China TEXT.qxp
31.12.2010
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Yuan Dynasty
Khan then moved against the Southern Song
Dynasty. A series of bloody conflicts
Kublai
climaxed in 1279 with the Battle of Yamen in the Pearl River
Kaifeng, capital of the
Northern Song Dynasty
from 96 to 1170 CE
Emperor Chen Tsong
of the Song Dynasty
Delta. There Yuan crushed the last resistance of Song forces.
Song Emperor, the eight year old Huaizong, and his prime
minister committed suicide along with 800 supporters.
China was again unified under the Yuan Dynasty, with
Kublai Khan styling himself Emperor Shizu. Yuan was unique
in that it was the first time non-Chinese controlled China,
Shizu being Mongol. He tried hard to win over the Chinese by
converting to Buddhism; however, he had to use Turkish and
Mongol administrators to control the empire.
Initially he used the Han Dynasty as his administration
model. This developed into a system of four classes. On top
were the Mongols, who had the greatest privileges. Next came
the Semu, who populated the western regions of China. Third
were the Han people of northern China. At the bottom were
the Nan, who populated southern China. Each group enjoyed a
diminishing level of privileges, generating tensions that
eventually led to Yuan’s fall.
Foreign commerce flourished under Yuan. Formal trading
relationships were established with Korea and Japan. The Silk
Road to western Asia and Europe was constantly busy with
merchants. The port of Quangzhou was said to be the busiest
in the world at the time.
Legendary Venetian explorer Marco Polo arrived in Dadu
(Beijing) during Kublai Khan’s reign. The Rabban Sauma made
the reverse journey from China to Europe, the first Chinese to
do so.
After Shizu’s death in 1294 the Yuan Dynasty became riddled
with corruption and declined rapidly. In 1368 former Buddhist
monk Zhu Yuanzhang led a peasant uprising to overthrow the
capital Dadu (Beijing) and drive the Mongols out.
Ming Dynasty
Yuanzhang became Emperor Taizu, founding the
Ming Dynasty, which would last more than 250
Zhu
years. Initially he established his capital at Nanjing, but later
Mongol horsemen of
the Yuan Dynasty
relocated to Beijing.
In the early 1400s the 600 hectare Imperial City was
constructed in Beijing. Within it was the fabled Forbidden
City, which nobody but the emperor, his family and their
servants could enter.
The departure of the Mongols led to a flowering of economic
development, particularly in the more entrepreneurial south.
Agriculture improved and became more efficient, adopting the
capitalist model.
The Great Wall was completed under Ming. It reached its
full extent, from the Bohai Sea in the east to Jiayu Pass in the
west. Older portions were repaired and upgraded, with
numerous new guard towers established.
With stability came complacency. Ming believed China had
reached the peak of civilised culture, that it was superior to
any other civilisation. Contact with the outside world was
discouraged, as was further scientific development.
Before long China was outpaced in development by many
other countries, leaving it open to attacks from the outside. Japan