Semu (Chinese: 色目; pinyin: sèmù) is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste.

Next came the semuren (“persons with special status”), confederates of the Mongols such as Turks or Middle Eastern Muslims. The third group was called the hanren (a term that generally means Chinese but that was used to designate the inhabitants of …

This paper examines the Semu artisans in the Yuan Empire, clarifying their origin, cultural significance, and the misunderstandings surrounding the term 'Semu ren'. It highlights the movement of artisans from Central Asia to the Far East under Mongol rule, the lack of equivalent terms in other cultures, and the implications of such translations.

Most non-Mongols and non-Chinese in the Yuan Empire were categorized as Semu ren. Comparatively little work has been done on identifying exactly who they were, where they came from, how many of them there were, and what roles they fulfilled.

Marco Polo was himself a semu ren; born in Venice, he left in 1272 and travelled over land to the Yuan court with his father and uncle, eventually becoming a government employee in China for over 20 years before going back to his home city.

It was further confirmed that the category of Semu ren arose out of a need to distinguish institutionally between Chinese and non-Chinese. Semu ren themselves were made up of diverse peoples, cultures and religions, and the customary laws of each group were recognized.

Facing hostility from the Chinese, Mongol leaders employed a policy of ethnic discrimination by setting up a strictly enforced hierarchy of social classes, ordered in descending level of importance: from the Mongols, semu ren (Western and Central Asians), ban ren (northern Chinese), to the nan ren (southern Chinese). During the Yuan period many ...

Mar 26, 2021 · Semu 色目 or semuren 色目人, literally "people of separate categories", was a Yuan-period 元 (1279-1368) designation for persons of Central and Western Asia (including Europeans). The word is a general term without further distinguishing between sub-categories of these types of foreigners.

Feb 14, 2013 · The Semu ren 色目人 in the Yuan Empire In: Ming Qing Yanjiu. Author: Stephen G. Haw. Stephen G. Haw Search for other papers by Stephen G. Haw in Current site Google Scholar PubMed Close. View More View Less. Online Publication Date: 14 Feb 2013 ...

Semu (Chinese: 色目; pinyin: sèmù) is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste.