yuan

Yuan is a term with several related meanings in Chinese and East Asian contexts. It is commonly associated with money, a historic dynasty, and a Chinese surname.

In modern usage, yuan refers to the basic unit of account in the Renminbi (RMB), the official currency of the People's Republic of China. One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao and 100 fen, though small denominations are less common in daily cash use due to inflation and the growth of digital payments. The currency is issued by the People’s Bank of China, and the ISO code is CNY. The symbol ¥ is widely used in prices and financial markets.

The Yuan dynasty (Chinese: 元朝, 1271–1368) was established by Kublai Khan and marked the first time a non-Han imperial power ruled all of China proper. It was part of the Mongol Empire and at its height controlled large parts of Asia. Its capital was Khanbaliq, present-day Beijing, for much of its existence. The dynasty expanded trade and cultural exchange but declined amid internal strife and rebellion, and was succeeded by the Ming dynasty in 1368.

Yuan is also a Chinese surname. The common character for the surname is 袁, distinct from the currency character 元 though pronounced the same in pinyin.

The Chinese character 元 has meanings such as origin, source, and beginning, and is used for the currency unit yuan as well as in various terms and names. The term yuan thus reflects both a monetary unit and broader linguistic usage in Chinese.