Yuan+Dynasty2

   **   The Yuan Dynasty     (1271-1368) **


 * FOUNDER:** Kublai Khan
 * CAPITAL:** Dadu (Beijing)

At the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols were one of the strongest military forces in the world and it was through this great strength in their army that the Mongols came into power. Genghis Khan led the Mongols to many victories in China and eventually his grandson, Kublai Khan, came into power by defeated the sounthern Song Dynasty and he established his own Dynasty; the Yuan Dynasty.
 * RISE OF THE YUAN**

Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. It took him 20 years to defeat the southern Song Dynasty, but when he did he moved the capital from Karakorum to Beijing. In order to further expand the Yuan/Mongol empire, Kublai sent armies south and east to conquer Vietnam and Korea.
 * KUBLAI KHAN**


 * SOCIAL**- The Yuan Dynasty took the clase system and arranged a social ranking for each citizen. There were four classes in their dynasty. Chinese culture was integrated in the Yuan Dynasty but many of the chinese opened up private schools of their own. The Mongols always kept themselvs above the Chinese people. The Mongols and the Chinese were very culturally different and this made it difficult for the Yuan to rule over the Chinese. Both spoke different languages and each had many different customs.


 * POLITICAL**- This entire period was under military and autocratic rule. The Mongols had a very different and more militaristic rule than that of the Chinese. Although they adapted many Chinese ways into ther own form of government.

The Mongols did not allow the Chinese to hold government positions and the cultural gap between the two peoples made governing a difficult task and as a result the government had become lighter than previous empires. The Chinese saw the Yuan as an occupying army at best, they didn't really acknowledge them as a dynasty, they were viewed more as bandits.


 * RELIGION**- The Mongols continued with both Daoism an Buddhism. They also brought in Shamanism and Totemism. Toteism believed in the two totem hearts, the wolf and the deer. Any hunter that caught one of those animals was ordered to release the animal back into the wild because they were seen as sacred. Shamans believed in the spirit of Jin.


 * INTELLECTUAL**- The Yuan people were responsible for the advancement of math, the arts, medicine and astronomy. Khan imported texts from other soceities to further the research in the observatory.The Yare especially well known for their music and poetry.

Despite their attempts, the Mongols did not succeed in censoring Chinese literature and drama or in providing intellectual or cultural leadership.




 * TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY**- The people in the Yuan Dynasty worked very hard to improve their soceity. They worked on the roads and commerce to help their economy. However they had a hard time trading because they were restricted to trading with few people outside of China.

Trade was made extremely difficult for Chinese traders, but foreign merchants were able to trade within China and they were given special privileges by the Yuan. They were granted permission to travel through China without restrictions and they were completely free of taxes.

It is at this time that Marco Polo gave his description of China.


 * ECONOMIC SYSTEM**-It was during this period that Khan reintroduced paper money intead of using coins as their currency. They also used the Silk Road which supported a group of muslim traders. The Yuan government treated the lowest class very poorly and often overtaxed its citizens.


 * THE FALL OF THE YUAN**- The Yuan was the shortest lived of the major dynasties. Kublai was a highly successful emperor as was his son, but the later Yuan emperors could not stop the fall of the dynasty. Eventually the duties that came with ruling the newly conquered land overwhelmed the rulers and the training of the military was no longer a priority. What once was one of the world's most powerful armies, had now become an insignificant force. They became so weak that uprisings broke out amongst the nobility and other groups. Then, Chu, the leader of one of these uprisings attempted to unite the seperate groups against a common enemy, the Yuan. Chu succeeded and he and the rebels overthrew the Yuan.

Another factor that led to the Yuan's downward spiral was the overall poor state of the country's economy. The peasants and the nobility both had become impoverished and that led to the uprisings. Also, the country was in such bad condition that the Mongols didn't really have much interest in staying in control of China. The Mongols took over a wealthy China and after a hundred years they left an impoverished nation.

- It was the first of only two dynasties where foreigners controlled the entire area of China, in this case the Mongols. - There were great advances in literature during this dynasty, espescially in theatre and opera.
 * WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?**

Duncan, Kris. "Kublai Khan: 1215-1294". WebChron. Febuary 3, 2009 .
 * SOURCES (MLA)**

Hooker, Richard. "Ancient China: The Mongolian Empire: The Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368". Washington State University. Febuary 2, 2009 .

"Yuan". The EMuseum at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Feburary 2, 2009 .

"Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)". Travel China Guide.com. Febuary 3, 2009 .

"Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368)". Xian Marco Polo International Travel Service Co. Ltd.. January 28, 2009 .