The Yuan Dynasty. The Mongolian period in the history of China. Khubilai Khan

The Yuan Dynasty actually rules in China for one and a half centuries. It was Mongolian in its ethnic composition, which strongly affected the traditional Chinese governance structure and socio-political structure of the country. The time of her reign is considered to be a period of the stagnation of the empire, since the foreign invasion had a very negative impact on its internal development.

The Mongols

For several centuries, China has been in constant contact with its steppe neighbors, who, on the one hand, borrowed the achievements of their highly developed neighbor, and on the other hand, exerted strong pressure on him. Foreign dynasties were quite common in the history of the country. One of the steppe peoples, who roamed the Chinese borders, was Mongolian. Initially, the Mongols were part of the Siberian Tatars, and although distinguished in terms of language and ethnicity, they were still not racially formed until the 12th century.

Military Organization

The situation changed at the beginning of the next century, when Genghis Khan was proclaimed the general ruler of this people at the whole of the khongtalai. He created a well-organized, trained army, which, in essence, was the backbone of the military-political structure. Rigid centralization, iron discipline allowed this relatively small ethnic group to win a number of major victories in the Asian region and create its own state.

China in the XII-XIII centuries

The Yuan Dynasty began its rule in rather difficult conditions. The fact is that the country was in fact divided into two parts. This was due to the conquests of the warlike tribe of the Jurchen who captured its northern part. In the south, there was the Sun Empire, which continued to function according to traditional Chinese norms and traditions. In fact, this part of the state became a cultural center where Confucianism, the usual administrative system, based on the old system of examinations for admission of officials to the service continued to dominate.

In the north, however, there was the Jin Empire, whose rulers were never able to finally subordinate the southern regions. They achieved only a tribute from them in the form of silver and silk. But, despite this rather difficult treaty for South China, in these territories, the economy, culture, and the administrative system continued to develop. The famous traveler M. Polo visited southern China, which impressed him with his art, wealth, and efficient economy. Thus, the foundation of the Jin dynasty did not lead to the ruin of the country, which managed to preserve its cultural values and traditions.

Conquest

At the beginning of the 13th century the Mongols began their campaigns. L. Gumilev considered their rapid movement as one of the most vivid manifestations of passionarity among peoples. This warlike tribe conquered the Central Asian region, crushed the state of the Khorezm Shah, then moved to the Russian lands and defeated the coalition of specific princes. After that they captured the Chinese state. The grandson of Genghis Khan operated both military and diplomatic means: thus, he sought to enlist the support of the Sung nobility. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the south of the state resisted for quite some time, for forty years. His emperors until the last restrained the onslaught of the invaders, so that only by 1289 all of China was under their authority.

The first decades of domination

The new Yuan dynasty at first brutally began to crack down on resistance. Mass executions and murders began, many residents were enslaved. After a while, it was decided to exterminate representatives of the most ancient Chinese families and families. From the total destruction of the population saved the fact that the new rulers took into account that it is more profitable to save the bulk of taxpayers in the treasury. In addition, the invaders needed quality personnel to manage this large country. One of the Kidan advisers advised the new ruler to maintain local capacity for governance. The Yuan Dynasty lasted about a century and a half, and the first decades of its rule were marked by the economic crisis in the country: cities, trade, agriculture, and such an important irrigation system fell into decline . A significant part of the population either was destroyed, or turned into slavery, or was in an incomplete, degraded position. Nevertheless, after two or three decades, the country began to gradually recover from the blow that struck it.

The First Emperor

The founder of the new dynasty was Khubilai Khan. Having conquered the country, he made a number of transformations in order to somehow adapt to the management of his empire. He divided the country into twelve provinces and attracted to the management of many representatives of other ethnic groups and religions. Thus, at his court a rather high position was occupied by the Venetian merchant and traveler Marco Polo, thanks to which contacts were established between the state and the Europeans. In addition, he attracted not only Christians but also Muslims and Buddhists to his entourage. Khubilai Khan patronized the representatives of the last religion, which quickly spread throughout the country. In addition to public affairs, he was engaged in literature, for example, it is known that he wrote poetry, of which, however, only one survived.

Cultural gap

The first emperor also took care to introduce the Mongolian language into official records management. By his order, a Buddhist monk engaged in the compilation of a special alphabet, which formed the basis for the so-called square letter, which entered into the state-administrative life. This measure can be explained by the fact that the representatives of the new dynasty found themselves in a rather difficult position because of the cultural barrier between them and the indigenous population. Well-established, for centuries, the socio-political system of the empire, based on traditional Confucianism, turned out to be completely alien to the invaders. They have not been able to overcome this gap, although they have taken some steps for this. However, their main efforts, especially in the first period of government, were aimed at putting the Chinese in a dependent position. At first the Mongolian language acquired the status of state language , then the traditional system of examinations, which ensured efficient management, was abolished. All these measures had a very negative impact on the domestic political climate of the empire.

Management issues

Khubilai, the grandson of Genghis Khan, expanded the state's borders, adding to it a number of neighboring regions. However, his campaigns in Japanese and Vietnamese lands ended in failure. He already in the first years of his reign took a series of measures in order to streamline the government of the country. Nevertheless, during the years of Mongol rule, the Chinese administration was in a rather difficult and difficult situation because the Confucian intellectuals were excluded from the conduct of affairs: all the major state and military posts were occupied by representatives of the new nobility, who were never able to adapt to cultural norms And the traditions of the conquered people. This led to the fact that under the immediate power of the Mongols were the area of the capital and the adjacent northeastern regions, while in other areas it was necessary to rely on local authorities, whose powers, however, were limited to the city officials sent from the center.

Division of population

The Yuan Dynasty in China was not the first foreign power in this country. However, if others managed to adapt to the traditions of this country, to learn the language, culture and eventually completely merge with the local population, the Mongols did not manage to do it. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they (especially at first) in every way oppressed the Chinese, not allowing them to the administration. In addition, they formally divided the population into four groups based on religious and ethnic principles. The main, privileged layer was the Mongols, as well as foreign representatives who were part of their army. The bulk of the population remained incomplete, and the inhabitants of the south in general were reduced to the lowest degree. All this was extremely disastrous for the management, which lost its best staff. In addition, representatives of the Mongol dynasty in every possible way separated the southerners and northerners, between whom there were already significant differences. Also, the state abolished the system of examinations, prohibited the Chinese from studying military art, and learning foreign languages.

Convergence

The Mongolian period in the history of China could not rest solely on violence. This was understood by the emperors of the new dynasty, who after a while began to pursue a policy of rapprochement with the Chinese people. The first important step in this direction was the restoration of the system of examinations for the recruitment of officials for service. In addition, at the end of the 13th century public schools began to appear for staffing. The academies were restored, in which the books and the South-Sun scientists were kept. It should be noted that the restoration of the institute of examinations met with rather fierce resistance among the Mongolian nobility, who wanted to maintain leading positions in all areas of social and political life. Nevertheless, Chinese culture had a great influence on the Mongolian historiography. The statesmen and the nobility began to make up their chronicles, which later became the basis of the "Yuan-shi".

Historiography

This historical collection was compiled at the beginning of the existence of the next Ming dynasty in the 14th century. It took him quite a long time to write, about forty years. The last circumstance is explained by the fact that at first it was drawn up in a hurry, but the new emperor did not like it, so it had to be altered. Nevertheless, despite the reservations, repetitions and editorial errors, this source is a unique monument on the history of the Yuan dynasty. It is especially valuable in that it includes many original documents, written monuments, decrees and orders of the rulers. With some manuscripts, the compilers even went to Mongolia. In addition, they attracted local chronicles of childbirth, families, gravestones and writings of writers. Thus, the "Yuan-shi" is one of the most interesting monuments of the studied epoch.

A crisis

The fall of the dynasty is due to the fact that the rulers of the empire were not able to adopt Chinese culture and adapt to the traditional methods of governing the country. Due to the lack of Confucian intellectuals on the ground, provincial affairs were neglected. The last emperor Togon Temur did not take an active part in the management. With him, all power actually fell into the hands of his chancellors. The situation worsened also because of the escalation of conflicts among the Mongolian nobility. Immediate impetus to the explosion of popular indignation was the breakthrough of the dam on the Yellow River. The river left the banks and flooded the fields, taking tens of thousands of lives.

The fall of Mongol rule

Under these conditions, the bulk of the peasant population rose to fight the invaders. Secret societies were activated, which actually led the movement. It arose and spread under the religious slogans of Buddhism, but in its essence was national-patriotic, since the rebels sought to overthrow the foreign domination. This riot went down in history under the name of "red bandages". In 1368, the Mongol dynasty ceased to exist in the empire, and its last ruler, Togon Temur, fled to Mongolia, where he died two years later. The main cause of the fall was a deep internal crisis that arose from the inability of the Mongols to assimilate the traditional Chinese system of government. The new emperor founded the Ming dynasty and restored traditional Confucianism in the country. The founder of the new dynasty returned to the old order in management, based on traditional Chinese ethics.