Yuan dynasty: the story on HearLore

Yuan dynasty

In 1271, a man named Kublai Khan, who had spent his life on the windswept steppes of Central Asia, issued a proclamation that would fundamentally alter the trajectory of Chinese history. He did not simply conquer a new territory; he declared himself the Emperor of China, adopting the traditional Han-style title of Great Yuan. This was a radical departure from the past, as he was the first non-Han ethnic group to rule all of China proper, a feat that would remain unmatched for centuries. The name Great Yuan was derived from a clause in the Commentaries on the I Ching, describing the origin of the universe, signaling a cosmic legitimacy that Kublai sought to claim. He moved his capital from the traditional Mongol seat of Karakorum to a newly constructed city near the former Jurchen capital of Zhongdu, which he renamed Khanbaliq, or Dadu, in modern-day Beijing. This decision was not merely administrative; it was a strategic move to integrate the Mongol Empire into the narrative of Chinese political succession, thereby legitimizing his rule over a vast and diverse population. The dynasty he established would last until 1368, a period marked by both unprecedented cultural exchange and deep social stratification.

The Four-Class Hierarchy of Empire

The social fabric of the Yuan dynasty was woven with threads of inequality, creating a rigid four-class system that defined the lives of millions. At the apex sat the Mongols, referred to as Gao-chen, or citizens of the ruling empire, who held absolute power and privilege. Below them were the Semu, a diverse group of non-Mongol foreigners from the west and Central Asia, including Buddhist Uyghurs, Tanguts, Tibetans, Jews, Nestorian Christians, and Muslims. These groups were often employed as administrators, serving as a buffer between the Mongol rulers and the native Chinese population. The third class consisted of the Han, a category that included Han Chinese from Northern China, Jurchens, Khitans, and Koreans, who had surrendered to the Mongols earlier. The lowest rung was occupied by the Nan, or Southerners, who were the subjects of the former Southern Song dynasty, including ethnic Han Chinese and minority groups in southern China. This hierarchy was not based on ethnicity alone but on the date of surrender; those who resisted longer were ranked lower, regardless of their background. The Mongols and Semu were given certain advantages in the dynasty, and this would last even after the restoration of the imperial examination in the early 14th century. In general, there were very few North Chinese or Southerners reaching the highest-post in the government compared with the possibility that Persians did so in the Ilkhanate. This system created a sense of colonial rule, where the Mongols and Semu largely remained strangers to the mainstream Chinese culture, leading to a dichotomy that would eventually fuel resentment and rebellion.

Common questions

When did the Yuan dynasty begin and end?

The Yuan dynasty began in 1271 when Kublai Khan issued a proclamation declaring himself Emperor of China and ended in 1368 when the Ming dynasty forces approached Khanbaliq. Kublai Khan moved his capital to Khanbaliq, also known as Dadu, in modern-day Beijing to integrate the Mongol Empire into the narrative of Chinese political succession. The dynasty lasted for 97 years before the Mongols retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming in 1370.

Who founded the Yuan dynasty and what was his title?

Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty in 1271 and adopted the traditional Han-style title of Great Yuan. He was the first non-Han ethnic group to rule all of China proper, a feat that remained unmatched for centuries. Kublai Khan derived the name Great Yuan from a clause in the Commentaries on the I Ching to claim cosmic legitimacy for his rule.

What was the four-class system of the Yuan dynasty?

The Yuan dynasty implemented a rigid four-class system starting with the Mongols at the apex, followed by the Semu, the Han, and finally the Nan. The Mongols held absolute power and privilege, while the Semu included diverse non-Mongol foreigners from the west and Central Asia. The lowest class consisted of the Nan, or Southerners, who were subjects of the former Southern Song dynasty and were ranked lower based on the date of their surrender.

What scientific advancements occurred during the Yuan dynasty?

The Yuan dynasty saw significant advancements in mathematics, calendar making, and printing technology. The mathematician Zhu Shijie solved simultaneous equations with up to four unknowns in his book Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns written in 1303. Guo Shoujing created the Shoushi Li calendar in 1281 which was only 26 seconds off the modern Gregorian calendar's measurement, and the government established centers for printing throughout China.

Which religions were practiced during the Yuan dynasty?

Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Manichaeism were all practiced within the borders of the Yuan dynasty. Kublai Khan favored Buddhism, especially the Tibetan variants, making Tibetan Buddhism the de facto state religion. The Mongols also imported Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators, though they forbade Islamic practices like Halal butchering and circumcision.

How did the Yuan dynasty end and what happened to its remnants?

The Yuan dynasty ended in 1368 when Toghon Temür fled north to Shangdu from Khanbaliq after the approach of the Ming dynasty forces. The Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, a former Duke and commander in the army of the Red Turban Song dynasty. Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming in 1370, where the name Great Yuan was formally carried on as the Northern Yuan dynasty.

The Science of the Steppe and the Sage

Beneath the surface of political intrigue and military campaigns, the Yuan dynasty witnessed remarkable advancements in science and technology. The mathematician Zhu Shijie, who lived from 1249 to 1314, solved simultaneous equations with up to four unknowns using a rectangular array of coefficients, a method described in his book Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns, written in 1303. The opening pages of this work contain a diagram of Pascal's triangle, a testament to the sophisticated mathematical knowledge that flourished during this period. Guo Shoujing, one of the first mathematicians in China to work on spherical trigonometry, applied mathematics to the construction of calendars. His calendar, the Shoushi Li, was disseminated in 1281 as the official calendar of the Yuan dynasty, providing an accuracy of 365.2425 days of the year, which was only 26 seconds off the modern Gregorian calendar's measurement. The Mongol rulers patronized the Yuan printing industry, and Chinese printing technology was transferred to the Mongols through Kingdom of Qocho and Tibetan intermediaries. Some Yuan documents, such as Wang Zhen's Nong Shu, were printed with earthenware movable type, a technology invented in the 12th century. The publication of a Taoist text inscribed with the name of Töregene Khatun, Ögedei's wife, is one of the first printed works sponsored by the Mongols. In 1273, the Mongols created the Imperial Library Directorate, a government-sponsored printing office, and the Yuan government established centers for printing throughout China. Private printing businesses also flourished under the Yuan, and the volume of printed materials was vast. In 1312, 1,000 copies of a Buddhist text commented by Cosgi Odsir were printed just within Beijing. By 1328, annual sales of printed calendars and almanacs reached over three million in the Yuan dynasty. These advancements in science and technology were not merely academic; they were practical tools that improved the lives of the people and strengthened the empire.

The Faiths of the Empire

Religious diversity was a defining feature of the Yuan dynasty, with Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Manichaeism all practiced within its borders. Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, favored Buddhism, especially the Tibetan variants, and Tibetan Buddhism became the de facto state religion. The top-level department and government agency known as the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs was set up in Khanbaliq to supervise Buddhist monks throughout the empire. Since Kublai Khan only esteemed the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, other religions became less important. He and his successors kept a Sakya Imperial Preceptor at court. Before the end of the Yuan dynasty, 14 leaders of the Sakya sect had held the post of Imperial Preceptor, thereby enjoying special power. However, the Mongols also imported Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators in China, and the Mongols also sent Hans and Khitans from China to serve as administrators over the Muslim population in Bukhara in Central Asia. Genghis Khan and the following Yuan emperors forbade Islamic practices like Halal butchering, forcing Mongol methods of butchering animals on Muslims, and other restrictive degrees continued. Muslims had to slaughter sheep in secret. Genghis Khan directly called Muslims and Jews slaves and demanded that they follow the Mongol method of eating rather than the halal method. Circumcision was also forbidden. Jews were also affected and forbidden by the Mongols to eat Kosher. Among all the subject alien peoples only the Hui-hui say we do not eat Mongol food. By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right? He thereupon made them eat. If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime. He issued a regulation to that effect. In 1279/1280 under Qubilai all the Muslims say if someone else slaughters the animal we do not eat. Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman Huihui and Zhuhu Huihui, no matter who kills the animal will eat it and must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision. The Muslims in the Semu class revolted against the Yuan dynasty in the Ispah Rebellion, but the rebellion was crushed and the Muslims were massacred by the Yuan loyalist commander Chen Youding. Some Muslim communities had the name in Chinese meaning barracks and also meaning thanks; many Hui Muslims claim it is because that they played an important role in overthrowing the Mongols and it was named in thanks by the Han Chinese for assisting them. During the Ming conquest of Yunnan, Muslim generals Mu Ying and Lan Yu led Muslim troops loyal to the Ming dynasty against Mongol and Muslim troops loyal to the Yuan dynasty. Hindu statues were found in Quanzhou dating to the Yuan period. The Yuan dynasty was a period of religious tolerance and conflict, where the Mongols sought to balance the competing interests of their diverse subjects.

The Collapse of the Great Yuan

The final years of the Yuan dynasty were marked by struggle, famine, and bitterness among the populace. In time, Kublai Khan's successors 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 Yuan emperors were short and marked by intrigues and rivalries. Uninterested in administration, they were separated from both the army and the populace, and China was torn by dissension and unrest. Outlaws ravaged the country without interference from the weakening Yuan armies. From the late 1340s onwards, people in the countryside suffered from frequent natural disasters such as droughts, floods and the resulting famines, and the government's lack of effective policy led to a loss of popular support. In 1351, the Red Turban Rebellion led by Song loyalists started and grew into a nationwide uprising and the Song loyalists established a renewed Song dynasty in 1351 with its capital at Kaifeng. In 1354, when Toghtogha led a large army to crush the Red Turban rebels, Toghon Temür suddenly dismissed him for fear of betrayal. This resulted in Toghon Temür's restoration of power on the one hand and a rapid weakening of the central government on the other. He had no choice but to rely on local warlords' military power, and gradually lost his interest in politics and ceased to intervene in political struggles. He fled north to Shangdu from Khanbaliq in 1368 after the approach of the forces of the Ming dynasty, founded by Zhu Yuanzhang in the south. Zhu Yuanzhang was a former Duke and commander in the army of the Red Turban Song dynasty and assumed power as Emperor after the death of the Red Turban Song Emperor Han Lin'er, who had tried to regain Khanbaliq, which eventually failed, and who died in Yingchang two years later. Yingchang was seized by the Ming shortly after his death. Some Yuan royal family members still live in Henan today. The Prince of Liang, Basalawarmi established a separate pocket of resistance to the Ming in Yunnan and Guizhou, but his forces were decisively defeated by the Ming in 1381. By 1387 the remaining Yuan forces in Manchuria under Naghachu had also surrendered to the Ming dynasty. The Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming in 1370, where the name Great Yuan was formally carried on, and is known as the Northern Yuan dynasty.

The Legacy of the Mongol Empire

The Yuan dynasty left an indelible mark on the history of China and the world, shaping the cultural, economic, and political landscape of the medieval period. The dynasty was the first to be founded by a non-Han ethnicity that ruled all of China proper, and its influence extended far beyond its borders. The political unity of China and much of central Asia promoted trade between East and West, and the Mongols' extensive West Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount of cultural exchange. The other cultures and peoples in the Mongol Empire also very much 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 cuisine in East Asia. 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 during the Yuan dynasty. Western musical instruments were introduced to enrich 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. Buddhism flourished, although Taoism endured certain persecutions in favor of Buddhism from the Yuan government. 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 Yuan court, probably in the hope of maintaining order over Han society. Advances were realized in the fields of travel literature, cartography, geography, and scientific education. The Yuan dynasty was the first dynasty founded by non-Han ethnicity that ruled all of China proper, and its influence extended far beyond its borders, shaping the cultural and economic landscape of the medieval world. The dynasty chose white as its imperial color, which corresponds to the Metal element according to the theory of the Five Elements. The Metal element does not follow from the Song's dynastic element Five in the creation sequence of the five elements. Instead, it follows from the Jin dynasty's dynastic element Earth. Although the Yuan did not openly announce it, its choice of white as its imperial color suggests that it considered Jin, another conquest dynasty, rather than the Han-Chinese Song dynasty, as its rightful predecessor. The dragon clothing of Imperial China was used by the Ilkhanids, the Chinese Huangdi title was used by the Ilkhanids due to heavy clout upon the Mongols of the Chinese system of politics. Seals with Chinese characters were created by the Ilkhanids themselves besides the seals they received from the Yuan dynasty which contain references to a Chinese government organization. The Yuan dynasty was a period of great achievement and great tragedy, where the Mongols sought to balance the competing interests of their diverse subjects, and where the legacy of the empire would be felt for centuries to come.