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The
Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) The Mongols were the first of the northern
barbarians to rule all of China. After creating an empire that stretched
across the Eurasian continent and occupying northern China and Korea in
the first half of the 13th century, the Mongols continued their assault
on the Southern Sung. By 1276 the Southern Sung capital of Hang zhou had
fallen, and in 1279 the last of the Sung loyalists perished.
Before this, Kublai Khan, the fifth "great khan" and grandson
of Genghis Khan, had moved the Mongol capital from Karakorum to Peking.
In 1271 he declared himself emperor of China and named the dynasty Yuan,
meaning "beginning," to signify that this was the beginning
of a long era of Mongol rule. In Asia, Kublai Khan continued his grandfather's
dream of world conquest. Two unsuccessful naval expeditions were launched
against Japan in 1274 and 1281. Four land expeditions were sent against
Annam and five against Burma. However, the Mongol conquests overseas and
in Southeast Asia were neither spectacular nor were they long enduring.
Mongol rule in China lasted less than a century. The Mongols became the
most hated of the barbarian rulers because they did not allow the Chinese
ruling class to govern. Instead, they gave the task of governing to foreigners.
Distrusting the Chinese, the Mongol rulers placed the southern Chinese
at the lowest level of the four classes they created. The extent of this
distrust was reflected in their provincial administration. As conquerors,
they followed the Qin example and made the provincial governments into
direct extensions of the central chancellery. This practice was continued
by succeeding dynasties, resulting in a further concentration of power
in the central imperial government. The Chinese despised the Mongols for
refusing to adapt to Chinese culture. The Mongols kept their own language
and customs. The Mongol rulers were tolerant about religions, however.
Kublai Khan reportedly dabbled in many religions.
The Mongols and the West
The Mongols were regarded with mixed feelings in the West. Although Westerners
dreaded the Mongols, the Crusaders hoped to use them in their fight against
the Muslims and attempted to negotiate an alliance with them for this
purpose. Friar John of Carpini and William of Rubruck were two of the
better known Christian missionaries sent to establish these negotiations
with the Mongol ruler. The best account of the Mongols was left by a Venetian
merchant, Marco Polo, in his `Marco Polo's Travels'. It is an account
of Polo's travels over the long and perilous land route to China, his
experience as a trusted official of Kublai Khan, and his description of
China under the Mongols. Dictated in the early 14th century, the book
was translated into many languages. Although much of medieval Europe did
not believe Polo's tales, some, like Christopher Columbus, were influenced
by Polo's description of the riches of the Orient. (See Kublai Khan; Mongol
Empire; Polo, Marco) After the death of Kublai Khan in 1294, successive
weak and incompetent khans made the already hated Mongol rule intolerable.
Secret societies became increasingly active, and a movement known as the
Red Turbans spread throughout the north during the 1350s. In 1356 a rebel
leader named Chu Yuan-chang and his peasant army captured the old capital
of Nanjing. Within a decade he had won control of the economically important
middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, driving the Mongols to
the north. In 1368 he declared himself the emperor Hung-wu and established
his capital at Nanjing on the lower Yangtze. Later the same year he captured
the Yuan capital of Peking. (See Kublai Khan; Mongol Empire)
Kublai Khan (1215-94). The founder of China's Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty was
a brilliant general and statesman named Kublai Khan. He was the grandson
of the great Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan, and he was overlord of the
vast Mongol Empire. The achievements of Kublai Khan were first brought
to the attention of Western society in the writings of Marco Polo, the
Venetian traveler who lived at the Chinese court for nearly 20 years (See
Polo, Marco). Kublai Khan was born in 1215, the fourth son of Genghis
Khan's fourth son. He began to play a major role in the consolidation
of Mongol power in 1251, when his brother, the emperor Mongke, resolved
to complete the conquest of China. He therefore vested Kublai with responsibility
for keeping order in conquered territory. After Mongke's death in 1259,
Kublai had himself proclaimed khan. During the next 20 years he completed
the unification of China. He made his capital in what is now Beijing.
Kublai's major achievement was to reconcile China to rule by a foreign
people, the Mongols, who had shown little ability at governing. His failures
were a series of costly wars, including two disastrous attempts to invade
Japan; they brought little benefit to China. Although he was a magnanimous
ruler, Kublai's extravagant administration slowly impoverished China;
and in the 14th century the ineptitude of his successors provoked rebellions
that eventually destroyed the Mongol dynasty. (See Genghis Khan; Mongol
Empire)
Polo, Marco (1254-1323?). In 1298 a Venetian adventurer named Marco Polo
wrote a fascinating book about his travels in the Far East. Men read his
accounts of Oriental riches and became eager to find sea routes to China,
Japan, and the East Indies. Even Columbus, nearly 200 years later, often
consulted his copy of `The Book of Ser Marco Polo'. In Marco's day the
book was translated and copied by hand in several languages. After printing
was introduced in the 1440s, the book was circulated even more widely.
Many people thought that the book was a fable or a gross exaggeration.
A few learned men believed that Marco wrote truly, however, and they spread
Marco's stories of faraway places and unknown peoples. Today geographers
agree that Marco's book is amazingly accurate. Marco Polo was born in
the city-republic of Venice in 1254. His father and uncles were merchants
who traveled to distant lands to trade. In 1269 Marco's father,
Nicolo, and his uncle Maffeo returned to Venice after being away many
years. On a trading expedition they had traveled overland as far as Cathay
(China). Kublai Khan, the great Mongol emperor of China, asked them to
return with teachers and missionaries for his people. So they set out
again in 1271, and this time they took Marco. From Venice the Polos sailed
to Acre, in Palestine. There two monks, missionaries to China, joined
them. Fearing the hard journey ahead, however, the monks soon turned back.
The Polos crossed the deserts of Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan. They mounted
the heights of the Pamirs, the "roof of the world," descending
to the trading cities of Kashgar (Shufu) and Yarkand (Soche). They crossed
the dry stretches of The Gobi. Early in 1275 they arrived at Kublai Khan's
court at Cambaluc (Peking). At that time Marco was 21 years old. Polo
at the Court of the Great Khan
Marco quickly became a favorite of Kublai Khan. For three years he governed
busy Yangchow, a city of more than 250,000 people. He was sent on missions
to far places in the empire: to Indochina, Tibet, Yunnan, and Burma. From
these lands Marco brought back stories of the people and their lives.
The Polos became wealthy in Cathay. But they began to fear that jealous
men in the court would destroy them when the khan died. They asked to
return to Venice. Kublai Khan refused. Then came an envoy from the khan
of Persia. He asked Kublai Khan for a young Mongol princess for a bride.
The Polos said that the princess' journey should be guarded by men of
experience and rank. They added that the mission would enable them to
make the long-desired visit to Venice. The khan reluctantly agreed.
Since there was danger from robbers and enemies of the khan along the
overland trade routes, a great fleet of ships was built for a journey
by sea. In 1292 the fleet sailed, bearing the Polos, the princess, and
600 noblemen of Cathay. They traveled southward along Indochina and the
Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. Here the voyage was delayed many months.
The ships then turned westward and visited Ceylon and India. They touched
the East African coast. The voyage was hazardous, and of the 600 noblemen
only 18 lived to reach Persia. The Polos and the princess were safe. When
the Polos landed in Venice, they had been gone 24 years. The precious
stones they brought from Cathay amazed all Venice. Later Marco served
as gentleman-captain of a ship. It was captured by forces of the rival
trading city of Genoa, and he was thrown into a Genoese prison. There
he wrote his book with help from another prisoner. Marco was released
by the Genoese in 1299. He returned to Venice and engaged in trade. His
name appears in the court records of his time in many lawsuits over property
and money. He married and had three daughters. He died about 1323.
