Sinicization and Practical Governance of China Proper in Khubilai Khan's Yuan Dynasty
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Bi-College (Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges). Department of East Asian Studies
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
eng
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Dark Archive
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
Khubilai Khan was the first Great Khan to take on the challenge of governing the Mongols' Chinese holdings rather than purely exploiting them. My thesis will attempt to answer several questions: Did Khubilai Khan have a rigid ruling philosophy? To what extent did the structure and function of Khubilai's government follow a pattern of sinicization? It begin by examining the traditional Chinese terms he used to rationalize the legitimacy of his rule as well as the the Chinese bureaucratic and social structures he appropriated. It then surveys the Chinese voices in Khubilai's court that influenced his search for a strong law code with which to govern China. It explores his policies of lenient and flexible taxation and religious freedom to illustrate his tendency to adapt to and accommodate the needs of his subjects. It then analyzes his attempts to strengthen central rule in order to embody the supreme authority of an ideal Chinese ruler. The final section examines the practical benefits of his preferential policies toward semuren. I argue that Khubilai did not govern China proper based on rigid ideals; more important than dogma was maintaining the support of the stakeholders from which he derived his power. He understood that the most practical way to govern China proper was to sinicize his regime.