The Yuan Dynasty
chinese word Yuan chinese word dynasty
1279 AD - 1368 AD

Kublai moved the Mongol capital from Karakorum to somewhere near Beijing. The mongol empire was vast. It stretched from eastern Europe to Korea and from northern Siberia to the northern rim of India. Instead of being tribal lords, the mongols ruled as if they were chinese. That is why they adopted the the dynasty name, Yuan. During this time, the traffic from West to East were greatly increased. Many missionaries and merchants influenced the Chinese. The most notable foreigner that visited during this time was Marco Polo. There was resentment towards the mongols by the Chinese. They accepted them as rulers but resented the fact that they held back able Chinese due to the Confucianism tests. Eventually, the mongol control of China was started to deteriorate. Uprisings sprung up in every province of China and, in the 1360s, Chu Yuan-chang was successful in exerting control throughout the Yellow River Valley. In 1371, Chu was successful in pushing the mongols back into Mongolia.


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