The Yuan Dynasty actually ruled China for a century and a half. It was Mongolian in its ethnic composition, which greatly affected the traditional Chinese governance structure and the socio-political structure of the country. The time of her reign is usually considered as a period of stagnation of the empire, since the foreign invasion had an extremely negative impact on its internal development.
Mongols
For several centuries, China has been in constant contact with its steppe neighbors, who, on the one hand, borrowed the achievements of their highly developed neighbor, and on the other hand, exerted strong pressure on it. Foreign dynasties were quite common in the history of the country. One of the steppe peoples who roamed the Chinese borders was the Mongolian. At first, the Mongols were part of the Siberian Tatars, and although they stood out linguistically and ethnically, nevertheless, they did not finally form racially until the 12th century.
Military organization
The situation changed at the beginning of the next century, when Genghis Khan was proclaimed the common ruler of this people at the All-Mongol kurultai. He created a well-organized, trained army, which, in fact, wasbackbone of the military-political structure. Rigid centralization and iron discipline allowed this relatively small ethnic group to win a number of major victories in the Asian region and create their own state.
China in the XII-XIII centuries
The Yuan Dynasty began its reign in rather difficult conditions. The fact is that the country was actually divided into two parts. This happened as a result of the conquests of the warlike tribe of the Jurchens, who captured its northern part. In the south, the Sung Empire existed, which continued to function according to traditional Chinese norms and traditions. In fact, this part of the state became a cultural center, where Confucianism still dominated, the usual administrative system based on the old system of examinations for hiring officials.
In the north, there was the Jin Empire, whose rulers could not completely subdue the southern regions. They got only tribute from them in the form of silver and silk. But, despite this rather difficult treaty for South Sung China, the economy, culture, and administrative system continued to develop in these territories. The famous traveler M. Polo visited southern China, which made a great impression on him with his art, we alth, and efficient economy. Thus, the founding of the Jin Dynasty did not lead to the ruin of the country, which managed to preserve its cultural values and traditions.
Conquests
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongols begantheir hikes. L. Gumilyov considered their rapid movement as one of the most striking manifestations of passion among peoples. This warlike tribe conquered the Central Asian region, defeated the state of Khorezm Shahs, then moved into the Russian lands and defeated the coalition of specific princes. After that, they took over the Chinese state. The grandson of Genghis Khan acted both by military and diplomatic means: thus, he sought to enlist the support of the Sung nobility. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the south of the state resisted for quite a long time, for forty years. Its emperors held back the onslaught of the invaders to the last, so that only by 1289 did all of China come under their rule.
First decades of dominance
The new Yuan Dynasty began brutally cracking down on resistance at first. Mass executions and murders began, many residents were enslaved. After some time, it was decided to exterminate representatives of the most ancient Chinese clans and families. The population was saved from complete annihilation by the fact that the new rulers took into account that it was more profitable to keep the bulk of the taxpayers in the treasury. In addition, the invaders needed quality personnel to manage this large country. One of the Khitan advisers advised the new ruler to preserve the local capacity for government. The Yuan dynasty existed for about a century and a half, and the first decades of its reign were marked by an economic crisis in the country: cities, trade, agriculture fell into decay.farming, as well as the much-important irrigation system. A significant part of the population was either destroyed, or enslaved, or was in an inferior, humiliated position. Nevertheless, after two or three decades, the country began to gradually recover from the blow that befell it.
First Emperor
The founder of the new dynasty was Kublai Khan. Having conquered the country, he carried out a series of transformations in order to somehow adapt to the management of his empire. He divided the country into twelve provinces and attracted many representatives of other ethnic groups and religions to govern. So, at his court, a rather high position was occupied by the Venetian merchant and traveler Marco Polo, thanks to whom contacts were established between the state and Europeans. In addition, he attracted not only Christians, but also Muslims and Buddhists to his entourage. Kublai Khan patronized representatives of the latter religion, which quickly spread throughout the country. In addition to public affairs, he was engaged in literature, for example, it is known that he wrote poetry, of which, however, only one has survived.
Cultural Gap
The first emperor also took care to introduce the Mongolian language into official business. By his order, one Buddhist monk began to compile a special alphabet, which formed the basis of the so-called square letter, which became part of the state-administrative use. This measure can be explained by the fact that the representatives of the new dynastyfound themselves in a rather difficult position due to the cultural barrier between them and the indigenous population. The well-established socio-political system of the empire, which had functioned for centuries, based on traditional Confucianism, turned out to be completely alien in spirit to the invaders. They have never been able to bridge this gap, although they have taken some steps to do so. However, their main efforts, especially during the first period of their reign, were aimed at placing the Chinese in a dependent position. First, the Mongolian language acquired the status of the state language, then the traditional examination system, which ensured effective management, was abolished. All these measures had an extremely negative impact on the internal political climate of the empire.
Governance issues
Khubilai, the grandson of Genghis Khan, expanded the borders of the state, adding to it a number of neighboring regions. However, his campaigns in Japanese and Vietnamese lands ended in failure. Already in the first years of his reign, he took a number of measures in order to streamline the administration of the country. Nevertheless, during the years of Mongol domination, the Chinese administration was in a rather difficult and difficult situation due to the fact that Confucian intellectuals were removed from business: all the most important state and military posts were occupied by representatives of the new nobility, who could not adapt to cultural norms. and traditions of the conquered people. This led to the fact that, in fact, under the direct authority of the Mongols were the area of the capital and the northeastern regions, while in other areas it was necessary to rely on local authorities, whose powers, however, were limited to metropolitan officials sent from the center.
Population division
The Yuan Dynasty in China was not the first foreign power in this country. However, if others managed to adapt to the traditions of this country, learn the language, culture, and in the end completely merge with the local population, then the Mongols did not manage to do this. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they (especially at first) oppressed the Chinese in every possible way, not allowing them to the administration. In addition, they officially divided the population into four groups according to religious and ethnic principles. The main, privileged layer were the Mongols, as well as foreign representatives who were part of their army. The bulk of the population remained deprived of full rights, and the inhabitants of the south were generally reduced to the lowest degree. All this had an extremely deplorable effect on the administration, which lost its best personnel. In addition, representatives of the Mongol dynasty in every possible way separated the southerners and northerners, between whom there were already significant differences. The state also abolished the examination system, forbade the Chinese to study martial arts, learn foreign languages.
Convergence
The Mongolian period in Chinese history could not be based solely on violence. This was understood by the emperors of the new dynasty, who after some time began to pursue a policy of rapprochement with the Chinese population. The first important step in this direction was the restoration of the systemexaminations for the recruitment of officials for service. In addition, public recruiting schools began to appear in the late 13th century. The academies were restored, where books were kept and where South Sung scholars worked. It should be noted that the restoration of the institution of examinations met with rather fierce resistance among the Mongol nobility, who wanted to maintain a leading position in all areas of social and political life. Nevertheless, Chinese culture had a great influence on Mongolian historical writing. Statesmen and nobility began to compile their own chronicles, which later formed the basis of the Yuan-shih.
Historiography
This historical compilation was compiled at the beginning of the next Ming Dynasty in the 14th century. It took quite a long time to write it, about forty years. The latter circumstance is explained by the fact that at first it was compiled in a hurry, but the new emperor did not like it, so it had to be redone. Nevertheless, despite reservations, repetitions and editorial errors, this source is a unique monument to the history of the Yuan Dynasty. It is especially valuable because it includes many original documents, written monuments, decrees and orders of the rulers. For some manuscripts, the compilers even traveled to Mongolia. In addition, they attracted local chronicles of genera, families, gravestone inscriptions and writings of writers. Thus, "Yuan-shih" is one of the most interesting monuments of the era under study.
Crisis
The fall of the dynasty is due to the fact that the rulersempires were never able to adopt Chinese culture and adapt to the traditional methods of governing the country. Due to the absence of Confucian intellectuals in the field, the affairs of the provinces were neglected. The last emperor, Toghon Temur, did not take an active part in governance. Under him, all power actually ended up in the hands of his chancellors. The situation worsened also due to the fact that conflicts among the Mongol nobility escalated. The bursting of the dam on the Yellow River served as a direct impetus for the outburst of popular indignation. The river burst its banks and flooded the fields, claiming tens of thousands of lives.
Fall of Mongol rule
Under these conditions, the bulk of the peasant population rose to fight the invaders. Secret societies became more active, which actually led the movement. It arose and expanded under the religious slogans of Buddhism, but in its essence it was national-patriotic, as the rebels sought to overthrow foreign rule. This rebellion went down in history under the name of "red bandages". In 1368, the Mongol dynasty ceased to exist in the empire, and its last ruler, Toghon Temur, fled to Mongolia, where he died two years later. The main reason for the fall was a deep internal crisis, which arose due to the inability of the Mongols to assimilate the traditional Chinese system of government. The new emperor founded the Ming dynasty and restored traditional Confucianism in the country. The founder of a new dynasty returned to the old order of governance based on traditional Chinese ethics.
