We present an approach to the theory of Schubert polynomials, corresponding symmetric functions, and their generalizations that is based on exponential solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. In the case of the solution related to the nilCoxeter algebra of the symmetric group, we recover the Schubert polynomials of Lascoux and Schützenberger, and provide simplified proofs of their basic properties, along with various generalizations thereof. Our techniques make use of an explicit combinatorial interpretation of these polynomials in terms of configurations of labelled pseudo-lines.
