Map

Yuan

Mongol Empire

Song

Jin

The Mongolian Empire is massively larger and more powerful than either the Song or the Jin, the dynasties that came before the Yuan. The Mongol Empire covered an area of 9,300,000 sq mi, equal to 16% of the Earth's total land area. It reaches Siberia, Eastern Europe, Japan, the border of India, and into the Middle East. It is called the largest contiguous
empire in the history of the world.it flows for 6418 kilometres. It consists of Mongolia, Northern China (Jin), and Southern China (Song). From the pictures you can see that both of the dynasties that came before the Yuan were much smaller. 

Interview

My Interview with Kublai Khan

Q: What are your views on other countries, cultures, and beliefs?

A: I like many cultures and am accepting of many customs. I do a lot of construction projects to make travel to foreign countries easier. We have learned many great things from foreign places. Personally, I am Buddhist. I love Buddhism! However, I do not force my religion on the countries that I conquer. I understand that the people of a particular country have their own religion which they love just as much, and I respect that.

Q: How did you come to have so much power?

A: My grandfather, Genghis Khan, was a great conqueror and so my territories are mostly inherited from him. I am officially the Great Khan because I have control of our homeland, Mongolia. However, I had to fight for my title. For 6 years I waged a war with Ariq Boke who also claimed to be the rightful Great Khan. I won this war and now I am the mot powerful person in Asia, perhaps in the world.

Q: Then why did you want to wait to conquer the Song Dynasty of Southern China?

A: My generals and I realized that there were too many rivers and rice paddies in Southern China for us to simply ride through on horseback and conquer as we went, as is our usual style. We had to spend time making calculations and finding alternatives. I ordered some of the best of my Muslim engineers to build strong catapults. We also stole a fleet of Song warships. We attacked when we were fully prepared and armed with new and better weapons.

Q: Why did you feel it was necessary to kill Emperor Bingdi and his royal court?

A: Although the Song’s capital, Hangzhou, was surrendered to us after our victory in Changzhou, there was still a group of resistors who refused to let go of the Song. They were rallied around the child Emperors Gongzong, Duazong, and Bingdi. Gongzong was brought up to Northern China when Hangzhou surrendered. Duazong died some years later. Bingdi was the resistors last hope, and unfortunately he had to be killed to get the South’s cooperation.

Q: So Gongzong lives here in Shangdu? Why is he allowed to remain alive?

A: Why should he be killed? He never did anything wrong. Bingdi had to be killed to put down the rebellion in the South, but Gongzong could fortunately be taken away from all the fighting. He has grown up mostly in Northern China. He lives a comfortable life here and I make sure he is well respected. I believe in reconciliation. Just because we conquered his country doesn’t mean we think he or his country is evil.

Protest Through Art

 Protest through Art

Although Kublai Khan respected Chinese traditions and customs, many Mongols disliked the native scholars. These scholars could no longer do their work, and so many became artists or poets. Art was used as a form of protest, because the scholars couldn’t speak out against the mongols. Calligraphy and dry brush painting were popular. Many paintings showed symbols of perseverance. Bamboo was depicted covered in snow, because it bends easily under snow and springs back after the snow melts. The plum tree was also depicted with snow on its branches because its blossoms come out before any other plant. It is the first beautiful thing to bloom in the spring, often before the snow has even melted. A famous painting of an orchid with no soil around its roots represents how the Mongols stole the land of the Chinese. Another scroll shows a hawk roosting in a pine tree, a symbol of perseverance, and ignoring a pheasant, it’s usual prey, that is sitting by the foot of the tree. The hawk symbolizes the scholars who will not serve the Mongols. The scroll gives the message that they are rejecting the opportunity to make an easy living at the cost of their own principles. However, it is more accurate to say that the Mongol didn’t allow them to work for the Yuan government, not that the scholars made the choice by themselves.

An example of the type of art done during this period

"Twin trees by the South Bank"

Invention

Yuan Invention: Counter-Weighted Catapult

    When Kublai Khan ordered an attack on Southern China, he and his generals had to adapt their fighting strategy a little bit. There were too many rivers and rice paddies in Southern China for them to just ride through on horseback, as was their usual style. Kublai Khan ordered Muslim engineers to construct huge, counter-weighted catapults that could throw a barrage of rocks weighing up to a hundred pounds. These massive catapults took out the high, thick walls of the cities of Fancheng and Changzhou. They were also used against the Song’s fleet of 2500 warships. The Mongols put their catapults ashore on both banks of the river, covering the enemy vessels with barrages of missiles. The invention of this catapult is important because without it Northern China and the Mongol Empire would not have been able to take control of the Song.

An example of a counter-weighted catapult

Mongols and Chinese Dual Voices Poem

Sorry it is sideways! I had to take a photo of it to be able to keep the formatting.

Editorial

1279-  After battling for control of the Southern Song since 1268, Kublai Khan’s army finally prevailed yesterday, when Emperor Bingdi and his entire royal court was killed in an attack near the Southern China Sea. The conquering of Southern China has united the country and made us part of the world’s greatest empire: the Mongolian. The entire country will now be led by Kublai Khan, Emperor of the Chinese and Great Khan of the Mongols. This is a change that greatly benefits all groups.

It is best that the Song dynasty is conquered and in good hands for a change. There was no leadership. They had a child emperor, Emperor Gongzong, and so they were led by the Empress Dowager, his grandmother. However, she was very unproductive and indecisive. Ever since the Mongols seized Northern China, Southern China had been bickering about how to respond to the Mongol presence. Nothing was ever done. While the Mongolian troops were battling down the Yangzi River Valley, no military action was taken to protect the people. When the Mongols armies reached Changzhou, the Empress simply encouraged people to fight for themselves. Hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered. The pile of the dead was over forty feet high and extended over almost an acre. Finally, the capital city of Hangzhou was surrendered. Clearly, a dynasty with this little leadership cannot do any good for itself. A leader is supposed to guide and protect their people, not leave them to fight for their lives against the world’s greatest army all by themselves. The people of the Song were neglected, and now they are privileged enough to be led by Kublai Khan. Kublai will be a much better leader to the people of Southern China than the Song dynasty ever was.

    Since the Mongols took over Northern China, the Yuan has flourished. The main focus has been to grow the empire and to communicate with Europe. Kublai Khan extended the Great Canal 135 miles north and renovated many other roads and canals. This has allowed for lots of traveling and the exchange of ideas and goods from foreign places. Many religions and belief systems, like Roman Catholicism, have traveled to China. China has been able to share its many of it’s great inventions with Europe, such as playing cards, silk, printing techniques, porcelain production, and medical literature. Europe has in turn given China many precious things like gold, glass blowing, and the extremely popular crop called sorghum. By becoming part of the Mongolian empire, Southern China, too, will make invaluable connections with other countries and gain many new riches, just as Northern China has.

However, some of the Northern Chinese, who feel they should still be in power of their own country, disagree. They say that too many people were killed in the conquest of the Song, that this was entirely unnecessary. However, if you feel as if so much blood should not have been shed, you should take up your argument with the Empress Dowager who did little to nothing to protect her people. Also, how could anyone in Southern China seriously think that they could defeat the great Mongols? The Song should have surrendered earlier. The slaughter of their own people was the result of their own mistakes.

The Song was at the end of its rope and was becoming so weak that it was bound to be conquered. It makes more sense that China be united under the Mongols than for half of it to be taken over by a weaker people. Southern China will now surely be on the winning side of every war that the Mongols wage, and will benefit greatly by being a part of this massive and powerful empire.

Clearly it is for the benefit of the North, the South, and the Mongols that Southern China has at last joined the Mongolian Empire. Southern China should embrace their new leadership and be grateful to Kublai Khan for making them part of his great empire. We should all feel honored to be led by such a great leader and powerful empire.

Bibliography

Works Cited

• "Chinese Landscape Painting The Art History Archive." The Art History Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/asian/Chinese-Landscape-Painting.html >.
• Governor Thomas Johnson Middle School. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. <http://encksmedievalhistory.wikispaces.com/Unit+5+-+Medieval+Asia>.
• "Mongolian Interlude." Imperial Era: III. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial3.html#yuan >.
• "The Mongols in China." Asian Topics in World History: The Mongols in World History. Asia for Educators Program at Columbia University, The Freeman Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/china/china.htm>.
• "Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy." Freer and Sackler Galleries - The Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/>.
• "Twin Trees by the South Bank." Princeton University Art Museum - Asian Art Collection. Princeton U, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://etcweb.princeton.edu/asianart/selectionsdetail.jsp?ctry=China&pd=Yuan&id=1035459>.
• Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yuen_Dynasty_1294_-_Goryeo_as_vassa>.
• Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yuen_Dynasty_1294_-_Goryeo_as_>.
• "Yuan dynasty 1260–1368." Princeton University Art Museum - Asian Art Collection. Princeton U, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://etcweb.princeton.edu/asianart/timeperiod_china.jsp?ctry=China&pd=Yuan >.
• "Yuan (Mongol) (1279 - 1368)." China Tour.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.chinatour.com/countryinfo/history.htm#yuan>.
• Art, Suzanne Strauss. China's Later Dynasties. Lincoln, Massachusetts: Pemblewick Press, 2002. Print.

Newspaper Article

The Song is Dead: China United Under Kublai Khan 
By Kira Peterson 
The Yuan Herald 

SHANGDU 1279- Yesterday, Southern China’s last Emperor, Emperor Bingdi, drowned in an attack by Southern Chinese warships manned by Mongols. On board his ship and its fleet were the adolescent Emperor himself and his entire royal court. They were fleeing to the safety of the sea, and heading south, trying to protect Bingdi. They were surrounded and trapped without food or water for two weeks before the Mongol ships attacked with rockets, flaming arrows, and grenades. Most of the ships sank. Everyone on the Emperor’s ships was killed, drowned, or captured. Now that the last emperor of the Song dynasty is dead, China is officially united under Kublai Khan.

Three years ago, the Southern Song capital of Hangzhou was surrendered to the Mongols by the Empress Dowager after roughly one hundred thousand people were slaughtered in Changzhou. The first heir of the throne, Emperor Gongzong, was taken to northern China and lives here in Shangdu. Since then, there have still been many groups who have resisted the Mongols. Gongzong’s second brother Duanzong died of unknown causes, and now his third brother, Bingdi, has been killed. Now that the resistors have no one to protect, their last hopes of continuing the Song dynasty have been lost.

“After battling for the control of Southern China since 1268, we have finally prevailed. The Song never had any true leadership. While we were battling our way down the Yangzi River Valley, they argued for years about what to do. Now they will be led by the strongest leader on the continent, Kublai Khan.” said Mongolian war general Yesugei. “I am immensely proud that my people’s empire is growing so large.” Indeed, the Mongolian empire extends all the way up to the borders of Europe and into Russia, as well as all the way down to the borders of India and now all of China. It is still actively growing in all directions.

However, not everyone in Northern China is in favor of the Yuan rule and the growth of the Mongol empire. Huang Li-Wen, who before the Mongols invaded was a highly respected scholar and worked with many people of high government status, told us in a letter, “Kublai Khan has created much chaos in China. The Mongols have deemed us third class citizens in our own country, regardless of the rank a person held before they arrived. They place strict laws, curfews, and taxes on us while foreigners who have only just arrived from Europe are exempted from these things. They repress our culture and have deemed the wonderful works of many artists and poets inappropriate, and so many great masters have become unable to do their work. Most of Kublai Khan’s construction projects are for the purpose of communicating and trading with Europe, but he is neglecting his own people. Now the Mongols insist on slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Southerners and they call it ‘inevitable.’ This is not the kind of leadership that China needs.”