“Storm from the East”
I. Rise of the Mongols
- The settings—Mongolian steppe . . . 12th-century subsistence crisis
- Chinggis (Genghis) (c. 1162–1227)—”Great Khan” (1206) . . . militarization
II. The Mongol Empire
- Ögödei (r. 1227–1241)
- Batu (r. 1224–1255)—Khanate of the Golden Horde (southern Russia)
- Hülegü (r. 1256–1265)—Il-Khan Empire of Iran
- Jagadai (r. 1227–1242)—Khanate of Central Asia
III. Khubilai Khan (reign 1260–1294)
- Rise to power
- Khubilai’s court
- Yuan administration
Yuan Society (1271–1368)
I. “A Horse and Groom in the Wind” (1280s)
- Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322)—”Eight Talents of Wuxing ” . . . Hanlin Academy
II. Chinese Society during the Yuan Period
- Economy—trade . . . agriculture . . . Grand Canal
- Social conditions—Mongols . . . Semu (“Color-Eyed”) . . . Han . . . Southerners . . . occupational groups . . . civil service examinations (1315)
- Community of learning
III. Impacts of Mongol Rule
- Foreign contacts
- Reaffirmation of the cultural tradition
Discussion
- What is the moral of the play?
- Whom was the play written or performed for?
- What could the play tell us about Yuan society?
Maps
External links to Maps:
Physical Map
Source: National Museum of Chinese History, ed., A Journey into China's Antiquity, vol. 1 (Beijing: Morning Glory Publishers, 1997), pp. 8–9.
Physical Map by Satellite
Administrative Map
Source: SACU
Images
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References
- Cahill, James F. Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty, 1279–1368. New York: Weatherhill, 1976.
- Chan, Hok-lam, and Wm. Theodore de Bary, eds. Yuan Thought: Chinese Thought and Religion under the Mongols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.
- Franke, Herbert, and Denis Twitchett, eds. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996?
- Langlois, John D., Jr., ed. China under Mongol Rule. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
- Rossabi, Morris. Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988