From the early 1400s to the early 1500s, Europe underwent a drastic shift from ancient culture and affairs, into modernity, and adopted more progressive beliefs. This time widely became known as the “Renaissance.” An increasing interest with ancient Greek and Roman culture became key aspects during this time. Coincidentally, this occurred right around the time when scholars began to focus in on knowledge and education. These progressive viewpoints opened the gateway for influence from foreign countries. At this time, many non-European countries saw this as an opportunity to ally with the powerful European countries, so China seized its opportunity. In 1434 Zheng He set out with a fleet of men and began his tour through Europe. He presented …show more content…
each ruler he met with a different gift, both tangible and intangible, that would somehow benefit their country or Europe as a whole. In short, through trade, as well as the transfer of weapons and innovations, knowledge, territory, and culture, China was one of the driving forces of the European Renaissance in the 1400s, as it provided European countries with a means for further advancement and economic success. 15th Century Europe, a time best-known for ushering in a modern age, was not always so welcoming of new ideas that differed from the accepted norm. However, due to a series of fortunate events, society gradually became more open-minded and malleable. The “Black Death,” a bubonic plague that raged throughout Europe from 1347 to 1352, played a large role in this. In these five years 25 million people died, and those who had survived these dark times came out with a new perspective on life. The European people took up a new philosophy called humanism, which emphasized the “natural abilities of humans and our potential for achievement.” Because of this, the focus shifted from religion and other matters that normally led to disagreements, to the individual, specifically one’s knowledge. With this quest for knowledge, came the opportunity for foreign nations to share their own knowledge, especially agricultural, economic, and military knowledge, with the European nations in hope of mutually benefitting. Weapons and Innovations acted as one of the main contributions that China made to Europe, as they allowed European countries to better their armies and create a generally more efficient economy. China began producing arms long before any European country, resulting in more advanced and efficient weapons. Dating back to the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhan Zong had set up China’s first arms factory. This one factory employed over 40,000 workers, and by 1264 AD China had perfected gunpowder for canals, fireballs, and poisoned smoke bombs. These gunpowder based weapons also included flamethrowers, mortar bombs, rockets, and gunpowder missiles. Ironically, these European countries considered themselves the most advanced, yet at the time Europe had developed none of these weapons. “With gunpowder weapons European rivalry took a new potency and urgency, resulting in competition to conquer the New World.” Newfound rivalries ensued, causing each country to want to progress faster than the others, one of the reasons the European Renaissance occurred. In the 1400s Zheng He even introduced Europe to arsenic, which greatly increased the power of gunpowder. Interestingly, for hundreds of years China had produced machines that were not yet built in Europe, but used widely in the everyday lives of the Chinese. For example, the Chinese had previously already invented a select few of Leonardo da Vinci’s “inventions”. In the Tso Chuan there are illustrations of bronze ratchets and gear wheels from as early as 200 BC. The Chinese had also made us of parachutes 1500 years before da Vinci. Hot air balloons, as well as the helicopter rotor and kite were invented years before da Vinci’s time. Even a “blast furnace” pictured in the Nung Shu that was given by Zheng He to Italy was later rebuilt by Taccola and Alberti. China had also developed a few key ways to use nature to do work, such as by using water and wind to power mills and pumps. After Zheng He’s journey, Italy now also possessed water machines, used to grind corn and spin silk in order to speed up every day processes. With the culmination of these innovations, the foundation for a strong military and more efficient economy had been established. Now the only component needed was a way to improve trade and profit. Soon after, China began trading crops and materials to Europe that were not commonly found there, introducing European people to more diverse ways to farm, allowing farmers to be more versatile and prepared for various weather conditions. China offered Europeans silk, the finest and most valuable material in China for hundreds of years. In return, Chinese merchants sought gold, silver, coral and glass. Chinese people, desperate to acquire these goods, went as far as to smuggle silk worms from China to the West by means of Tang dynasty monks. Pictures of quilling machines can even be seen in the stained glass windows of Chartres cathedral, dating back to 1240. The Chinese introduced Europe to many useful crops and materials that they previously had not made use of, the main one being rice. Strategically, it made sense, because not only did rice yield 6 times that of wheat, but the Chinese believed it to have medicinal purposes. Due to rice’s “sweet and cool nature,” it contained “neutralized vital energies of heaven and earth, invigorating the stomach.” At the time, Florence, often referred to as the birthplace of the Renaissance, underwent a huge economic growth due to exaggerated demand for silk. However, when the demand for a product increases, and one has the supply, the limitation then becomes the amount of people one has to fulfill said demand, and, better yet, the amount of food needed to sustain these people. Since the yield of rice was so high, more laborers received sustenance from the same amount of farming and resources. The Medici family had “derived unprecedented riches from the silk trade and had used their wealth to fund astronomers, mathematicians, engineers, sculptors, artists, explorers, cartographers, historians, librarians, archaeologists and geographers.” The Renaissance took full effect, thanks in no part to the riches earned from Chinese materials and crops. A vast transfer of knowledge between China and Europe where the Chinese introduced the Europeans to many economical, agricultural, and philosophical techniques unbeknownst to them, allowed for the development of more efficient and productive governments.
The Chinese had hundreds of more years of study in certain practices, such as canals, printing, and astronomy, than Europe did, which allowed for faster travel and trade, as well as the ability to spread news faster and accurately tell time. The Chinese had perfected their canals since 500 BC when the Grand Canal, the world’s longest man-made waterway measuring in at 1,795km, was built. By the time of the European Renaissance the Chinese already had 1900 years of practice. When the Chinese engineers began to build the Grand Canal they ran into a couple of issues. Firstly, since the canal crossed across so many rivers, the water levels varied drastically depending on the season. Secondly, ships needed to travel uphill when they approached Beijing, but at the time boats could only travel uphill with the use of double slipways, which not only required excessive work, but also did not work at steep inclines. Luckily, the Chinese found a solution before Zheng He’s fleet departed for Europe. In 984 AD Ch’iao Wei-Yo invented the pound lock so that double slipways were no longer a necessity. These locks allowed water levels to differ by four to five feet at each lock without any problems whatsoever, lifting the restrictions that many engineers had previously faced and were essential to irrigating rice fields and controlling the water levels in canals. These pound locks were depicted in the Nung Shu, the Chinese Agricultural treaty published in 1313, which Zheng He coincidentally brought on his trip to Europe in 1421. The Nung Shu benefitted the European economy because when Zheng He arrived in Venice in 1434, he noticed that the topography and climate of Lombardy were nearly identical to that of Eastern China.
Lombardy, located between the Alps and the river Po, for centuries acted as a means of transporting goods from the cities to the plains and of fertilizing the land. However, the system of canals used was small, varied in depth, and depended on the intake of water from the mountains. These canals also did not have locks, so they could not function properly. All of this, revolutionized about the year 1450 when Chinese canal and lock building techniques, had been imported into Lombardy through di Giorgio and the Nung Shu. These pound locks that enabled “true summit” canals to be possible caused the value of the rice, mulberry trees, and, previously mentioned, silk to go up, because they could now be carried downriver. “An examination of the history of canals in Lombardy also illustrates the close connection between Taccola, di Giorgio, Leon Batista Alberti and Leonardo. Alberti, notary to Pope Eugenius IV who would have likely attended the meeting between Eugenius and the Chinese Ambassador, also designed locks. In other words, both di Giorgio and Alberti described the same locks which the Nung Shu described. Therefore, it is incorrect to credit Leonardo da Vinci with the discovery of locks.” Instead, one should credit the Chinese with the discovery of locks, and thus the economic success that came with it. Other knowledge that the Chinese transferred included printing, and the effects that came with it. One widely accepted fact by historians is that the Chinese invented moveable type printing. The introduction of moveable type printing allowed for the spreading of revolutionary ideas across the length of Europe. It altered European man’s idea of his place in the “universe, in astronomy, logic, geometry and architecture, engineering, mechanics, anatomy, philosophy, politics, warfare and music.” Printing also advanced the discovery, because knowledge could now be made available to numerous explorers. Subsequent explorers’ discoveries and exploits could were in turn publicized. The Chinese, now able to predict eclipses, the position of the sun, planets and stars, the moon, future comets, and the sunrise and sunset, shared even more knowledge. As a peace offering, when the Chinese Ambassador arrived at Eugenius IV he offered him the Xuan De Astronomical Calendar, which answered all of these mysteries for Europe. Also, China’s trading system was years ahead of Europe’s, so by the time European countries “arrived in the New World, an international trading system created by Chinese, Arabs and Indians awaited them, built up by thousands of sea voyages over hundreds of years honed by centuries of experience of monsoons and trade winds.” In essence, the Chinese had created the best trading system possible that had been perfected from countless trial and error, and it was Europe’s for the taking. As a result, Europeans found not only rich new lands but the results of “sophisticated transplanting and genetic engineering pioneered by the Chinese.” All of the above economic, agricultural, military techniques, and general knowledge that the Chinese gave the European countries allowed for Europe to further expand its territory. The Chinese, well-versed with areas of the world foreign to Europe, helped Europe expand into these areas. Chinese discovered gold mines in Australia in 481 BC and iron mines in New Zealand. China had traveled to the equator in 643 BC, the Cape of Good Hope in 1420 AD, where they found a sophisticated steel industry in Nigeria, and to lands bordering North America, including Nova Scotia where they found iron mines, and copper in North America. Historian Gavin Menzies argues that the explorers who later rose to fame for traveling to these countries, such as Columbus, Regiomontanus, Magellan, Bianco, and Waldseemueller all had copies of Zheng He’s 1418 map. After 1434, European world maps changed, and there was a shift away from the circular maps centered on Jerusalem, emphasizing religion, to accurate depictions of the world as it really was.
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.
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.
...e, Europeans were finding themselves short of land and room for expansion due to numerous empires in a relatively small area. This led to the search for land. The political powers sought wealth and hoped to achieve this by conquering Asians markets as had been done in the west. Much like the political powers, the Christian church greedily sought mass expansion and conversion, pushing for missions in the foreign lands. In contrast to the Europeans motives, the reasons for Chinese commercial expansion were desires and curiosity of a single emperor in the Ming dynasty that was not pushed for by the aristocrats, church, or scholar-gentry. Whereas the general consensus of Europe pushed for expansion for economic, political, and religious reasons, the expansion was the doing of one emperor who looked for wealth for defense against the threat of the Mongols from the north.
...were known to be two of the most influencial men in terms of “sailing south”. The 14th and 15th centuries in China and Portugal represented an era of expeditions and exploration. Evidence suggests that the structures and values of a society do in fact affect the way people view economic and political expansion and contact with other cultures which can be proved by ample historical evidence. Zheng He was on these expeditions to prove to others that China had indeed regained power and that they wanted to restore tribute on those who didn’t pay it. Henry the Navigator had many intentions for his expeditions. He was eager to find new resources, establish new trade routes, and to spread Christianity. Both of China’s and Portugal’s different structures and values led to the way the two societies viewed economic and political expansion and contact with other cultures.
During the mid 1400’s, China was plagued with many political problems. Therefore, if China was to discover the New World, it would have been during the late 1300’s under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. As stated in Latourette’s book, “From the military standpoint the Ming was stronger than any native Chinese ruling house” (225). Basically in this quote Latourette is saying that during the Ming Dynasty China was at a high point in power. Because of the Ming Dynasty, China was strong and able again. If China were looking to expand, the best time would be during the Ming Dynasty because the Chinese empire was at a peak. However, the Chinese didn’t take advantage of their strong naval fleets and therefore they weren’t able to reach North America before Columbus.
After this, China shied away from maritime travels and expenses and many records of Zheng He and his voyages disappeared. It was not until the twentieth century that Zheng He started to become an interest again. As so, the significance of his travels could once more be understood by the world. Zheng He’s voyages, put China in the history of oceanic “…exploration, trade, colonization, and exercise of sea power, even if such portrayals took Zheng He out of the context of early Ming history and viewed his voyages from a Western analytical perspective.” (Dreyer, 165). Not to mention, the sheer size of his fleet and treasure ships; which at that time was a massive achievement of its own. Apart from the significance of his fleet and voyages, Zheng He himself also deserves credit for rising so high, as a eunuch who came from humble beginnings.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
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.
As in terms of economics, China grew prosperous through trade, military expansion, invention of tools and other means of convenience and through the market economy. From the Han Dynasty China began to build again. The Sui Dynasty constructed the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was an artificial canal that extended 1,240 miles. It enabled merchants and farmers to travel by water, selling an abundance of rice and other crops. This canal was extremely expensive but throughout the years paid itself off by providing travel routes north and south of China. The Sui Dynasty also built palaces, granarie...
Accompanied by 27,000 men on 62 large and 255 small ships, the Chinese eunuch Zheng He, led 7 naval expeditions to Southeast Asia, Middle East and east coast of Africa in the span of 28 years during the Ming Dynasty. The scale of Zheng He’s fleet is unprecedented in world history. The large treasure ships used during the expeditions were purported to be 440 feet long and 180 feet wide (Dreyer, p. 102). Throughout his travels, Zheng He brought Chinese tea, porcelain and silk products to foreign countries and also brought back exotic goods to the Ming court such as spices, plants and leather. Although his voyages fostered commercial trades and cultural exchange between China and foreign countries, the goal of his expeditions stemmed from the political motivation to maintain the tributary system and his voyages had important political implication of causing Neo-Confucian opposition and suspension of the expedition.
The Chinese empire had once been one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the world. Before the 19th century, China had a large population and was ruled by families or dynasties. It was considered technologically advanced as China had a history of many miraculous inventions, such as: writing, magnetic compasses, movable sails, porcelain, abacus and paper money. Although China was isolated from the rest of the world, it coped well on its own, and saw no need to begin trading with the west, (as Lord McCartney proposed in 1793), since it was a self-sufficient nation. At that particular time, the Chinese empire was still able to exclude the ‘barbarians’, thus forcing them to only trade at one port. However, China soon took a turn for the worst as important ...
For several centuries the Europeans were always trying to have the best of the best in their country. Because they were so greedy they went of on several voyages to trade and gain those products they desired like silk, porcelain, tea, and lacquer-ware. With this the Europeans were always trying to out due and impress the Chinese with their clocks and their scientific gadgets. But they were never impressed, the Chinese always believed they were better and never wanted much to do with the Europeans. The Chinese were always very advanced in every skill; they believed that they had all that they needed to be a strong nation.
The Renaissance Period is widely known for the abundance of amazing portraiture that circulated around Europe. During the Renaissance, Albrecht Dürer, a German artist painted a self-portrait in 1500 that had qualities that differed from the usual style of artist in that time (Chauhan). Jean Clouet also painted a portrait for the King of France and became the official court painter. Both artists had a talent for portraiture, while their styles were quite different. King Francis I wanted to be seen as a powerful man, and appointed Clouet to paint him in a classically renaissance way that highlights his wealth and authority. Dürer, described as a cocky, self-centered man, painted himself in a light that is unique and puts him on a ‘holy’ pedestal (Stokstad 356). In this essay I will show how although both paintings have clear differences with their style, both men in the compositions are conveyed in a great and very powerful sense.
The development of Europe and Western Culture are highlighted by five key dates. The main four key dates and there are as follows:
The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the 1300s, was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. Navigation was no longer limited to traveling about by land. Large fleets of ships were constructed, and great navigational schools, the best founded by Prince Henry the Navigator in Portugal, were founded. People were no longer tied to the lands they lived on, as they were in medieval times. They were freer to learn new skills and travel. These enabled people to go further than they had before. Fleets of ships were sent to the Eastern world to bring back treasures and valuable spices. Routes to Asia were traveled beginning in the early Renaissance.