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China Mongolian Interlude
By the mid-thirteenth century, the Mongols had subjugated north
China, Korea, and the Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia and had twice
penetrated Europe. With the resources of his vast empire, Kublai
Khan (1215-94), a grandson of Genghis Khan (1167?-1227) and the
supreme leader of all Mongol tribes, began his drive against the
Southern Song. Even before the extinction of the Song dynasty,
Kublai Khan had established the first alien dynasty to rule all
China--the Yuan (1279-1368).
Although the Mongols sought to govern China through traditional
institutions, using Chinese (Han) bureaucrats, they were not up to
the task. The Han were discriminated against socially and
politically. All important central and regional posts were
monopolized by Mongols, who also preferred employing non-Chinese
from other parts of the Mongol domain--Central Asia, the Middle
East, and even Europe--in those positions for which no Mongol could
be found. Chinese were more often employed in non-Chinese regions
of the empire.
As in other periods of alien dynastic rule of China, a rich
cultural diversity developed during the Yuan dynasty. The major
cultural achievements were the development of drama and the novel
and the increased use of the written vernacular. The Mongols'
extensive West Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount
of cultural exchange. Western musical instruments were introduced
to enrich the 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. Lamaism (Tibetan
Buddhism) flourished, although native Taoism endured Mongol
persecutions. 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 Mongols in
the hope of maintaining order over Han society. Advances were
realized in the fields of travel literature, cartography and
geography, and scientific education. Certain key Chinese
innovations, such as printing techniques, porcelain production,
playing cards, and medical literature, were introduced in Europe,
while the production of thin glass and cloisonne became popular in
China. The first records of travel by Westerners date from this
time. The most famous traveler of the period was the Venetian Marco
Polo, whose account of his trip to "Cambaluc," the Great Khan's
capital (now Beijing), and of life there astounded the people of
Europe. The Mongols undertook extensive public works. Road and
water communications were reorganized and improved. To provide
against possible famines, granaries were ordered built throughout
the empire. The city of Beijing was rebuilt with new palace grounds
that included artificial lakes, hills and mountains, and parks.
During the Yuan period, Beijing became the terminus of the Grand
Canal, which was completely renovated. These commercially oriented
improvements encouraged overland as well as maritime commerce
throughout Asia and facilitated the first direct Chinese contacts
with Europe. Chinese and Mongol travelers to the West were able to
provide assistance in such areas as hydraulic engineering, while
bringing back to the Middle Kingdom new scientific discoveries and
architectural innovations. Contacts with the West also brought the
introduction to China of a major new food crop--sorghum--along with
other foreign food products and methods of preparation.
Data as of July 1987
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