The Yuan 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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