Kublai Khan's Census: The Yuan Dynasty Counts Its People

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Kublai Khan's ambitious census of the Yuan Dynasty — how the Mongol emperor tried to count every household in China and beyond. They discuss the challenges of surveying a vast, multilingual empire, the use of household registers and the mou-pai (household placard system), the role of local officials and tax farmers, and the census's link to military conscription and corvée labor. They touch on the Song Dynasty precedents, the Dali Kingdom's integration, and how census data helped Kublai consolidate power and fund his wars. The episode also examines resistance: peasants hiding family members, nomadic tribes evading registration, and the limits of Mongol control. A look at the mechanics of empire through the lens of tax rolls and population counts. #KublaiKhan #YuanDynasty #MongolEmpire #Census #Taxation #ChinaHistory #SongDynasty #DaliKingdom #MouPai #HouseholdRegistration #Conscription #Corvee #MarcoPolo #Dadou #Khanbaliq #History #FexingoHistory #CentralAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo