The Yuan Dynasty and Kublai Khan

Turgazieva Tolgonai

1279-1368

Western Xia also known as Tangut Empire,was an empire which existed from 1038 to 1227 AD

Hexi Corridor- also Hexi Zoulang, is a main path of the Ancient Silk Road, east-west stretching trading route starting from Xian reaching Dunhuang

Mongol invasion Genghis khan and his sons set the foundation for Yuan Dynasty by defeating the Western Xia and Central Asia and Hexi Corridor

Capital city- Khanbalik (Dadu), was on the site of modern Beijing

Kublai Khan ● Country of Origin / Nationality: Mongol● Lifetime: 1215 - 1294 ● Family connections : He was the

Grandson of the Genghis Khan● Was elected Khan on May 5, 1260. ● The fifth Great Khan of the Mongol

Empire (1260-1294) and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China.

● Was a skilled horseman since 12 ● His father died when he was 17 ● Started taking part in ruling at his 30’s● Died: Kublai Khan died in 1294

Monetary policy ● 1273, Kublai issued paper

banknotes - chao (鈔 )

● big innovation in

banking/monetary system

● advantages: better court

control, lighter than coins

● the first dynasty in the world

to use paper currency

● helped increase the empire’s

trade

Political System and Society● Practiced Han policy first, later - “Imperial Exam” policy

● Confucianism-official thought of dynasty

● Foreigners became the rulers and administrators.

● The four classes: first- the Mongols,

● Semu- their allies and non-Chinese people from Inner-

Asia,

● Han- was made up of the people of Northern China

● Nah- came the people of Southern China

● Mixed marriages were forbidden, promotion - impossible

Mongols

Semu

Han

Nah

Economy of Yuan Dynasty

Focused on the development of:● Agriculture- in the period

of Kublai Khan reign gradually recovered

● Water conservancy construction- 2 new canals were constructed

● Animal husbandry ● Handicrafts -textile

industry

Rice terraces, Guangxi Province. The Dragon's Backbone Terraces were built from the Yuan Dynasty

Religion of the Yuan Empire

Shamanism● Believed in unseen world

of gods, spirits ● Shamans were allowed

to take part in the discussion of crucial issues, such as electing leaders and affairs of war and peace.

* later integrated to Islam and Buddhism

Totemism● Its practice had a great

psychological influence upon the Mongolian people.

● There were two principal totems - 'wolf totem' and 'deer totem' worshiped by the Mongolians.

● wolf -grandfather , deer - grandmother.

Culture and Science● shadow puppet plays-

entertainment in the evenings, using lamp and sheets

● astronomy- Sitiantai observatory

● novels-Water Margin and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong- has about

770 000 words

Invasions of Japan ● In 1274, he sent about

800 or 900 ships. Storm

destroyed most of them

● In 1280, he ordered the

hasty assembly of a very

large force. The second

fleet is said to have

carried 100,000 men.

Faced the wall, killed by

storm

Reasons for decline:

● heavy taxation● ethic contradiction● corruption of court officials ● army became corrupted ● natural disasters- live in poverty

Natural Disasters

● 1330s onwards, natural disasters such as epidemics,

droughts and floods brought suffering and death to the

peasants.

● 1331- the bubonic plague pandemic- "Black Death" in

Europe, began to sweep the empire. Millions of people

died

● 1344 -the Yellow River shifted course.A massive flood that

impoverished an populous region at the center of the

empire.

● From 1340- 1380 time of drought

● 1351 - rebellion started called the Red Turban Rebellion.

Zhu Yuanzhang Defeated the Empire

● 1356 and 1367- Zhu Yuanzhang began a series of

campaigns seeking to defeat the dynasty.

● Restoring Han Chinese to power, got support

● 1368 Zhu's army reached Beijing (Dadu). The Yuan

Emperor fled to the north, lost control of the rest of the

empire.

● Mongolia became the final home of the Yuan Dynasty

clans.

● Mongolians kept trying to recapture the empire, but they

failed.

● They eventually allied with the Manchus, and Mongolians

became officials in the Qing Dynasty.

● Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed the Yuan palaces.

Importance of Yuan Dynasty

● unification of whole country - one centralized power system

● migration to center, enriching economic and social life

● natural sciences and technology- astronomy

● technical developments● promoting Chinese civilization

Thank you

references: www.history-of-china.comhttp://www.chinaknowledge.de/http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/famous-medieval-people/kublai-khan.htmwww.biography.com