Yuan Dynasty: Khanate of the Mongol Empire

The Yuan dynasty was a Chinese ruling dynasty that ruled from 1271 to 1368 after the Mongol Empire was divided. It was founded by Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Borjigin clan. This dynasty came after the Song dynasty and before the Ming dynasty in Chinese history. Although in 1206, Genghis Khan (an insurgent ex-subject of the Jin Empire) was crowned with the Chinese title of Emperor. The Mongol Empire had occupied lands spanning modern-day northern China for decades. Still, it wasn't until 1271 that Kublai Khan declared the dynasty in the traditional Chinese manner, and the conquest wasn't complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was crushed in the Battle of Yamen. By this time, he had isolated himself from the other Mongol khanates and controlled most modern-day China and its environs, including modern-day Mongolia. Thus, it was the first non-Han dynasty to dominate all of China proper, lasting until the Ming dynasty overthrew the Yuan armies in 1368. The insulted Genghisid monarchs then retreated to the Mongolian Plateau, where they established the Northern Yuan dynasty. Some Yuan monarchs were fluent in Chinese, but others relied solely on their native Mongolian tongue and the 'Phags-pa script.

The Yuan dynasty was the khanate controlled by Mongke Khan's successors after the Mongol Empire was divided. The Mandate of Heaven was given to the Yuan dynasty in official Chinese history. Even though Kublai Khan founded the dynasty, he named his grandpa Genghis Khan the formal founder of the dynasty and gave him the temple name Taizu. Kublai proclaimed the name of the novel dynasty as Great Yuan and claimed the succession of prior Chinese dynasties from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Tang dynasty in the decree Proclamation of the Dynastic Name. In addition to Sovereign of China, Kublai Khan claimed the title of Great Khan, ruling over the Chagatai, Golden Horde, and Ilkhanate successor khanates. As a result, the Yuan was frequently referred to as the Great Khan's Empire. While the western khans acknowledged the Yuan emperors' claim to sovereignty at times, their subservience was only nominal, and each continued to flourish independently.

The Yuan dynasty was formed Kublai Khan in 1271 by imposing the name Great Yuan. "Dà Yuán" comes from the first hexagram Qián's phrase in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section. Dai On Ulus, also known as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus in Mongolian, was the Mongolian equivalent. Dai On Ulus was frequently combined with the "Yeke Mongghul Ulus" in Mongolian, resulting in the "Great Yuan Great Mongol State." According to current historiography, the "Yuan dynasty" refers solely to the Chinese kingdom.

On the other hand, the Chinese-style dynasty appellation "Great Yuan" refers to the entire Mongol Empire. This usage can be found in writings produced during the Yuan dynasty, including non-Chinese sources. Despite this, due to the de facto disintegrating character of the Mongol Empire, "Yuan dynasty" is rarely employed in the broad sense of the phrase by current researchers.

Westerners refer to the Yuan dynasty as the "Mongol dynasty" or "Mongol Dynasty of China," similar to how westerners refer to the Qing dynasty as the "Manchu dynasty" or "Manchu Dynasty of China." Furthermore, because Yuan monarchs held the titular title of Great Khan, the Yuan is often mentioned to as the "Kingdom of the Great Khan" or "Khanate of the Great Khan," which appears on several Yuan maps. Nonetheless, both words can refer to a khanate under the Mongol Empire that Great Khans directly ruled before Kublai Khan's 1271 creation of the Yuan dynasty.

Background

Genghis Khan became Great Khan in 1206 after uniting the Mongol tribes of the steppes. The Mongol empire was spread across Asia by him and his descendants. The Mongols defeated the weaker Jin dynasty in 1234, conquering most of northern China during Genghis' third son, Ogedei Khan. Kublai was offered a post in Xingzhou, Hebei, by Ogedei. Kublai could not read Chinese but had multiple Han teachers sent to him by his mother Sorghaghtani since he was a child. He sought advice from Buddhist and Confucian advisors in China. In 1251, Mongke Khan replaced Güyük, Ogedei's son, as Great Khan. He gave the authority of Mongol-held regions in China to his brother Kublai. Kublai established Confucian institutions, printed paper money, resurrected Chinese ceremonies, and supported measures that boosted agricultural and commercial expansion. He chose Kaiping in Inner Mongolia as his capital, which was eventually renamed Shangdu. To oppose Jin, many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols. Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala, two Han Chinese leaders, defected and took leadership of the Mongol army's three Tumens. Ogodei Khan was served by Liu Heima and Shi Tianze. For the Mongols, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led troops against Western Xia. There were four Han Tumens and three Khitan Tumens, each with 10,000 troops. Under Ogodei Khan, the three Khitan Generals Shimobeidier, Tabuyir, and Zhongxi, the son of Xiaozhaci, commanded the three Khitan Tumens. In contrast, the four Han Generals, Zhang Rou, Yan Shi, Shi Tianze, and Liu Heima, commanded the four Han Tumens.

Mongke Khan launched a military expedition in southern China against the Chinese Song dynasty. The Mongol invasion force in southern China was significantly larger than the force sent to conquer the Middle East in 1256. He died without a successor in 1259. In 1260, Kublai returned after defeating the Song to find out that his brother, Ariq Boke, was contesting his claim. Kublai held a kurultai in Kaiping, where he was elected Great Khan. Ariq Boke was declared Great Khan by a competing kurultai in Mongolia, sparking a civil war. Kublai relied on his Chinese subjects' assistance to guarantee that his army had enough resources. By basing his government on the bureaucracies of old Chinese dynasties and adopting the Chinese era name of Zhongtong, he increased his popularity among his citizens. Due to a lack of resources, Ariq Boke was forced to surrender in 1264. Only the Ilkhans fully recognised Kublai as Great Khan, and all three western khanates were effectively autonomous. The Mongol Empire had been permanently divided by civil war.

Rule of Kublai Khan

• Early Years: The early years of Kublai Khan's reign were marked by insecurity. Kaidu, Ogedei's grandson, refused to submit to Kublai and threatened Kublai's western border. In the south, the hostile but weaker Song dynasty remained a challenge. In 1259, Kublai secured the northeast boundary by making Goryeo a Mongol tributary state by putting the captive prince Wonjong as monarch. Domestic turmoil also posed a threat to Kublai. In 1262, Li Tan, the son-in-law of a senior official, led a rebellion against Mongol control. Kublai limited the authority of Han advisers in his court after successfully defeating the insurrection. He was concerned that his reliance on Chinese officials made him vulnerable to future revolts and Song defections. After 1262, Kublai's governance was a compromise between Mongol interests in China and the aspirations of his Chinese subjects. By centralising the bureaucracy, boosting the circulation of paper money, and maintaining historic monopolies on salt and iron, he implemented the changes suggested by his Chinese advisers. He rebuilt the Imperial Secretariat while maintaining the local administrative organisation of previous Chinese dynasties. On the other hand, Kublai rejected attempts to reinstate Confucian imperial examinations and split Yuan society into three, far ahead four, classes, with the Han at the bottom. Although Kublai's Chinese advisers continued to hold substantial power in the administration, their formal status remained ambiguous.
• Establishment of the dynasty in 1264, Kublai prepared to move the Mongol capital from the Karakorum in Mongolia to Khanbaliq, and in 1266, he built a new city near the former Jurchen capital Zhongdu, which is now modern Beijing. Kublai claimed the Mandate of Heaven in 1271 and declared 1272 to be the first year of the Great Yuan in the classic Chinese dynasty style. The dynasty's name comes from the I Ching, which refers to the "beginning of the cosmos" or a "primal power." Khanbaliq was named Daidu by Kublai. The era's name was changed to Zhiyuan to mark the beginning of a new era in Chinese history. Mongol authority was legitimised by adopting a dynasty name, which incorporated the administration into the conventional Chinese political succession narrative. Khublai maintained his public image as a scholar emperor by adhering to Confucian propriety and ancestor veneration practices while maintaining his roots as a steppes king. Kublai Khan encouraged economic, scientific, and cultural development. By maintaining the Mongol mail system, creating infrastructure, granting loans to fund trade caravans, and encouraging the circulation of paper currencies, he aided the Silk Road trade network, merchants. The Mongols continued to issue coins at the start of the Yuan dynasty; however, under Külüg Khan, coinage was fully replaced by paper money. The Yuan dynasty's administration did not attempt to reintroduce copper money for circulation until the reign of Toghon Temür. The Pax Mongolica, or Mongol Peace, allowed China and the West to share technologies, commodities, and culture. Kublai prolonged the Grand Canal from southern China to Daidu in the north. Kublai Khan's Mongol empire was cosmopolitan. He encouraged foreign visitors to his court, including Marco Polo, a Venetian trader who produced the most influential European account of Yuan China. Marco Polo's journeys would eventually inspire others, such as Christopher Columbus, to map a route to the Far East in search of the region's fabled riches.
• Military Conquests and Movements: Kublai adopted an expansionist policy in line with Mongol and Chinese imperialism after consolidating his administration in northern China. He launched a new offensive against the Song dynasty in the south. Between 1268 and 1273, Kublai besieged Xiangyang. The last stumbling block on his way to capturing the Yangzi River basin's wealth. In 1274, an unsuccessful naval campaign was launched against Japan. The Duan family, who ruled the Kingdom of Dali in Yunnan, became vassals of the Yuan dynasty and were allowed to preserve their thrones while militarily aiding the Yuan against the Song in southern China. During the Yuan period, the Duan family still controlled Dali with relative independence. In Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, Tusi chieftains and local tribe chiefs and kingdoms bowed to Yuan power and were allowed to preserve their titles. The Han Chinese Yang family, who ruled the Chiefdom of Bozhou during the Song and Tang dynasties, was later recognised by the Mongols under the Yuan dynasty and the Ming dynasty. The Yuan emperors recognised the Luo clan in Shuixi headed by Ahua, much as they did the Song sovereigns when controlled by Pugui and the Tang emperors when led by Apei. They were derived from King Huoji of the Shu Han dynasty, who aided Zhuge Liang in fighting against Meng Huo. The Ming dynasty recognised them as well. Following the capitulation of the Southern Song Han Chinese Emperor Gong of Song, Kublai took Hangzhou, China's wealthiest city, in 1276. Emperor Gong of Song married a Mongol princess from the Yuan dynasty's royal Borjigin line. Song loyalists evacuated the capital and enthroned Emperor Bing of Song, Emperor Gong's younger brother. At the battle of Yamen in 1279, Yuan forces led by Han Chinese General Zhang Hongfan led a mostly Han navy to victory over Song loyalists. The Song dynasty arose to an end when the last Song ruler drowned. For the very first time in three hundred years, the Song conquest brought northern and southern China together. The Yuan dynasty formed a "Han Army" out of defected Jin troops and a "Newly Submitted Army" out of defected Song forces. After 1279, Kublai's government ran into financial difficulties. Wars and construction projects had depleted the Mongol treasury. Corruption and political scandals hampered efforts to raise and collect tax revenues. Military expeditions that were mismanaged followed the budgetary concerns. In 1281, Kublai's second invasion of Japan was thwarted by an unlucky typhoon. Kublai's operations against Annam, Champa, and Java were a flop, but he defeated Burma in a Pyrrhic victory. Sickness, an inhospitable climate, and a tropical terrain unfit for the Mongols' mounted combat impeded the missions. At the Battle of Bạch Đằng, the Trần dynasty, who governed Annam, beat the Mongols (1288). The Yuan dynasty recognised Mongol authority and formed tributary connections with Annam, Burma, and Champa. Internal turmoil posed a threat to Kublai's dominion. In Tibet and the northeast, Kublai Khan put down rebellions that threatened his rule. In 1281, his favourite wife died, and his intended heir died in 1285. Kublai became despondent and withdrew from his emperorship. In 1293, he became unwell and died on 18 February 1294.

Successors after Kublai

• Temür Khan: The former reigning Duan dynasty was appointed Maharajah after the capture of Dali in 1253. Local chieftains were appointed as Tusi, imperial officials recognised by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing era administrations, primarily in Yunnan province. The Yuan dynasty's succession, on the other hand, was an intractable subject that subsequently caused considerable friction and internal strife. This was discovered after Kublai's reign. Zhenjin, Kublai's eldest son, was originally named Crown Prince, but he died before Kublai in 1285. With the help of his mother Kokejin and the minister Bayan, Zhenjin's third son succeeded to the throne and ruled as Temür Khan, or Emperor Chengzong, from 1294 until 1307. Temür Khan decided to uphold and continue most of his grandfather's efforts. He also made harmony with the western Mongol khanates and neighbouring countries like Vietnam, which acknowledged his nominal suzerainty and paid tributes for several decades. The Yuan dynasty's corruption, on the other hand, began during Temür Khan's rule.
• Külüg Khan: After Temür Khan's death, Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong, ascended to the throne. He did not carry on Kublai's work, generally rejecting his goals, unlike his predecessor. Most notably, he launched a strategy known as "New Deals," which focused on economic changes. During his brief rule (1307–1311), the government ran into financial troubles, mainly due to Külüg's poor actions. As a result, China was heavily in debt when he died, and the Yuan court was facing widespread discontent.
• Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan: Buyantu Khan (born Ayurbarwada), the fourth Yuan emperor, was a capable ruler. After Kublai's rule, he was the first Yuan emperor to aggressively embrace and accept mainstream Chinese culture, much to the chagrin of some Mongol aristocracy. Li Meng, a Confucian academic, had been his tutor. He instituted several changes, including the dissolution of the Department of State Affairs, which culminated in the execution of five of the department's highest-ranking employees. Traditional imperial examinations for potential officials were resumed in 1313, examining their knowledge of key historical writings. He also codified a lot of the legislation and published or translated many Chinese books and works.
• Yesün Temür and Gegeen Khan: From 1321 to 1323, Sovereign Gegeen Khan, Ayurbarwada's son and successor governed for only two years. With the support of his newly appointed grand chancellor Baiju, he maintained his father's plans of government reform based on Confucian values. The Da Yuan Tong Zhi, a massive collection of Yuan dynasty norms and regulations established by his father, was formally promulgated under his reign. Gegeen was slain by five princes from a competing faction, possibly the steppe aristocracy, who were hostile to Confucian reforms. They installed Yesün Temür on the throne, and after a failed attempt to appease the princess, he committed regicide. After Kublai's rule, China had generally been free of popular uprisings until Yesün Temür's reign. However, Yuan control began to crumble in areas populated by ethnic minorities. The incidence of these revolts and their suppression exacerbated the Yuan government's financial problems. As a result, the government has to boost revenue, such as selling offices and reducing spending on certain things.
• Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür: When Yesün Temür died at Shangdu in 1328, the Qipchaq leader El Temür summoned Tugh Temür to Khanbaliq. In Khanbaliq, he was crowned Emperor Wenzong, while in Shangdu, Yesün Temür's son Ragibagh risen to the power with the help of Yesün Temür's favourite servant Dawlat Shah. Tugh Temür, located in Khanbaliq, eventually defeated Ragibagh in the War of the Two Capitals, with the help of princes and officers from Northern China and other regions of the kingdom. Tugh Temür then abdicated in favour of his brother Kusala, who had Chagatai Khan Eljigidey's support, and announced Khanbaliq's intention to welcome him. Kusala, on the other hand, died abruptly only four days after a banquet with Tugh Temür. El Temür is said to have poisoned him, and Tugh Temür after that reclaimed the throne. Tugh Temür was also able to send delegations to the western Mongol khanates, such as the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, to accept the Mongol world's suzerain. However, during his final three years in power, he was primarily a puppet of the influential official El Temür. El Temür deposed pro-Kusala officials and gave authority to warlords, whose autocratic leadership signalled the dynasty's demise. Tugh Temür is better renowned for his cultural contributions than his role in the bureaucracy, which El Temür dominated.

Nevertheless, he took several steps to revere Confucianism and promote Chinese cultural values. His most substantial effort to support Chinese learning was establishing the Academy of the Pavilion of the Star of Literature, which was founded in the spring of 1329 and was intended to carry out a diversity of responsibilities connected to the transmission of Confucian high culture to the Mongolian imperial establishment. The academy was in charge of assembling and publishing many works, but its most significant achievement was the production of the Jingshi Dadian, a massive institutional compendium. Tugh Temür was a Neo-Confucian who also practised Buddhism and supported Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism.

• Toghon Temür: Toghon Temür, the last of Kublai Khan's nine successors, was beckoned back from Guangxi and thrived to the throne after the death of Tugh Temür in 1332 and the death of Rinchinbal the following year. Bayan became as powerful an official after El Temür's death as El Temür had been at the start of his long reign. Toghon Temür started to dislike Bayan's dictatorial reign as he grew older. In 1340, he formed an alliance with Bayan's nephew Toqto'a, who was at odds with Bayan and forced Bayan to flee via a coup. Toqto'a seized control of the court after Bayan was dismissed. Vibrant new energy marked his first term in office. He also showed some early signals of a new, positive trend in the federal administration. One of his greatest prominent accomplishments was completing 1345 of the long-stalled official histories of the Liao, Jin, and Song dynasties. Toqto'a, on the other hand, left his post with Toghon Temür's approval, effectively ending his first government, and he was not called back until 1349.

The Empire's Decline

The Yuan dynasty's closing years were plagued by warfare, hunger, and populist hatred. Kublai Khan's successors eventually lost all authority over other Mongol kingdoms in Asia, and the Mongols outside the Middle Kingdom considered them too Chinese. They gradually lost power in China as well. The latter Yuan emperors' reigns were brief and filled with intrigues and rivalries. They were cut off from both the army and the public because they were uninterested in administration, and China was ripped apart by discontent and rebellion. Outlaws destroyed the nation with no help from the Yuan army, which was on the verge of collapse. People in the countryside experienced numerous natural calamities like droughts, floods, and the ensuing famines from the late 1340s onwards. The government's lack of effective strategy led to a loss of popular support. The Red Turban Rebellion, commanded by Song loyalists, began in 1351 and escalated into a widespread rebellion, with Song loyalists establishing a revived Song dynasty with its capital in Kaifeng in 1351. Toghtogha was suddenly fired by Toghon Temür in 1354, as he commanded a huge army to suppress the Red Turban insurgents.

On the one hand, this resulted in Toghon Temür regaining power, while on the other, the central administration was rapidly weakened. He had minor choice but to rely on the military might of local warlords, and he progressively lost interest in politics and stopped intervening in political disputes. Following the arrival of the Mng dynasty (1368–1644), founded by Zhu Yuanzhang in the south, he fled north to Shangdu from Khanbaliq (now Beijing) in 1368. Zhu Yuanzhang was a previous Duke and commander in the Red Turban Song dynasty's army who risen to the throne after the death of Red Turban Song Emperor Han Lin'er, who had attempted but failed to reclaim Khanbaliq and died two years later in Yingchang, today's Inner Mongolia (1370). The Ming took Yingchang shortly after his death. Some associates of the royal family still reside in Henan today. In Yunnan and Guizhou, the Prince of Liang, Basalawarmi, maintained a separate pocket of resistance to the Ming, but the Ming finally destroyed his forces in 1381. Naghachu's last Yuan armies in Manchuria had likewise surrendered to the Ming dynasty by 1387. Following the Ming's capture of Yingchang in 1370, the Yuan remnants fled to Mongolia, where the name Great Yuan was formally adopted, and the Northern Yuan dynasty was born.

During the Yuan period, a vast cultural diversity emerged. The growth of play and the novel and the growing use of the written vernacular were major cultural successes. China's and much of Central Asia's political unification aided trade between the East and the West. The Mongols' widespread interactions in West Asia and Europe resulted in a significant amount of cultural interchange. China was heavily affected by the Mongol World Empire's various cultures and peoples. Until its demise, it greatly facilitated trade and commerce throughout Asia; contacts between the Yuan dynasty and its ally and vassal in Persia, the Ilkhanate, aided this development. The Yuan government was heavily affected by Buddhism, and Tibetan-rite Tantric Buddhism had a huge influence on China during this time. East Asia was brought to Middle Eastern cartography, astronomy, medicine, dress, and cuisine by the Muslims of the Yuan dynasty. During the Yuan dynasty, eastern crops including carrots, turnips, new varieties of lemons, eggplants, melons, high-quality granulated sugar, and cotton were introduced or effectively popularised. The introduction of Western musical instruments enriched Chinese performing arts. Growing numbers of Chinese in the northwestern and south-western were converted to Islam by Muslims from Central Asia during this period. Nestorianism and Roman Catholicism were also tolerated for a while. Although The Yuan administration persecuted Taoism in favour of Buddhism, Buddhism grew. The Yuan dynasty revived Confucian governmental methods and examinations based on the Classics, which had fallen out of favour in north China during the time of division, most likely in the hopes of keeping order over Han society. Significant progress was made in the domains of travel literature, mapping, geography, and scientific education.

Purified saltpetre, printing processes, porcelain, playing cards, and medical literature were among the Chinese technologies and items transferred to Europe and Western Asia. At the same time, thin glass and cloisonné manufacture became popular in China. The Yuan greatly influenced the Chinese Ming dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor, loved the Mongols' unification of China and copied their garrison system. Aside from the ancient Roman ambassadors, Europeans first began to travel to China and back. The famous traveller was the Venetian Marco Polo, whose account of his journey to the Great Khan's capital and life there surprised Europeans. Around the year 1299, the narrative of his journeys, Il milione or The Million, became known in English as Marco Polo's Travels. Some questioned Marco Polo's accuracy because he failed to describe the Great Wall of China, tea houses, which would have been a common sight as Europeans had not yet adopted a tea culture. The practice of female foot-binding in the Great Khan's capital.

On the other hand, recent research has revealed that Polo's narrative is mostly correct and unique. The Yuan invested much in public works. The stargazer Guo Shoujing, who was tasked with several public works plans and aided the Yuan restructuring the lunisolar calendar to provide an accuracy of 365 days of the year, which was solitary 26 seconds off the modern Gregorian calendar's measurement, was one of Kublai Khan's top engineers and scientists. Communications via road and water have been upgraded. To prepare for probable famines, granaries were ordered to be created all around the empire. New palace grounds, including artificial lakes, hills and mountains, and parks, were erected in Beijing. Beijing became the terminal of China's Grand Canal, which was entirely restored during the Yuan period. These economically focused advances permitted direct Chinese contacts with Europe and boosted overland and marine commerce throughout Asia. Chinese visitors to the West were able to aid in fields like hydraulic engineering. Contacts with the West also resulted in the introduction of a significant food crop, sorghum, and other foreign food products and preparation methods to China.

The Yuan dynasty was the first non-Han dynasty to rule over the entire country of China. It is usually considered to be the continuation of the Mongol Empire in Mongolian historiography. According to traditional Mongolian ideology, Mongols are known for worshiping the Eternal Heaven, and the Yuan is considered the beginning of an infinite number of beings, the foundation of peace and happiness, state power, and the dream of many peoples. Apart from it, there is nothing great or precious. The Yuan dynasty, is typically considered the legitimate dynasty between the Song and the Ming dynasties in traditional Chinese historiography. However, before Kublai Khan's formal foundation of the Yuan in 1271, the Yuan dynasty was commonly expanded to include the Mongol Empire, partially because Kublai publicly honoured former monarchs of the Mongol Empire as Yuan emperors by giving posthumous honours and temple names. Despite traditional historiography and official viewpoints, some Chinese citizens regard the Yuan dynasty as a time of foreign dominance rather than a real Chinese kingdom. The latter say Hans were treated as second-class citizens and that China's economy and technological progress have slowed. According to the Five Elements theory, the dynasty picked white as its imperial hue, which corresponds to the Metal element. In the formation sequence of the five elements, the Metal element does not follow the Song's dynastic element, Five. Instead, it stems from the dynastic element Earth of the Jin Dynasty. Although the Yuan did not explicitly state it, the Yuan's choice of white as its imperial colour shows Jin, another conquering dynasty, as its true predecessor rather than the Han-Chinese Song dynasty. The Ilkhanids wore Imperial Chinese dragon robes, and the Ilkhanids utilised the Chinese Huangdi title due to their political dominance over the Mongols in China. Apart from the seals they got from the Yuan dynasty, which contain references to a Chinese government organisation, the Ilkhanids constructed their seals with Chinese characters.

Throughout the sovereignty of Kublai Khan (1260–1294), the Yuan government began to take shape. While significant modifications occurred, such as the functions of some institutions, the core components of the government bureaucracy remained unchanged from the start of the dynasty until its end in 1368. Kublai Khan's bureaucracy mirrored the empire's diverse cultures, including Hans, Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols, and Tibetan Buddhists. While the official name of the institutions may suggest that the government structure was almost entirely based on native Chinese dynasties, the Yuan bureaucracy was a blend of elements from other cultures. The Tang, Song, Khitan Liao, and Jurchen Jin dynasties provided the bulk of the Chinese-style components in the administration. Chinese advisers influenced Kublai's early court like Liu Bingzhong and Yao Shu, and the central government administration was created within the first decade of Kublai's rule. This government adopted the typical Chinese three-tiered authority structure, with the Central Secretariat in charge of civil affairs, the Privy Council in charge of military matters, and the Censorate in charge of internal surveillance and inspection.

Due to the Mongols' historical dependence on military institutions and offices as the backbone of governance, the responsibilities of both central and local government institutions displayed a significant overlap between civil and military authorities. Nonetheless, such a civilian bureaucracy existed, with the Central Secretariat as the highest-ranking organisation in charge of most government agencies. Another central government organisation, the Department of State Affairs, was founded at various times, for example, throughout the supremacy of Külüg Khan, but was typically abandoned long later. While the presence of these fundamental government departments and the Six Ministries, which had been introduced since the Sui and Tang dynasties, gave the Yuan administration a Sinicized image, the actual functions of these ministries reflected how Mongolian priorities and policies reshaped and redirected those institutions. The Yuan legal system's Ministry of Justice, for example, had no power over legal proceedings involving Mongols and Semuren, who had their courts of justice. Instead, a composite board of Chinese and Mongols decided on cases involving more than one ethnic group member. Another example was the Ministry of War's insignificance compared to native Chinese dynasties, as the Privy Council held the real military authority in Yuan times. Within the Yuan Empire, kings ruled the Kingdom of Qocho, Kingdom of Dali, Chiefdom of Bozhou, other Tusi kingdoms, and Goryeo.

Math

During the Yuan dynasty, mathematicians achieved significant advances in polynomial algebra. Zhu Shijie (1249–1314) used a rectangular array of coefficients equivalent to current matrices to solve simultaneous equations with up to four unknowns. Zhu employed an elimination procedure to simplify the simultaneous equations to a single equation with only one unknown. A diagram of Pascal's triangle can be found on the first few pages. The book also covers the summation of a finite arithmetic series. Calendars were created using mathematics by Guo Shoujing. He was one of the earliest Chinese mathematicians to study spherical trigonometry. For his astronomical computations, Gou devised a cubic interpolation formula. In 1281, it was adopted as the Yuan dynasty's official calendar. The effort of Song dynasty stargazer Shen Kuo and the work of Arab astronomers may have had a significant influence on the calendar. Although the Shoushi calendar shows no apparent traces of Muslim influence, Mongol monarchs were interested in Muslim calendars. The Mongols brought Middle Eastern mathematical expertise to China, and Muslim astronomers delivered Arabic numerals to China in the 13th century.

Medicine

The Yuan court's physicians came from a variety of backgrounds. Non-Mongol physicians, known as otachi and traditional Mongol shamans, were the two types of healers. The use of herbal treatments by otachi doctors was differentiated from the spiritual cures of Mongol shamanism by the Mongols. Physicians were given unique legal privileges and formal assistance from the Yuan administration. Kublai established the Imperial Academy of Medicine to oversee medical treatises and new doctor education. Medical ethics were compatible with Confucian principles, and Confucian scholars were drawn to it because it guaranteed a good wage.

The Yuan dynasty acquired the "Four Great Schools" of Chinese medical heritage from the Jin dynasty. Although all four schools shared the same intellectual background, they pushed for various theoretical approaches to medicine. The practise of Chinese medicine extended throughout the empire during the Mongols. As the Mongols moved westward, they carried Chinese physicians with them on military missions. Acupuncture, moxibustion, pulse diagnostics, and various herbal medications and elixirs were all exported from China to the Middle East and the remainder of the empire. During the Yuan dynasty, several medical breakthroughs were produced. Wei Yilin (1277–1347), a physician, developed a suspension method for reducing dislocated joints, which he used anaesthetics to do. Hu Sihui, a Mongol physician, wrote a medical book in 1330 that stressed the significance of a good diet. Western medicine was also used by the Nestorian Christians of the Yuan court in China, referred to as Huihui or Muslim medicine. During the reign of Kublai Khan, the Nestorian physician Jesus the Interpreter established the Office of Western Medicine in 1263. The majestic family and associates of the court were treated by Huihui doctors stationed at two imperial hospitals. Chinese physicians disliked Western medicine because its humoral theory violated traditional Chinese medicine's yin-yang and wuxing concept. Although no Chinese translations of Western medical books are known, Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine may have been available to the Chinese.

Printing and Publishing

The Yuan printing industry was favoured by the Mongol monarchs. Through the Kingdom of Qocho and Tibetan intermediaries, Chinese printing technology was passed on to the Mongols. Earthenware moveable type, a technology established in the 12th century, was used to print several Yuan publications, such as Wang Zhen's Nong Shu. However, traditional block printing techniques were still used to generate the majority of published works. One of the first printed works supported by the Mongols is a Taoist treatise engraved with the tag of Toregene Khatun, Ogedei's wife. The Regal Library Directorate, a government-sponsored printing office, was established by the Mongols in 1273. The Yuan administration constructed printing centres all around China. Local schools and government entities were given funds to help in book publishing. Under the Yuan, private printing enterprises grew as well. They printed educational, literary, medical, religious, and historical texts and educational, literary, medical, religious, and historical texts. The number of printed documents was enormous. Just within Beijing, 1,000 copies of a Buddhist scripture annotated by Cosgi Odsir were produced in 1312. Annual sales of printed calendars and almanacks in the Yuan dynasty reached over three million by 1328.

The Jiaochao, or Yuan paper money, was one of the most important uses of printing technology. Mulberry tree bark was used to make Jiaochao. The Yuan government initially printed paper money with woodblocks, but in 1275 converted to metal plates. In Mongol-controlled provinces outside of China, the Mongols experimented with developing a Chinese-style paper monetary system. Bolad, a Yuan minister, was dispatched to Iran, where he briefed the Il-khanate court at Gaykhatu on Yuan paper money. In 1294, the Il-khanate administration printed paper money, but the experiment was failed due to public scepticism of the exotic new currency.

Nevertheless, the Yuan printing method drew the attention of foreign observers. Marco Polo recorded the production of paper money and almanack pamphlets known as tacuini in the Yuan Empire. Rashid-al-Din, the vizier, regarded printing as a significant technological advance and voiced sadness that the Mongol experiment with printing paper money had failed throughout the Muslim world. However, other Middle Eastern chroniclers disagreed with Rashid-al-assessment Din's of the experiment's disruptive influence on the Il-khanate.

Ceramics

The period of expansion in Chinese ceramics was marked by numerous inventions, such as Jingdezhen china of underglaze painted blue and white pots. This appears to have started in the early 14th century and was mature and well-established by the end of the dynasty. Other major products continued to develop without a noticeable pause, but there was a general trend toward larger items with more embellishment. This is frequently interpreted as a fall in Song sophistication. Exports increased significantly, particularly to the Islamic world.

Majestic Lifestyle

The 'Phags-pa script, a unified script for spelling Mongolian, Tibetan, and Chinese languages, was retained at the court until the end of the dynasty, invented in 1269. Although most Emperors were unable to read Chinese, they were able to talk fluently in the language. Till the sovereignty of Tugh Temur, whose mother was a Tangut concubine, the Mongol custom of long-standing quda/marriage alliances with Mongol clans, the Onggirat, and the Ikeres maintained the imperial blood completely Mongol. Even though the Mongol Emperors built enormous palaces and pavilions, some people remained to live as nomads. Tugh Temür was an case of a Yuan sovereign who actively supported cultural pursuits in his imperial and personal capacities, such as writing poetry, painting, reading Chinese classical classics, and ordering book compilations. The average Yuan dynasty Mongol garrison family appears to have lived a life of declining rural luxury, with money from their Chinese tenants' crops eaten away by the costs of equipping and transporting troops for their tours of service. The Mongols practised debt slavery, and by 1290, commoners across the Mongol Empire were selling their children into slavery. Kublai outlawed the sale of Mongols abroad in 1291, seeing this as a threat to the Mongol people. Kublai wanted to persuade the Chinese that he was becoming more sinicised while keeping his Mongolian credentials among his people. He established a civilian government to rule, constructed a capital within China, backed Chinese religions and culture, and designed appropriate economic and political structures for the court. At the same time, he never overlooked his Mongolian roots.

Culture

Various significant advancements in the arts happened or persisted throughout the Yuan dynasty, including painting, mathematics, calligraphy, poetry, and theatre, with many great artists and writers becoming famous today. Many of the artists who practised painting, poetry, and calligraphy at this time were the same people, albeit some were more famous for one aspect of their work than others. The Song and the Yuan dynasty are frequently linked in landscape painting development and the classical connection together of the arts of painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Many great painters worked in Chinese painting throughout the Yuan dynasty. Many of the renowned calligraphers of the Yuan dynasty era worked in the field of calligraphy. The main development in Yuan poetry was the qu, which was used by most of the prominent Yuan poets, among other literary forms. During this period, many poets were also involved in key developments in theatre, and vice versa, with those prominent in theatre becoming famous due to the growth of the sanqu kind of qu. One of the greatest important elements in the zaju variety show's mix was classical and modern qu poetry. During the Yuan dynasty, one of the most significant cultural developments was the unification of poetry, painting, and calligraphy into a single work of the type that most people think of when they think of classical Chinese art. Another significant feature of Yuan times is the increasing infusion of modern, vernacular Chinese into both the qu and zaju forms of poetry. Additional vital issue to consider when it comes to Yuan period arts and culture is that so much of it has endured in China, as opposed to Tang and Song dynasty works, which have typically been better preserved in countries like Japan's Shsin.

Religion

During the Yuan era, many religions were practised, including Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Manichaeism. The Yuan dynasty brought significant growth in the number of Muslims in China. The Yuan dynasty, unlike the western khanates, never converted to Islam. Instead, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan, supported Buddhism, particularly Tibetan varieties. Tibetan Buddhism became the de facto state religion as a result of this. The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, a top-level department and government institution, was established in Khanbaliq to oversee Buddhist monks throughout the empire. Other religions became less relevant as Kublai Khan primarily valued the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. At court, he and his successors had a Sakya Imperial Preceptor. 14 Sakya sect leaders held the position of Imperial Preceptor before the Yuan dynasty ended, giving them great power. In addition, Mongol support of Buddhism resulted in several Buddhist art monuments. After 1300, large-scale Mongolian Buddhist translations, almost all from Tibetan originals, began. Many upper-class Mongols, including the Jalayir and Oronar nobility and the emperors, supported Confucian scholars and organisations. As a result, a large number of Confucian and Chinese historical texts have been translated into Mongolian. At the same time that the Mongols recruited Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators in China, they also dispatched Hans and Khitans from China to administer the Muslim community in Bukhara, Central Asia, limiting the locals' influence.

Genghis Khan and subsequent Yuan emperors prohibited Islamic customs such as Halal butchering, imposed Mongol techniques of butchering animals on Muslims, and imposed other restrictions. For example, sheep had to be slaughtered in secret by Muslims. In addition, Muslims and Jews were referred to as "slaves" by Genghis Khan, who required that they eat according to the Mongol manner rather than the halal approach. Circumcision was outlawed as well. The Mongols also had an impact on Jews, who were forbidden to eat Kosher.

The Ispah Insurrection saw Muslims from the semu class fight against the Yuan dynasty, but the rebellion was quashed and the Muslims slaughtered by Yuan loyalist general Chen Youding. Many Hui Muslims argue that the name means "barracks" and "thanks" in Chinese and that it was given to them thanks to Hans for supporting them in overthrowing the Mongols. Muslim generals Lan Yu led and Mu Ying Muslim militaries faithful to the Ming dynasty against Mongol and Muslim armies loyal to the Yuan dynasty during the Ming conquest of Yunnan. Hindu statues from the Yuan period have been discovered in Quanzhou.

Social Classes

In terms of politics, Kublai Khan's regime resulted from a compromise between Mongolian patrimonial feudalism and traditional Chinese autocratic-bureaucratic rule. Nonetheless, the educated Chinese elite was not awarded the social respect they traditionally received under native Chinese monarchs. The Mongols and the Semu people were essentially outsiders to mainstream Chinese society. This contradiction gave the Yuan administration a relatively strong "colonial" hue, despite the fact that the traditional Chinese aristocracy was not given its share of authority. Fear of handing power to ethnic Chinese under their authority may explain the discriminatory treatment. In the dynasty, the Mongols and Semuren were given particular privileges, which lasted even after the reintroduction of the imperial examination in the early 14th century.

In comparison to the likelihood of Persians reaching the highest levels of governance in the Ilkhanate, there were very uncommon North Chinese or Southerners reaching the top levels of government. Later, during the Ming dynasty, the Yongle Emperor emphasised discrimination throughout the Yuan era. During the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols practised discrimination, employing only Mongols and Tartars while dismissing northern and southern Chinese, which was precisely the root of their downfall. The Mongols had employed foreigners long before Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan empire. However, during Kublai's rule, China established a reliability hierarchy. The people were classified into the following categories:

• Mongols: The captured Southern Song populace dubbed the Mongols "Gao-Chen," which means "citizens of the reigning empire."
• Semu: Containing non-Mongol foreigners from the West and Central Asia, like Buddhist Uyghurs from Tanguts, Turfan, Tibetans, Nestorian Christians, Jews, and Muslims from Central Asia
• Han: Hans, Khitans, Jurchens in northern China, and other peoples such as Koreans are all subjects of the old Jin dynasty.
• Southerners: During the Yuan dynasty, southerners or all subjects of the old Southern Song dynasty, including Hans and minority local ethnic groups in southern China, were referred to as "Manzi."

Immigrants or local ethnic groups served as partner merchants and non-Mongol overseers. Uighur Turkestani and Persian Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians coexisted in China. Foreigners from outside the Mongol Empire, like the Polo family, were welcomed everywhere. At the same time as the Mongols recruited Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators in China, they simultaneously dispatched Hans and Khitans from China to administer the Muslim population in Bukhara, Central Asia, limiting the influence of the local peoples in both countries. The Mongols relocated Hans to Central Asian locales such as Besh Baliq, Almaliq, and Samarqand, where they worked as artisans and farmers. The Mongols enlisted alans in a unit known as the "Right Alan Guard," which was made up of recently surrendered soldiers, Mongols, and Chinese soldiers stationed in the former Kingdom of Qocho's territory. In Besh Balikh, the Mongols formed a Chinese armed colony commanded by Chinese general Qi Kongzhi. Following Genghis Khan's Mongol conquest of Central Asia, foreigners were chosen as administrators. Muslims were required to co-manage gardens and fields in Samarqand with Chinese and Qara-Khitays, as Muslims could not manage without them. The Governor of Samarqand selected by the Yuan was a Khitan from the Qara Khitai, who carried the title Taishi and was well-versed in Chinese culture. His name was Ahai. The Yuan dynasty dispatched Han officials and colonists to Lingbei province's Henning Circuit, Yilan Prefecture, and Qian Prefecture.

Despite their exalted status, the Yuan emperors' laws discriminated against Muslims, prohibiting Halal slaughter and other Islamic rites such as circumcision and Kosher butchering for Jews, forcing them to eat food prepared in the Mongol manner. Corruption and persecution were so terrible that Muslim generals joined Hans in revolting against the Mongols. Muslim generals like Lan Yu, who served under Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang, rebelled against the Mongols and beat them in battle. A Chinese surname that meant "barracks" and may also mean "thanks" was used by some Muslim groups. Many Hui Muslims believe this is because they played a key part in ousting the Mongols, and the Hans rewarded them for their assistance. The Hui Muslim Feng Sheng served in the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's forces during the Mongol war. In the Ispah Insurrection, Muslims from the semu class rose against the Yuan dynasty, but the rebellion was quashed and the Muslims killed by Yuan loyalist general Chen Youding. Towards the end of the Yuan dynasty, the Yuan dynasty began passing anti-Muslim and anti-Semu laws and removing Semu Muslim privileges, such as forcing them to follow Confucian principles in marriage regulations in 1340, revoking tax exemptions for all foreign holy men, including Muslims, in 1329, and abolishing the position of Muslim Qadi in 1328 after its powers were limited in 1311. Muslims began rising against Mongol Yuan rule and forming rebel organisations in the middle of the 14th century due to this. In Quanzhou and southern Fujian, the Yisibaxi Muslim Persian garrison began a mutiny against the Yuan dynasty in 1357–1367. The insurrection was led by Persian merchants Amin ud-Din and Saif ud-Din Saifuding. In 1362, Yawuna, a Persian official, killed Amin ud-Din and Saif ud-Din and gained control of the Muslim insurgent troops. The rebels attempted a northward push and took control of parts of Xinghua but were repelled twice at Fuzhou and failed to take the city. Later a Muslim dissenting officer named Jin Ji absconded from Yawuna, Yuan provincial loyalist forces from Fuzhou crushed the Muslim rebels in 1367.

Muslim merchants in Quanzhou engaged in marine trade benefitted their families, which included both political and commercial interests. Historians believe that the violent Chinese retaliation against Muslim and Semu wealth at the end of the Yuan dynasty was unavoidable because the Yuan dynasty had previously issued anti-Muslim and anti-Semu laws. For example, all marriages were required to follow Confucian principles in 1340. In addition, all foreign holy men and clergy, including Muslims, were no longer exempt from tax in 1329, and the Qadi was eliminated in 1328 after being limited in 1311. As a result of this, Muslims developed anti-Mongol attitudes, and Muslims joined anti-Mongol rebels in the mid-14th century. Amid ud-Din (Amiliding) and Saif ud-Din, two Persian military officials, took control of Quanzhou in 1357 when they revolted against the Mongols in southern Fujian and Quanzhou from 1357 to 1367, heading the Persian garrison. For five years, they fought for Fuzhou and Xinghua. After another Muslim named Nawuna assassinated both Saifuding and Amiliding in 1362, he took control of Quanzhou and the Ispah fortress for another five years until the Yuan defeated him.

The date people surrendered to the Mongols was the basis for the sequence of the classes and why they were placed in a given class; it had nothing to do with their race. The higher they were ranked, the sooner they succumbed to the Mongols; the longer they held out, the lower they were ranked. Thus, northern Chinese were ranked higher, while Southern Chinese were lower because Southern China battled to the bitter end before surrendering. Throughout this period, there was many trade, which created advantageous conditions for private southern Chinese manufacturers and merchants. When the Korean King complained to the Mongols, placing the Uighurs of the Kingdom of Qocho above the Koreans at the court, the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan chastised the Korean King, claiming that the Uighur King of Qocho was graded higher than the Karluk Kara-Khanid king.

Nobleness

Many Tusi chiefdoms and kingdoms in southwestern China that existed before the Mongol invasions, like the Kingdom of Dali, were allowed to remain independent as vassals of the Yuan dynasty after submitting. For example, the Han Chinese Yang family rules the Chiefdom of Bozhou, which is centred on the fortress Hailongtun and the Chiefdoms of Lijiang, Shuidong, Sizhou Yao'an, Yongning, and Mu'ege. Korea, like the Kingdom of Qocho, was ruled by the Mongols. Since the previous dynasties, the Han Chinese aristocrats Duke Yansheng and Celestial Masters retained their titles in the Yuan dynasty.

The Yuan dynasty's territory was divided into the Central Region, which was managed by the Central Secretariat, and locations under the jurisdiction of other provinces or Branch Secretariats and the Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs Region. The Central Region, which included modern-day Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, the south-eastern part of modern-day Inner Mongolia, and the Henan areas north of the Yellow River, was considered the dynasty's most important region and was governed directly by the Central Secretariat (or Zhongshu Sheng) at Khanbaliq (modern Beijing). Similarly, the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, a top-level administrative department, ruled over all of modern-day Tibet and parts of Sichuan, Qinghai, and Kashmir. Branch Secretariats, or simply provinces, were administrative entities or institutions at the provincial level. However, they were not provinces in the contemporary sense. The Yuan dynasty had 11 "regular" provinces, whose administrations were subservient to the Central Secretariat. The circuit was the most powerful political division below the level of provinces, followed by lù, f, and zhu. Three types of divisions are similar to prefectures. The county was the lowest political division. In general, lù is greater than f, and f is greater than zhu. However, their true relationship could be extremely convoluted. County administration could be done by lù, f, or zhu. Some f and zhu are managed directly by the province, while others are within a lù. A lù is normally in charge of numerous counties and several f and zhu, while the f and zhu themselves may be in charge of their counties. As a result, determining the number of tiers of divisions within a province is impossible. The Ming and Qing dynasties later inherited and changed this government organisation at the provincial level.