Decline
Generally, there were two major factors that led to the decline of the Yuan Dynasty: one was the class conflict caused by the heavy taxation, the other one was the ethnic contradiction resulting from the 'Four Class System'.
The Yuan court actually first began to decline during the reign of Emperor Renzong, when peasant uprisings emerged in southern China. However, despite the warning of the uprisings, corruption of the Yuan court officials continued. Also, power struggles within the ruling class became more and more serious. For instance in the short period from the beginning of Emperor Wuzong's reign in 1308 to the start of Emperor Huizong's reign in 1333, there were eight emperors. During this period, the corruption became severe as subordinate officials were commonly appointed on the basis of bribery rather than merit; the land was gradually concentrated in the hands of Mongolian aristocrats and a select group of powerful Han landlords; a fiscal crisis in the Yuan court also broke out due to the luxurious lifestyles of the ruling class. Even worse, the Mongolian army became corrupt and gradually disintegrated.
During the reign of the last emperor, the real power of the Yuan regime fell into the hands of Cheng Xiang (prime minister) named Bo Yan, who was born of a Mongolian noble family. He was rather hostile to the Han people and introduced a series of policies unfavorable to the Han. This magnified the seriousness of the ethic contradiction. Misfortunes never come singly. The Yellow River burst its banks three times in the late Yuan Dynasty. As a result, serious natural disasters broke out and the masses were forced to live in dire poverty. Under such circumstances, groups of farmers left the land and successively launched armed uprisings. Although many peasants' uprisings were successfully suppressed by the Yuan army, the corrupt regime of the Yuan Dynasty was constantly impacted by this surging wave and teetered on the verge of collapse.
Fall
The Yuan Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the peasants' uprising. In 1351, the 'Hongjinjun (army with red head-scarves) Uprising', led by a man named Liu Futong, broke out in Yingzhou (in current Anhui Province). Fierce battles took place progressively between the Hongjinjun military force and the Yuan army.
Simultaneously, a group of the Hongjinjun military forces led by a man named Zhu Yuanzhang won a series of victories in battle, and his military forces gradually became stronger. In the management of military affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang set strict military discipline and was good at delegating duties to different human resources. Soon after, in 1356, his military forces captured Jiankang (currently Nanjing which later became their military base. With increasing military strength and more talented people joining him, Zhu's army succeeded in defeating the separatist military forces in the northern areas of China. In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang officially launched a deadly attack on the Yuan regime which was riddled with corruption and intrigue. Within a year, Zhu's army captured Dadu (currently Beijing), the capital of Yuan. Soon after, a new dynasty - the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) displaced the Yuan Dynasty.
Four Class System
The 'Four Class System' was a legal caste system in the Yuan Dynasty. After the founding of the Yuan regime, Kublai Khan, the first emperor in the Yuan Dynasty, set up this system to consolidate the ruling status of the Mongolian Ethnic Minority, which had a small number with great disparity to the majority Han people.
Specifically, the four classes of people by the descending order were Mongolian people, Semu people, Han people (in the northern areas of China) and Southerners (people of the former Northern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279)). According to the Yuan rulers' mind, the grading sequence was based on the sequencing of Mongolian's conquest of these people. Some historical scholars said that it was a kind of psychological indication that the earlier they submitted to Mongolian people, the higher social status they would be.
Unfairly, the 'Four Class System' stipulated that four classes of people received different treatment in political, legal and military affairs. First, the real power was mainly grasped in the hands of the Mongolian people and Semu people while few of the court officials were Han people or any other ethnic minorities from the third and the fourth classes. Second, although all classes of people were allowed to attend the imperial examination, people of the third and fourth classes had to participate in more test subjects and exam questions that for them were more difficult, compared with the first and second class. Third, the fourth class people received unequal legal treatment. On committing the same crime, different punishments were handed down to different classes of people. Fourth, the Mongolian people adopted a tight control towards the Han people and Southerners. These two classes were forbidden to possess any weapon or raise any dogs or eagles.
Generally, the 'Four Class System' was a national policy of political oppression and ethnic division. Originally, it was established by Yuan's ruling class to guarantee the dominance of the Mongolian minority but it eventually became the catalyst that sped up the decline of the Yuan regime.
Note: details about four class
They refer to specific group of people: the Mongolians is the first class, Semuren (ethnic groups except Mongolian, Han and Nanren) is the second class, the Hans is the third and Nanren ('nanren' is actually pinyin, it refers to the Han people of previous Southern Song Dynasty).
Generally, there were two major factors that led to the decline of the Yuan Dynasty: one was the class conflict caused by the heavy taxation, the other one was the ethnic contradiction resulting from the 'Four Class System'.
The Yuan court actually first began to decline during the reign of Emperor Renzong, when peasant uprisings emerged in southern China. However, despite the warning of the uprisings, corruption of the Yuan court officials continued. Also, power struggles within the ruling class became more and more serious. For instance in the short period from the beginning of Emperor Wuzong's reign in 1308 to the start of Emperor Huizong's reign in 1333, there were eight emperors. During this period, the corruption became severe as subordinate officials were commonly appointed on the basis of bribery rather than merit; the land was gradually concentrated in the hands of Mongolian aristocrats and a select group of powerful Han landlords; a fiscal crisis in the Yuan court also broke out due to the luxurious lifestyles of the ruling class. Even worse, the Mongolian army became corrupt and gradually disintegrated.
During the reign of the last emperor, the real power of the Yuan regime fell into the hands of Cheng Xiang (prime minister) named Bo Yan, who was born of a Mongolian noble family. He was rather hostile to the Han people and introduced a series of policies unfavorable to the Han. This magnified the seriousness of the ethic contradiction. Misfortunes never come singly. The Yellow River burst its banks three times in the late Yuan Dynasty. As a result, serious natural disasters broke out and the masses were forced to live in dire poverty. Under such circumstances, groups of farmers left the land and successively launched armed uprisings. Although many peasants' uprisings were successfully suppressed by the Yuan army, the corrupt regime of the Yuan Dynasty was constantly impacted by this surging wave and teetered on the verge of collapse.
Fall
The Yuan Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the peasants' uprising. In 1351, the 'Hongjinjun (army with red head-scarves) Uprising', led by a man named Liu Futong, broke out in Yingzhou (in current Anhui Province). Fierce battles took place progressively between the Hongjinjun military force and the Yuan army.
Simultaneously, a group of the Hongjinjun military forces led by a man named Zhu Yuanzhang won a series of victories in battle, and his military forces gradually became stronger. In the management of military affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang set strict military discipline and was good at delegating duties to different human resources. Soon after, in 1356, his military forces captured Jiankang (currently Nanjing which later became their military base. With increasing military strength and more talented people joining him, Zhu's army succeeded in defeating the separatist military forces in the northern areas of China. In 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang officially launched a deadly attack on the Yuan regime which was riddled with corruption and intrigue. Within a year, Zhu's army captured Dadu (currently Beijing), the capital of Yuan. Soon after, a new dynasty - the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) displaced the Yuan Dynasty.
Four Class System
The 'Four Class System' was a legal caste system in the Yuan Dynasty. After the founding of the Yuan regime, Kublai Khan, the first emperor in the Yuan Dynasty, set up this system to consolidate the ruling status of the Mongolian Ethnic Minority, which had a small number with great disparity to the majority Han people.
Specifically, the four classes of people by the descending order were Mongolian people, Semu people, Han people (in the northern areas of China) and Southerners (people of the former Northern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279)). According to the Yuan rulers' mind, the grading sequence was based on the sequencing of Mongolian's conquest of these people. Some historical scholars said that it was a kind of psychological indication that the earlier they submitted to Mongolian people, the higher social status they would be.
Unfairly, the 'Four Class System' stipulated that four classes of people received different treatment in political, legal and military affairs. First, the real power was mainly grasped in the hands of the Mongolian people and Semu people while few of the court officials were Han people or any other ethnic minorities from the third and the fourth classes. Second, although all classes of people were allowed to attend the imperial examination, people of the third and fourth classes had to participate in more test subjects and exam questions that for them were more difficult, compared with the first and second class. Third, the fourth class people received unequal legal treatment. On committing the same crime, different punishments were handed down to different classes of people. Fourth, the Mongolian people adopted a tight control towards the Han people and Southerners. These two classes were forbidden to possess any weapon or raise any dogs or eagles.
Generally, the 'Four Class System' was a national policy of political oppression and ethnic division. Originally, it was established by Yuan's ruling class to guarantee the dominance of the Mongolian minority but it eventually became the catalyst that sped up the decline of the Yuan regime.
Note: details about four class
They refer to specific group of people: the Mongolians is the first class, Semuren (ethnic groups except Mongolian, Han and Nanren) is the second class, the Hans is the third and Nanren ('nanren' is actually pinyin, it refers to the Han people of previous Southern Song Dynasty).
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| Hongjin Army | Zhu yuanzhang |
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