YUAN DYNASTY AD 1261-1368

KUBLAI KHAN RECEIVES MARCO POLO
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Khubilai Khan and Yuan Dynasty (AD 1261-1368)
 
In August 1259, Mengke Khan died on Mount Diaoyushan of Hezhou Prefecture (Sichuan Province) after failing to take over a Song castle. Mongols hence called off the campaign. Later in 1279, Mongols avenged the shame of Mengke Khan's possible bombardment death by killing 1.4 million residents of Chengdu city.
 
Before returning to Helin, Arik-Buka (Ariq-boeke), a junior brother of Khubilai, held an assembly in Helin and declared himself 'khan'. Khubilai stopped at Jinlianchuan (Kaiping, i.e., Duolun, Cha'haer, Inner Mongolia) and Khubilai declared himself Khan without an assembly. Yao Shu and Lian Xixian were ordered to make an announcement of Khubilai enthronement in the Chinese language. A Chinese era was declared, and the year would be First Year of Zhongtong Era, AD 1259. Liu Bingzhong and Xu Heng revised on Genghis Khan's governmental structure of 'Duanshi-guan' (criminal prosecutor), 'Wan-hu' (10,000 head military chief), and Jurchen-style titles of 'yuan-shuai' (marshal) and 'xuan-hu' (pacifier) for provinces. New structure will be i) 'zhongshu sheng' (state affairs), ii) 'shumi yuan' (military affairs), and iii) 'yushi tai' (promotion and demotion of officials). Lower levels will include shi, jian, yuan, si, wei, and fu. Provincial affairs would be handled by 'xing-sheng', 'xing-tai', 'xuan-hu', 'lian-fang' and 'muming zhangguan', and levels included 'Lu' (comprising of several provinces), 'Fu' (province or prefecture), 'Zhou' (smaller prefectures) and 'Xian' (county). But discrimination against Chinese was rampant. Mongols would assume the primary posts while the Han Chinese the deputy posts. Tax administration were mostly laid in the hands of Muslims - allies of the Mongols. A caste society was established, and four levels were differentiated: 1) Mongols, 2) Se Mu Ren or Semuren (color-eyed people), 3) Han-Ren (i.e., northern Chinese, Khitans etc), and 4) Nan-zi (southern Chinese-barbarians).
 
Arik-Buka (Ariq-boeke), a junior brother of Khubilai, held an assembly in Helin and declared himself 'khan'. Lian Xixian, on his own initiative, frustrated the attempts of Arik-Buka emissaries (Liu Taiping and Huo Luhuai) at Peking and defeated a general who answered Arik-Buka's order. Khubilai then attacked Arik-Buka and drove him off in AD 1261. At the advice of Liu Bingzhong, Khubilai Khan moved his capital to Peking in AD 1260, i.e., winter capital Dadu ("great capital") or Khanbalik in Marco Polo's Cambaluc. This is in addition to summer palace at Shangdu (the Xanadu of Coleridge). After being in reign for five years, Khubilai Khan declared the new era of Zhiyuan in AD 1263. (In AD 1271, the Mongols adopted the dynastic name Yuan.)
 
Khubilai Khan sent an embassy, comprising of scholar officials Hao Jing, He Yuan and Liu Renjie, to Southern Song. Southern Song Prime Minister, in order to hide his previous treachery acts from Emperor Lizong (Zhao Yun, reign AD 1224-1264), would imprison the Mongol emissaries. Khubilai Khan sent another emissary to Song border general Li Tingzhi. Li's report to Emperor Lizong was covered up by Jia Sidao. Khubilai Khan issued the war decree in the second year of Zhongtong Era (Ad 1260). Mongol governor-general in charge of Huai River and Yangtze areas, Li Zhan (Li Tan?), defected to Song in the spring of third year of Zhongtong Era. Hearing of that, Khubilai Khan ordered that Shi Tianze to attack the defector general at Jinan, Shandong. After a few months siege, Mongols took over Jinan and killed Li Zhan via a cruel penalty of splitting the body.

A PAINTING OF KUBLAI KHAN THAT IS SEEN ALL OVER THE WEB. THIS PARTICULAR IMAGE IS FROM
http://www.regenttour.com/china/history/yuan.htm
 

Siege Of Xiangyang


Around AD 1264, during the fifth year of Zhongtong Era, Khubilai Khan changed to Zhiyuan Era. Arik-Buka was spared and came to surrender. At this time, a Song officer at Tongchuan, called Liu Zheng, being resented by Jia Sidao, would surrender his 15 prefectures to the Mongols and he was conferred the posts of 'xing(2)sheng(3)' and 'an-hu-shi' of Sichuan areas. Liu Zheng proposed to have Song Chinese grain supply cut off at Xiangyang. Song Chinese General in Sichuan, Lü Wende, did not pay attention to Liu Zheng's building up the castles and cutting off Xiangyang from Sichuan. Lü Wende said that Xiangyang had ten years of grain supply. General Lü Wenhuan at Xiangyang wrote to Lu Wende, but he was ignored. Then, Liu Zheng and A-zu would lead Mongols to Xiangyang and encircle it for four-five years.


 

A TYPICAL MONGOL HELMET

The helmet is 8" tall by 9" wide, and made from overlapping metal plates tied together with leather strings. The site below is of the opinion it was likely made by the Tibetans: the Mongols, as a nomadic race, would not have built metalworks and forges.

http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/swords/1901


The new Song Emperor Duzong (Zhao Qi, reign AD 1264-1274) again conferred Jia Sidao important posts and added an extra title called 'Tai Shi', i.e., imperial tutor. Jia Sidao was extolled as comparable to Archduke Zhou of Western Zhou Dynasty. Jia Sidao pretended to resign several times, but Emperor Duzong would not let him go. Jia Sizong continued to shield the Xiangyang siege from the emperor. When a concubine told Duzong that Xiangyang had been under siege for 3 years, Jia Sidao would order that the woman be killed. The notoriety of Jia Sidao was best illustrated by another story: When one concubine of Jia Sidao saw a young man on the bank of Xihu Lake (West Lake) and exclaimed about the beauty of the young man, Jia Sidao would order that the young man be killed in front of the concubine. In Sichuan, after Lü Wende died, his brother-in-law, Fan Wenhu, took over the post, but Fan, like his predecessor, refused to send relief army to Xiangyang. At one time, Jia Sidao ordered Li Tingzhi and Fan Wenhu to aid Xiangyang. Fan Wenhu and his 100,000 were defeated. Two generals under Li Tingzhi, i.e., Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui, sailed along the Han-shui River; Zhang Gui broke through Mongol siege lines; and Zhang Gui died on the Han-shui River. Zhang Shun barely entered Xiangyang alive. After finding out that Xiangyang was in great danger, Zhang Shun, hiring two brave men, departed Xiangyang for sake of appealing for aid with Fan Wenhu in Sichuan Prov. But soon after Zhang Shun broke through Mongol siege lines, he encountered Mongol ships and was caught by Mongol, and Zhang died in Mongol hands. Then, the sister city of Fancheng was taken over by the Mongols, and two generals, Fan Tianshun and Niu Fu, died. Mongols deployed catapults (made by Persian engineers) against the outer wall of Xiangyang and destroyed it. Everytime Lü Wenhuan climbed up the citywall, he would have tears in his eyes while facing the south where the Song court was located. A Mongol general called on Lü Wenhuan to surrender, saying that Lü Wenhuan had done his job by guarding Xiangyang for five years. After they broke the arrows to swear forgivenness and sincerity, Lü Wenhuan surrendered and was conferred the post of 'Da-dudu' or governor-general of Xiangyang and Han-shui River areas.
 
Demise Of Song Dynasty

MONGOL DOMINIONS
CLICK TO SEE LARGER VERSION MAP

http://judicial-inc.biz/Romano31.jpg


At this time, Emperor Duzong died, and his four year old son, Emperor Gongdi (Zhao Xian, reign 1274-1275), was made into emperor in AD 1275. Mongols sent Shi Tianze and Boyan (Bayan, grandson of Subetei) on a full campaign against Song. Shi Tianze died on route. Bayan ordered that A-zu head the first column and depart for the Yangtze from Xiangyang, with Lu Wenhuan as fore-runner general; 2nd column was to be headed by Mang-wu departing from Yangzhou, with Liu Zheng as forerunner general. Bayan took over numerous cities on the way, slaughtered one town, and killed and captured numerous Song generals. Song Dowager Empress Xie-shi had no choice but to rely on Jia Sidao for fighting the Mongols. More Song generals surrendered, including Fan Wenhu in Sichuan, Chen Yi in Huangzhou (Huanggang area, Hubei). Hearing Liu Zheng had passed away, Jia Sidao had a short ecstasy and led an army of about 130,000 against the Mongols, but he was defeated on the Yangtze River. Jiangsu areas, around the Yangtze, including Zhenjiang and Jiangyin, were deserted in face of Mongol attacks. Jia Sidao sent an emissary to Bayan for peace, but met with declination. Jia Sidao requested with dowager empress for relocation of Song capital, but Empress Xie-shi refused to move.
 
Several ministers at Song court requested that Jia Sidao be deprived of his posts, and Song released former Mongol emissaries like Hao Jing as a good-will gesture. At this moment, Zhang Shijie of E'zhou (Hubei Province), Wen Tianxiang of Jiangxi and Li Fei of Hunan came to the east to help the Song court. Jiankang (i.e., Nanking) was deserted by a Song general. Changzhou and Wuxi were next taken by the Mongols. Khubilai Khan then sent Lian Xixian and Yan Zhongfan to Song for talking about ceasefire. Lian Xixian requested with Bayan for bodyguards, but Bayan advised that the more bodyguards Lian was to take with him, the more likely Song Chinese might harm him. Lian obtained 500 soldiers, but once Lian arrived at Dusong-guan Pass, Song General Zhang Ru killed Yan Zhongfan and captured Lian Xixian. (History of Yuan Dynasty stated that Lian was killed, too.) Bayan reprimanded Song's acts, and sent another emissary, Zhang Xu, to Song court together with Song emissary. Again, Zhang Xu was killed by a Song border general. Then, the Mongols stopped peace talks and attacked Yangzhou on the north bank of the Yangtze (Changjiang River). Mongols then attacked Yangzhou and defeated two generals under Li Tingzhi. Jiading surrendered next. Zhang Shijie's navy was defeated on the Yangtze by Mongol fire attack. Wen Tianxiang arrived in Lin'an (Hangzhou) the capital, but Empress Dowager did not take his advice. Jia Sidao was expelled from the capital and he was killed by the escort official on route. Taizhou of Jiangsu was lost to the Mongols, and Changzhou was slaughtered. In Hunan, Li Fei died, and both Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces were lost. After taking over Dusong-guan Pass, the Mongols were closing in onto Song capital. A Song minister called Liu Yue was sent to Mongol camp for peace, but Bayan declined it, saying Song Emperor obtained the throne from a kid and would lose it in the hands of a kid. Lu Xufu was sent to Mongols for expressing a wish to be Mongol nephew, but Mongols declined it. Song's new prime minister, Chen Yizhong, sent Liu Yue to Mongols in the attempt of expressing ackowledgement as a Mongol vassal, but Liu Yue was killed by a Song Chinese civilian on route, at Gaoyou of Jiangsu Province. Mongols then sacked Jiaxing and An'jie of Zhejiang Province. Wen Tianxiang and Zhang Shijie advised that Song court relocated to the islands in the seas, but Prime Minister Chen Yizhong decided to send imperial seal to Mongols for a surrender. Bayan requested that Chen personally came to Mongols, and Chen fled to Wenzhou, a southern Zhejiang coastal city. Zhang Shijie led his people into the sea. Wen Tianxiang was made the rightside prime minister and was ordered to go to Mongols for peace. Wen was arrested by Bayan after he accused Bayan of invasion. In AD 1276, Bayan took over Lin'an and forced downager empress issue the surrender order. Song royal family, including downager empress and Emperor Gongdi, was sent to Peking.
 
Late Emperor Duzong had two more sons, 11 and 6 year old, respectively. They fled to Wenzhou before Lin'an was taken by Mongols. Chen Yizhong sailed them to Fuzhou of Fujian Province where a new Song court was set up. Eleven year old Zhao Shi was made into Emperor Ruizong (reign AD 1275-1278). Zhang Shijie, Su Liuyi, and Lu Xiufu consecutively arrived in Fuzhou. Chen Yizhong was retained as leftside prime minister, while Wen Tianxiang, after fleeing from the Mongols, also arrived in Fuzhou and acted as rightside prime minister. Song court would last another three years before the final demise. Mongols continued to push south. Canton (Guangzhou) of Guangdong Province was taken, and Song General Huang Jun died. Yangzhou on the Yangtze Bank were taken, and General Li Tingzhi was captured and killed. Mongols then invaded Fujian Province. Song Court was frequently on the run, from one island to another, along the coast, and the new Song Emperor died of illness within two years. The now eight-year-old brother, Zhao Bing, was made the new emperor Di-bing in AD 1278. Note Di-bing had no posthumous imperial title at all. Chen Yizhong died in Hainan, Lu Xiufu was made leftside prime minister. When the Mongols attacked again, Song Court fled to Yashan, somewhere near Macao. Mongol General Zhang Hongfan led a surprise attack at Chaoyang (Chaoshan areas, Guangdong Province) and captured Wen Tianxiang who later wrote the famous poem entitled 'Ling Ding Yang' or 'Lingding Sea'. At Hainan, Zhang Shijie nailed together his fleet, trying to defend the straits. Zhang Shijie declined Zhang Hongfan's invitation for surrender. After a defeat, Zhang Shijie broke through the siege with 16 ships. When chased by the Mongols, Lu Xiufu, with young emperor on his back, jumped into the sea with emperor on his back after driving his family into the sea. Zhang Shijie met with a hurricane near Hailingshan Mountain, preyed that his ship sink should Heaven intend to capsize Song Dynasty, and died when his ship was sunken. Song Dynasty officially ended in AD 1279, after a total of 320 years, including 152 years in southern China. Song royal tombs would be dug up by a Central Asian monk for treasures. Khubilai Khan declared the dynasty of Yuan ("first" or "beginning") in this year.
 
In Sichuan Prov, as said by Liu-sha-he, Mongols sacked Chengdu city for a second time and left 1.4 million skeletons. Liu-sha-he cited Yuan Dynasty's Heh Qingquan in stating that Mongol army killed Chengdu people in batches of 50 and repeatedly pierced the dead bodies to make sure victims had been actually killed. (Liu-sha-he also had comments on Di[1] barbarians' massacring Chengdu in 301 AD as well as rebel Zhang Xianzhong's slaughter in AD 1644.)
 
The Yuan Dynasty (AD 1261-1368)

MONGOL ARCHER

http://www.asia.msu.edu/eastasia/China/History/Graphics/mongol%20archer.gif


Khubilai Khan obtained his throne without a proper assembly, and hence he had lost the kind of mandate over ruling other Mongol khanates. By moving the capital to Peking from Karakorum (rebuilt by Ogedei in AD 1235), he had changed the old Mongol yasaq. In the very beginning, Jochi's son, Batu, ruled the region to the north and west of Lake Balkash (extending from Hungary to Kirghiz Plains, and from lower Danube to Caucasus); Chagadai was given the southwestern region to the east of River Amu-darya and to the southeast of River Syr-Darya, including Afghanistan, Turkestan, the former Naiman territories around the Altai, and central Siberia; Ogedei was awarded China and East Asia; Tului, the youngest of the four sons, was to have central Mongolia. Later, Tului sons exterminated the ruling of Ogedei descendants and diminished the domain of Ogedei descendants, and Chagadai domain was curtailed; Hulegu was given the territories beyond the Oxus River and the Hindu Kush. Nominally, Khubilai Khan was in charge of all khanates: 'Amu-darya Xingsheng' was in charge of Ilkhante and Kipchak Khanate; 'Lingbei (north ridge) Xingsheng' was in charge of Ogedei Khanate; and two 'yuan shuai (marshal)' offices were in charge of Chagadai Khanate. A separate 'Liaoyang Xingsheng' was in charge of Manchuria. After declaring his dynasty of Yuan, Khubilai Khan could only be considered a ruler of China and Mongolia.


 A SONG DYNASTY JUNK

http://en.wikipedia.org


Before subjugating Southern Song, Kubilai sent a fleet of 150 boats against Japan in AD 1274. Marco Polo supposedly had travelled to and stayed in China during the period of AD 1275 - 1292. Two years after the 1279 conquest of Southern Song, Kubilai's empress, an Onggirat woman, passed away. Mongol khans had a custom of marrying Onggirat women, a convention passed down from Genghis Khan. A niece of the empress would become the new empress. But Khubilai, though getting older, chose to go to the capital of Shang-du (i.e., Kaiping) for sake of indulging himself in concubines there (i.e., concubines from past emperors). Kubilai hired a Muslim as his finance minister, and this person, A-he-ma, had done his best to exploit the people in iron and salt trades. A-he-ma nepotism would include over 500 officials across the country. A-he-ma would later be killed by a 'qian hu' who issued an order in the name of crown prince. Khubilai then renovated politics a bit by ordering Guo Shoujing to recompile calendar, promoting overseas trading, and inviting Confucian descendant as academy official. Rebellions broke out in coastal China of Fujian and Guangdong. Owing to rumors about Song revival, Khubilai relocated late Song Emperor Gongdi (now Duke Yingguo-gong) to Shang-du and ordered ex-Song prime minister Wen Tianxiang be executed should he refuse to surrender. Wen Tianxiang wrote a poem, stating that "Confucius proposed that one should die for compassion (Ren) and Mencius suggested that one should die for righteousness (Yi). Only when righteousness is fully exerted will the compassion be derived. What should I endeavour after educating myself with so many books of the ancient saints? However, I am sure that I feel no guilty about myself from this death moment on." (Confucius wording for 'Ren' should mean a broader sense of human perfection, similar to nirvana in Buddhism. 'Ren' also meant nucleus in Chinese, as used for the nucleus of various fruits like apple.) Khubilai, impressed by this poem, would confer a title of Duke Lulingjun-gong on Wen Tianxiang posthumously.
 
Invasion of Japan


In AD 1281, Kubilai sent another expedition, with more than 160 000 soldiers, to Japan, but a typhoon would destroy the fleet, with those soldiers already on Japanese shore mostly killed by Japanese. Japanese only spared the Southern Chinese and made them into slaves. Later, three Chinese fled to the continent.
 
The idea to have contact with Japan started in AD 1265 when Koryo emissary, Zhao Yi, told Khubilai that Japan could be reached. The second year, Khubilai sent He De and Yin Hong to Japan via Koryo where King Wang Zhi ordered his people accompany them on the sea trip. He De and Yin Hong failed to get in touch with any Japanese official and returned home. Khubilai then sent Pan Hu to Japan where Pan Hu stayed for 6 months; but Pan did not get to see any Japanese official. In AD 1269, Koryo minister Lin Yan usurped the kingdom, and Khubilai sent over 10,000 army for sake of accompanying Koryo King back to the throne. Then, Khubilai sent Zhao Liangbi to Japan where Zhao met a Japanese governor; Zhao was told that the Japanese refused to meet the prior Mongol emissaries because the Koreans had repeatedly said that the Mongols intended to invade Japan. The Japanese governor then suggested that Zhao Liangbi return to China since Japanese capital was too far away. Zhao ordered that his follower and Japanese emissaries return to China first. Yao Shu and Xu Heng advised Khubilai that the Japanese emissary had come to China for sake of detecting the military might of the Mongols and recommended to Khubilai that he treat the Japanese the same way the Japanese treated the Mongol emissary. Japanese emissary returned to Japan without seeing Khubilai. Zhao Liangbi returned to China then, but was ordered to make one more trip to Japan. Japan was ruled by the shogunate at that time, and the national policy was to close off the seashore. In AD 1274, Koryo King passed away. Khubilai married over his daughter to the new Koryo king and then ordered that Koryo send an auxiliary force of 5,000 on a campaign against Japan. Khubilai altogether assembled 900 ships and an army of 20,000 for invading Japan. Tsushima and Iki islands were taken. Mongols landed onto shoreline. However, the Japanese refused to fight the Mongols face to face and retreated inland; the Mongol army retreated after running out of arrows and capturing a few Japanese. The next year, Khubilai sent Du Shizhong and He Wenzhu to Japan, but the Japanese again refused to receive them. In AD 1280, Du Shizhong was dispatched to Japan again, but the Japanese minister killed Du Shizhong after being enraged by the letter from Khubilai. Khubuilai, then in AD 1281, ordered rightside prime minister A-lou-han and Fan Wenhu lead an army of over 100,000 on a campaign against Japan. A-lou-han died on route in Koryo. Khubilai then ordered leftside prime minister An-ta-ha to substitue for the position of dead A-lou-h Howevalready started his wars on his own initiative. Before arriving atBnBR> outer island near the Japanese coast by July, 30-40% of the ships, under the command of 'wan hu' Li Debiao, had already fled towards Koryo as a result of huge sea winds (called "divine wind" or kamikaze in Japanese). When the hurricane blew again, Fan Wenhu also fled to Koryo on August 1st. A lower level official, 'bai hu' (officer in charge of 100 soldiers), would be in charge of the remaining Mongol army. When dered that the Mongols landed on the island to cut trees for repairing the ships, the Japanese made an assault on them. One third of the Mongol army were killed, one third drowned in the seas, and one third taken prisoners. Out of the 20-30,000 prisoners, only 10,000 Southern Chinese were spared. One Southern Chinese, by the name of Yu Chang, fled home to report the defeat. Two more Chinese, Muo Qing and Wu Wanwu, fled to the continent, too. Fan Wenhu later blamed the defeat on 'wan hu' (officer in charge of 10,000 soldiers) Li Debiao, and Khubilai could not locate Li Debiao since Li had dispersed his soldiers and hid himself in Koryo as a civilian. Then, Khubilai ordered a new campaign against Japan, and this was only halted when he shifted his priority to the campaign against Champa.
 
Champa & Annam


Champa, located to the south of Annam, refused to acknowledge being a vassal of the Mongols. Mongols, under Suodu, departed Canton with over thousand ships. Champa boasted an army of 200,000. After being defeated by the Mongols, Champa prince fled to the mountains and sent a minister to the Mongol camp for surrender. Unguarded, Suodu was later defeated by a Champa ambush. Suodu requested for relief army. Khubilai ordered that his ninth son, Duohuan, i.e., King of Zhennan (i.e., quelling the south), lead an army southward via Annam. Annam King agreed to supply grains, but refused to lend the path to the Mongols. The brother of Annam King, Chen Jun, took charge in fighting the Mongols. Annam King sent over one thousand ships to aid his brother. After several rounds of fighting, Annam King requested again that Mongols leave Annam per the treaty signed with Mengke Khan before. Mongols attacked the Annam camp and took over the capital. Annam King fled, and one brother by the name of Chen Yiji surrendered. Mongols met with shortage of grain and pestilence in Annam capital and hence called off the campaign. When fleeing northward, Annam army attacked them with poisonous arrows at a river crossing. Duohuan barely escaped alive. Suodu, not knowing the retreat of Tuohuan, was ambushed at another river crossing, and Suodu committed suicide by jumping into the river. Having incurred heavy losses, Khubilai was advised not to attack Annam for now. In AD 1284, Khubilai conferred Annam kingship onto Chen Yiji and ordered King of Zhennan Tuohuan to lead a campaign against Annam. Mongols took over Annam capital again, and Annam king fled to the island. By the spring of AD 1288, pestilence erupted again. When Mongols retreated, Annam King assembled a land/sea army of 300,000 and circumvented to the hind of the Mongols. Tuohuan barely escaped alive, and he was reprimanded by Khubilai with a prohibition to return to Peking. Annam king, Tran Nhon-ton (Chen Ri-xuan), however, sent over a gold statute and requested for pardon. Khubilai hence sufficed with the status of Annam. Burma, however, was invaded by another Mongol king. About 12 tribes of so-called 'Xi-nan Man' or Southwestern barbarians were conquered, and Burma acknowledged vassalage. Thailand, India, Southeast Asian statelets, hearing of the Mongol conquest of Burma, sent in tributes. Khubilai intended to invade Japan and Annam again, and one minister, Lu Shirong, who raised money via over-circulation of paper currency, was executed. Crown Prince Zhenjin passed away.
 
Mongol Internal Strife
Khubilai exercised only nominal ruling over the rest of khanates. The khanates, however, had already engaged themselves in disputes and wars. In AD 1265, Mamluk Baybars made an alliance with Berke Khan (Batu's brother and successor) against Hulegu. Berke withdrew when Khubilai sent 30,000 troops to aid the Ilkhans. Arik-Buka (Ariq-boeke), the junior brother of Khubilai, had received covert aid from Khan Haidu (grandson of Ogedei, i.e. Mongol Emperor Taizong posthumously). Arik-Buka later surrendered to Khubilai.
 
The grandson of Chagatai, Ya-er-gu, allied himself with Haidu. When Khubilai intended to oust Ya-er-gu, he called on the grandson of Batu (Mengke-timur) and the great grandson of Chagatai Ba-la for sake of an alliance against Haidu of Ogedei Khanate. But Ba-la of Chagatai Khanate colluded with Haidu in attacking Mengke-timur of Kipchak Khanate. When Haidu was defeated by Mengke-timur, Ba-la encroached on the territories of Haidu. Haidu sought reconciliation with Mengke-timur, and Mengke-timur defeated Ba-la. Ba-la then threatened Haidu that he would ask Khubilai to attack him. Haidu sought reconciliation with Ba-la, too. The three khans held an khuritai on the bank of the Talas River, and Haidu was proclaimed as the Grand Khan of the Mongols. Haidu then decreed to the Ilkhanate that they unite against Khubilai. The Ilkhnate khan, A-ba-ha, son of Hulegu, refused to follow Haidu; Haidu and Ba-la invaded eastern Ilkhanate and called upon Mengke-timur to invade Ilkhanate from the northwest. A-ba-ha defeated Haidu and Ba-la, but he failed to beat back Mengke-timur. After A-ba-ha died, his brother would compete with A-ba-ha's son for the throne. Hence, Haidu gained an upper hand in the wars and moreover threatened to invade Khubilai's territories.
 
Khubilai dispatched Prince Ye-mu-han, Mengke's son Xi-li-jie and Muhuali's grandson An-tong against Haidu. Xi-li-jie defected to Haidu and arrested Ye-mu-han and An-tong. Khubilai then ordered prime minister Bayan to counter Haidu who was closing in on Helin. Bayan defeated Xi-li-jie and rescued Ye-mu-han and An-tong. Bayan was recalled by Khubilai when Nai-yan (the great grandson of the brother of Genghis khan) was reported to have planned rebellion in the areas between the Onon and Kerulen rivers of Mongolia. Bayan went to meet Nao-yan and failed to pursuade Nai-yan. Bayan fled back to the Mongol capital. A Mongol minister recommended to Khubilai that once the khanates in the west are pacified, Nai-yan would succumb. This minister hence was ordered to go west and he claimed that Nai-yan had already succumbed to Khubilai. Hence the khanates all succumbed to Khubilai. After that, Khubilai led an army northward against Nai-yan. Seeing that his Mongol soldiers treated Nai-yan soldiers with intimacy, Khubilai adopted the advice of a Chinese in having the Chinese army act as the forerunner column. General Li Ting tricked Nai-yan into a retreat and then defeated Nai-yan's army of 100,000 via a night attack with cannons. Nai-yan was captured and executed. Remnant Nai-yan people then fled to Manchuria and attacked eastern Liaoning Province. Mongol 'Xuanwei-shi of Liaodong' Ta-chu requested for aid, and Khubilai sent his son over. Ta-chu defeated the Nai-yan remnants and chased them westward to the Altai. Ta-chu was conferred the title of 'wan hu'. Nai-yan remnants, however, still remained for some time. Bayan was ordered to counter Haidu who harassed Helin in the west, and Prince Timur (grandson of Khubilai) was ordered to guard the Liao River area in the east. When a Mongol official defected to Haidu and attacked Khubilai's grandson (Gemala) near Hang'aishan Mountain, Khubilai would lead a column to the north. Haidu retreated thereafter. Bayan would continue warfare with Haidu for sometime before he left the post at Helin.
 
Khubilai Seeking For Confucians


In AD 1286, Khubilai ordered that yu-shi or Censor Cheng Wenhai go to Southern China and seek ex-Song Confucians. Altogether twenty Confucians, including a Song royal family member (Zhao Meng), were located and delivered to Yuan court. Cheng Wenhai and an ex-Song prime minister Liu Mengyan had both recommended an ex-Song minister, by the name of Xie Fangde, for the Yuan court. Xie refused to eat food on the road to the capital, and he died in Peking after paying respect at the tombs of ex-Song empress and Duke Yingguo-gong (ex-Song emperor). Another Confucian, by the name of Liu Mingyin who was an expert on Daoism and Neo-Confucianism, surrendered salaries to the Yuan court and left for his hometown. Yuan's official in charge of the academy, 'Guo Zi Jian', ji-jiu (Wine Surrenderer) Xu Heng, had recommended another Confucian, Yang Gongyi, for the job of validating calendar and endorsing the 'Civil Services Exam' system. Yang Gongyi resigned after finishing his work, and he died in the same year as Liu Mingyin, in AD 1293. Xu Heng was guilty of his serving the Mongols and asked his family not to erect a tombstone for him. Khubilai conferred Xu Heng the title of 'si-tu' and Duke Weiguo-gong posthumously for his contributions in reviving Confucianism and the spirits of Archduke of Zhou Dynasty.
 
Invading Java, Declaring Amnesty, and Khubilai Death  

Khubilai replaced a prime minister (Sangge) when he found out about the corruption. Khubilai quelled numerous rebellions in southern Chinese provinces. In January of AD 1293, Kubilai sent an army of 30,000 to Java and defeated the local ruler, only to be driven off by a Javanese ally. Khubilai thought about invading Annam again in AD 1293 because the new Annam king had bullied Mongol emissary in AD 1291 and refused to come to Yuan court to pay respect. When a meteorite was spotted in the sky, Khubilai inquired with his minister (Buwusu) about how to revert the Heaven's Omen as to his possible death. Buwusu cited Han Emperor Wendi's seeking repentance when 29 mountain quakes occurred in the same day and sun eclipse occurred in the year. Khubilai recited Wendi's 'Decree In Regards To Sun Eclipse', opened royal grain barns for aiding hunger-stricken people, and declared a general amnesty. When Khubilai fell ill again, Prime Minister Bayan was recalled to the capital from Datong. On February 18, 1294, Kubilai died at the age of eighty, after a reign of 35 years. Khubilai was given the posthumous title of Shizu.
 
Emperor Chengzong (Borjigin Timur, reign AD 1294-1307)


AN IMPERIAL EDICT OF THE EMPEROR CHENGZONG
http://zt.tibet.cn/tibetzt/gold/english/script/023.htm

With the help of Bayan, Khubilai's grandson, Timur, was proclaimed the successor, i.e., Emperor Chengzong after the Mongol court went through a power vaccum for a few months. Timur gave his father (Zhenjin) the posthumous title of Emperor Yuzong. Timur released Annam emissary to show his goodwill. Timur conferred the title of 'tai shi' on Yuexi-timur, 'tai fu' on Bayan, and 'tai bao' on Yue-chi-cha-er. Bayan, who previously commanded 200,000 troops against Song, passed away in this year at the age of 59. In AD 1296, rebellion erupted in Jiangxi. The next year, Buddhist monastery on Wutaishan Mountain was completed at a cost of over 10,000 human lives. Phagsba's desciple was responsible for pushing this project. At the times of Khubilai, Phagsba was made imperial tutor, and Tibetan buddhism was made the national religion. Phagsba was responsible for devising the new Mongol script, with 41 letters. Phagsba was conferred the title of 'Da Bao Fa Wang', i.e., grand treasure king for enforcing laws. Empress Onggirat led a huge column onto the Wutaishan Mountain. A Chinese official rebuked the rampant behaviors of Buddhist monks who came from the West.

MONGOL PASSPORT
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yuan/ho_1993.256.htm


Expulsion of the Mongols
 
Mongol's discrimination against Chinese should be the top cause for the ending of its rule in China. The other causes would be collusion with Tibetan lamas in depriving Chinese of their lands. Paper currency over-circulation, which caused inflation to go up ten folds during Yuan Emperor Shundi's reign, should also be an important cause for its loss of power. Yuan's Prime Minnister Toktoghan (Tuo Tuo), against an objection by a Chinese official (Lu Sicheng) in charge of Guo Zi Jian (i.e., Confucian Academy), would print over five versions of paper currency. Still one more cause would be the Yellow River flooding as a result of Mongols' abandoning the irrigation projects. In Mongol times, the Chinese agriculture lands were very much in wastage. Once hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were called upon to work on the Yellow River, the time was ripe for a great rebellion.
 
In history, China's dynastic substitution was mostly the results of usurpation, mutiny or foreign invasion, except for Yellow Turbans of Eastern Han Dynasty and Red Turbans of Yuan Dynasty. China's dynasties twice changed by religious organizations, namely, Zhang Jiao's Daoist "Yellow Turbans" in Han Dynasty, and Yuan Dynasty's Red Turbans that were related to "Ming" [bright] religion, history, though a mirror, may not have to repeat. (Religious agitations might not work in 21st century, as in the case of Fa Lun Gong movement. Religion-related rebellion that had crippled but failed to topple a dynasty would be the "White Lotus Society" and "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", incidentally. Similarly, I had also read about Wang Dan's interpretation of today's China as condusive to a similar Chen Sheng & Wu Guang rebellion of Qin Dynasty.)
 
Religion was used by the Chinese in rebelling against the Mongols. The secret societies rebelling against Mongol rule would be mixed combinations of Taoism, Buddhist elements and Central Asia religions. Major branches would include White Lotus Society ("Bailian Jiao"), White Cloud Society ("Baiyun" by Kong Qingjiao), and "bright" religion ("Ming Jiao"). Mao Ziyuan of Southern Song Dynasty first founded the "White Lotus Society" as a Mahayanist sect of Buddhism with adoration for bodhisattva Amitabha; however, the sect had transferred the adoration to a different buddha [Maitreya Buddha?] by Yuan Dynasty. (Later, in 16th century, "White Lotus Society" developed into hundreds of sub-sects, with ocurrence of major uprising against the Manchu rule in AD 1796.) Radical Chinese historians, who had attributed Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty to an alien rule belonging to the Muslims, had pointed out that the character "ming" to the fire adoration religion of the Central Asia. The Red Turbans, i.e., "Hongjin Jun", which overthrew the Mongol rule, derived from the "bright religion" [? Zoroastrianism mutation].
 
 
Yellow River Flooding & The Red Turbans


Yellow River flooding caused massive damages to people in Jinan area of Shandong Prov. The Yellow River was first worked on by Lord Yu, and eight hundred years after, the Shang people began to experience the flooding again. Major river course changes had occurred for over half a dozen times in past 3500 years. During the 25th year reign of Yuan Emperor Shizu (Khubilai), i.e. AD 1288, the River changed course. During the 1st year reign of Yuan Emperor Shundi, i.e., AD 1335, bank was breached at Kaifeng, Henan Prov; in AD 1344, breached at Caozhou Prefecture and Kaifeng; in AD 1345, breached near Jinan, Shandong Prov. A Chinese official, by the name of Jia Lu, proposed to have the river course changed to the Huai-shui River in the south. Toktoghan dispatched an official, Cheng Zun, on an inspection trip, and Cheng Zun proposed an alternative scheme by citing the fact that there were no royal savings for a huge project like Jia Lu's and that any mobilization of 200,000 laborers might cause social instability. Toktoghan, angry with Cheng Zun for the suggestion that people might rebel, would petition with Emperor Shundi to have Jia Lu take charge of 170,000 soldiers and laborers and work on revamping the Yellow River course. Jia Lu started work in April of AD 1351 and finished work in July of the same year. However, White Lotus Society, led by Han Shantong and Liu Futong, had secretly implanted an one-eye stone statute in Huanglinggang area and then spread the rumor stating that rebellion would erupt should a stone man with one eye be dug up from the Yellow River bed. Jia Lu did not pay attention to the stone man and ordered that it be destroyed. Liu Futong, after the Yuan Dynasty arrested and executed Han Shantong, would rally an army called the 'Red Turbans' and supported Han Shantong's son (Han Lin'er) as the leader. Cai Dongfan commented that the Mongols should have hired the displaced Shandong people as labor for repairing the Yellow River rather than mobilizing 170,000 people for the project.
 
Answering the 'Red Turbans' rebellion would be several more bands, including Li Er (Sesame Lee) in Xuzhou of Shandong Prov, Xu Shouhui (a cloth vendor) in Qi-shui of Hubei Prov. Guo Zixing rebelled against Yuan in Dingyuan in AD 1352. Zhang Shicheng (salt merchant) rebelled against Yuan in Taizhou of Jiangsu Prov in AD 1353. Before that, in AD 1348, Fang Guozhen (a salt worker and later a pirate) in Taizhou of Zhejiang had rebelled against the Mongols.
 
Toktoghan advised Emperor Shundi to put down the rebellion in Henan Prov first. Since Shundi did not want Toktoghan leave the court, Toktoghan's brother, Yexian-temur, was ordered to quell rebellion with an army of over 100,000. Yexian-temur first attacked the city of Shangcai and captured a Red Turban leader called Han Yao'er.