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Essay of zheng hes voyages
Essay of zheng hes voyages
Essay of zheng hes voyages
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When comparing the Chinese and Western historical development, the similar key events would have very different outcomes due to their different backgrounds. During the fifteenth century, Zheng He was commissioned to lead the “treasure ships” for seven voyages down the Western Seas. And, Prince Henry sent expeditions to explore the western coast of Africa. China and Portugal, the both ends of the Eurasian continent, almost simultaneously began marine navigations. They have shared some similar features, but there are actually major differences between the two. This paper will compare and contrast these two remarkable explorers. The focus will be on the ideas and circumstances that influenced their actions, and their importance in shaping history. …show more content…
Zheng got government-outfitted fleets and fully sponsored resources from the Ming dynasty ruler Yongle. The same as Henry got monopolies and broad-based supports from the King Duarte I, Portuguese merchants, the Catholic Church and loyal peasants. However, the initiation behind them were different. On one hand, Zheng was a eunuch been ordered by the emperor to take voyages. He was just an official executor under the emperor’s will of consolidating his imperial power and displayed the great Chinese power. On the other hand, Henry was a prince who enjoyed more power. Unlike Zheng as a servant had lots of limitations on his actions and no independence in making decisions, Henry as a dominator had the domination to do anything he wanted. He was motivated by his own will that allowed him to do things in a more open-minded way. For example, he established navigational schools and funded private navigations, instead of personally lead those voyages as Zheng did. While Zheng have not religious reasons for sailing, Henry had strong religious aims of finding military allies to outflank the Moors by sea. In short, they had different motivations on began
On reason we should celebrate is his fleet made incredible distances and destinations, especially for the period of time he traveled in. Zheng He traveled 105,300 total miles in his life. (DOC A) One round trip from Nanjing, his home port in China, to Calicut, one of many destinations he traveled to on his voyages, was a total of 11,600 miles. (DOC A) It took 18,500 total miles to take a round trip from Nanjing to the east of Africa, which was another one of the popular ports that he traveled to. (DOC A) The distance that was
From different contextual standpoints, both William Shakespeare’s King henry IV part 1(1597) and Barry Levinson Man of the year (2006) both represent a unique similarity in discussing power rather than truth. Shakespeare invokes an appreciation of strategic manipulation for both King Henry IV and prince Hal. King Henry struggles of breaking divine lineage whilst Prince Hal appearance vs reality allows Shakespeare to explore the political strategies upheld by politicians within the Elizabethan era. Similarly, in Man of the year, Tom Dobbs use of short and verbose colloquial language exhibit his demagoguery approach to candidacy epitomizing political succession within the 21st century.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.
Prince Henry of Portugal, more commonly known as Henry the Navigator, and Zheng He, a successful Chinese admiral, were both extremely accomplished men throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. During this era, many accomplished explorers ventured out into the ocean and discovered new lands, two of the most important men being Henry the Navigator and Zheng He. Although both men came from different backgrounds, their contrasting societies and structures affected the way in which they regarded economic and political expansion and also their contact with other cultures. Societies like the Chinese and Portuguese had many cultural differences such as their different religions. The Chinese practiced neo-Confucianism whereas the Portuguese were Christians which was one of the many purposes of their exploration, to spread Christianity. There were also many cultural similarities between the two societies such as their long lasting histories and their explorer’s curiosity to seek out to new lands, which resulted the two societies in having different views on economic and political expansion and contact with other cultures. Both Confucian and Christian ideologies favored those who worked over the wealthy. Thus, to a larger extent, the structures and values of a society have an extensive impact on the way people view economic and political expansion and contact with other cultures.
In the mid 1400’s Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery. Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the shortage of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and “The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought.” (p.340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast; the Spanish were the first to discover the “new world” despite the lack of geographical knowledge the Spaniards and Columbus in particular possessed. This “new world” wasn’t quite what Columbus had though it was, however; as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadn’t, “He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador.” (p. 342) Columbus’ distorted reality proved to...
King Henry VIII is considerable the most controversial monarch Great Britain has ever had. He is commonly known for his ill-advised decisions, six wives, and splitting Great Britain from the Catholic Church to create the Church of England. King Henry VIII of England’s determination to guarantee his family line’s continuation in the throne caused many problems, such as religious tensions, economic hardships, and political adversaries that continued one long after his death.
...aders usually offered tribute and emissaries to avoid conflict. This whole process preceded the colonialism practiced by the Europeans in years to come. The question begging to be answered here is, are Zheng He’s voyages deserving of celebration? In my opinion, I feel that we should acknowledge what he did, and continue to try to learn about the voyages. Just the fleet that he sailed across the world was remarkable; 255 huge ships, 27,500 people, and an astounding doctor-to-patient ratio of 1 to 151. Should Zheng He’s voyages be celebrated? Definitely not, he did not capitalize on the resources available to him. He cared too much about animals that weren't very beneficial, and essentially wasted precious time and money. We need to celebrate people that maximized the potential of their opportunities and actually got close, or achieved something truly great and useful.
...age. The following Emperors had no such interest in foreign affairs and terminated the expensive voyages. The lack of imperial political interests and support in navy expedition to foreign countries was the main reason why China withdrew from the ocean after Zheng He’s 7 voyages. However, the political significance and legacy of Zheng He’s expeditions cannot be ignored. It strengthened the Middle Kingdom’s power and influence in Asia during the early years of the Ming Dynasty. The peaceful nature of Zheng He’s voyages is still used by the Chinese government today as a political tool to advocate the benevolent intention of contemporary Chinese foreign policy (Dreyer, p. 29).
What comes to mind when someone hear the words “born leader”? Certainly, one thinks of a person with the qualities of passion, integrity, confidence, and intelligence. Since the beginning of civilization, born leaders, through their actions, have been able to greatly impact their environment. Shi Huangdi, Siddhartha Gautama, and King Hammurabi are just a few examples of specific leaders in early civilizations that left legacies that have lasted for centuries. Overall, individuals in the past had such amazing leadership skills that they were able to shape the times in which they lived.
The Chinese navy in the early 1400’s was very powerful but unfortunately it grew weaker and weaker over time. The cause of this was that China ran into political problems which prevented future voyages.
Age of Explorations was a time of discovery of the new world during the 15th through 17th century. Many Explorers were in search for new passage ways, new trading ports, new land, new spices, and riches. The three explorers discussed in this paper is Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Francisco Pizarro. Henry Hudson was an explorer whose main purpose was to find a route to Asia from Europe, he had a series of three voyages trying to achieve this. Jacques Cartier was sent to find riches and a route to Asia as well. Francisco Pizarro served on an expedition, which he discovered the Pacific Ocean.
One of the major conditions that led to New World exploration was the insatiable need by people in this age to discover new things. There was a general sense of curiosity by people living during this era. The Renaissance period in general was a period of new discoveries across Europe in all sectors of life. In this perspective, Europeans wanted to find out what existed beyond their continent. There was an innate need to discover other people in other lands. It was also important for them to search for new cultures that were different from theirs. During this time, Europeans had only been exposed to the cultures in this continent. However, this was not enough. Explorers wanted to find out what practices existed amongst other people. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, people wanted to learn more. There was immense thirst for knowledge and this could only be satiated through exploration. The discovery of new lands and people would provide an opportunity for the people to acqu...
The Age of Exploration in Europe developed along with the Renaissance. In Western history, both periods served as transitional movements between the early modern and Middle Ages periods. The evolution as well as advancement of abroad exploration was fueled by competition between growing European empires like England and Spain. The size as well as the influence of European empires expanded greatly during this time as it was motivated by profit, religion and power. The exploration’s effects were felt both abroad as well as in the geographical boundaries of Europe itself. The political, cultural and economical influences of Europe’s early stages of international exploration affected the continuing development of European society as well as the whole world.
The chief purpose of the fleet was diplomatic in nature. Zhu Di's intent to make known his ascension to the dragon throne to the rest of the world, was to make it known by the most superb way possible: a vast fleet of massive ships bringing gifts. These ships in his fleet were over four hundred feet long and could carry a load of up to three thousand tons of cargo. They were by far the largest ships most people had ever seen. This created a certain intimidation that Zhu Di liked because he was concerned in having the 'four corners of the earth' stoop down to China as being middle kingdom. The striking size and wealth the fleet represented would make most rulers consider beginning trade with China. The 'Treasure ships' were filled to the brim with expensive goods and were taken to trading ports all over the Indian Ocean.