Career
Later, he was promoted to the post of deputy prime minister and became the first Han minister of the Yuan dynasty which was ruled by the Mongols. He played a key role in early Yuan politics. Shi Tianze was a Han Chinese who lived in the Jurchen Jin dynasty.
Interethnic marriage between Han and Jurchen became common at this time.
His father was Shi Bingzhi (Shih Ping-chih) 史秉直. Shi Bingzhi was married to a Jurchen woman (surname Na-ho) and a Han Chinese woman (surname Chang), it is unknown which of them was Shi Tianze"s mother.
His Jurchen wive"s surnames were Mo-nien and Na-ho, his Korean wife"s surname was Li, and his Han Chinese wife"s surname was Shi. Shi Tianze defected to the Mongol Empire"s forces upon their invasion of the Jin dynasty.
Shi, Zhang Rou (Chang Jou) 張柔, and Yan Shi (Yen Shih) 嚴實 and other high ranking Chinese who served in the Jin dynasty and defected to the Mongols helped build the structure for the administration of the new state.