The Scandalous Tales of the Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty was the first unified dynasty in Chinese history founded by northern nomadic peoples. It conquered the realm with its iron cavalry, but had no idea how to govern it. It divided the population into four classes: Mongols, Semu, Han Chinese, and Southerners. Southerners ranked last, treated worse than dogs. The dynasty abolished the civil service examinations, burned books, and trampled scholars underfoot. It confiscated iron and banned weapons, forcing farmers to dig the soil with their bare hands. It made salt a government monopoly: a pound of salt cost more than a pound of rice. People who could not afford government salt bought it on the black market, and if caught, they were beaten to death. It turned temples into tax-exempt sanctuaries, where wealthy landowners registered their fields under temple names. Small farmers were driven into bankruptcy and forced to sell their sons and daughters. It conscripted laborers to repair the Yellow River dikes. One hundred and fifty thousand people crawled along the banks like ants. Those who died of exhaustion, illness, or beatings had their bodies thrown into the river, without even a grave mound.

These were the Yuan Dynasty's shameful deeds.