Discussion on Guidelines of the Mongol Regime for Agricultural Promotion in China and Its Effects on Textile Handicraft in the 13th and 14th Centuries

Abstract

Taking the interaction between agricultural guidelines of the Mongol regime in China and textile handicraft in the 13th and 14th centuries as the main clue, this article analyzes the historical background of the policies of restoring and promoting agricultural production in the early Yuan Dynasty, reviews the policy content relevant to the planting or breeding of fiber raw materials for textile handicraft, and discusses the role of the relevant policies in promoting textile production and technological progress in the Yuan Dynasty. Studies have revealed that the guidelines adopted by the Yuan authority to promote the production and supply of textile raw materials such as ramie, silk and cotton were deeply influenced by traditional Chinese agricultural civilization，although the traditions of nomadic civilization were still reflected in these policies. Guidelines, while increasing the variety and quantity of levy in the Yuan Dynasty, served to maintain the rule of the Mongol regime and to consolidate the privileges of the nobility. Objectively, those guidelines also promoted the evolution of textile techniques at that time.