Chinese dynasties: Yuan Dynasty 元朝 (1271-1368)

The Yuan Dynasty 元朝 (1271-1368) was founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an imperial dynasty of China. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he had his grandfather Genghis Khan placed on the official record as the founder of the dynasty or Taizu (Chinese: 太祖)

Genghis Khan defeated in 1227 the Western Xia and in 1234 he defeated the Jin. This was to open the way to unify the whole of China for the first time under a non-Chinese regime, a people who eventually were to become a ethnic group.

Following Genghis' death, his grandson succeeded him and as Kublai Khan, who was known as Emperor Shizu, continued to annex Chinese territory and in 1279 the Yuan forces captured Hangzhou, the capital city of the Southern Song.

With their dynasty now firmly established in the Chinese empire, the Yuan found themselves rulers of a complex group of peoples who inhabited the largest land based empire ever to exist, stretching from what is now Korea and western Russia in the north and from Burma to Iraq in the south. But they were rulers with no experience of administration. Consequently, they adopted Chinese political and cultural models.

Ruling from their capital city Dadu, nowadays Beijing, the Mongol Khans created four classes of people to rule upon; first the Mongols themselves, next came their allies and non-Chinese people from Inner- Asia, a class to be called the Semu. The third class was made up of the people of Northern China and they were called the Han. Lastly, came the people of Southern China, who were referred to as the Nan. The Mongols in the first group enjoyed the greatest privileges under the regime, while the fourth group, the Nan were to have the least. The same applied in so far as taxation and the penal code were concerned as this had a very divisive effect on the population as a whole. Mixed marriages were forbidden and it was impossible to gain promotion from one group to another.

Yuan dynasty created the administrative regions of China, maintained by next dynasties and creating the basis for the actual Chinese provinces.

The Yuan regime can be roughly divided into three periods: the early, middle and late periods. The early period began from the reign of Kublai Khan, Yuan Emperor Shizu, until 1294. During this period rulers adopted laws from the Han nationality and set up political, economic and cultural systems that promoted social development.

The middle years (1307 to 1323) marked a period of decline. During this period, social conflicts and the competition for imperial power became intensified and included continuous uprisings all around the country.

From 1329 in the late-Yuan period, peasant uprisings accelerated the decline of the regime. In 1351, the Red Turban Rebellion started and grew into a nationwide uprising and the Yuan dynasty had no choice but to rely on local warlords' military power and retreat to the north. In 1368 the forces Zhu Yuanzhang entered Beijing and rebuild the dynasty of the Han nationality, namely the Ming Dynasty.

The last Yuan Emperor together with his court fled from the country while many of the Mongols were content to remain and become integrated with the Chinese population. The Yuan Dynasty lasted ninety-eight years with eleven emperors. The Manchu emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911) accepted the final submission of the Mongol rulers and thus Mongolia became a part of China.

Kublai Khan promoted science and religion. He issued paper banknotes in 1273. 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. The other cultures and peoples in the Mongol World Empire also permanently influenced China. It had significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia until its decline; the communications between Yuan Dynasty and its ally and subordinate in Persia, the Ilkhanate, encouraged this development. Buddhism had a great influence in the Yuan government, and the Tibetan-rite Tantric Buddhism had significantly influenced China during this period. The Muslims of the Yuan Dynasty introduced Middle Eastern cartography, astronomy, medicine, clothing, and diet in East Asia. Middle Eastern crops such as carrots, turnips, new varieties of lemons, eggplants, and melons, high-quality granulated sugar, and cotton were all either introduced or successfully popularized by the Yuan Mongols.