Yuan dynasty Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Great Yuan

大元
ᠶᠡᠬᠡ ᠶᠤᠸᠠᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ

1271–1368

Yuan dynasty circa 1294
The situation of Goryeo was disputed

Provinces of Yuan in 1330

Status

Khagan-ruled division of the Mongol Empire
Conquest dynasty in China

Capital

Khanbaliq (Beijing)

Common languages

Mongolian
Chinese

Religion

Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism as de facto state religion), Heaven worship, Shamanism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion, Chinese Nestorian Christianity, Roman Catholic Christianity, Judaism, Chinese Manichaeism, Islam, Legalism

Government

Monarchy

Emperor

• 1260–1294

Kublai Khan

• 1333–1368

Toghon Temür

Chancellor

Historical era

Postclassical Era

• Genghis Khan founds Mongol Empire

Spring, 1206

• Formal proclamation of the Yuan dynasty

5 November 1271

• Battle of Xiangyang

1268–1273

• Conquest of Southern Song

4 February 1276

• Battle of Yamen

19 March 1279

• Red Turban Rebellion

1351–1368

• Fall of Khanbaliq

14 September 1368

• Formation of Northern Yuan dynasty

1368–1388

Area

1310

11,000,000 km² (4,200,000 sq mi)

Population

• 1290

77000000

• 1293

79816000

• 1330

83873000

• 1350

87147000

Currency

Predominantly Paper Currency (Chao), with a small amount of Chinese cash in use

Preceded by

Succeeded by

	Mongol Empire
	Song dynasty

Northern Yuan dynasty
Ming dynasty

The Yuan dynasty was a powerful dynasty that ruled parts of Mongolia and China from 1271 to 1368. It was started by the Mongols, a group of people from Central Asia. Before the Yuan dynasty, China was ruled by the Song dynasty. After the Yuan dynasty, the Ming dynasty took control.

The Yuan dynasty was special because it was the first time a foreign group, the Mongols, ruled almost all of China. This brought different parts of China together that had been separate for a long time.

The Rise of the Yuan Dynasty
- How the Mongols Conquered China
- Kublai Khan and the Founding of Yuan
Life Under the Yuan Dynasty
The End of the Yuan Dynasty
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

The Rise of the Yuan Dynasty

The story of the Yuan dynasty begins with Genghis Khan. He was a great Mongol leader who united many Mongol tribes in 1206. His armies conquered many lands, including parts of northern China.

How the Mongols Conquered China

In 1227, Genghis Khan's armies defeated the Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. This meant the Mongols controlled a large area. After Genghis Khan died, his grandsons continued to expand the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan and the Founding of Yuan

In 1259, a fight for leadership happened among Genghis Khan's grandsons. His fourth grandson, Kublai Khan, won this fight in 1264. Kublai Khan was a very important leader.

In 1271, Kublai Khan officially started the "Great Yuan" dynasty. He said his grandfather, Genghis Khan, was the founder. By 1276, the Yuan dynasty had conquered the southern Song dynasty, bringing all of China under Mongol rule. In 1279, the last of the Song resistance was defeated.

Life Under the Yuan Dynasty

During the Yuan dynasty, China was a very important place for trade and travel. Many people from other parts of the world visited China. One famous traveler was Marco Polo from Europe. He wrote a book about his travels and what he saw in Kublai Khan's empire. For a long time, this book was how most people in the West learned about China.

The Yuan dynasty used paper money, called Chao, for most of its trade. They also used some traditional Chinese coins. The official languages were Mongolian and Chinese. Many different religions were practiced, including Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.

The End of the Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan dynasty ruled for nearly a century. However, over time, there were many rebellions and problems. The most famous rebellion was the Red Turban Rebellion, which started in 1351.

These rebellions weakened the Yuan dynasty. Finally, in 1368, the Ming dynasty took control, and the Yuan dynasty ended. The last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür, fled north.

History of China

Images for kids

Mongol successor khanates
Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty
Painting of a 14th-century Yuan dynasty junk
White stupa in Miaoying Temple
The Bailin Temple Pagoda of Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province, built in 1330 during the Yuan dynasty.
A Yuan dynasty jade belt plaque featuring carved designs of a dragon
Yuan Dynasty era Celadon vase from Mogadishu.
A plate made of lacquer, wood, and paper from the Yuan dynasty.
Yuan dynasty coinage
A diagram of Pascal's triangle in Zhu Shijie's Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns, written in 1303
Yuan dynasty banknote with its printing plate, 1287
Blue-and-white Covered Jar with Fretwork Floral Design in Red and Blue Glaze, excavated in Baoding.
Painting of Kublai Khan on a hunting expedition, by Chinese court artist Liu Guandao, c. 1280
Wine jar with fish and aquatic plants, 14th century. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration. Brooklyn Museum
Manichaean Diagram of the Universe, a painting describing Yuan period Manichaean cosmology.
A Yuan Qingbai porcelain statue of Guanyin, a bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism
Brown-glazed Jar with Design of Three Fish. Yuan dynasty. Excavated from Hancheng City
Jinan Great Southern Mosque was completed during the reign of Temür Khan (the Emperor Chengzong of Yuan)
Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty.
Magic square in Arabic numerals (Yuan dynasty)
smelting machines (Yuan dynasty)
Water wheel (Yuan dynasty)
Water hammer (Yuan dynasty)
Weaving machine (Yuan dynasty)
water mill gear (Yuan dynasty)
loom (Yuan dynasty)
Yuan painting (Zhao Mengfu)
Chuangzi Nu (Yuan dynasty)
Military costume.
Yuan painting of a legendary figure riding on a dragon.
Yuan cavalry
Yuan Mongol soldier
Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan during his youth
Mongol warrior on horseback, preparing a mounted archery shot.
Chinese stone inscription of a Nestorian Christian Cross from a monastery of Fangshan District in Beijing (then called Dadu, or Khanbaliq), dated to the Yuan Dynasty