Zheng He was a celebrated voyager that drove numerous incredible campaigns amid the Ming Dynasty. During his time, Chinese sovereigns sent fleets of Chinese boats to numerous locations. He voyaged all over, even East Africa. In one of his essential voyages, he even took 262 vessels and 28,000 mariners. Amid his endeavors, he promoted trade, gathered tribute and shown Ming predominance, showing outside rulers how effective the Chinese were. Due to his efforts, China succeeded significantly, and different countries perceived the prowess and how advance China had become. The accomplishment of China in the Ming Dynasty has a great deal to do with Zheng He and his undertakings. He made numerous amazing accomplishments during his life, and the impacts
Have you heard of the Chinese mathematician, Sijue Wu? born in China May 15, 1964, She is currently teaching in the department of mathematics at the University of Michigan.
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
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes talks about seven voyages made by the Chinese armadas during emperor Zhu Di's reign. Admiral Zheng was in control of many “Treasure ships”. These ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine goods. They sailed from India to East Africa, through Korea and Japan, and might have even traveled all the way to Australia. Levathes believes that it could have been very possible for China to have been able to create a great kingdom to rule over one hundred years before the Europeans even explored and expanded, with China's giant navy of about three thousand of these large treasure ships.
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes tells us about seven voyages made by junk armadas during the Chinese emperor Zhu Di's reign. 'Treasure ships' as they were called, were under the command of admiral Zheng He, these ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine objects of value. They sailed from India to East Africa, throughout Korea and Japan, and possibly as far as Australia. She believes that China might have been able to create a great colonial realm one hundred years before the Europeans explored and expanded, from China's navy of some three thousand ships.
Zheng He did kill many people along his journey, as stated in document E, “barbarian kings who resisted… were wiped out.” He did create friendships along the way but he also killed you if you tried to invade or resisted his offerings which was a win for him no matter what you chose. He also hurt the economy because of the expenses needed to carry out 7 massive voyages. He was leading “wasteful expenditures of the middle kingdom.” (doc D) But we can compare this to the massive amount of effort he put into these 7 voyages in which he accepted to be part of. Overall we can see that Zheng He did have flaws and wasn’t completely the superhero but he did accomplish enough to create a reason to be acknowledged or recognized for the voyages he
Feng Ru was the first Chinese Aviator to lift of the ground in china for more than a minute. He had to face many turning points like when he had to relocate oakland because of the earthquake. He changed hi country which was china by bring aviation there that is why he is called “The Father of Chinese Aviation.He had immigrated and quickly understood that America’s industrialization made America successful. So Feng Ru tried to learn about all about mechanics. He was the only one who did not face racism but death itself. He changed the way of transportation for his country. He faced
There is a debate whether or not Marco Polo truly went to China. The side that does not believe Marco Polo traveled to China has this view because Marco Polo did not mention the Great Wall. In addition, the Chinese culture was not noted of. Being a foreigner, Marco Polo did not write about these strange things such as foot binding, calligraphy and etcetera. Not only that, but Marco Polo did not catch onto and learn the Chinese language due to the time he was there. Also, Marco Polo was not mentioned or documented about directly in the Chinese writings. However, three Venetians were written about.
During the 15th century, the Chinese had one of the most advanced naval fleets known to man. As a result, China was able to establish many trade routes to places such as Africa, India, Singapore, etc… If the Chinese wanted to, they could have sailed all the way to Europe and even as far as North America. However, the Chinese ran into some political problems that prevented explorations in the future. If they had continued their voyages, it would have been possible for them to have discovered the New World before Columbus. Had China discovered America before Columbus, our world would be different from what it is today.
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.
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 was 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.
In addition to traveling to known places and wasting resources, Zheng He also killed and enslaved other people, elaborating on the idea that he should not be celebrated. At the time, there were many people who attacked and invaded countries in Eurasia. Zheng He took this opportunity to stop them and win the favor of more countries as a way to display the power of China. Therefore, he killed and captured the invaders, causing more violence. The Changle inscription, located on a pillar in Changle, stated Zheng He killed and captured “barbarian bandits” who “resisted” and “wiped them out”(Document E). While Zheng He was aiming to create “pure and peaceful” sea routes, he only spurred more violence and tension by using force and enslaving people.
Poets were very prevalent in ancient China. Their poems often included vivid imagery of the land, romance, and praising of their leaders (“Chinese Poetry”). One of the most famous poets was Li Bai. Li Bai was also known as Li Po (“Li Bai”). Li Bai is now considered one of the greatest of the ancient Chinese poets, if not the greatest. Beginning at an early age, Li Bai had a deep love for words (“Biography of Li Bai”). When he grew up, he became a “wandering poet” (“Li Bai”). As a wandering poet, he got to meet a lot of people; eventually he became a very influential person in the Tang Dynasty. His influence would continue all the way to modern times. People often wonder what contributes to the influence a poet has on his or her community. For Li Bai, it was his love for travelling, his political positions, and his celebrity status which helped to increase the influence of his poems on everyday life in ancient China.
Qin Shi Huang (260 - 210 BCE) was the first emperor of China. He was born in the state of Qin as a prince called Ying Zheng, also known as King Zheng of Qin during the Warring States Period. After Qin conquered all the warring states, he unified China in 221 BCE. To show how great he is, he didn’t want to use the title “King” which has been used previously by the ruler of Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty, therefore, he ruled as the first emperor of Qin for 11 years(221 - 210 BCE). Furthermore, he self-invented the title “ emperor” which would continue to be used by Chinese rulers for the next 2,000 years. Qin Shi Huang was important because he unified China from the warring states, create a strong government, standardized the Chinese system of
In the Ming dynasty, international trade was at its highest when Zhu Di took power over his nephew Jianwen. There were vibrant markets and trade was booming with Africa, India, and the Middle East with an influx of goods and different types of
The purpose of this paper is to tell the history of the Ming Dynasty’s impact on the Chinese Empire, and to explain why the Chinese Empire was in fact an empire.