Yuan dynasty
Great Yuan 大元 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1271–1368 | |||||||||
 Yuan Dynasty China, circa 1294 | |||||||||
| Capital | Dadu | ||||||||
| Common languages | Mongolian Chinese (Hanyu) | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||
| Kublai Khan | |||||||||
| Ukhaatu Khan | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• establishing the Yuan Dynasty | 1271 1271 | ||||||||
• Fall of Dadu | September 14, 1368 1368 | ||||||||
| Currency | Paper Currency | ||||||||
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Yuan Dynasty continued to rule Mongolia after 1368, when it was known as the "Northern Yuan"[citation needed]. | |||||||||
The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝; pinyin: Yuáncháo; Mongolian: Yuan Güren[citation needed]) was a khanate of the Mongol Empire, considered the center of the four major divisions of the empire, lasting officially from 1271[1] to 1368. In the historiography of China, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty. The dynasty was established by ethnic Mongols under Kublai Khan (the last Great Khan) (although Kublai Khan placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the official record as the founder of the dynasty or Taizu), and he had nominal control over the Mongol Empire (stretching from Eastern Asia to the fertile crescent to Russia and eastern Europe) because of his title of Khagan, which was however unrecognized by all but one of the other khanates. Later successors never attempted to stake claim over the Khagan title and saw themselves as Emperor of China, as the Yuan Dynasty became another one of the long list of dynasties in the history of imperial China.
Yuan Dynasty
Kublai Khan and Ariq Boke
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In 1259 the Great Khan Möngke died while Kublai Khan, his brother, was campaigning against Song empire and Ariq Boke, his other brother commanded the Mongol homelands. After Möngke's demise, Ariq Boke decided to attempt to make himself Khan. Hearing of this, Kublai aborted his Chinese expedition and had himself elected as Khan in April of 1260. Still, Ariq Boke had his supporters and was elected as a rival khan to Kublai at Karakorum. The brothers then engaged in a series of battles, ending with Ariq Boke's capture in 1264. Kublai held him prisoner until he died two years later. The khans of the Golden Horde and of the Chagatai Khanate did not recognize Kublai khan as the great khan. The conflict between Kublai Khan and the khanates in Central Asia led by Kaidu (Qaidu) had lasted for a few decades, until the beginning of the 14th century, when both of them had died. Hülegü, another brother of Kublai khan, ruled his Ilkhanate and paid homage to the Great khan but actually established a separate khanate, and in 1295, Ilkhan Ghazan was converted to Islam and renounced all allegiance to the Great Khan. The four major successor khanates never came again under one rule.
Rule of Kublai Khan
After winning the war against Ariq Boke, Kublai Khan began his reign over his khanate with great aspirations and self-confidence — in 1266 he ordered the construction of a capital near the modern city of Beijing. The city was originally called Zhongdu ("Central Capital") by the Chinese during the Jin Dynasty, and in 1272 it came to be known as Dadu or Tatu ("Great Capital") in Chinese, Daidu to the Mongols, and Khanbalikh ("City of the Khans") to the Turks.[2] He began his drive against the Southern Song, establishing, in 1271 — eight years prior to Southern conquest — the first non-Han dynasty to rule all of China: the Yuan Dynasty. Its official title, Da Yuan (Great Yuan 大元), originates from I Ching, "大哉乾元" (da zai qian yuan). Yuan is the first dynasty in China to use Da (Great) in its official title.[3]
In 1272, Dadu officially became the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1279, Guangzhou was conquered by the Yuan army led by the Chinese general Zhang Hongfan in Battle of Yamen, which marks the end of the Southern Song and the onset of China under the Yuan. During Kublai Khan's reign he was put under pressure by many of his advisers to further expand the territory of the Yuan through the traditional Sinocentric tributary system. However, they were rebuffed and expeditions to Japan (twice), Myanmar, Vietnam (twice during Kublai's rule[4]), and Java, would all later fail (see Mongol invasions of Japan, Mongol invasions of Vietnam).
Kublai Khan's early rule involved widespread plunder. As if expecting to lose the country, the Mongols attempted to remove as much money and resources as was possible. The Mongol conquest never affected China's trade with other countries. In fact the Yuan Dynasty strongly supported the Silk Road trade network, allowing the transfer of Chinese technologies to the west. Though many reforms were made during Kublai Khan's life, and despite his notable warming to the populace, the Yuan was a relatively short lived dynasty.
Kublai Khan began to serve as a true emperor, reforming much of China and its institutions, a process that would take decades to complete. For example, he consolidated Mongol rule by centralizing the government of China — making himself (unlike his predecessors) an absolute monarch. He reformed many other governmental and economic institutions, especially the tax system. Although the Mongols sought to govern China through traditional institutions, using Han Chinese bureaucrats, they were not up to the task initially. The Hans were discriminated against politically. Almost all important central posts were monopolized by Mongols, who also preferred employing non-Hans from other parts of the Mongol domain in those positions for which no Mongol could be found. Hans were more often employed in non-Chinese regions of the empire. In essence, society was divided into four classes in order of privilege: Mongols, "Color-eyed" (Central Asians, mostly Uyghurs and Tibetans), Han (Han Chinese in northern China, Manchus, and Jurchens), and Southerners (Han Chinese within Southern Song and other ethnic groups). During his lifetime, Kublai Khan developed the new capital of the Yuan, Dadu, and built a second capital in present-day Beijing. He also improved the agriculture of China, extending the Grand Canal, highways and public granaries. Marco Polo described his rule as benevolent: relieving the populace of taxes in times of hardship; building hospitals and orphanages; distributing food among the abjectly poor. He also promoted science and religion.
Like other emperors of non-Han dynasties, Kublai Khan considered himself a legitimate Chinese emperor. While he had nominal rule over the rest of the Mongol Empire, his interest was clearly in China. From the beginning of his reign, most khanates of the Mongol Empire became de facto independent and did not recognize him as Khagan. By the time of Kublai Khan’s death in 1294, the Mongol Empire had broken up into four independent Khanates, with Yuan Dynasty being one of them.
Early rule
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Succession was a problem for the Yuan Dynasty, later causing much strife and internal struggle. This emerged as early as the end of Kublai's reign. His original choice was his son, Zhenjin — but he died before Kublai in 1285. Thus, Zhenjin's son ruled as Emperor Chengzong for approximately 10 years following Kublai's death (between 1294 and 1307). Chengzong decided to maintain and continue much of the work begun by his grandfather. However, the corruption in the Yuan Dynasty began during the reign of Chengzong.
Wuzong became Emperor of China after the death of Chengzong. Unlike his predecessor, he did not continue Kublai's work, but largely rejected it. During his short reign (1307 to 1311), China fell into financial difficulties, partly due to bad decisions made by Wuzong. By the time he died, China was in severe debt and the Yuan Dynasty faced popular discontent.
The fourth Yuan emperor, Renzong is seen as the last competent emperor. He stood out among the Mongol rulers of China as an adopter of mainstream Chinese culture, to the discontent of some Mongol elite. He had been mentored by Li Meng, a Confucian academic. He made many reforms, including the liquidation of the Department of State Affairs (resulting in the execution of 5 of the highest ranking officials). Starting in 1313 examinations were introduced for prospective officials, testing their knowledge on significant historical works. Also, he codified much of the law.
Impact
A rich cultural diversity developed during the Yuan dynasty. The major cultural achievements were the development of drama and the novel and the increased use of the written vernacular. The political unity of China and much of central Asia promoted trade between East and West. The Mongols' extensive West Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount of cultural exchange.
Western musical instruments were introduced to enrich the Chinese performing arts. From this period dates the conversion to Islam, by Muslims of Central Asia, of growing numbers of Chinese in the northwest and southwest. Nestorianism and Roman Catholicism also enjoyed a period of toleration. Tibetan Buddhism flourished, although native Taoism endured Mongol persecutions. Confucian governmental practices and examinations based on the Classics, which had fallen into disuse in north China during the period of disunity, were reinstated by the Mongols in the hope of maintaining order over Han society. Advances were realized in the fields of travel literature, cartography, geography, and scientific education.
Certain Chinese innovations and products, such as purified saltpetre, printing techniques, porcelain, playing cards and medical literature, were exported to Europe and Western Asia, while the production of thin glass and cloisonné became popular in China.
The first recorded travels by Europeans to China and back date from this time. The most famous traveler of the period was the Venetian Marco Polo, whose account of his trip to "Cambaluc," the Great Khan's capital, and of life there astounded the people of Europe. The account of his travels, Il milione (or, The Million, known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo), appeared about the year 1299. The works of John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck also provided early descriptions of the Mongol people to the West.
The Mongols undertook extensive public works. Road and water communications were reorganized and improved. To provide against possible famines, granaries were ordered built throughout the empire. The city of Beijing was rebuilt with new palace grounds that included artificial lakes, hills and mountains, and parks. During the Yuan period, Beijing became the terminus of the Grand Canal of China, which was completely renovated. These commercially oriented improvements encouraged overland and maritime commerce throughout Asia and facilitated direct Chinese contacts with Europe. Chinese travelers to the West were able to provide assistance in such areas as hydraulic engineering. Contacts with the West also brought the introduction to China of a major food crop, sorghum, along with other foreign food products and methods of preparation.
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See also
- List of Emperors of the Yuan Dynasty
- Yuan Dynasty family tree
- Jin Dynasty (金朝)
- Song Dynasty
- Ming Dynasty
- Western Xia
- History of Mongolia
- List of Mongol Khans
- Jun ware
- Islam during the Yuan Dynasty
References
- ^ Yuan was officially established on this year. It however didn't take control of all China until 1279.
- ^ Rossabi, M., Khubilai Khan, p131.
- ^ Zhu Guozhen (1557-1632), Yong Zhuang Xiaopin (涌幢小品) Vol.2.
- ^ An earlier expedition had failed in 1257/1258.
- J. J. Saunders, The History of the Mongol Conquests (1971)
- Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, Islamic Technology (1988)