Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, now reigned over all of China as em- peror of the Yuan dynasty. He had inherited the largest empire the world had ever known. Foreigners were easily incorporated into this ethnically complex empire as land routes were reopened. European missionaries and traders, such as Marco Polo, went to and fro across the Eurasian continent. Khan's capital, Khanbalig, was on the site of present-day Beijing; today all that's left of his palace is a giant jade urn in Beihai Park.

Under Khan, the entire population was divided into categories of Han, Mongol and foreigner, with the top administrative posts reserved for Mongols. The examination system was revived in 1315, but the Mongols and their non-Chinese allies were still strongly favoured, causing resent- ment among the Chinese literati.

Although they were a mighty military power, the Mongols were not masterminds at politics or economics and were soon faced with insur- mountable opposition. The Mongols controlled China for less than a century; by the middle of the 14th century rebellions raged through central and north China.

Chief among the rebel groups were the Red Turbans who followed a whole gamut of religions - from Buddhism to Manichaeism, Taoism and Confucianism. By 1367 Zhu Yuanzhang, originally an orphan and Bud- dhist novice, had climbed to the top of the rebel leadership and in 1368 he established the Ming dynasty, restoring Chinese rule.