What does yuan dynasty mean

The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty and preceding the Ming dynasty. As such, the Yuan was also sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the wester khans at times recognized the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors, their subservience was nominal and each continued his own separate development.

He and his successors expanded the Mongol Empire across Asia. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani. He sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals, and endorsed policies that stimulated agricultural and commercial growth.

He adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. The Mongol force that invaded southern China was far greater than the force they sent to invade the Middle East in Kublai depended on the cooperation of his Chinese subjects to ensure that his army received ample resources.

He bolstered his popularity among his subjects by modeling his government on the bureaucracy of traditional Chinese dynasties and adopting the Chinese era name of Zhongtong. Civil strife had permanently divided the Mongol Empire. Kublai secured the northeast border in by installing the hostage prince Wonjong as the ruler of Korea, making it a Mongol tributary state. Kublai was also threatened by domestic unrest.

Li Tan, the son-in-law of a powerful official, instigated a revolt against Mongol rule in After successfully suppressing the revolt, Kublai curbed the influence of the Han Chinese advisers in his court. He feared that his dependence on Chinese officials left him vulnerable to future revolts and defections to the Song. He instituted the reforms proposed by his Chinese advisers by centralizing the bureaucracy, expanding the circulation of paper money, and maintaining the traditional monopolies on salt and iron.

He restored the Imperial Secretariat and left the local administrative structure of past Chinese dynasties unchanged. However, Kublai rejected plans to revive the Confucian imperial examinations and divided Yuan society into three, later four, classes, with the Han Chinese occupying the lowest rank. Kublai readied the move of the Mongol capital from Karakorum in Mongolia to Khanbaliq in , constructing a new city near the former Jurchen capital Zhongdu, now modern Beijing, in In , Kublai formally claimed the Mandate of Heaven and declared that was the first year of the Great Yuan in the style of a traditional Chinese dynasty.

The era name was changed to Zhiyuan to herald a new era of Chinese history. The adoption of a dynastic name legitimized Mongol rule by integrating the government into the narrative of traditional Chinese political succession. Khublai evoked his public image as a sage emperor by following the rituals of Confucian propriety and ancestor veneration, while simultaneously retaining his roots as a leader from the steppes.

Learn about the Yuan Dynasty, the largest empire in China's history: its origin, Mongol emperors, achievements, and end. Includes Yuan Dynasty China map. It was established by Kublai Khan, leader of the vast Mongol Empire, and fell into internal rebellion after it lost touch with its Mongol roots.

This gave them a base of manpower, horses, technology, and experience to finish the conquest of the fierce Jin army and then to go on and conquer the Dali empire and the Song empire. Trade on the Silk Road trade routes through the Hexi Corridor enriched the Mongol rulers and gave them power. Their control of this land passage allowed their troops to quickly move east or west as conflicts arose.

Genghis Khan died in and had named his son, Ogedei, to be the next emperor. Ogedei was said to rule the whole Mongol empire from to , but he concentrated his efforts in the eastern part of it. In , he invaded the Jin empire in alliance with the Song empire. Jin was defeated in Kublai was a grandson of Genghis Khan. He had a comparatively long rule and reformed the empire to increase his power and make the empire prosper.

In , Kublai took the throne after his elder brother, Mongke, died. When he heard that his elder brother, who was the Great Khan Mongke, had died, he and another brother went to war. Both of them wanted to be the Khan. They fought a series of battles and Kublai won.

This caused a division in the Mongol Empire. However, another brother of Kublai Khan who ruled the Ilkhanate far in the west paid homage to Kublai , but he was essentially independent of him. Kublai lost his direct control of these big Mongol regions in the west.

Hence, the eastern part of the empire became a base of power in the year To rule his empire, he utilized the government structure he found established in the Jin and Song empires but he replaced the officials with foreigners.

In , Kublai made Dadu modern-day Beijing his capital, and this further alienated him from his Mongol kinsmen who claimed he didn't follow Mongol ways and wasn't loyal to the Mongols. Kublai sent large armies against the Song people in the s. However, two young brothers of the captured Song emperor escaped and went south.

In , the Song Dynasty court fled to Quanzhou. They were attacked there by a rich Muslim merchant. They fled again to Hong Kong and the court attempted to make a stand there in , but they were soundly defeated by the Mongols. The last emperor died there at the age of 9 in Filters 0. Words form: Yuans. See word origin. A Chinese dynasty — established by the Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan with its capital at present-day Beijing.

It was superseded by the Ming dynasty. Term » Definition. Word in Definition. Princeton's WordNet 0. Freebase 4. Matched Categories Dynasty. How to pronounce yuan dynasty? Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British. Libby British. Mia British. Karen Australian.