A brief introduction to Kublai Khan

A brief introduction to Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan (1215-1294) was the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, the grandson of Genghis Khan, and the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He was renowned for his political reforms such as unifying China, implementing Sinicization policies, and establishing the provincial system.

Kublai Khan was born in 1215. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and the fourth son of Tolai. Influenced by his mother, Soruhetani, since childhood, he attached great importance to Han culture and recruited many Han scholars such as Liu Bingzhong and Yao Shu to study Confucian classics. In 1253, he led his troops to destroy the Dali Kingdom, demonstrating his military talent. After Mongke Khan died in battle in 1259, he defeated his younger brother Ali Boge and became the Great Khan of the Mongols

After Kublai Khan unified the Southern Song Dynasty, his ambition swelled and he launched many foreign wars.

The two expeditions against Japan in 1274 (the Battle of Bunei) and 1281 (the Battle of Hiroya) both suffered heavy losses due to the destruction of the fleet caused by typhoons (" Kamikaze ").

The southern campaign in Southeast Asia: Military campaigns were launched against Annam, Champa, Myanmar and other places, but they suffered repeated failures due to unfavorable climate and terrain, which further increased the financial burden.

The controversy over the massacre of cities: During the war to overthrow the Song Dynasty, the population of the Southern Song Dynasty sharply declined from 13.6 million households to 9.3 million households. Historical records show that its troops massacred cities in many places, earning it the title of "the one who massacred the most cities in Chinese history".