The Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 127 1 ~ 1368) was a huge dynasty established by Mongols, and it was the first political power established nationwide in the history of China, ruled by minority rulers. By virtue of its powerful force, the Mongols not only conquered the Central Plains and Jiangnan, but also extended their control to the whole of West Asia. Become the largest dynasty in China's history.

Mongolian is an ancient nation, and they have been living a nomadic life. Around12nd century, an outstanding leader-Temujin appeared in Mongolia. As a tribal leader, he was called Genghis Khan by various ministries in A.D. 1206. Under the leadership of Temujin, the Mongols gradually became stronger and became a force to be reckoned with in northern China. It wiped out the Xixia in A.D. 1227 and the Jin Dynasty in A.D. 1234, thus preparing for the unification of China. At this time, Genghis Khan was dead, and Wokuotai, Mongo and Kublai Khan successively succeeded to the throne. 127 1 year, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty in Dadu (now Beijing). Since then, Beijing has gradually become the political, economic and cultural center of China for nearly 700 years. In A.D. 1276, the Yuan Dynasty sent troops to capture Lin 'an (now Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and unified the whole territory of China.

After Yuan Shizu Kublai Khan unified China, he did not stop his foreign military action. Since then, the Yuan Dynasty has conquered Japan, Annan (now northern Vietnam) and Myanmar twice, making Korea, Myanmar, Taicheng and Annan subordinate to the Yuan Dynasty. At home, in order to rule the Han people, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty divided the people into four classes, namely, Mongols, Semu people (the population of Xixia, Hui Hui and the Western Regions), northern Han people and southern Han people. Under this system, the status of Han people is extremely low. It has become the object of driving away by Mongols and Semu people. Therefore, in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han nationality and the southern minorities revolted against Mongolian tyranny many times, but they all failed.

Because most of the Mongolian people's previous lifestyles were nomadic and their productivity was low. In order to change this situation, from Kublai Khan, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty replaced animal husbandry with agricultural production, so the agriculture of the Yuan Dynasty developed greatly. With the expansion of Yuan Dynasty's territory to West Asia, the exchanges between Europe and China became more frequent and the technical exchanges became more rapid. The start of economy has promoted the development of handicraft industry and commerce. During the Yuan Dynasty, cotton planting was very common in southern China, so the textile industry also developed, and a group of craftsmen led by Huang Daopo appeared, which made the cotton textile technology at that time reach a quite high level. In addition, due to the smooth land and water transportation and the popularity of paper money, the Yuan Dynasty was one of the richest countries in the world at that time. During his stay in Yuan Shizu, Venetian businessman Kyle Polo visited China. In his Travels of Marco Polo, he recorded the prosperity of the metropolis in the Yuan Dynasty in detail.

The wealth of material made the life of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty gradually luxurious, and at the same time intensified the struggle for power and profit within the Mongolian rulers. During the twenty-five years from 1308 to 1333, the Yuan Dynasty successively experienced eight emperors, namely Wuzong, Renzong, Yingzong, Taiding Emperor, Tianshun Emperor, Wenzong, Mingzong and Ningzong, who went to Yuan Shundi, showing the fierce internal struggle in the Yuan Dynasty at that time. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor lived a luxurious life. In order to meet their material needs, the rulers constantly levy various taxes on the people, especially the Han people. So the Han people resisted the tyrannical rule of the Yuan Dynasty in various forms. As early as the second year of Taiding (1352), Zhao Chou-si and Guo Bodhisattva in Henan Province revolted, which started the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Then, in the 11th year from Shun Di to Zheng Zheng (135 1), the Red Scarf Army uprising led by Liu Futong swept through China. A number of outstanding generals appeared in the uprising army, among which Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were the most powerful. From the 16th year of Zheng Zheng (1356) to the 19th year of Zheng Zheng (1359), Zhu Yuanzhang continued to expand his influence, and in 67 years, Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were eliminated successively, and half of the south of the Yangtze River was unified. In the twenty-seventh year of Zheng Zhi (1367), Zhu Yuanzhang began the Northern Expedition. With the slogan of "expelling Land Rover and restoring China", with the assistance of generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, the Yuan Dynasty was captured in 1368, ending its rule. In the same year, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Jiankang and established the Ming Dynasty.

The Yuan Dynasty was a dynasty established by Mongols. It has existed for 97 years and is one of the more powerful dynasties in Chinese history. However, due to the discrimination against the Han people in the Yuan Dynasty, he died prematurely, which became a lesson for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty in the future. In addition, the rule of Yuan Dynasty set a general scope for China's painting in the future. From the end of Yuan Dynasty to the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the territory of China did not change much, and the Mongols became a member of the China family.