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The Mongols were great cultural patrons. They conceived, for
example, the idea of a new written language that could be
used to transcribe a number of the languages within the Mongol
domains. Khubilai Khan commissioned the Tibetan 'Phags-pa
Lama to develop the new script, which came to be known
as "the Square Script" or the 'Phags-pa script.
Completed around 1269, the Square
Script was a remarkable effort to devise a new written
language. The Mongol rulers, however, did not foresee how
difficult it would be to impose a written language on the
population from the top down. Though they passed numerous
edicts, regulations, and laws to persuade the public to use
the new script, it never gained much popularity and was limited
mainly to official uses — on paper money, official seals,
a few porcelains, and the passports that were given by the
Mongol rulers.
The Mongol rulers were ardent patrons of the theater, and
the Yuan Dynasty witnessed a golden age of Chinese theater.
The theater at this time was full of spectacles, including
acrobats, mimes, and colorful costumes — all of which
appealed greatly to the Mongols. The Mongol court set up a
special theater within the palace compound in Daidu (Beijing)
and supported a number of playwrights.
The art of painting also flourished under Mongol rule. One
of the greatest painters of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao
Mengfu, received a court position from Khubilai Khan,
and along with Zhao's wife Guan Daosheng, who was also a painter,
Zhao received much support and encouragement from the Mongols.
Khubilai was also a patron to many other Chinese painters
(Liu
Guandao was another), as well as artisans working in ceramics
and fine textiles. In fact, the status of artisans in China
was generally improved during the Mongols' reign. [Also see
The Mongols'
Mark on Global History: Artistic and Cultural Exchange]
Though Chinese culture was valued and supported in many ways,
as discussed above, this support was not at the expense of
the Mongols' own native culture. That is, the Mongols did
not abandon their own heritage, even as they adopted many
of the values and political structures of the people they
conquered and governed.
In fact, the Mongol rulers took many steps to preserve the
rituals, ceremonies, and the "flavor" of traditional
Mongol life. For example, the ritual scattering of mare's
milk was still performed every year; and before battle, libations
of koumiss (alcoholic drink made of mare's milk) were
still poured and the assistance of Tenggeri (the Sky God)
still invoked. In fact, traditional Mongol shamanism was well
supported, and shamans had positions at Khubilai Khan's court
in China.
In addition, many Mongols continued to wear their native
costumes of fur and leather, extravagant feasts in the Mongol
tradition were held on Khubilai Khan's birthday and the birthdays
of other great Mongol leaders, and the sport of hunting,
a quintessential Mongol activity originally designed as training
for warfare, flourished. And when a Mongol princess entered
her eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, she continued the
custom of moving to a special ger (the traditional
Mongol home) to give birth.
•
a
traditional Mongol cultural festival
• The
Mongols' Pastoral-Nomadic Life
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