1. The Mongols and China
Chapter 8 Section 2

2. The Mongols
The Mongols are an ethnic group of people who were centered around the northern portions of China, in what today is Mongolia.
A nomadic group of people, Mongols were unified into Clans were the members were related to one another. In the 13th century these clans were united by Genghis Khan and began to spread their influence by conquering their neighbors.
By conquering their neighbors they created the largest land empire ever known.
Much like other empires who grew to big to govern, Genghis Khan created the position of khanates, who governed specific territories with in the empire. Only his sons were allowed the position of Khanates.

3. Genghis Khan

4. The Mongols
After Genghis Khan’s death, his eldest soon took over and eventually his grandson Kublai Khan became the ruler of the Mongol empire. Kublai Khan continued war with the Chinese Song Dynasty and defeated them to create a new ruling dynasty in China known as the Yuan Dynasty.
Kublai Khan established a new capital known as Khanbalik which would later became Beijing.
After mixing with Chinese cultures the Mongols adopted many Chinese cultural traditions, among them the way they controlled their government and some other aspects of Chinese culture. Even though they established a political system based on what the Chinese invented, they only allowed Mongols to have positions.

5. Religion & Government
After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, who governed based off of Confucianism, new ideologies and religions made there way to China among them Daoism & Buddhism.
Buddhism – Came to China from India via the Silk roads, brought by traders and merchants. This religion was based on the idea of breaking the cycle of rebirth and reaching Nirvana.
Daoism – is a Chinese ideology, not a religion which goes against many Confucianism ideals. The main thing with this ideology is to live a simple life and remove yourself from society. Inspired many rebellions.
Neo-Confucianism – A revival of Confucianism that was implemented by Sui dynasty after they reunified China. Based of the older version of Confucianism, it also mixed in elements of Buddhism & Daoism.

6. Literature & Art
The era of the Tang dynasty in China is referred to as the great age of poetry in China. Over 48,000 poems were created in this time by as many as 2,200 authors.
Li Bo & Du Fu are 2 of the better known authors of this time period. Their poems centered on nature, more than likely influenced by Daoism which also makes connections to nature.
The art of this time period is also influenced by Daoism which spoke of a balance between water & earth. Many of the painting expressed this idea by focusing on Mountains and empty spaces.
Porcelain a ceramic made of fine clay was molded into various shapes to create vases. These were very saught after in Europe and became one of the biggest exports for China during this time period.

7. Daoism Painting

8. Porcelain – Important Chinese Export