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MONGOLS RULE IN CHINA.
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Analysis of the Mongols conquest of China.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of the Mongols conquest of China. Traits and strategies of Mongol rulers from Genghis Khan on including organization, military tactics, long-range planning, preservation of some of the structure of Chinese society, patience, persistence and brutality. Genghis as a military genius. Mongol impact on China. Rule of Kublai Khan.

Paper Introduction:
A number of factors made it possible for the Mongols to conquer China when such conquest had eluded earlier nomadic groups. Some of the same qualities which led to the Mongol conquest also led to the Mongol reign over China for nearly a century. Unlike earlier nomads, the Mongols were not only brutal, they were tenacious. Beginning with Genghis Khan and moving down through two generations of offspring and successors, the Mongols were incredibly patient and persistent. The image of "Mongol hordes" sweeping through towns and plundering and pillaging and moving onto the next town, drunken on horseback, could not be further from the truth, at least on the strategic level. While the Mongols did engage in brutality, as mentioned, the Mongol leaders, from Genghis Khan on, showed a proclivity for meticulous and long-range planning for the conquest. Once they had achieved

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Unlike earlier nomads, the Mongols werenot only brutal, they were tenacious. Boorstin paints a picture of Kublai Khan as a man far from a boorishbrutal destroyer.For example, receiving envoys from the Pope, Kublai isportrayed as "every bit as friendly as had been promised [and] proved to bea man of wide-ranging curiosity and alert intelligence, eager to learneverything about the West." When Kublai met Marco Polo, he exhibited thesame open-minded yearning for knowledge, certainly one sign of a goodleader open to growth and learning: Kublai Khan received the Venetians with great honor. 4, 2-16. While the Mongols did engage in brutality,as mentioned, the Mongol leaders, from Genghis Khan on, showed a proclivityfor meticulous and long-range planning for the conquest. Sept. The Discoverers. When we read of Marco Polo's travels today, we all reap the fruits of the voracious curiosity of that thirteenth-century Mongol emperor (Boorstin, 1983, p. One tactic used successfully again and again showed Genghis'smilitary brilliance: Genghis proved to be a military genius who turned the Mongol tribesmen into the world's best-trained and best-led army. Fitzgerald writes of the nomadic Nuchens and their leader Akuta,their victories in northern China, and their failure to conquer the entirecountry: "Had [Akuta's] generals shown more persistence, and had he himselflived, the whole of China would have been conquered with as littleresistance as was shown in the north" (Fitzgerald, 1966, p. The era of the Mongols and the Yuan dynasty lasted from 1279 to 1368.Schirokauer refers to the period as brief as says it was doomed by therestless Mongol nature, but almost a century of rule indicates that theytamed their restlessness effectively enough to rule over a huge country forthat period. After all, the nation wasconquered and showed no signs of revolt. "Itwas not Mongol policy to punish people for their faith" (Edwards, 1996, p.9). Perhaps the most important facet of Mongol rule after the conquestwas the Mongol leaders' view that they were themselves "Chinese" rulers, aview which included some respect for Chinese culture and sociopoliticalstructure. Durant, Will. Schirokauer, Conrad (1989). Also, "the Mongols were more tolerant of other religions thanmany regimes today," and certainly moreso than earlier nomadic tribes. "Lord of the Mongols: Genghis." NationalGeographic. In otherwords, they ruled, as much as they could, as Chinese rulers rather than asMongol rulers. 763). 431). China. 136). The difference between Genghis'scampaign and the earlier campaigns of nomads was that Genghis so thoroughlyestablished the tactics and strategy for conquest that when he died, hismilitary heirs were able to successfully continue the campaign without hispresence. (1966). 431). (1996). Current Events. New York: MJF Books. A Brief History of Chinese and JapaneseCivilizations. Fitzgerald, C.P. New York: Frederick Praeger. The Mongolsalso profited militarily from their ruthlessness, which also set them apartfrom earlier nomadic groups: ... The Mongols, then, conquered with persistence, brutality, brilliantmilitary tactics, organization, planning and strategy, and ruled bylearning to respect the Chinese culture and merge their own culture withthe society they had conquered. 29, Vol.1 , No. 7). Nevertheless, as Edwards writes, despite the longevity of the Mongolrule, it was not a particularly orderly rule: Rarely had the world witnessed such a whirlwind of destruction. Much of this may have been pragmatic. Dissension tore apart the Nuchens after Akuta's death, while unity ofleadership and a solid plan allowed Genghis's heirs to advance theircampaign to complete victory. Durant writes that Genghis's genius for organization and unifying, aswell as his willingness to use brutality, were demonstrated at an earlyage: "From the age of thirteen he began to weld the Mongol tribes into one,and terror was his instrument." Durant suggests that a challenge from theChinese Emperor Ning Tsung was the origin of what became the Mongolconquest of China: When he received a letter from [Tsung] demanding his submission, he spat in the direction of the Dragon Throne and began at once his march across twelve hundred miles of the Gobi desert into the western provinces of China.... Beginning with Genghis Khan andmoving down through two generations of offspring and successors, theMongols were incredibly patient and persistent. Once they hadachieved that victory, they did all the right things in prolonging theirrule, especially in terms of preserving as much as possible of thestructure of Chinese society as it existed before the conquest. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.----------------------- 8 Dec., Vol. Then the entire Mongol force would charge at them according to a set plan. He refers to the Mongols as ineffective rulers, but, again,almost a century of ruling China is not insignificant (Schirokauer, 1989,259). As a resultof Yelu's intervention, the conquest, as it spread southward, became lessbrutal and preserved more of Chinese culture and society (Fitzgerald, 1966,434). 429). 764-765). 19 , No. Edwards, Mike. In 12 6, little more than eighty years after the Kin conquest of north China, Temujin became Great Khan of the Mongols, under the title Genghiz Khan. Edwards adds, however, that Genghis's grandson Kublai, the leader whooversaw the actual beginning of the Mongol rule of all of China, is today"admired as a unifier," which certainly played a role in the longevity ofthe reign. Again, the most significant feature of the Mongols' success inruling, once they had conquered using every brutality available, was theirwillingness to recognize the worth of the people, the culture and thesociety they had defeated.Durant notes: "Kublai had the grace to recognizethe civilized superiority of the Chinese, and to merge the customs of hisown people into theirs." He was practical in such an approach, however: "Heabandoned the system of examinations for public office, since that systemwould have given him a completely Chinese bureaucracy." He also tried, butfailed, to force the Mongol alphabet on the Chinese. Four years later he attacked the Kin Empire, and began a war which only ended with the ruin of that state (Fitzgerald, 1966, p. Ifthey were so utterly destructive, however, what was left for them to ruleover for a century? They destroyed everything worth preserving in the civilizations of western Asia and north-western China, and saved only the elements in those civilizations which the world could well spare, cruelty, brutality, and poverty (Fitzgerald, 1966, p. Our Oriental Heritage. Nor had an empire existed so vast as Genghis's sons and grandsons would establish.... However, "for thegreater part, he and his people accepted the culture of China, and weresoon transformed by it into Chinese." He also introduced a number ofreforms which certainly do not fit the stereotype of the Mongol warrior,such as rebuilding the Grand Canal, improving the roads, and establishing apostal service (Durant, 1963, pp. Comparing that failure with the Mongols' success, we find thedifference is the Mongols' persistence, as well as the meticulous planningand study invested in the campaign by Genghis Khan and his military heirs.Still, Genghis died himself in 1227, many years before the final conquestin either 1263 or 1279, depending on what historical interpretation oneselects (Fitzgerald, 1966, p. The Mongols under Genghis first drove out the splintered Nuchens.Genghis established a capital at Peking, unlike earlier nomads. (1983). (2 ). His successors, Ogodai, Mangu and Kublai, continued the campaign with barbaric energy (Durant, 1963, p. 435). New York: Random House. (1963). In 128 Mongol rule stretched from the Yellow Sea to the Mediterranean. Fitzgerald is harsh in his judgment of the Mongols and their impacton China, at least in the conquering stage. He grants that the victory ofthe Mongols under Genghis was an "achievement, truly astonishing for theobscure chief of an obscure tribe," but goes on to say that The Mongol conquests were in every respect an unmitigated curse. Fitzgerald's account of their polygamy, their drunkenness, theiruncleanliness, and other excesses and vices leaves the impression that theMongols could hardly have conquered a village, much less a vast nation. The Mongol rulers were taxing thepeople, and drawing from the Chinese population for their own army. The image of "Mongolhordes" sweeping through towns and plundering and pillaging and moving ontothe next town, drunken on horseback, could not be further from the truth,at least on the strategic level. References Boorstin, Daniel J. The favorite tactic of the Mongols in battle was to send a "suicide corps" galloping toward the enemy ranks. A number of factors made it possible for the Mongols to conquer Chinawhen such conquest had eluded earlier nomadic groups. Enemies fell victim to this tactic again and again (Current, 2 , p. "The Search for Genghis Khan. [T]he Mongols [were] the most savage and pitiless race known to history. Sensing the talents of the twenty-one-year-old Marco, the Khan at once enlisted him in his service, and sent him on an embassy to a country six months away. 4). Some of the samequalities which led to the Mongol conquest also led to the Mongol reignover China for nearly a century. The corps would then stop short and fake a retreat to tempt the enemy into a disorganized chase. Almost as quickly as the empire rose, however, it began to fracture into independent fiefdoms (Edwards, 1996, p. Fitzgerald credits Yelu Ch'u-ts'ai, a Genghiscounselor, with persuading Genghis to stop slaughtering Chinese and insteaduse them as a source of services and revenue through taxation. 6, 4-28. It onlymade sense to preserve Chinese institutions when such a policy would alsopreserve Mongol rule.

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