noodletools.com
username- skhan
password- september7
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
A New Order In Social Classes
The Yuan Globe "Editorials"
Article by: Sahar Khan
Last updated: 8:30pm Feb 13,1279
Kublai has enforced his own authority because the Mongols are outnumbered nearly one to ten, to enforce his own authority he divided all his subjects into four classes. The new order of social classes is unlawful and absurd; the way the social classes are organized is very unfair and unreasonable. This matters as the second to bottom class are the Northern Chinese and the lower class are the Southern Chinese (former subjects of the Southern Song Dynasty). The rankings are contradictive because the Chinese are the natives of the land and deserve some respect. Not only is making up the bottom of the social class bad but they had stricter punishments than the non-Chinese. The social class would make more sense and be fair if the Chinese come before the foreigners (they are ranked the second on the social class). Even though the foreigners have been of great help by inventing and making up the advisory, and it also makes sense for the Mongols to rank at the top, but the Chinese should be higher in the social class they were there first after all.
Article by: Sahar Khan
Last updated: 8:30pm Feb 13,1279
Kublai has enforced his own authority because the Mongols are outnumbered nearly one to ten, to enforce his own authority he divided all his subjects into four classes. The new order of social classes is unlawful and absurd; the way the social classes are organized is very unfair and unreasonable. This matters as the second to bottom class are the Northern Chinese and the lower class are the Southern Chinese (former subjects of the Southern Song Dynasty). The rankings are contradictive because the Chinese are the natives of the land and deserve some respect. Not only is making up the bottom of the social class bad but they had stricter punishments than the non-Chinese. The social class would make more sense and be fair if the Chinese come before the foreigners (they are ranked the second on the social class). Even though the foreigners have been of great help by inventing and making up the advisory, and it also makes sense for the Mongols to rank at the top, but the Chinese should be higher in the social class they were there first after all.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Customs, clothing
The custom of the Yuan Dynasty varied for each social class and was also different for both the Mongols and the Chinese. The quality of clothes wether they were coarse or fine distinguished the rank of officials. Men’s casual garments during the Yuan dynasty was not that different than the Han, a jacket with short sleeves was worn over the casual garment. Women also dressed in this way, which was called Ruqun; upper jacket and lower skirt and, Banbi; half sleeves. Women’s clothing had a distinguish between aristocrat types and common people type. Mongols were often the aristocrats their national custom were fur caps and fur coats, the garments were made of marten and sheepskin, most garments were robes with narrow cuffs and loose sleeves. In addition, influenced by people of Koryo a neighboring country, queens and imperial concubines in the capital city imitated the custom of Koryo women's attires. This is what set the aristocrats apart from the common class through custom.
Interview with Kublai Khan
Sahar: Hello Kublai how are you doing?
Kublai Khan: I'm doing well.
Sahar: I am very honnored to have you join me today. I have some questions I would like to ask you.
Kublai Khan: Well I am very thankful, and pleased to be invited. Ask away!
Sahar: Do you like the Chinese?
Kublai Khan: Yes I do, like the Chinese. Well after all I am their emperor. I have developed a great respect for them and their local culture. I was raised and educated in China so growing up here I adapted to the way things were and learned a lot.
Sahar: You weren’t very strict or harsh on the Chinese and you weren’t very specific on what you expected from them. I mean you didn’t ask them to convert to a certain religion or take away their land. And why was that?
Kublai Khan: I didn’t think I would need to have the Chinese and everyone else under my power convert because other peoples religious beliefs did not conflict with my own interest I could tolerate it. As for that I had considered that the local people were there first and I let them be. I didn’t need to be strict or harsh on the Chinese as long as they didn’t rebel; I valued Chinese culture and tried in many ways to adapt to it.
Sahar: Why was conquering the Yangzi River Valley the highest of your priorities?
Kublai Khan: Conquering the Yangzi River Valley was a high priority for me to complete because it was the richest part of China. But defeating the southern Song dynasty was a very tough task. Our Mongolian style warfare was no match for the network of waterways and rice paddies in the south made the frontal attacks nearly impossible. But learning how to make gunpowder was great help and huge counter-weighted catapults helped us to victory.
Sahar: How did you deal with cultural differences, when ruling over China?
Kublai Khan: To be honest, China was considered as only one part of the vast empire and the Chinese civilizations only one among many. I had dealt with many cultures throughout Asia and Eastern Europe. We Mongols had robust, physically active people, who loved to hunt when they weren’t engaged in warfare. While the Chinese were more sedentary ways, but tolerance was a key to how it worked out and with that we managed.
Sahar: What made your dynasty different than others for example the Han, Qin, Chin, and Sui?
Kublai Khan: What I think really made the Yuan Dynasty stand out and different from all the other dynasties before my time is for the first time all of inner China was ruled by a non-Chinese. I also had led a lot of foreigners and outsiders in, and made trade and travel with the westerners
Kublai Khan: I'm doing well.
Sahar: I am very honnored to have you join me today. I have some questions I would like to ask you.
Kublai Khan: Well I am very thankful, and pleased to be invited. Ask away!
Sahar: Do you like the Chinese?
Kublai Khan: Yes I do, like the Chinese. Well after all I am their emperor. I have developed a great respect for them and their local culture. I was raised and educated in China so growing up here I adapted to the way things were and learned a lot.
Sahar: You weren’t very strict or harsh on the Chinese and you weren’t very specific on what you expected from them. I mean you didn’t ask them to convert to a certain religion or take away their land. And why was that?
Kublai Khan: I didn’t think I would need to have the Chinese and everyone else under my power convert because other peoples religious beliefs did not conflict with my own interest I could tolerate it. As for that I had considered that the local people were there first and I let them be. I didn’t need to be strict or harsh on the Chinese as long as they didn’t rebel; I valued Chinese culture and tried in many ways to adapt to it.
Sahar: Why was conquering the Yangzi River Valley the highest of your priorities?
Kublai Khan: Conquering the Yangzi River Valley was a high priority for me to complete because it was the richest part of China. But defeating the southern Song dynasty was a very tough task. Our Mongolian style warfare was no match for the network of waterways and rice paddies in the south made the frontal attacks nearly impossible. But learning how to make gunpowder was great help and huge counter-weighted catapults helped us to victory.
Sahar: How did you deal with cultural differences, when ruling over China?
Kublai Khan: To be honest, China was considered as only one part of the vast empire and the Chinese civilizations only one among many. I had dealt with many cultures throughout Asia and Eastern Europe. We Mongols had robust, physically active people, who loved to hunt when they weren’t engaged in warfare. While the Chinese were more sedentary ways, but tolerance was a key to how it worked out and with that we managed.
Sahar: What made your dynasty different than others for example the Han, Qin, Chin, and Sui?
Kublai Khan: What I think really made the Yuan Dynasty stand out and different from all the other dynasties before my time is for the first time all of inner China was ruled by a non-Chinese. I also had led a lot of foreigners and outsiders in, and made trade and travel with the westerners
Freedom of Religion and Beliefs
Kublai Khan had made a good choice by granting everyone the right to choose there own religion. Kublai tolerated other religions as long as they didn’t conflict with his own beliefs and interest. Kublai and his favorite wife Chabi were Buddhist, and his mother was Christian, she encouraged Kublai to be open-minded. It was good that Kublai was tolerant of other religions and beliefs because this saved a lot of rebellion and fights. This was good because if he forced any type of religion on the Literati and outsiders who came to China they would have rebelled. Muslims were allowed to worship as they wished and Daoism was still a strong influence in all classes of Chinese society. This helped everyone stay at peace and harmony and allowed everyone to lead their own lifestyle and living. This is why Kublai Khan had made a good choice by granting everyone to chose there own religion.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Chinese Drama
Chinese drama was a helpful way some literati expressed their resentment of the foreign occupiers through writing plays. The literati’s effort led to a great revolution in Chinese drama. Literati’s were able to express their resentment of foreign occupiers through writing plays because the plays were written in everyday language of the people and this unable the Mongols from understanding the local dialects. The Chinese play writers were clever enough that within the plot and characterization there were many references to the Mongols, they enabled the theater to provide a place for the feelings of frustration felt among all classes of Chinese. The Mongolians were advocators of the theater; they enjoyed the plays and spectacles while they were fully unaware that they are the targets of the political mockery. From expressing their resentment of the foreign occupiers, writing plays was a helpful way to get their frustration and discontent out.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Yuan dynasty: extent of empire under Kublai Khan, c. 1300
Here is a map of china and its surrounding countries in 1300 BCE. The red line shows modern China’s boundaries. This map shows for the first time all of inner China was in the hands of a non-chinese ruler. After all the years of battle, the Mongols finally got to the Yangtze River Valley shown in the map on the southeast. In the currant China map, Dadu the capital is modern day Beijing which is still the capital of China.
Bestseller Makes Enormous Changes
The Yuan Globe
Last updated 7:30pm Feb 17, 1297
Article by: Sahar Khan
Marco Polo's book has been published! Travels of Marco Polo is about his past experiences and travels in China and other parts of the world. The book got published after tragedy hit as news was sent to Marco Polo that Kublai Khan has died. Polo decided to go home to Italy as there is no use in traveling to Persia anymore. Marco Polo has just gotten out of jail, his cellmate Antonio says “While me and Marco were prisoners he would tell me about his past experiences, I believed him as our bond had become greater but some things were a little too hard to believe, like his description of giant birds that dropped elephants from a great hight and devoured there broken carcasses.” A lot of high controversy has come about his traveling and what he had seen. But now that his book has been published many great things have been the outcome of it like trade and travel. The roads connected to the silk road, the network of trade routes dating back to the days of the Han dynasty is now being used by westerners swell. The China Times quotes “Marco Polo’s book sparked a great interest in china among Europeans and has led to a dramatic increase in trade and along the Silk Road.” Westerners now learned about movable type, the magnetic compass, playing cards, kites, eye glasses, the decimal system, wheelbarrows, gun powder, the mass products of books, and other inventions, invented by China. Westerners as far as Italy have been hearing of these great inventions and have found great use for everything to make life easier. There’s now active exchange on information in the field of medicine, religious beliefs, and styles of art and architecture. The Silk Road is being traveled by more than ever and there is a great amount of trade between different lands. A lot of good has come out of Marco Polo’s published book that has become a best seller of the time, and let’s hope for more good in the future.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)