WHAP Compare And Contrast Essay 2

Indigo Golub
Per. 3 During 13th century, the Mongols ruled both China, and Russia. The Mongols had similar and different political and economic effects on these regions. For example, the Khans chose a Russian ruler to take the position as Grand Prince and gave them the authority over other rulers. In contrast, the Mongols gave native Chinese no power within their government, but in fact they brought in Arabs, Europeans, and Persians to help them rule. In addition, during the Yuan Dynasty circa 1279, Kublai Khan insinuated himself into Chinese society by establishing an economic and political system that was familiar to the Chinese such as Confucianism. While in Russia entirely new governmental and economic systems were put into place and Russia became a feudal state. The Mongols also had similar effects, for example, in both regions the Mongols made a positive impact on their economies. They secured important trade routes within the region and contributed their effective trade techniques. Safer Russian trade routes and the Silk Road brought prosperity to these regions. The Mongols allowed Russians to hold certain positions in the Mongol government in the Golden Horde, while in China all significant government roles were held by Mongols or foreigners. Russian princes could be assigned the position of Grand prince where their role was to keep an eye out on other rulers, demand taxes on their subjects, and stay completely loyal to the Khans. The Chinese on the other hand, were completely stripped of any power. Mongols were distrusting of Confucian scholars or officials because their views and visions were so different from their own. The differences in positions in government can be attributed to the fact that the Chinese had had previous strong native rulers who had controlled, and unified China such as Shi Huangdi, and Xiang Yu. This intimidated the Mongols, and made them reluctant to give power to the Chinese. Where as the Russians were more easily maneuvered and didn’t have a history of strong leaders and unification, but rather decentralization and a lot of non-absolute rulers Several economic and political systems were reestablished during Yuan dynasty in China, however in Russia all systems were kept completely Mongolian based. In 1279 Kublai Khan conquered all of China. Taking on a less aggressive approach with his subjects, he revived Chinese religions, customs, and political systems such as the Six Ministries which had dealt with new policies, as well as the Secretariat, which was a Chinese decision making body, and even the Civil Service Exam. On the contrary, The Mongols never embraced the previous Russian political styles. For instance, Russia had previously been made up of simple kingdoms. However, the Mongols ridded of this system and implanted a feudal system with the existence of serfs into the Golden Horde. This is due to the fact that the Khans expected large amounts of money from the Grand Prince. In order to fulfill this payment he enforced high taxed on peasants, who could only pay with labor. The acceptance of several of the Chinese systems can be attributed to the fact that the Chinese systems mentioned had proved very successful and efficient in China during the classical era, making it one of the leading power regions of the time. Notwithstanding, Russia was not very stable and its culture and systems were backward and not as appealing to the Mongols. The Mongols economically benefitted China and Russia. By Genghis Khan gaining control over the Silk Road circa 13th century, and protecting it from thieves and bandits, more trade came through into China and it became safer. Through valuable trading goods such as silk, gunpowder and porcelain, China became one of the largest trading sites in the East. In Russia as well, the Mongols integrated safety and security their trade routes. This new trade was very helpful to Russia’s previously unstable economy. In addition, they introduced Paper money to the region which was helpful due to the fact that the silver coins were falling in value. This can be attributed to the fact that since the Mongols were a nomadic group, they were very reliant on trade with settled agricultural societies, and stressed the safety of merchants while trading through their territories. The Mongols left a lasting impact on both regions. The trade routes that the Mongols secured remained working and safe long after their rule and were the main reason of Russia’s flourished economy. In addition, the political system implanted by the Mongols was what aided the Russians to break free of Mongol Rule. The Russian Princes came together and overthrew the Mongols and later incorporated Mongolian successor states into a centralized empire. This later gave the power to the Russians to gain control over Novgorod, and essentially Moscow which is ruled by Russia today. Furthermore, the Mongols impact on Chinese unified China and Europe and created a new demand for goods. In addition, due to the foreign officials in their government, the Chinese continued to have cultural diversity among their government.