Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368
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Yuan Dynasty
The
Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: pinyin: Yuáncháo; Mongolian:
Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus), lasting officially from 1271 to
1368, followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty
in the historiography of China. The dynasty was established
by the Mongol conquerors of China, and it had nominal control
over the entire Mongol Empire (stretching from Eastern Europe
to the fertile crescent to Russia); however, the Mongol rulers
in Asia were only interested in China. Later successors did
not even attempt to stake claim over the Khakhan title and saw
themselves as Emperor of China.
Founding an Empire
Main article: Genghis Khan
Temüjin, later to be more prominently known as Genghis Khan,
was officially the first in the line of Yuan Dynasty emperors.
He was the son of Yesügei, the tribal chief of the Kiyad - a
tribe in fragmented Mongolia under nominal control of the Jin
Dynasty at the time. His father was killed in his early life
by a rival tribe, leaving him the heir. This led to bitterness
on the part of Senggum, Wang's former heir, who planned to assassinate
Temüjin. Temüjin learned of Senggum's intentions however, and
a large civil war broke out among the Mongols. Eventually Temüjin
defeated Senggum and succeeded to the title of Wang Khan. Temüjin
created a written code of laws for the Mongols called Yassa,
and he demanded it to be followed very strictly.
Temüjin followed with attacks on other neighboring tribes, which
further increased his power. By combining diplomacy, organization,
military ability, and brutality, Temüjin finally managed to
unite the tribes into the single nation, a monumental feat for
the Mongols, who had a long history of internecine dispute.
In 1206 Temüjin successfully united the formerly fragmented
tribes of what is now Mongolia. At a Khurultai (a council of
Mongol chiefs), he was named the
"Genghis Khan", or the
"Universal Ruler". The birth of Mongolia marked the start of
what would become the largest continuous empire in history,
ruling large parts of Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe,
over the following two centuries. While his empire extended
in all directions, Genghis Khan's main interest was always with
China, specifically Western Xia, Jin Dynasty and southern Song
Dynasty.
Northern Conquest
At the time of the Khuriltai, Genghis was involved in a dispute
with Western Xia - which eventually became the first of his
wars of conquest. Despite problems in taking well defended Western
Xia cities, he substantially reduced the Western Xia dominion
by 1209, when peace with Western Xia was made. He was acknowledged
by their emperor as overlord. This marks the first in a line
of successes in defeating all the kingdoms and dynasties in
China which wasn't complete until Kublai Khan's rule. A major
goal of Genghis was the conquest of the Jin Dynasty, allowing
the Mongols to avenge earlier defeats, gain the riches of northern
China and mostly to establish the Mongols as a major power among
the Chinese world order. He declared war in 1211, and at first
the pattern of operations against the Jin Dynasty was the same
as it had been against Western Xia. The Mongols were victorious
in the field, but they were frustrated in their efforts to take
major cities. In his typically logical and determined fashion,
Genghis and his highly developed staff studied the problems
of the assault of fortifications. With the help of Chinese engineers,
they gradually developed the techniques to take down fortifications.
Islamic engineers joined later and especially contributed counterweight
trebuchets, "Muslim phao", which had a maximum range of 300
metres compared to 150 metres of the ancient Chinese predecessor.
It played a significant role in taking the Chinese strongholds
and was as well used against infantry units on battlefield.
This eventually would make troops under the Mongols some of
the most accomplished and most successful besiegers in the history
of warfare.
As a result of a number of overwhelming victories in the field
and a few successes in the capture of fortifications deep within
China, Genghis had conquered and had consolidated Jin territory
as far south as the Great Wall by 1213. He then advanced with
three armies into the heart of Jin territory, between the Great
Wall and the Huang He. He defeated the Jin forces, devastated
northern China, captured numerous cities, and in 1215 besieged,
captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known
as Beijing). The Jin emperor, Xuan Zong, however, did not surrender,
but removed his capital to Kaifeng. There his successors finally
were defeated, but not until 1234.
The vassal emperor of Western Xia had refused to take part in
the war against the peoples of the Khwarizm, and Genghis had
vowed punishment. While he was in Central Asia, Western Xia
and Jin had formed an alliance against the Mongols. After rest
and a reorganization of his armies, Genghis prepared for war
against his biggest foes. By this time, advancing years had
led Genghis to prepare for the future and to assure an orderly
succession among his descendants. He selected his third son
Ogedei as his successor and established the method of selection
of subsequent khans, specifying that they should come from his
direct descendants. Meanwhile, he studied intelligence reports
from Western Xia and Jin and readied a force of 180,000 troops
for a new campaign.
Aspirations to the Mandate of Heaven
In 1226, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts (Western Xia) on
the pretext that the Tanguts received the Mongols' enemies.
Over the next year he took the cities Heisui, Ganzhou, Suzhou,
and Xiliang-fu - the Western Xia were finally defeated near
Helanshan Mountain. He soon after took Tangut city of Ling-zhou
and the Yellow River - defeating the Tangut relief army. In
1227, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts' capital, and in February,
he took Lintiao-fu. In March, he took Xining prefecture and
Xindu-fu. In April, he took Deshun prefecture. At Deshun, the
Western Xia General Ma Jianlong resisted the Mongols for days
and personally led charges against them outside of the city
gate. Ma Jianlong later died of arrow shots. On his deathbed
in 1227, Genghis Khan outlined to his youngest son, Tolui, the
plans that later would be used by his successors to complete
the destruction of the Western Xia, Jin Dynasty and Southern
Song Dynasty. The new Western Xia emperor, during Mongol attack,
surrendered. The Tanguts officially surrendered in 1227, after
being in existence for 190 years, from 1038 to 1227. The Mongols
killed the Tangut emperor and his royal family members.
During the reign of Ögedei Khan, the Mongols completed the destruction
of the Jin (in 1234), coming into contact and conflict, during
this time, with the Southern Song. In 1235, under the khan's
direct generalship, the Mongols began a war of conquest that
would not end for forty-five years.
After a series of campaigns from 1231 to 1259, Mongol armies
vassalized Korea. The Mongols established permanent control
of Persia proper (commanded by Chormagan) and, most notably,
expanded westwards under the command of Batu Khan to subdue
the Russian steppe. Their western conquests included almost
all of Russia (save Novgorod, which became a vassal), Hungary,
and Poland. Ögedei's death in 1241, caused by alcohol, brought
the western campaign to a premature end. The commanders heard
the news as they were advancing on Vienna, and withdrew for
the kuriltai in Mongolia, never returning so far west again.
Not until Möngke Khan were the Mongols ready to directly take
on the Southern Song Dynasty. This empire possessed the world's
greatest steel production and one of the strongest economies
at the time. Concerned himself more with the war in China, he
outflanked the Song Dynasty through the conquest of Yunnan in
1253 and an invasion of Indochina, which allowed the Mongols
to invade from north, west, and south. Taking command personally
late in the decade, he captured many of the fortified cities
along the northern front. These actions ultimately rendered
the conquest a matter of time. He dispatched his brother Hülegü
to the southwest, an act which was to expand the Mongol Empire
to the gates of Egypt. European conquest was neglected due to
the primacy of the other two theaters, but Möngke's friendliness
with Batu Khan (with whom Güyük Khan had almost come to open
warfare - only prevented from doing so by death) ensured the
unity of empire. While conducting the war in China, Möngke fell
ill of dysentery and died (in 1259), which aborted Hülegü's
campaign, staved off defeat for the Song, and caused a civil
war that destroyed the unity, and invincibility, of the Mongol
Empire. His death gave rise to Kublai Khan, the first Yuan Emperor
of China.
Golden Age of the Yuán
Establishment of the Yuán
Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, ascended to the Great
Khanate, becoming the supreme leader of all Mongol tribes in
1260. He began his reign with great aspirations and self-confidence
- in 1264 he decided to completely rebuild the city of Khanbaliq
(Dàdu ??, present-day Beijing) as his new capital. 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 the Middle Kingdom: the Yuan Dynasty. In 1272,
Khanbaliq officially became the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.
In 1279, Guangzhou was conquered by the Yuan army, 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 Sino-centric tributary system.
However, they were rebuffed and expeditions to Japan, Myanmar,
Vietnam, and Java, all would later fail.
Due to the fact that Mongols have gathered a general negative
attitude in China, Kublai's early rule may be noted for its
bandit-like nature. 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's life, and despite his notable warming to the populace,
the Yuán was a relatively short lived dynasty.
Kublai Khan began to serve as a true Emperor, reforming much
of China and its institutions, a process which would take decades
to complete. He, for example, insulated Mongol rule by centralizing
the government of China - making himself (unlike his predecessors)
an absolutist monarch. He reformed many other governmental and
economic institutions, especially concerning taxation. 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, the 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 developed the new capital of the Yuan, Khanbaliq, building
the elaborate Forbidden City. 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 considered himself a legitimate Chinese emperor. While
he had nominal rule over the rest of the Mongol Empire, his
interest was clearly in the Middle Kingdom. After Kublai's death
in 1294 A.D., the Mongol Empire practically broke up into a
number of independent Khanates.
Early Rule
Succession was a problem which marked the Yuán Dynasty, later
causing much strife and internal struggle. This may be observed
as early as the end of Kublai's reign. His original choice was
his son, Zhenjin - but he died prior to Kublai in 1285. Thus,
Zhenjin's son ruled as Emperor Chengzong of Yuan China for approximately
10 years following Kublai's death (between 1294 and 1307). Chengzong
decided to maintain and continue many of the projects and much
of the work begun by his grandfather. However, the corruption
in the Yuan Dynasty began during the reign of Chengzong. Emperor
Wuzong of Yuan China ascended to the Emperorship of China following
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
by bad decisions made by Wuzong. By the time he died, China
was in severe debt and the populace were discontent with the
Yuán Dynasty. The fourth Yuán emperor, Emperor Renzong of Yuan
China was seen as the last competent emperor. He stood out among
the Mongol rulers of China as an adopter of mainstream culture
of China, 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 Yuán dynasty.
The major cultural achievements were the development of drama
and the novel and the increased use of the written vernacular.
Given the unified rule of central Asia, trades between East
and West flourished. 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, and 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 cloisonne became popular in China. The first
records of 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 (now Beijing), 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 Yuán period, Beijing became the terminus of the Grand
Canal, which was completely renovated. These commercially oriented
improvements encouraged the overland as well as the 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.
Downfall of the Yuán
Civil Unrest
The last of the Yuan Dynasty were marked by successions of struggle,
famine, and bitterness by the populace. The dynasty was, significantly,
one of the shortest lived dynasties in the History of China,
covering the period of just a century 1271 to 1368. In time,
Khubilai's successors became sinicized, and they then lost all
influence on other Mongol lands across Asia, while the Mongols
beyond the Middle Kingdom saw them as too Chinese. Gradually,
they lost influence in China as well. The reigns of the later
Yuán emperors were short and were marked by intrigues and rivalries.
Uninterested in administration, they were separated from both
the army and the populace. China was torn by dissension and
unrest; bandits ranged the country without interference from
the weakening Yuán armies.
Emperor Yingzong ruled for just two years (1321 to 1323); his
rule ended in a coup at the hands of five princes. They placed
Taidingdi on the throne, and after an unsuccessful attempt to
calm the princes he also succumbed to regicide. The last of
the nine successors of Khubilai was expelled from Dadu in 1368
by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Míng Dynasty (1368-1644).
Northern Yuán
The Mongols retreated to Mongolia, where the Yuan Dynasty remained.
It is now called the Northern Yuán by modern historians. According
to Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate
empire, and so the Ming and the Yuan each denied the legitimacy
of the other. However, historians tend to regard the Míng dynasty
as the legitimate dynasty.
A Chinese army invaded Mongolia in 1380, and in 1388 a decisive
victory was won. About 70,000 Mongols were taken prisoners,
and Karakorum (the Mongol capital) was annihilated. Eight years
after the invasion, the Mongol throne was taken over by Yesüder,
a descendant of Arigh Bugha. After getting the Mongols through
the turbulent period, he restored the throne to descendants
of Kublai Khan. While conflicts existed with China, the Mongols
basically fell under the tributary system of the Ming Dynasty.
The Mongols were greatly attacked by the Manchu in the 17th
century. In 1634, Ligdan Khan, the last Great Khan of the Mongols,
died on his way to Tibet. His son, Ejei Khan, surrendered to
the Manchu and gave the great seal of the Yuán Emperor to its
ruler, Hong Taiji. As a result, Hong Taiji established the Qing
Dynasty as the successor of the Yuán Dynasty in 1636. (However,
some sources such as Encyclopędia Britannica give the year as
1637.)
