1. The Mongols and China Ch 8.2

2. “Voices from the Past”  Read p. 253  As we go through the section, think about the following: What were the major achievements of the Mongol dynasty? What changes resulted from the Mongol invasions?

3. The Mongol Empire  Who were the Mongols? Pastoral people from Mongolia (North of China) who were organized into clans Temujin: born in 1160 and gradually unifed the Mongol clans  Elected Genghis Khan in 1206  Created the largest land empire in history Central Europe to Korea  After he died, the empire was split up into several separate territories called Khanates

4. The Mongol Dynasty  Kublai Khan: Genghis’ grandson who created a new Chinese dynasty Adapted to the Chinese political system Major Difference between Chinese and Mongolians: CULTURALLY  Social Stratification: Mongols became a separate class with their own laws Highest positions: Mongols

5. Religion and Government  Primarily Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism Buddhism was criticized for being a foreign religion (India)  Government destroyed countless Buddhist temples and forced more than 260,000 monks and nuns to leave Official governmental support went to a revival of Confucianism  Neo-Confucianism Says the world is real, not an illusion, and that fulfillment comes not from withdrawal but from participation in the world

6. Poetry  The invention of printing (1450s) helped to make literature more readily available and popular  Golden age of poetry 48,000 poems were written by 2,200 authors Celebrated the beauty of nature, the changes of the seasons, and the joys of friendship  Read poems on page 256-257

7. Painting and Ceramics  Landscape paintings reached its high point Went into the ountains to paint and find the Dao (the way) in nature  Not just painting what they saw though… Tried to portray the “idea” of what they saw (See painting-257)  Painted the concept of a mountain rather than a specific mountain Always left empty spaces in paintings  Why? Because in Daoism, one cannot know the whole truth Portrayed humans as small and insignificant next to nature  CERAMICS Perfected the making of porcelain (a ceramic made of fine clay baked at very high temperatures  Technique didn’t make it to Europe until the 18 th century!

8. “Lord of the Mongols: Genghis Khan”  Read p. 258-261  Answer Questions 1-3 They will be graded for correctness, not just completion so answer them thoroughly!  Information from this section will also be on your test, so you may want to take some notes as you read…

9. “Genghis Khan: Rise of the Conqueror”  Discovery DVD Notes as a class as we go along