3.3 The Mongol Empire and Ming China

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  1. 4. Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324) was a traveler, merchant, and adventurer from Venice who journeyed from Europe to Asia in 1271–95, spending 17 years serving the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Polo dictated the account of his travels, The Travels of Marco Polo (originally Il Milione in Italian), to a fellow prisoner while imprisoned during a war with Genoa. His book proved a great success, but few readers believed it was true. Evidence outside his book that he journeyed so far to the east has not been found; however, during the centuries since his death, others have confirmed the accuracy of most of what he described.
  2. 6. Chinese dynasty in which Chinese rule was restored; held power from 1368 to 1644
  3. 7. Zheng He (c. 1371–1433) was an admiral in the Ming Chinese navy and diplomat who made his first voyage in 1405 to Vietnam, India, and Africa to both explore and trade. His huge fleet of hundred of junks (Chinese ships) and thousands of sailors carried silk, porcelain, and lacquerware to trade for pearls, spices, ivory, and timber. Zheng He made seven voyages in all, exploring, trading successfully, and thereby motivating Chinese merchants to establish trade centers in Southeast Asia and India.
  4. 8. Chinese dynasty ruled by the Mongols from 1279 to 1368; best-known ruler was Kublai Khan
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  1. 1. sparse, dry, treeless grassland
  2. 2. a device used for counting and calculating by sliding small balls or beads along rods or in grooves
  3. 3. Kublai Khan (1215–1294) was the grandson of Genghis Khan and founded the Yuan dynasty, conquered the Song dynasty in the south to complete Mongol control of China, and proved a strong and intelligent ruler of the vast empire. Guided by Confucian Chinese advisors, he undertook reforms in his territories and politically reunited China, but also engaged in a series of costly and fruitless wars with neighboring kingdoms. He generally left Chinese life unchanged and, although religious, was known for his acceptance of various religious practices and for granting economic privileges to favored sects.
  4. 5. Genghis Khan (1162–1227) rose from poverty to unite the warring Mongol tribes. He imposed discipline, exacted loyalty, and then proceeded to build an army that conquered the vast areas of Central Asia and China and became the Mongol empire. He was known for both his fierceness and his generosity. The Mongol empire lasted long after his death during a military campaign. His descendants added to the empire until it became the largest empire in the world prior to the British empire.