Kublai Khan proclaims the Yuan dynasty

1271

Choosing a Chinese dynastic name from the Book of Changes, Kublai formally inaugurated the Yuan in his new capital of Dadu. The Mongol great khan now ruled as a Chinese emperor, with all the Confucian pageantry his Mongolian cousins regarded as embarrassing. The adoption of a Chinese-style dynasty name signaled Kublai's determination to be seen as a legitimate successor to the Han, Tang, and Song.