YUEN or YUAN (12S0-1367). A Mongol, and consequently an alien, dynasty that occupied the throne of China for eighty-eight years—the twenty-third of the twenty-five dynasties that have ruled in that country since BC. 2205, when the first one was founded. The Yuen was founded by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and successor of Mangu, who in 1260 found the north ern provinces of China in the hands of the Kin Tatars, and a native dynasty, the (q.v.). in the south. Having successively vanquished these, lie ascended the throne in 1280, chose the dynastic name of Yuen, and made Peking his capital. Though lie displaced the Chinese high officials with uncivilized Mongols, in utter disre gard of the Chinese practice of appointing only literati, he seems to have ruled wisely on the whole. Ile completed the grand canal between Hang,-ebow and Tientsin; inaugurated road-mak ing and the planting of trees; introduced the use of paper money; and favored Buddhism, hut pro scribed Taoism, and ordered all Taoist books to be burned, except the Too-teh-King of Lao-tse. He attempted the conquest of Japan, but the for midable armada and army he dispatched for that purpose were utterly annihilated by the Jap anese and the terrific storms which they en countered. Of his eight successors only three are worthy of mention: Timor. his grand
son (1294-1306), who proved himself honest and energetic and labored ljard to correct abuses and improve the administration. Superfluous of fices were abolished, the tax system was reformed and the lands of the powerful ecclesias tical establishments were taxed; but ill health proved a serious handicap, and he died at the age of forty-t‘No. Kaisitn, his successor (1307-10), was devoted to Buddhism, wine, and women, and accomplished little. llis most im portant achievement was the redemption by the Government of the children Who in times of famine had been sold. Ayuli Palpata, the fourth Emperor (1311-20), also professed to have the welfare of the people at heart, but his devotion to Buddhism led to the expenditure of vast sums on priests and ceremonies, and grinding taxation was the result. Disorders spread, risings oc curred, the rulers spent their tine in debauchery, and in 1367, during the reign of the ninth Em peror, Chu Yuan-Chang, a temple servant at the head of a large army overthrew the corrupt Yuen, and in the following year ascended the throne as the first of the Ming or '1 1 I ustuious' dynasty (1368-1643), and became known as llung-\\'n (q.v.), making his capital south of the Yang-tse, in the present Nanking.