U368 Mongol Conquest
Week 12, Supplemental notes

 

  1. Symbols of rule
    1. 1260:  Proclamation of years, official lunar calendar
    2. 1266:  Imperial temple of dynastic ancestors
    3. 1271:  Proclamation of dynasty:  1271, Yuan dynasty
    4. Honoring of Confucius (begun under Ögedei)
  2. Policies and Institutions
    1. Chinese-style official class:  unusual in Eurasia (cf. Rashid al-Din, p. 277-8)
      1. Status was by office, not person
      2. Selection under Chin and Sung by examinations (upward mobility)
      3. Separation of military and civil functions
    2. Qubilai's government organization based on Jin/Chin system
      1. 1260:  Secretariat/Chung-shu-sheng (Ögedei had earlier version)
        1. Memorials in, rescripts out; recommended all officials
          1. Headed by 2 grand councillors (ch/eng-hsiang/chingsang), R/L
          2. 4-2 Managers (p'ing-chang/finjan) handled finance
          3. 2 councillors (ch'eng), 1-4 Administrative Assistants
        2. Under it six ministries (traditional in China)
          1. Households, personnel, rites, punishments, soldiers, works
      2. 1263:  Bureau of Military Affiars/shu-mi-yüan
        1. Set military policy
        2. Directly controlled keshig
      3. 1268:  Censorate/Yü-shih-t'ai
        1. Exercised outside supervision of officials, commended & impeached
      4. 1268/88:  Commission for Buddhist and Tibetan affairs/Hsüan-wei-ssu
        1. Supervised local administration in Tibet
        2. Supervised all Buddhist temples in China itself
      5. Imperial household
        1. Supplied food and goods for court; enormous scale
        2. Separate household for heir apparent, empresses
    3. Above organs largely limited to central province (N. China)
      1. Empire:  12 (or so) Branch Secretariats/Hsing(-chung-shu-)sheng
        1. Each one had full civil/military powers over territory
        2. Each controls army tümens and minggans in it
      2. Personnel selection main organ of centralization:  26,690 positions
        1. Censorate and Board of Personnel controlled appointments
        2. Censorate divided empire into three area (each several sheng)