News Article

Kublai Khan: The next Emperor of China?

By: Jake Leitner

China Daily

From 1261-1264 Kublai Khan has been at war with his brother Ariq Boke to see who will take over the Chinese empire. It now seems like Kublai and the Mongolians are closing in a victory in the war. This means that Kublai Khan could be the next emperor of China. It would be very shocking if Kublai Khan was the next emperor seeing how he is Mongolian, and also Kublai has been attacking against the southern song for a long time now.

If Kublai does win this war a lot things might change here in China. He could create a new type of dynasty or he could start a war. Who knows what he will do when he’s emperor. We also wonder what people will think of him as the new emperor of China. An old friend who fought with Kublai in the war until he retired of old age his name is Tiang Mao, an old commander.

“ I would be very happy and proud if Kublai was declared as the new emperor of China. I wouldn’t like to see anyone else but him be the next emperor. I remember being in the war we were very close to each other.” This man was a war veteran who served under Kublai he might found him a great leader but that could just be his opinion. Hopefully what he said about Kublai was true.If Kublai is declared as emperor hopefully Kublai will be able to run this country and not run it into the ground. Nobody would like to see our country run down, or becoming very poor. Hopefully Kublai can take care of our country

Editorial

Kublai Khan: The next Emperor of China?
Opinion/Editorial
By: Jake Leitner



    A war has been going on since 1261-1264 between Ariq Boke and his brother Kublai Khan to prove who will be the next emperor of China. Kublai Khan is very close to winning he’s closing in on victory. So it seems like Kublai Khan will be the next emperor of China. This is wrong! A Mongolian should not be the emperor of China. It should and always some sort of Chinese dictator. 


    Yes it would be something new in China  if a Mongol did take over, but we’ve always followed old traditions and we should keep the old traditions and make sure this man doesn’t make it as emperor. He will change everything in China he won’t care about anyone in China other than himself.  And if he wants to be the new emperor at least have some sort of election. The people of China  should have a choice if they want this Mongol to be our emperor!


    Even though some people might say having a strong warrior like Kublai Khan would make a strong leader of China. Also he would create a stronger army to defend China. That doesn’t mean anything. Just because he’s a strong warrior doesn’t mean he would make a good leader. The best way to stay as a stable country is to keep an Chinese dictator to be our emperor of china.


    China should stick to old traditions. We shouldn’t let a Mongol who’s fighting in a war right now should be our emperor. There shouldn’t be any one out of the Chinese race to be our emperor. We must not let this man become this emperor everything will change if Kublai Khan is our emperor.

Yuan Dynasty Revealed

Map of the Yuan Dynasty

By Jake Leitner

   
    This is the map of the Yuan Dynasty. Compared to the Song Dynasty this map covers a lot more land than the map of the Song Dynasty. I think it covers this much land because of the Mongolians. If you look closely at the map it covers Mongolia to. Since the Mongols took over China the Yuan Dynasty of course would make sense to cover both Mongolia and China and that’s why its also bigger than the Song Dynasty map.

Interivew with a Famous Poet

Zhang Yanghao Interview

By Jake Leitner

           Zhang Mao is a very famous poet who lives in the Shangdong province. There were a couple of questions asked for him.

Question 1: How long have you been a poet?

Answer: “Since the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty so I have been doing this for a long time.”

Question 2: Were you recommended for to office?

Answer: “Yes very recently but it didn’t end well I was booted off.”

Question 3: Why were you booted off office?

Answer: “Because I angered superiors because I criticized the government to much.”

Question 4: What were you reappointed to?

Answer: “I was reappointed to import posts.”

Question 5: How hard have you been working and are you still doing poetry?

Answer: “I’ve been working myself to death I’ve barley had any time to do poetry it’s been so hard.

What People Believe in: Yuan Dynasty Religion

Religious Belief Systems in the Yuan Dynasty

By Jake Leitner

    During the Yuan dynasty there were many belief systems. There’s Buddhism (Chinese and Tibetan) Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese Folk Religion, Shamanism/Tengriism, Christianity, Islam. The most popular or famous from the Yuan Dynasty of course is Buddhism. Mostly everyone followed Buddha’s followings. That’s not all Confucianism at time people still followed Confucians belief systems and people still followed him. There’ not that much to say about religion. It’s basically the same as it’s always been in ancient China.

Money made with Paper

Inventions in the Yuan Dynasty

By: Jake Leitner

    Paper money was invented in 1154. It stated in Tang but not until the Song dynasty declared as a government policy. Paper money had two advantages, it was easier to carry around, and it was made out of silver, gold copper or iron, and the iron could be used as everyday objects. Names and seals were printed on the money by the government. Unfortunately there are no written documents of paper money to this day.

    The magnetic compass was a natural magnet pointing directly to the north. It was used to help in dark knights to guide there horses. It’s the first known compass in history to be made with a magnet. It was a huge milestone in inventions. To this day people still use magnetic compasses for guidance and to help people get around.

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