page_title: Yuan dynasty
section_title: Printing and publishing
hierarchical_section_title: Yuan dynasty / Science and technology / Printing and publishing
caption_attribution_description: English: ]]) reads: jˇi ’ŭen baw č‘aw&#160;: to say 「至元寳鈔」. The smaller Chinese characters in the bottom half of the note say "(this note) can be circulated in various provinces without expiration dates. Counterfeiters would be put to death. Français&#160;: billet de banque de la dynastie Yuan et sa matrice xylographiée de 1287. Sur une ligne en haut on peut lire&#160;: 「至元通行寳鈔」(en chinois simplifié&#160;: 至元通行宝钞, en pinyin&#160;: zhìyuán tōng háng bǎochāo&#160;; signifiant&#160;: billets de banque en circulation sous la dynastie Yuan). Sur la ligne verticale à gauche des doubles zéro, en écriture 'phags-pa, on peut lire&#160;: jˇi ’ŭen baw č‘aw (signifiant 「至元寳鈔」&#160;; billet de banque de la dynastie Yuan).Les plus petits caractères han, à la moitiée basse du billet, disent&#160;: (cette note) peut être utilisée dans les différentes provinces sans date d'expiration. Les contrefaçon conduiront à la peine de mort.
context_page_description: The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongol Borjigin clan. It lasted from 1271 to 1368, following the Song dynasty and preceding the Ming dynasty.
  Although the Mongols had ruled territories including modern-day North China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other Mongol khanates and controlled most of modern-day China and its surrounding areas, including modern Mongolia. It was the first non-Han Chinese dynasty to rule all of China and lasted until 1368 when the Ming dynasty defeated the Yuan forces. Following that, the rebuked Genghisid rulers retreated to their Mongolian homeland and continued to rule as the Northern Yuan dynasty.
  Some of the Mongol emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others only used their native language and the 'Phags-pa script.
context_section_description: The Mongol rulers patronized the Yuan printing industry. Chinese printing technology was transferred to the Mongols through Kingdom of Qocho and Tibetan intermediaries. Some Yuan documents such as Wang Zhen's Nong Shu were printed with earthenware movable type, a technology invented in the 12th century. However, most published works were still produced through traditional block printing techniques. The publication of a Taoist text inscribed with the name of Töregene Khatun, Ögedei's wife, is one of the first printed works sponsored by the Mongols. In 1273, the Mongols created the Imperial Library Directorate, a government-sponsored printing office. The Yuan government established centers for printing throughout China. Local schools and government agencies were funded to support the publishing of books.
  Private printing businesses also flourished under the Yuan. They published a diverse range of works, and printed educational, literary, medical, religious, and historical texts. The volume of printed materials was vast. In 1312, 1,000 copies of a Buddhist text commented by Cosgi Odsir were printed just within Beijing. By 1328, annual sales of printed calendars and almanacs reached over three million in the Yuan dynasty.
  One of the more notable applications of printing technology was the Jiaochao, the paper money of the Yuan. Jiaochao were made from the bark of mulberry trees. The Yuan government used woodblocks to print paper money, but switched to bronze plates in 1275. The Mongols experimented with establishing the Chinese-style paper monetary system in Mongol-controlled territories outside of China. The Yuan minister Bolad was sent to Iran, where he explained Yuan paper money to the Il-khanate court of Gaykhatu. The Il-khanate government issued paper money in 1294, but public distrust of the exotic new currency doomed the experiment.
  Foreign observers took note of Yuan printing technology. Marco Polo documented the Yuan printing of paper money and almanac pamphlets called tacuini. The vizier Rashid-al-Din recognized that printing was a valuable technological breakthrough, and expressed regret that the Mongol experiment with printing paper money had failed in the Muslim world. Rashid-al-Din's view was not shared by other chroniclers in the Middle East, who were critical of the experiment's disruptive impact on the Il-khanate.
caption: Yuan dynasty banknote with its printing plate, 1287
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