438 Yuan dynasty hunt annually Their love of hunting and riding resulted in huge areas throughout China being turned into pastures and hunting parks, their previous owners being evicted or enslaved Mongol cuisine consisted mainly of boiled or roasted mutton, washed down with huge quantities of koumiss (fermented mare’s milk) Alcoholism killed many in the ruling house prematurely The fate of the Yuan dynasty was closely tied to the effectiveness of its military Mongols and their nomadic allies formed the elite cavalry, which was supported by land granted to the hereditary heads of the units But because Mongols lacked managerial skills and abused the Chinese farmers, many fled, causing a drop in production, hence income Chinese formed the infantry units, which were distrusted; for example, Chinese units had to turn in their weapons after maneuvers As Mongol military effectiveness declined, the accumulated grievances of the subject people led to widespread rebellions The official language of the Yuan government was Mongolian A written script had been created for writing down spoken Mongol under Genghis Khan; it used the Uighur script Early Mongols practiced shamanism, but Kubilai Khan became interested in Chan (Ch’an) Buddhism in his youth and then turned to Tibetan Lamaist Buddhism after he took over Tibet and came under the influence of a religious leader called Phagspa Phagspa was called on to create a new script for writing Mongol, called the Phagspa script, which is still in use Kubilai’s adherence and patronage also led to the conversion of Mongols in Mongolia and China to become Buddhists of the Tibetan school Kubilai and his successors also granted enormous favors and huge sums to Tibetan clergymen, who became widely hated by the Chinese for their abuse of power Kubilai and his successors gradually allowed their Chinese subjects to add Chinese-style government offices, modified from the Tang (T’ang) and Song model, though under Mongol supervision In 1315 the examination system was even reinstated, but with a quota system that gave half of the doctoral degrees to Mongol and se-mu candidates regardless of qualification; the number of officials who had passed the examinations never exceeded percent Chinese were restricted to low, mainly clerical posts and received few promotions For committing the same crimes, Chinese were punished more severely, and Mongols were given light punishment for crimes against Chinese Some of Kubilai Khan’s successors patronized Chinese arts and culture, became collectors of Chinese art, and endorsed the writing of the official histories of all three preceding dynasties, the Song, Liao, and Jin, as the Yuan’s legiti- mate predecessors However, by and large the Mongols left Chinese intellectual life alone This allowed private academies to continue teaching Neo-Confucianism A number of notable painters also continued along earlier traditions Because few intellectuals found opportunities under the Yuan government, some took up unorthodox professions such as medicine, fortune telling, writing fiction, and developing operatic drama ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND THE LUXURY TRADE Kubilai Khan began measures to restore aspects of the damaged economy and fostered trade Thus he had the Grand Canal repaired and built and maintained roads These measures were necessary to transport food and luxuries from southern China to supply his court in Dadu (T’a-tu), which had been capital city of the Liao dynasty and Jin (Chin) dynasty, which had been destroyed by earlier Mongol armies and he had rebuilt He also maintained a second capital, his headquarters from the days before becoming emperor It was called Shangdu (Shang-tu), located 200 miles north of Dadu and close to the Mongolian steppes The annual trek of the court from one capital to the other, which was continued throughout the dynasty, was costly Kubilai also established a postal service with 1,400 stations, 4,000 carts, 6,000 boats, and 50,000 horses The international luxury trade prospered because the different branches of Genghis Khan’s family ruled from Korea to eastern Europe and imposed conditions that made travel and trade safe—historians call this the Pax Tatarica (Tatar Peace) For example Chinese porcelain makers produced beautiful underglazed blue wares from the fine cobalt that was mined in Persia (Persia was ruled by the descendants of Kubilai Khan’s younger brother Hulagu Khan) Sorghum, a new crop, was introduced and became an important food source for North China However the prosperity under the Yuan government was spotty and largely superficial Ineptitude and rampant inflation from fiscal irresponsibility and currency manipulation caused great harm to the economy and general impoverishment Mongol and se-mu owned vast tracts of land, granted as appanage (fief) by Mongol rulers to their favorites, and reduced the people who worked for them to slavery DECLINE AND COLLAPSE Kubilai died in 1294 He was predeceased by his heir and appointed a grandson his successor, called Temur Oljeitu, r 1294–1307 There were no external wars