Some problems of trade relations during the Mongol rule in China

Abstract

In the article, the author establishes to what extent the nature of China’s foreign trade underwent changes during the Mongolian Yuan dynasty. The author’s task is to explain some aspects of the continu- ity of trade relations when power in China passes from the Southern Song Empire to the Yuan Empire, China’s entry into the Eurasian Mongolian Empire. The author conducted a comparative analysis of ma- terials on trade in China in various sources, which reveal the nature of commercial transactions, imports and exports of China in the Yuan period compared to the period when the Southern Song Dynasty ruled. The works considered in the article are devoted to the history of trade of the XIII century, commodity exchange and trends in the economic development of the region, are valuable sources of the period from the fall of the Song Dynasty to the coming to power of the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. A comparative analysis of the works revealed similarities in the characteristics of a number of phenomena and process- es, which confirms the accuracy of the reports of medieval authors. As a result of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that the coming to power of the Yuan dynasty has had a positive impact on the trade situation in the region, the position of merchants has become stronger compared to the previous period, external relations have remained and developed, the developed system of collecting duties has shown a high level of organization of the bureaucratic apparatus, the range of imported and exported goods has significantly expanded.

Key words: trade, Yuan empire, Mongol empire, foreign trade, price evolution.