Did Marco Polo visit China during the Yuan dynasty?

Answer 1

Technically yes, it is the Yuan Dynasty, but it's also "wrong" history in that the Chinese government later changed it to make it seem that the Yuan dynasty was "of" China at all. Remember that the Emperor of "China" that Polo visited was Kublai Khan. Khan is not a surname; Khan is the title of chief or lord to the Mongol people. Kublai's grandfather is the famous conqueror Genghis Khan.

They conquered the Chinese empire, therefore obviously, the Chinese empire is no more and is replaced and absorbed by the Mongol empire which still holds the title of the largest contiguous empire in human history. Once again, "technically," Marco Polo could not have visited a state which no longer existed by that point. Polo was indeed traveling to Mongolia.

Same thing happens again and again. The Last Emperor of China (also a multiple academy award winning film) is himself not Chinese, but Manchurian, who was later usurped by the Communist Leader Mao Ze Dong. Much of Chinese culture, music, and even "traditional" clothing is actually not Chinese at all.

The Chinese culture is certainly the pre-eminent one in Asia just as the Romans are in European culture, but history is far more nuanced. Technically, China's rule in the past 1000 years has been for the slight majority held by other powers.