The Yuan Dynasty, which lasted from 1279-1368 A.D., was the first
of only two times that the entire area of China was ruled by foreigners, in
this case, the Mongols. During the Yuan Dynasty, China was part of the Mongol
Empire. Genghis Khan led the Mongols in their defeat of much of China, however,
it was his grandson, Kublai Khan who became the emperor and founder of the Yuan
dynasty. The Mongols were able to conquer China due to their superior military
capabilities.
The Mongols were culturally very different from the Chinese. This made ruling them very difficult. The Mongols and the Chinese spoke different languages, had a different form of dress and many different customs. These background differences proved impossible to overcome. Despite attempting to rule in a Chinese custom, the government of the Yuan Dynasty had virtually no Chinese. Mongols and other foreigners were given all government positions. The cultural gap resulted in lighter government than that of previous empires, punishments were much less severe. The Chinese nobility were better educated than the Mongol invaders and the best scholars refused to teach in government schools, rather they founded private academies. The Mongols did not succeed in censoring Chinese literature and drama or in providing intellectual or cultural leadership.
As the Chinese nobility were not allowed to be involved in government, they were free to pursue art and literature. Poetry, while being vastly popular, was not greatly improved upon. The greatest advances in literature were in the forms of theatre and opera. The theatre was a favorite form of entertainment for the emperors and for wealthy families. Educated people began to write librettos for the operas, however they wrote under pseudonyms because playwriting was not an occupation acceptable for scholars. Most of these operas, while their names are known, have been destroyed. Some of the most famous existing ones are (in their English translations) The Story of Lute, The Story of the Orphan of Chao, The Romance, and the Western Chamber.
The excessive spending and trade restriction enacted during the Yuan Dynasty severely depleted China economically. Canals and palaces were built, which required the peasants to both supply more tax money and to leave their homes to build them. Campaigns were also launched against Japan which were not successful and destroyed many Chinese ships. External trade, while not forbidden was made very difficult for the Chinese. The Chinese were forbidden to learn to speak any other language. Travel outside of China for commercial reasons was made very difficult. Foreign merchants, however, were able to trade within China and were given privileges by the Yuan. They were free of taxes and were allowed to travel throughout China without restrictions. It is at this time that Marco Polo gave his description of China. It thus follows that he as a foreigner experienced a much friendlier China than the native Chinese themselves did. The Mongols took over a rich China and less than one hundred years later left an impoverished nation.
At the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols were one of the strongest military forces in the world. However, the duties that came with governing their newly won lands led to them becoming lax in military training. In a short time they became so weak that popular uprisings broke out and Chu, the leader of one of these popular uprisings, succeeded in uniting several other groups and the nobility and overthrew the Yuan. Another factor that led to the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty was the exclusive use of non-Chinese in governmental positions. This had a variety of outcomes, the first was that the nobility despised the Mongols; also, the appointed leaders did not have a sufficient knowledge of traditional sources of Chinese revenue, and the Mongols treated foreigners better than they treated the Chinese. The general impoverishment of the country also had dual effects on the removal of the Mongols. First, the peasants and nobility both were impoverished which led to the popular uprisings. Second, China was so impoverished that the Mongols did not have a very strong interest in maintaining their hold on China.
Dynasties of Later Imperial China
