyuan into provinces. Accordingly, Unenbayin and other Mongolian banner representatives at Peking formed a delegation which went to Nanking in November to press for the autonomy that Sun Yat-sen had promised China's minority peoples in Principles of National Reconstruction. The delegation did not achieve its aims, and all of its members except Unenbayin left Nanking. Because he believed that he could accomplish more for the Mongols by staying at the capital, he established residence at Nanking and set up the Capital Office of Allied Mongolian League and Banner Affairs. Through this office, he was able to assist Mongol students and to exert pressure on the National Government in the cause of Mongolian autonomy.

The National Government established the Mongolian-Tibetan Affairs Commission at the end of 1928, and Yen Hsi-shan (q.v.) assumed office as its chairman on 1 January 1929. Buyantai became a member of the commission, and Unenbayin joined the staff of its Mongolian affairs secdon, becoming section head in 1930. He soon proposed the convening of a Mongolian conference to consider outstanding problems. Over 40 representatives met at Nanking in May 1930, and among the results of the conference was a concession from the National Government for 15 Mongolian representatives to be taken into the new National Assembly when it met the following year. Agreement also was reached on a proposal for a "Basic Law for the Organization of Mongolian Leagues and Banners." When the National Assembly met in 1931, the 15 Mongol representatives went to great lengths to gain ratification of their proposals. Led by Unenbayin, they congregated and Mtjr-ld threatened mass suicide if their demands were ignored. The Law for the Organization of Mongol Leagues and Banners was passed by the National Assembly on 12 October 1931 and subsequently was approved by the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. The passage of this law was one of Unenbayin's most cherished accomplishments. It provided a legal basis for preserving the integrity of Mongol banners and leagues, for their relationship to the Chinese provinces in Inner Mongolia and to the National Government, and for the reform of banner administration through the abolition of hereditary rule and succession. The law fell short of Unenbayin's hopes, however, because it made no provision for uniting the separate and isolated Mongol banners.

In August 1933 a new crisis arose when the ruling princes of western Inner Mongolia sent a telegram to Nanking which announced their intention of establishing an autonomous Mongolian government. The National Government sent a delegation to Pailingmiao, which included Huang Shao-hung (q.v.) and Unenbayin, for talks with Te Wang (Demchukdonggrub, q.v.) Yun Wang (Prince Yun), and other Mongol leaders. With Unenbayin and the Panchen Lama (q.v.) working essentially as mediators, agreement finally was reached. However, the dispute began again when the terms of the agreement were modified at Nanking and the Kuomintang Central Political Council passed an act on 1 7 January 1934 which omitted much of the substance of the Pailingmiao agreement. Because of Unenbayin's objections and the threat of an Inner Mongolia- Manchoukuo alliance, this act was repealed almost immediately. On 28 February, the Central Political Council passed the Eight Principles of Mongolian Autonomy (Mengku tzu-chih yuan-tzu pa-hsiang), drafted by Unenbayin, which provided for the establishment of the Mongolian Local Autonomous Political Council and for an end to Chinese migration into Mongolian lands.

In the mid-1930's Unenbayin was forced to make a crucial personal decision with reference to Inner Mongolia and its relationships with China and Japan. By early 1936 it had become obvious that a Japanese takeover of Inner Mongolia was inevitable, for the Chinese authorities at Nanking would do nothing to counter increasing Japanese influence in that area. Because Unenbayin believed that he could accomplish nothing if separated from other Mongols by a Japanese occupation, he decided to return to Inner Mongolia. In a private meeting with Chiang Kai-shek, he persuaded Chiang to let him go without suspicion of treachery. According to their agreement, in the event of Unenbayin's death a public announcement would be made to scotch any accusation of treason. Unenbayin's decision was a difficult one. For the next decade he would be regarded by some Japanese as a Chinese agent, by some young Mongols as a compromising conservative, and by some Chinese as a war criminal.

When Te Wang inaugurated the so-called Inner Mongolian Government at Tehua (Coptchil) on 28 June 1936, Unenbayin became its chief counselor. Later, after a sort of exile in Japan (1939-41), Unenbayin became head of the political affairs department of that regime's successor, the Mongolian Federated Autonomous Government. At Kalgan, the government headquarters, Unenbayin was responsible for day-to-day administration in guiding the government under Japanese occupation. With the full support of Te Wang, he also served as a buffer between idealistic Mongol nationalists and harsh Japanese military authorities. Although he did not stir young men to ambition for Mongolian independence, he did much to encourage young Mongols to prepare themselves for service to their people. He was the leading planner and patron of a special school in Kalgan which prepared hundreds of Mongol youths for advanced study in Japan. One of Unenbayin's proudest achievements during this period was the development of the horisha, an adaptation of the cooperative. This economic institution had several purposes: liberating Mongols from traditional financial bondage to Chinese merchants, establishing standard selling prices for goods, increasing Mongol economic power during the Japanese occupation, and producing increased revenue for national development and the strengthening of Mongol autonomy. In addition to cooperative marketing, Unenbayin and other Mongol leaders promoted the use of modern techniques in gathering and processing milk products and animals in nomadic areas.

Unenbayin held office at Kalgan until the Second World War ended and the Chinese Communists began to take control in that area. Rejecting the Communist alternative, he moved south and evacuated his family to Taiwan. Then, at the behest of Te Wang, he flew to Ninghsia to assist in another attempt to organize Mongolian resistance. The attempt failed, partly because the Communist advance, led by P'eng Te-huai (q.v.), was unexpectedly rapid. Unenbayin and a number of other Mongol leaders then escaped to Taiwan. There, despite heart attacks and other severe illnesses, he continued to urge the National Government to follow progressive policies which would win Mongol support.