Yuan Dynasty, 12601368

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Yuan Dynasty, 1260-1368

• The rise and fall of the
• Mongol Empire

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From the Unification of Mongol Tribes to the
Establishment of an Eurasian Empire

• Chinggis Khans unification of Mongol tribes in
  1206
• Tribes living on saddles, highly mobile but no
  stable structure of a state
• Temujin, the son of a chieftain, unified the
  tribes and more in 1206 to become Chiggis Khan,
  the Great King
• A law code (jasagh) in the Uighurs language
  regulated the internal relations
• nokhor the loyal followers of the Khan, form
  the elite core to provide leadership role
• An army of 130,000 cavalry with 10,000 men at its
  core started the world conquest

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Establishing Yuan Dynasty

• The death of Chinggis Khan in 1227
• The division of Mongol Empire Turkistan, Russia,
  Persia
• Back in the home basis, Ogodei continued to
  conquer Korea and North China under Jin Dynasty
  of Jurchen people who conquered the Liao state of
  Khitan people
• Khubilai Khan continued his fathers course,
  moving capital to Beijing, establishing Yuan
  Dynasty in 1271, but did not defeat Southern Song
  until 1279 he died in 1294

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The Mongol Rule in China

• Unwillingness to adopt Chinese way of life
• The divide-and-conquer ethnic policy using
  Khitan against Jurchen, Muslin against Han, etc.
• The top-down ethnic discriminatory policy
  Mongol, semuren (color-eyed people), Hanren
  (northern Chinese), Nanren (southern Chinese)
• Attempt to turn farm land into pastoral land,
  only Yelus advice on the ground of tax income
  dissuaded the Mongol ruler from carrying out this
  ruinous policy
• Muslin merchants advisers tax-farming policy
  promised higher income for the Mongols, who took
  the policy and overruled Yelus objection
• Rule by military force dividing China into
  provinces based on topography to suit the
  military logic. The provincial boundaries today
  is the legacy of the Yuan

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The Fall of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan
Dynasty (1294-1355)

• Internal conflicts
• Conflict with Khaidu, a cousin ruled Central Asia
• Succession crises 7 emperors in 40 year
• The uncertainty of governing bureaucracy civil
  service exam revived in 1313, abolished in 1335
  only 2 offices were held by degree holders
  military was more powerful than civilian
  officials
• natural disasters in the 14th century, Yellow
  River floods in particular
• The Red Turban rebellion 1352-55, leading to the
  Ming Dynasty

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Religions during the Yuan Dynasty

• Mongols search for an official religion
• Daoism as a religion
• Emphasis on immortality through hermitage,
  meditation, martial arts, herb medicine outer
  elixir v. inner elixir
• Tibetan Lamaism
• Buddhism infused with local magic
• Lama as living Buddha with theocratic power
• Reincarnation and succession
• Dalai Lama and Penchen Lama conflict within
• White Lotus Tradition
• offshoot of Tiantai and Pure Land Buddhism
• the Eternal Mother as original progenitor
• sending Maitreya Buddha (the Buddha of Future) to
  earth at the end of a "Kalpa" (a cycle of hundred
  of thousand years)
• Apocalyptic ideology ready for rebels to embrace