YuanDynasty
KublaiKhan By the mid-thirteenth century, the Mongols had subjugated north China,Korea, and the Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia and had twice penetratedEurope. With the resources of his vast empire, Kublai Khan ( 1215-94),a grandson of Genghis Khan ( 1167?-1227) and the supreme leader of allMongol tribes, began his drive against the Southern Song. Even before theextinction of the Song dynasty, Kublai Khan had established the first aliendynasty to rule all China--the Yuan (1279-1368).
While time of Mongol rule is called a dynasty,it was in fact a government of occupation. While the Mongols did use existinggovernmental structures for the duration, the language they used was Mongol,and many of the officials they used were non-Chinese. Mongols, Uighursfrom central Asia, some Arabs and even an Italian named Marco Polo allserved as officials for the Mongol government. One of the more significantaccomplishments of the Mongol tenure was the preservation of China as weknow it in that China wasn't turned into pastureland for the Mongolianponies which not only was common Mongolian practice for territories they'doverrun but had actually been advocated by some of the conquering generals.
The Yuan dynasty also featured the famousKhubilai Khan, who, among other things, extended the Grand Canal. Whilein many ways, the Yuan was a disaster, the reluctance of the Mongols tohire educated Chinese for governmental posts resulted in a remarkable culturalflowering; for example, Beijing Opera was invented during the Yuan. Onthe other hand, attempts to analyze the failure of the Song in keepingbarbarians out China led to the rise and dominance of Neo-Confucianism,a notoriously conservative(if not outright reactionary) brand of Confucianismthat had originally developed during the Song.
Although the Mongols sought to govern Chinathrough traditional institutions, using Chinese (Han) bureaucrats, theywere not up to the task. The Han were discriminated against socially andpolitically. All important central and regional posts were monopolizedby Mongols, who also preferred employing non-Chinese from other parts ofthe Mongol domain--Central Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe--in thosepositions for which no Mongol could be found. Chinese were more often employedin non-Chinese regions of the empire.
As in other periods of alien dynastic ruleof China, a rich cultural diversity developed during the Yuan dynasty.The major cultural achievements were the development of drama and the noveland the increased use of the written vernacular. The Mongols' extensiveWest Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount of cultural exchange.Western musical instruments were introduced to enrich the Chinese performingarts. From this period dates the conversion to Islam, by Muslims of CentralAsia, of growing numbers of Chinese in the northwest and southwest. Nestorianismand Roman Catholicism also enjoyed a period of toleration. Lamaism (TibetanBuddhism) 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 Hansociety. Advances were realized in
the fields of travel literature, cartographyand geography, and scientific education. Certain key Chinese innovations,such as printing techniques, porcelain production, playing cards, and medicalliterature, were introduced in Europe, while the production of thin glassand cloisonne became popular in China. The first records of travel by Westernersdate from this time. The most famous traveler of the period was the VenetianMarco 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 Mongolsundertook extensive public works. Road and water communications were reorganizedand improved. To provide against possible famines, granaries were orderedbuilt throughout the empire. The city of Beijing was rebuilt with new palacegrounds that included artificial lakes, hills and mountains,
and parks. During the Yuan period, Beijingbecame the terminus of the Grand Canal, which was completely renovated.These commercially oriented improvements encouraged overland as well asmaritime commerce throughout Asia and facilitated the first direct Chinesecontacts with Europe. Chinese and Mongol travelers to the West were ableto provide assistance in such areas as hydraulic engineering, while bringingback to the Middle Kingdom new scientific discoveries and architecturalinnovations. Contacts with the West also brought the introduction to Chinaof a major new food crop--sorghum--along with other foreign food productsand methods of preparation.
Mooncakes symbolize the gathering of friendsand family and are an indispensable part of the offerings made to the EarthGod. According to popular belief, the custom of eating mooncakes beganin the late Yuan dynasty. As the story goes, the Han people of that timeresented the Mongol rule of the Yuan regime and revolutionaries, led byZhu Yuanzhang, plotted to usurp the throne. Zhu needed to find a way ofuniting the people to revolt on the same day without letting the Mongolrulers learn of the plan. Zhu's close advisor, Liu Bowen, finally cameup with a brilliant idea. A rumor was spread that a plague was ravagingthe land and that only by eating a special mooncake distributed by therevolutionaries could the disaster be prevented. The mooncakes were thendistributed only to the Han people, who found, upon cutting the cakes open,the message "Revolt on the fifteenth of the eighth moon." Thus informed,the people rose together on the designated day to overthrow the Yuan, andsince that time mooncakes have become an integral part of the Mid-AutumnFestival.