Front Page News Story

The Mongolian army was one of the best army in the world. Genghis Khan was the ruler of the army, he would stop at nothing to get treasure and land. Khan was very strategic and knew exactly how to conquer a country. Khan wanted to create the biggest empire in his world.
In the late 12th century Khan had unified all the tribes that were living in Northern Mongolia. The Mongols used terror to intimidate their opposites. In 1234 Khan invaded North China, Central Asia and Russia and even reached the Indian River Valley to the south. The Mongols would capture prisoners and force them to fight on their side. Now in 1273 his invasion of China influenced the time we live in now. Genghis Khans grandson is now the emperor of the Yuan dynasty. A emperors official has told me, "Kublai Khan intends to rule the Yuan dynasty like his grandfather intended, keeping the territory that Khan conquered his. “The tribal people have had their own religion and culture taken away from them. A local tribesman told me " Genghis Khan invaded our country and rid of us our treasure, religion, and culture. I was forced to grow up under the surveillance of the Mongol people. “The "Great" Khan has ruined the lives of the Chinese. The people have been doing what they can to make lives easier for themselves, but they continue to be ruled by the Mongols

Opinion/Editorial

Emperor Kublai Khan just announced that there will now be social classes. The class status stands at Mongols have the most power, then the Semi people, then Han people, and last but not least the Southerners who are from the Northern song dynasty. The Mongolians treat the Chinese like servants. We can't let the emperor give so much power to the Mongolians. The Mongolians have more power for legal matters, military, and political affairs. They would decide for the entire dynasty, and the lower classes wouldn't have a say. The different social classes have different punishments for crimes. Every crime should have the same punishment. Its not fair for one class to get harsher punishment then another. The Mongolians and the Han (the two higher social classes) don't have to pay taxes, while everyone in the lower classes have to pay taxes. The lower classes had to pay more because the higher classes didn't have to pay any taxs. Some people would say this is a good thing because it allows one social class to have more responsibility and help run our dynasty. We can't let them make life harder for the lower classes. We should give equal amount of power to the lower classes. Without social classes people can have the same opportunities to become involved in politics, military, and legal issues

Yuan Dynasty Map

This map shows the Yuan dynasty of ancient China (1271-1368). The brown area is the amount of land the Yuan dynasty controlled. The green line is used to show the grand canal. The Yuan dynasty covers most of China and Mongolia. Mongolia and China were united when the mongols invaded China. Korea was also included in the Yuan dynasty. Kublai was one of the most successful rulers of the Yuan dynasty. The east side of the Yuan is on the coast of China. The dark lines show the lines of China and Mongolia. The Yuan dynasty had one of the biggest empire's in Ancient China

Interview with Genghis Khan

Reporter: Hello, how are you?

Khan: fine, well lets get to it I have more important people to see.

Reporter:All right lets get to it. How did you get your army so powerful? What were you fighting for?

Khan: I united the Mongol army with rivaling tribes. The solders in my army were trained at a young age. All males ages 14-60 had to serve in the military. Our military is made of thousands of males. We were fighting for the dominance of the Asian world. our army covered more land then the Romans did.

Reporter: Your name was originally Temujin. How did you become Genghis Khan? How does it make you feel?

Khan: I am one of the most important leaders in the Mongol army. Genghis Khan means "Great Khan". It was an honor to lead a great army. Every tribe that we have fought, we have one. When you hear people saying Great Khan while they bow it feels like you are their God. They look up to you and put their lives in your hands to show them how to fight and survive. It feels like I was born to be a leader.

Reporter: Some people would say your a tyrant. How would you define yourself?

Khan: I was born into a poor family. I was doing what I had to give myself a better life. I killed people because I needed the treasure I didn't kill for the joy. I wouldn't call myself a tyrant, I would say I just tried to make my life better.

Reporter: What were some challenges you faced?

Khan: One of the hardest thing to do when building an army is you have to have solders that are able to fight. You can't throw untrained boys into a war they will die and you would have to replace them. Another challenge is that you don't know what's going to happen. You have to ready to face the unknown. You don't know if they have a larger or better army then yours. You have to rely on what you know, and fight as hard as you can.

Reporter: One last question. What made you want to be the ruler of the army? How did you know you could be a leader?

Khan: When I was born, I was born with a blood clot in my hand. To my people that meant I was born to be a leader. I wanted to rule an army because my father was the ruler of our tribe. When I was nine my father was poisoned by a rival tribe. When I wanted to take my fathers place as head of the tribe they said I was to young. My half-brother wanted to be the head of my family. We got into very many fights. I killed him when he was sleeping. I wanted to give my family a better life. I started a small army that defeated other small tribes soon more and more were joining my army. I knew I could lead them. That was when I knew I wanted to be the leader of an army. I want to be remembered as someone great.

Reporter: Well thank you for talking to me it has been an interesting experience.

Khan: Yes, yes goodbye.

Inventions of the Yuan

Blue and white porcelain was invented in China during the Yuan dynasty. This was an important invention because it was used to decorate clay jars, plates, and bowels. Porcelain made all the jars, plates, and bowels look better. It became a unique way of decorating materials.

Blue and white porcelain was first used in the 1350s. Blue and white porcelain was invented in the early part of the Yuan dynasty. They were inspired by Muslims.  

Blue and white porcelain really changed people’s lives in many ways. Some people sold porcelain for money.  For example, the art work was different then other dynasties before the Yuan. Also it was used as a trading product.

Religion/Culture of The Yuan

During the Yuan dynasty they believed that Daoism was a natural way to live. The Yuan people believed that every bad thing that happens, a good thing happens. They believed it was the way of the universe. Laws and social rules got in the way of living naturally, so the rulers rule less harshly. People aren’t forced to behave they know if they do something bad a bad thing will happen to them. It gives people a reason to behave. Confucianism is when people believed that everyone was good. Not everyone is good. During the Yuan dynasty it would be bad for Confucianism to be popular because people would get out of control and do something wrong. Daoism would be better because people would know that if they do something wrong they would be punished by the universe.

Additional Option- Major Events, Culture, or Geographical

Genghis Khan was the leader of the Mongol army. Genghis Khan real name was Temujin. His father was the leader of a small tribe. When he was ten years old he went to live with his future father in-law. His father was captured and killed by rival tribesmen. He avenged his father by killing his father’s captures, and their tribe. Genghis Khan was killed in battle. His grandson Kublai Khan was one of the greatest rulers. The Yuan dynasty was overthrown by the Ming dynasty.