Yuan Dynasty

 Pre-Xia

 Xia Dynasty

 Shang Dynasty

 Zhou Dynasty

 Qin Dynasty

 Han Dynasty

 Three Kingdoms

 Jin Dynasty

 Sixteen Kingdoms

 N/S Dynasties

 Sui Dynasty 

 Tang Dynasty

 Five Dyn./Ten King

 Song Dynasty

 Liao Dynasty

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 Yuan Dynasty

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This article is part of the History of Mongolia series.

Before Chinggis Khan

Mongol Empire

Chagatai Khanate

Golden Horde

Ilkhanate

Yuan Dynasty

Northern Yuan

Oyirad

Jüün Ghar Empire

Qing Dynasty

Modern History

Independent Mongolia

Inner Mongolia

Buryat Republic

Kalmykia

The Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian: Yeke Mongghul-un Yuwan Ulus; Chinese: 元朝) (1271-1368), also called the Mongol Dynasty, followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty in China.

In 1231, Korea fell into Mongol hands, which later used as a base for invading Japan. By the mid-13th century, the Mongols had subjugated north China and the Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia and had twice penetrated Europe. With the resources of his vast empire, Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan 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. In 1279, Guangzhou fell into Mongol hands, which marks the end of the Southern Song and the onset of China under the Mongols.

Although the Mongols sought to govern China through traditional institutions, using Han Chinese 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. Given the unified rule of central Asia, trades between East and West flourished. 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 account of his travels, Il milione (or, The Million, known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo), appeared about the year 1299. The works of John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck also provided early descriptions of the Mongols to the West.

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.

In time, Khubilai's successors became sinicized, and they then lost all influence on other Mongol lands across Asia. Gradually, they lost influence in China as well. The reigns of the later Yuan emperors were short and were marked by intrigues and rivalries. Uninterested in administration, they were separated from both their Mongolian army and their Chinese subjects. China was torn by dissension and unrest; bandits ranged the country without interference from the weakening Yuan armies.

The last of the nine successors of Khubilai was expelled from Dadu in 1368 by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and died in Karakorum in 1370. Although Zhu, who adopted Mongol military methods, drove the Mongols out of China, he did not destroy their power.

The Yuan Dynasty, remained in Mongolia, and is called the Northern Yuan by modern historians. Accoording to Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate empire, and so both dynasties denied the legitimacy of the other, although modern Chinese historians tend to regard the Ming dynasty as more legitimate.

Chinese called the Mongols "Tatar" (韃靼 dá dá) instead of "Mongol" (蒙古 meng2 gu3) even though they called themselves "Mongghul". A Chinese army invaded Mongolia in 1380. In 1388 a decisive victory was won; about 70,000 Mongols were taken prisoner, and Karakorum was annihilated. In 1388 the throne was taken over by Yesüder, a descendant of Arigh Bugha. Getting through the turbulent period, descendants of Khubilai were restored to the throne. When Lingdan Khan, the last grand-Khan of the Mongols, died on his way to Tibet in 1634, his son Ejei surrendered to the Manchu and gave the great seal of the Yuan Emperor to Hong Taiji. As a result, Hong Taiji established the new dynasty of Qing as the successor of the Yuan Dynasty in 1636.

Rulers of Yuan Dynasty

   Zhiyuan (至元 Zhìyuán) 1264-1294

   Dade (大德 Dádè) 1297-1307

   Yanyou (延祐 Yányòu) 1314-1320

   Zhihe (致和 Zhìhé) 1328

   Zhishun (至順 Zhìshùn) 1330-1332

   Yuantong (元統 Yuántǒng) 1333-1335

   Zhiyuan (至元 Zhìyuán) 1335-1340

   Zhizheng (至正 Zhìzhèng) 1341-1368

   Zhiyuan (至元 Zhìyuán) 1368-1370

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• Western Xia
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