Download Chapter 14, Section 4 (The Yuan and Ming Dynasties)

Chap 14, Sect 4 (The Yuan and Ming Dynasties)
Yuan Dynasty
-Genghis Khan united the
Mongol tribes and became
their leader in 1206.
- Genghis Khan organized the
Mongols into a powerful
army and led them on a
bloody expedition of
conquest.
-He first leads his armies into
northern China in 1211.
-By the time of Genghis
Khan’s death in 1227, all of
northern China was under
Mongol control.
-Kublai Khan became ruler of
the Mongol empire and
completed the conquest of
China in 1279. This becomes
the beginning of the Yuan
Dynasty.
- For the first time, the
Chinese were ruled by
foreigners who wore
different clothing, spoke diff
Ming Dynasty
-Ming China was the most
stable & prosperous times in
Chinese history.
-Chinese improved their
ships & funded many
voyages by Zheng He. He
traveled all the way to
Mesopotamia & the eastern
coast of Africa.
-Zheng He’s journeys served
as a sign of China’s power &
wealth.
- Great Building Projects (ex:
Forbidden City, temples,
restored the Great Wall,
gov’t buildings)
-In the 1430s, China entered
a period of isolationism. This
is a policy of avoiding contact
with other countries.
-Westerners were then able
to gain influence in Chinese
affairs. Partly due to its
isolation, and lack of
lang, & had diff customs. The progress, China was too
Chinese resented it.
weak to stop them.
- Kublai Kahn allowed
Chinese to keep their
traditions, but placed heavy
taxes on them in order to
control them.
-used tax $ to pay for gov’t
projects (ex: new roads,
Grand Canal, palaces, postal
system, new capital)
-Sea trade between China,
India, & SE Asia continued
(including a traveler named
Marco Polo).
-A Chinese rebel army wins
over the Mongols and their
dynasty ends in the 1300s.