Mongol Century

The Mongol Century explores the visual world of China's Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the spectacular but relatively short-lived regime founded by Khubilai Khan, regarded as the pre-eminent khanate of the Mongol empire.

This book illuminates the Yuan era – full of conflicts and complex interactions between Mongol power and Chinese heritage – by delving into the visual history of its culture, considering how Mongol governance and values imposed a new order on China's culture and how a sedentary, agrarian China posed specific challenges to the Mongols' militarist and nomadic lifestyle.

Shane McCausland explores how an unusual range of expectations and pressures were placed on Yuan culture: the idea that visual culture could create cohesion across a diverse yet hierarchical society, while balancing Mongol desires for novelty and display with Chinese concerns about posterity.

Although in recent years exhibitions have begun to open up the inherent paradoxes of Yuan culture, this is the first book in English to adopt a comprehensive approach. It incorporates a broad range of visual media of the East Asia region to reconsider the impact Mongol culture had in China, from urban architecture and design to tomb murals and porcelain, and from calligraphy and printed paper money to stone sculpture. Fresh and invigorating, The Mongol Century explores, in fascinating detail, the visual culture of this brief but captivating era of East Asian history.

162 illustrations, 141 in color

Secolul mongol exploreaza lumea vizuala a dinastiei Yuan din China (1271–1368), regimul spectaculos, dar de scurta durata, fondat de Khubilai Khan, considerat ca pre-eminatul hanat al imperiului mongol. Aceasta carte lumineaza era Yuan - completa a conflictelor si interactiunilor complexe dintre puterea mongola si mostenirea chineza - prin aprofundarea in istoria vizuala a culturii sale, luand in considerare modul in care guvernarea si valorile mongole au impus o noua ordine asupra culturii Chinei si modul in care o China sedentara si agrara a pus provocari specifice militaristului mongolilor Shane McCausland exploreaza modul in care o gama neobisnuita de asteptari si presiuni au fost plasate asupra culturii Yuan: ideea ca cultura vizuala ar putea crea coeziune intr-o societate diversa, dar ierarhizata, in timp ce echilibreaza dorintele mongole de noutate si se afiseaza cu preocuparile chineze cu privire la posteritate. Desi in ultimii ani expozitiile au inceput sa deschida paradoxurile inerente ale culturii Yuan, aceasta este prima carte in engleza pentru a adopta o abordare cuprinzatoare.