Yuan


 * China was ruled by foreigners, (Yung dynasty) called the Mongols.
 * The Mongols were culturally very different from the Chinese. This made ruling them very difficult.
 * The Mongols and the Chinese spoke different languages, had a different form of dress and many different customs.
 * The excessive spending and trade restriction enacted during the Yuan Dynasty severely depleted China economically.
 * The Chinese were forbidden to learn to speak any other language.
 * In a short time they became so weak that popular uprisings broke out and Chu, the leader of one of these popular uprisings, succeeded in uniting several other groups and the nobility and overthrew the Yuan.
 * Another factor that led to the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty was the exclusive use of non-Chinese in governmental positions.
 * Second, China was so impoverished that the Mongols did not have a very strong interest in maintaining their hold on China.