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About the Mongol Invasions CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:02 AM Page 162 V. China: Dynasties and Conquerors navigators could use it to be sure they were traveling in the right direction. The compass did not reach Europe until the 1200s. It was one of the navigational devices that enabled Europeans to embark on their voyages of exploration in search of an all-water route to Asia. Paper money came into use in China during the Song dynasty. The Chinese, Teaching Idea as well as other peoples, had been using metal coins for centuries, but the Chinese Ask students to write an expository were the first to use paper currency. Two other inventions converged to make the piece about why they think the Chinese use of paper currency possible. First, the Chinese had invented the process of invented paper money instead of con- making paper in 105 CE, and then, during the Tang dynasty in the 700s CE, they tinuing solely to use coins. Historians had learned how to print from large blocks of type—the words for a page were believe the Chinese switched to paper carved into a single block of wood the size of the page, then inked, and paper money because there was not enough applied. In the 1040s, the Chinese had invented the use of movable type for print- copper, bronze, and iron to make coins ing. The characters for individual words were carved into small pieces of wood and for the entire population. Also, paper assembled to make a page, then inked, and paper applied. Europeans would not money was easier to carry around and employ movable type until the time of Gutenberg, about 1450. Marco Polo, who to use for large transactions. traveled and lived in China for 20 years in the 1200s, noted in the journal of his travels that: The coinage of this paper money is authenticated with as much form and ceremony as if it were actually of pure gold or silver. To each note a num- ber of officers, specially appointed, not only subscribe their names, but affix their seals also . All his [Khan’s] subjects receive it [paper money] without hesitation, because, wherever their business may call them, they can dispose of it again in the purchase of merchandise. Polo’s readers received this news with surprise because paper currency was unknown in Europe. Teaching Idea The military use of gunpowder was another invention of the Song dynasty. Make sure students understand the Gunpowder was first used in the Tang dynasty to make fireworks. In order to importance of gunpowder in subse- fight off the Mongols from Central Asia in the 1100s, the Chinese developed rock- quent history. Gunpowder enabled the ets that were propelled by gunpowder. Europeans to conquer and dominate the native peoples of the Americas (who Mongol Invasions had not discovered it). It was used by In about 1200, the Mongols, nomadic warriors of Central Asia, set out to con- slave-raiders in Africa to capture quer the world. By 1294, their four khanates, as their units of organization were slaves. Without gunpowder, the “shot called, extended across southern Russia from Korea and the Pacific Ocean to the heard ‘round the world” would not have Black Sea, reached into the Arabian Peninsula, and included almost all of China been fired. Gunpowder has played a and some of Southeast Asia. crucial role in all wars the United States has ever fought. Chinggis Khan and the “Golden Horde” Chinggis [CHIN-giz KHAN] (also spelled Ghengis) Khan—which means “ruler of the universe”—started the Mongols on their world conquest. His army of well-disciplined, well-trained horsemen was known as the “Golden Horde,” Teaching Idea because the early khans—“khan” is a title similar to the European title of Students may enjoy hearing Coleridge’s “king”—lived in gold-colored tents. Fierce nomadic fighters, the Golden Horde poem “Kubla Khan,” which describes a struck terror in the hearts of their opponents. “pleasure dome” Khubilai Khan had Khubilai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty built for himself. (See More Resources.) Khubilai [KOO-bil-eye] (also spelled Kublai) Khan was Chinggis Khan’s grandson, and it was he who took the Mongol Empire to its greatest expanse. 162 Grade 4 Handbook CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:02 AM Page 163 While his grandfather had conquered northern China, Khubilai Khan conquered southern China and began the Yuan dynasty. The Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty did not endure much beyond Khubilai Khan’s death in 1294. Natural dis- asters and internal problems, but mainly an armed revolt, led to the downfall of the Mongols. In 1368, the Ming established their dynasty in China. While the Mongol Empire lasted, it enforced peace, much like the Pax Romana of the Roman Empire, which students in Core Knowledge schools should have learned about in Grade 3. The arts flourished and the development of the Marco Polo in the court of Chinese novel and drama are dated to the Yuan dynasty. Because there was peace, Khubilai Khan the great Silk Road was safe and trade increased. In addition to silk and porce- lains, the Chinese exported their ideas and inventions. It was during this time that papermaking and gunpowder reached Europe and the Middle East. In return, new crops and foods were sent along the trade routes to Asia. Khubilai Khan con- Teaching Idea tinued the sea trade with Southeast Asia. Perhaps his most permanent achieve- Many editions of The Travels of ment was the building of a capital city, which he called Khanbalik and which is Marco Polo are available, in print and today known as Beijing. on the Internet. Consider sharing selections with students by reading Marco Polo aloud. (See More Resources.) Marco Polo described Khanbalik [khan-BAH-leek] in great detail in his work The Travels of Marco Polo, Venetian. Polo was a merchant from the Italian city-state Teaching Idea of Venice and an explorer who set out bound for China in 1271 with his father Ask students if they have ever played and uncle. They reached the court of Khubilai Khan in Khanbalik in 1275. For 17 the game “Marco Polo.” Have them years, Marco Polo served the khan as a governor of a province and as a diplomat relate the game and its name to the in China, India, and Southeast Asia before returning to Venice in 1295. Along explorer Marco Polo. Who else might with the Crusades, Marco Polo’s account of his life in China and what he saw a game of “hide-and-seek” be named helped spur European interest in an all-water route to Asia. Christopher after? Encourage students to name Columbus, for example, was fascinated by Polo’s book, and his desire to sail to explorers they have studied in previ- the Indies described by Polo led to the European discovery of America. 37 ous grades and any astronauts whose Ming Dynasty names they know. The Ming dynasty, meaning “bright” or “luminous,” was in place from 1368 to 1644. This dynasty marked the return of power to ethnic Chinese after a peri- Name Date Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, 1279–1912 od of non-Chinese rule by the Mongol emperors. During this period, China expe- Study the map of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Use it to answer the questions below. rienced stable and efficient government, which allowed the country to prosper. N W E RUSSIA S The Ming had the Grand Canal rebuilt to encourage trade, and the Great Wall was EUROPE Venice C A S BLACK SEA P I KhanbalighKhanbaligh A N (Beijing)(Beijing) S E A extended to keep out invaders. The population of China increased to perhaps 160 KOREA MEDITERRANEAN SEA PERPERSIAIA TIBETTIBET EAST CHINA JAPAN million by the year 1600. Most people were farmers, but small industries like SEA AFRICA ARABIA INDIA ARABIAN BAY OF SEA BENGAL VIETNAM SOUTH porcelain manufacture thrived in China’s cities. The arts—both visual and liter- CHINA Yuan Dynasty at its greatest extent, 1294 SEA Ming and Qing Dynasties, 1368–1912 Route of Marco Polo, 1271–1295 0 500 1000 miles INDIAN ary—were important. In addition to landscape painting, artists began to paint 0 500 1000 kilometers OCEAN portraits. 1. Which dynasty extended north to Russia, west to the Black Sea, and south to Vietnam? It was also during the Ming dynasty that European traders began to come to Yuan Dynasty 2. Find the route of Marco Polo and color it red. What two cities did he travel to and from? China, and not long after, Christian missionaries arrived to attempt to convert the Venice and Khanbaligh (Beijing) Chinese to Christianity. 3. Which two dynasties occupied the same region? Ming and Qing e Knowledge Foundation Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties Copyright ©Cor Forbidden City Master 28 Grade 4: History & Geography During the Ming dynasty, Khubilai Khan’s capital was renamed Beijing and Use Instructional Master 28. was greatly enlarged. A new imperial palace was built as a walled city within a city and was named the Forbidden City. The palace was finished in 1420 and History and Geography: World 163.
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