The Mongols Influence On Art

The new themes of encounter and exchange did not come without the warfare, violence and confusion that plagued China as the Sung dynasty struggled to fight back against the Mongols. After the suicide of the last Southern Sung emperor, all of China was united by Mongol rule (Gernet 717). The tragic death of one man marked the beginning of a new era. For the first time ever, foreign people conquered the entirety of China. Never before had the Chinese government been completely replaced by an unknown system ruled by outsiders (Fitzgerald 181). The grandiose dynasty created by Kublai Khan was one of the best in the 13th century. As Marco Polo described it, “I repeat that everything appertaining to this city is on so vast a scale, and the Great

Lastly, the Mongol influence on art was clear as Chinese artwork reached new heights because of the increasing number of scholars dedicated their lives to artwork (“Yuan Dynasty”). Since scholars did not find success in government, they poured their feelings into their artwork. Heavily influenced by the political turmoil, artwork of this time reflected the exposure to new cultures and exchange of ideas that Mongols brought. Due to the new expressive drama, paintings and dedicated scholars, Yuan art was one of many successful aspects of Mongol

The loss of a great leader combined with a series of bad leaders lead to the weakening of the Yuan dynasty (“The Mongols”). The unrestricted trade the Asia once enjoyed decreased, accompanied by the ending of Mongolian peace (Fitzgerald 238). With peasant uprisings and revolts, the Mongols came crashing down, however, their impact on China was not one that was forgotten. First, Some Mongol practices were continued into the Ming dynasty, specifically the successful Yuan census (“Yuan Dynasty”). The Ming also inherited a huge and successful postal and transportation system. However, many Mongol practices were shunned due to the major distrust that the Chinese developed for them. On the other hand, Yuan relations with the Muslims benefitted the next dynasty. Muslim contributions of astronomy and mapmaking was very important to Ming continuation of the sciences (“Yuan dynasty”). Last, with the loss of major overland trade routes such as the Silk Road, came the rise of the Indian Ocean trade routes (Fitzgerald 238). Oversea trade was heavily linked to newer practices of large-scale slavery and the interest that many countries had in exploration of the new world. With the fall of the Mongols came a new nation, inspired by the scientific knowledge and technologies that the Yuan had left behind, and also influencing the rise of oceanic trade, exploration and a better connection with the rest of the