Toghon Temür

The new emperor appointed his cousin El Tegüs crown prince as he was ward of El Tegüs' mother Empress Dowager Budashiri, but he was controlled by warlords even after El Temür's death. Among them, Bayan became as powerful as El Temür had been. He served as minister of the Secretariat and crushed a rebellion by El Temür's son Tang Ki-se. During his despotic rule, he made several purges and also suspended the imperial examination system. When Toghon Temür tried to promote Lady Ki to secondary wife, which was contrary to the standard practice of only taking secondary wives from Mongol clans, it created such opposition at court to this unheard of promotion for a Korean woman that he was forced to back down.[7] In 1339, when Lady Ki gave birth to a son, whom Toghon Temür decided would be his successor, he was finally able to have Lady Ki named his secondary wife in 1340.[7]

As Toghon Temür matured, he came to disfavor Bayan's autocratic rule. In 1340 he allied with Bayan's nephew Toqto'a, who was in discord with Bayan, and banished Bayan in a coup. He also removed El Tegüs and Empress Budashiri from court. With the help of Toqto'a, he also managed to purge officials that had dominated the administration.

Yuan Huizong in Chinese printing.

With the dismissal of Bayan, Toqto'a seized the power of the court. His first administration clearly exhibited fresh new spirit. The young leader was quick to distinguish his regime as something wholly different from Bayan's. A new Chinese era name, Zhizheng (Chinese: 至正), was decreed to show this. Bayan's purges were called off. Many of the great Chinese literati came back to the capital from voluntary retirement or from administrative exile and the imperial examination system was restored.

Toqto'a also gave a few early signs of a new and positive direction in central government. One of his successful projects was to finish the long-stalled official histories of the Liao, Jin and Song dynasties, which were eventually completed in 1345.

Toqto'a resigned his office with the approval of Toghon Temür in June 1344, which marked the end of his first administration. The several short-lived administrations that followed from 1344 and 1349 would develop an agenda very different from Toqto'a's. In 1347, the emperor forced Toqto'a into Gansu with assistance from former officers of Kuśala and Yesün Temür.

In 1349, Toghon Temür recalled Toqto'a, which began Toqto'a's second and very different administration.

Rebels and warlords in 1363 during the late reign of Toghon Temur.

Since the late 1340s, people in the countryside suffered from frequent natural disasters, droughts, floods, and ensuing famines. The lack of effective government policy led to a loss of support from the people. Illicit salt dealers who were disaffected by the government's salt monopoly raised a rebellion in 1348, triggering many revolts around the empire. Among them was the Red Turban Rebellion, which started in 1351 and grew into a nationwide turmoil.

Hsing-hua, 1362, Yuan dynasty. Much of Putian County was controlled by Chinese rebels.

In 1354, when Toqto'a led a large army to crush the Red Turban rebels, Toghon Temür suddenly dismissed him for fear of betrayal. This resulted in the restoration of Toghon Temür's power but also a rapid weakening of the central government. Thus he had no choice but to rely on the forces of local warlords.

Toghon Temür gradually lost interest in politics and ceased to intervene in political struggles. His son Biligtü Khan, who became Crown Prince in 1353, attempted to seize power and came into conflict with Toghon Temür's aides, who dominated politics instead of the khan. During this time power was increasingly exercised by Lady Ki.[8] Chief Empress Lady Ki and his minister persuaded Biligtü Khan to overthrow the latter. Toghon Temür was unable to conciliate the dispute but executed the minister. In 1364 the Shanxi-based warlord Bolad Temür occupied Khanbaliq and expelled the Crown Prince from the winter base. In alliance with the Henan-based warlord Köke Temür, Biligtü Khan defeated Bolad Temür in the next year. This internal struggle resulted in further weakening of the political and military power of the central government. In 1365, Toghon Temür finally promoted his much beloved Lady Ki to First Empress and announced that his son by her would be the first in the line of succession.[8]

During the Yuan dynasty, one of Confucius' descendants, who was one of the Duke Yansheng Kong Huan's 孔浣 sons, named Kong Shao 孔紹, moved from China to Goryeo era Korea and established a branch of the family there called the Gong clan of Qufu after marrying a Korean woman (Jo Jin-gyeong's 曹晉慶 daughter) during Toghon Temür's rule.[9][10][11][12][13][14] (Also see 曲阜孔氏 (朝鲜半岛) and 곡부 공씨)

Monument in honor of the rebuilding of the Temple of Yan Hui in Qufu in Year 9 of the Zhizheng era (1349).

Pope John XXII and Pope Benedict XII successfully extended a network of Catholic churches throughout the Mongol Empire from Crimea to China between 1317 and 1343. The archbishop of Khanbaligh, John of Montecorvino, died in 1328. With the backing of the Toghon Temür, the Alans wrote to Pope Benedict XII in 1336 asking for a new metropolitan. In 1338, the pope sent back the embassy headed by Giovanni de' Marignolli, who stayed at Beijing three or four years. They brought gifts for Toghon Temür that included fine European horses.

When the Koreans captured a Japanese fishing ship they thought was spying, the Goryeo court sent it to their overlord, the Yuan emperor Toghon Temür, who then sent the fishermen back to Japan. In reply, the Ashikaga shogunate sent an embassy led by a monk to express its gratitude.