The Mongol Empire: Claire Epps


Journal entry 1,

               

My father, uncle, and I will be traveling along the Silk Road to Asia to learn more about the culture under the Mongol rule. Although father and uncle have met Kublai Khan on their recent journeys to the Mongol Empire, I am reluctant to travel there due to the ruthless stories of bloodshed and maiming spread throughout Eurasia. It is said that Kublai has failed twice to take over Japan, the second time sending 150,000 Mongol, Chinese, and Korean soldiers to sea, only to be drowned by a massive typhoon. Kublai’s grandfather and the original ruler of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, was said to have killed 15 million people within 5 years of his rein. I hope that Kublai is much more inviting. The way Mongols fight, although incredible and strategically ingenious, brings truth to the stories of ruthless bloodshed brought forth by their ancestors when they first united the nomadic tribes. Aside from battle, I have also heard that the social status in the Mongol Empire is unfair. On top, of course, are the Mongols. Second class is for what they call the Non- Hans, which is the Islamic population brought by the Mongols to help rule their vastly expanding empire. After the Non-Hans come the people of Northern China. I am not exactly sure why the Northern Chinese are ahead in social class of the Southern Chinese, but I assume I will figure out that, and much more when I arrive in China.

-Marco Polo

Journal entry 2,

                We have finally returned from the Mongol Empire after a 24 year long adventure into the fascinating and culturally active lives of those that live under the rule of Kublai Khan. I have discovered many things that have put to rest the rumors of the Mongols and how they rule. Not only has Kublai Khan challenged the stereotypes of his predecessors, but took into consideration the less fortunate of the population and used his power to make their lives easier. One way that he has done so is by initiating a cooperative rural organization giving peasants 50 houses under the direction of a village leader. Kublai has done many other things for his empire and the people in it, such as providing religious freedom, creating aid agencies, increasing the use of postal stations, reorganizing and improving roads, establishing paper currency, and expanding waterways. He has also provided freedom from labor, tax remissions, and higher social status for artisans in China. These things that I have learned during my travels are not what I expected to find in the middle of what people call “a merciless empire”, but rather it is a land of much culture and beauty. Kublai has not only created associations to help merchants to travel long distances, but has also increased availability of paper money, making it easier to trade goods along the Silk Road and causing an amazing increase in trade across Eurasia. While we traveled, we ran into groups of people singing and dancing rituals, which, they said, is due to Kublai and his great accomplishments. All around the capitol of Daidu, which I like to call Cambaluc, are temples that the emperor has dedicated to his former rulers and ancestors. After traveling for 24 long years and learning about this vast empire, it has opened my eyes to a whole new culture and way of life. I intend to show the people of Europe in the hopes that they will put to rest the rumor of Mongols being bloodthirsty tyrants.

-Marco Polo

Journal entry 3,

                I believe that there are many reasons why there are such different views of the Mongols in history. One reason is because the side of ruthless killing and the urge to take over was the first side of the Mongols that the world saw. As a nomadic tribe, they would live near settled people so that if they did not have enough of a resource, they could borrow some from the settled tribes, but if the tribes refused to give them their resources, then the Mongols would kill them all and take whatever was left. Word of these brutal killings spread throughout the world like a game of telephone, causing the once peaceful nomadic tribes to be called by a new name, one much less pleasant. The world also knows about the so called “dark” side of the Mongols because that is how they came into power, by conquering each other, and then the Chinese. Once the Mongols were in power, Genghis and his son, even though they advanced China in some way, were both pretty ruthless emperors. It was not until Genghis’s grandson, Kublai Khan came into power that the world started to see all the good that the Mongols have done for China. The way the world viewed the Mongols reminds me of how the world viewed the Spartans. The cities around Sparta knew that it had a very equipped and experienced army that could kill anything in its path. While the cities were worried about who the Spartans would attack next, they did not realize that Sparta had so much more to offer than just a great army. They also had a good system of government, more rights for women, ways to educate their people, and a vast cultural heritage. Spartans and the Mongols are alike in my mind because the good that they did were both overlooked because of their military tactics.

Bibliography

"Marco Polo Travels in China." Marco Polo in China: 1275-1292. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

"The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

"Thodges’s Blog." Thodgess Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

"Kublai Khan Rules China." Kublai Khan: 1215-1294. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.