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Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)

• 
  Mongol passport (paizi), Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 13th century
  China
  Iron with silver inlay; H. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm)
  Purchase, Bequest of Dorothy Graham Bennett, 1993 (1993.256)
  
• 
  Seven-lobed platter with scene of children at play, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century
  China
  Carved red lacquer; Diam. 21 7/8 in. (55.6 cm)
  Promised Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving (L.1996.47.14)
  
• 

  Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin Pusa), Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), dated 1282
  Probably Hebei Province, China
  Wood (willow) with traces of pigment, single woodblock construction; H. 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm)
  Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1934 (34.15.1)

• 
  Canopy with phoenixes, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
  China
  Embroidery; silk and gold thread; 56 3/10 x 53 1/8 in. (143 x 135 cm)
  Purchase, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, and Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, in honor of Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, 1988 (1988.82)
  
• 

  Cosmological Mandala with Mount Meru, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
  China
  Silk tapestry (kesi); 33 x 33 in. (83.8 x 83.8 cm)
  Purchase, Fletcher Fund and Joseph E. Hotung and Michael and Danielle Rosenberg Gifts, 1989 (1989.140)

• 

  Groom and Horse, dated 1296
  Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322)
  Handscroll, ink and color on paper; 11 7/8 x 17 1/8 in. (30.3 x 43.5 cm)
  Gift of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1988.135)

• 
  Twin Pines, Level Distance, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), ca. 1300
  Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322)
  Handscroll: ink on paper; 10 1/2 x 42 1/4 in. (26.7 x 107.3 cm)
  Inscribed by the artist
  Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 (1973.120.5)
  
• 

  Belt slide, Jin (1115–1234)–Yuan (1271–1368) dynasty, 12th–14th century
  China
  Jade (nephrite); L. 2 5/8 in. (6.9 cm)
  Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1991 (1991.483)

• 
  The Simple Retreat, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), ca. 1370
  Wang Meng (Chinese, ca. 1308–1385)
  Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; H. 53 1/2 in. (136 cm), W. 17 3/4 in. (45 cm)
  Signed: "The Yellow Crane Mountain Woodcutter Wang Meng painted this for the lofty scholar of the Simple Retreat"
  Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Promised Gift of the Oscar L. Tang Family (L.1997.24.8)
  
• 
  Embroidered Square with Animals, Birds, and Flowers, late 12th–14th century
  Eastern Central Asia
  Silk thread on silk; 14 5/8 x 14 7/8 in. (37.1 x 37.8 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1988 (1988.296)
  
• 
  Wang Xizhi Watching Geese, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), ca. 1295
  Qian Xuan (Chinese, ca. 1235–before 1307)
  Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paper; 9 1/8 x 36 1/2 in. (23.2 x 92.7 cm)
  Inscribed by the artist (far left) and by the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95; upper left, dated 1746)
  Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 (1973.120.6)
  
• 
  Seated bodhisattva, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), late 13th–early 14th century; Qingbai ware
  China, Probably from kilns in the vicinity of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province
  Porcelain with relief decoration under bluish white glaze; H. 20 in. (50.8 cm)
  Gift of Edgar Bromberger, in memory of his mother, Augusta Bromberger, 1951 (51.166)
  
• 
  Yamantaka Mandala with imperial portraits, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 1330–1332
  China
  Silk tapestry (kesi); 96 5/8 x 82 1/4 in. (245.4 x 208.9 cm)
  Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992 (1992.54)
  
• 
  Pair of incense burners, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), ca. early 14th century; Qingbai ware
  China, Probably from kilns in the vicinity of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province
  Porcelain with brown, low- and full-relief decoration under bluish white glaze; H. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1934 (34.113.2,3)
  
• 
  Fisherman, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), ca. 1350
  Wu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354)
  Handscroll; ink on paper; 9 3/4 x 17 in. (24.8 x 43.2 cm)
  Inscribed by the artist
  Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1989.363.33)
  
• 
  Plate, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), mid-14th century
  China
  Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration; Diam. 18 in. (45.7 cm)
  Purchase, Mrs. Richard E. Linburn Gift, 1987 (1987.10)
  
• 
  Cup Stand with Eight Buddhist Treasures, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century
  China
  Silver; Diam. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
  Purchase, 2006 Benefit Fund, 2007 (2007.187)
  

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During the Yuan dynasty, China—for the first time in its long history—was completely subjugated by foreign conquerors and became part of a larger political entity, the vast Mongol empire. Ironically, during this century of alien occupation, Chinese culture not only survived but was reinvigorated.

In the hands of highly educated scholar-artists, brushwork became calligraphic and assumed an autonomy that transcended its function as a means of creating representational forms.

Related

Timelines (10)

• Central and North Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.
• China, 1000–1400 a.d.
• China, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Himalayan Region, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Iran, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Iraq, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Japan, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Japan, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Korea, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Southeast Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (6)

• Chinese Gardens and Collectors' Rocks
• Chinese Painting
• Landscape Painting in Chinese Art
• List of Rulers of China
• Nature in Chinese Culture
• The Legacy of Genghis Khan

Other Thematic Essays (34)

• A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia
• Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
• Chinese Calligraphy
• Chinese Cloisonné
• Chinese Handscrolls
• Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids
• Daoism and Daoist Art
• Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
• Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
• Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.)
• Lacquerware of East Asia
• List of Rulers of the Islamic World
• Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
• Mountain and Water: Korean Landscape Painting, 1400-1800
• Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127)
• Painting Formats in East Asian Art
• Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.)
• Scholar-Officials of China
• Shoguns and Art
• Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279)
• Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period
• Tang Dynasty (618–906)
• The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)
• The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period
• The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Loyalists And Individualists
• The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting
• The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): The Courtiers, Officials, and Professional Artists
• The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): The Traditionalists
• The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids
• Tibetan Buddhist Art
• Traditional Chinese Painting in the Twentieth Century
• Wang Hui (1632–1717)
• Yangban: The Cultural Life of the Joseon Literati
• Zen Buddhism

Maps (2)

• East Asia, 1000-1400 A.D.
• World, 1000-1400 A.D.

Index Terms (30)

Art Movement/Style

• Yuan Dynasty of China

Artist

• Lu Guang (Chinese, ca. 1300–after 1371)
• Ni Zan (Chinese, 1306–1374)
• Qian Xuan (Chinese, ca. 1235–before 1307)
• Wu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354)
• Zhang Yucai (Chinese, active 1295–1316)
• Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322)
• Zhou Dongqing (Chinese, active late 13th century)

Geography/Place

• China

Material and Technique

• Ceramic from China
• Porcelain from Asia
• Sculpture in the Round from East Asia
• Tapestry in Silk from East Asia

Object

• Scroll

Subject Matter/Theme

• Bird
• Daoist Deity
• Games
• Immortality
• Interior
• Landscape from China
• Mountainous Landscape
• Chinese Poetry
• Buddhist Painting
• Buddhist Scroll
• Buddhist Sculpture in the Round
• Buddhist Textile
• Buddhist Textile
• Scholar
• Stone with Seasonal Imagery
• Spring

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Lacking experience in the administration of a complex empire, the Mongols gradually adopted Chinese political and cultural models. Ruling from their capital in Dadu (also known as Khanbalik; now Beijing), the Mongol Khans increasingly assumed the role of Chinese emperors. During the 1340s and 1350s, however, internal political cohesion disintegrated as growing factionalism at court, rampant corruption, and a succession of natural calamities led to rebellion and, finally, dynastic collapse.



In spite of the gradual assimilation of Yuan monarchs, the Mongol conquest imposed a harsh new political reality upon China. As a group, the literati were largely ignored by the Mongols; those few who did enter government service often received only minor appointments, either as teachers in local schools or as low-level clerks. Southern Chinese, having resisted the Mongol invasion the longest, faced a conscious policy of discrimination, leading many scholars to withdraw from public life to pursue their own personal and artistic cultivation, often under the aegis of the Buddhist or Daoist religions. Drawing on the scholar-official aesthetic of the late Northern Song, Yuan literati painters no longer took truth to nature as their goal but rather used painting as a vehicle for self-expression. In the hands of highly educated scholar-artists, brushwork became calligraphic and assumed an autonomy that transcended its function as a means of creating representational forms.



Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Asian Art. "Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yuan/hd_yuan.htm (October 2001) Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)