Mongolian Rule in China: Local Administration in the Yuan Dynasty

by Elizabeth Endicott-West

The Mongolian Yuan dynasty, 1272-1368, is a short but interesting chapter in the long history of Sino-Mongolian relations. Faced with the challenge of governing a huge sedentary empire, the traditionally nomadic Mongols acceded to some Chinese institutional precedents, but, in large part, adhered to their own Inner Asian practices of staffing and administering the government apparatus. Yuan administrative documents provide information that permits a fairly accurate reconstruction of the day-to-day functioning of the local government bureaucracy. From these materials, Endicott-West has put together a detailed picture of the Mongols' methods of selecting local officials, the ethnic backgrounds of officials, and policy formation and implementation at the local level.

Genres: China

220 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1989

Reviews

[EeneeE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding analysis! The professor Endicott-West provides a qualitative perspective on how, despite the Mongol court's efforts to appoint Mongolians to high-ranking positions in local civil administrations in China, they were vastly outnumbered and had to rely on Chinese officials to fill civil
administration roles. It’s truly astonishing to think that fewer than 1 million Mongols managed to conquer and rule over 60 million Chinese and 5 million Koreans. The Mongol government established the national Mongolian university and local schools across China to promote Mongolian language among military and civilian officials.