The compass was used as early as the Qin Dynasty where, “Chinese compasses were invented for more than just helping people navigate the open oceans. They were originally used and developed for aligning buildings with the cardinal directions and as a tool used in fortune telling” (Chinese Compass History) . If your home or business was placed in the right direction, you would then have a good life, as well as wealth. The earliest Chinese compasses were used to order and harmonize buildings according to the geomantic principles of what is now known as Feng shui, which is a Chinese philosophical system for harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment.
The Ancient Chinese compass was made from iron oxide, a mineral ore also known as lodestone
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All we know from history is that fortune tellers were the inventors of the compass, but Zheng He was the first person to actually make use of the compass for navigation. Zhen He from the Yunnan province was the first person to ever record it using it as a navigational aid for his voyage from 1405-1433. “Zheng He’s sailing to West Ocean did mark an important waypoint on the passage of world navigation history. Never before in the world had there been any such adventure that was in such a scale, lasted for such a long time, had so many people under command, fared so far into the ocean, and had such advanced navigation technologies. It was suggested that the strength of Chinese naval exceeded the total strength of all the other countries of the world in that period of time” (Wang 2005). By Zheng He’s expedition made him known as the great navigator of China. Zheng He’s expedition scores perpetual contribution to the politics, economy, and culture, external contacts of the ancient China, as well as the world civilizations and other expeditions. He developed and employed the most advanced shipbuilding technology in his time. The most sophisticated and systematic navigation techniques were fully demonstrated in the
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.
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.
On February 25th, 2000, Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, via manual strangulation six weeks prior. Brutal right? So are false convictions. Adnan Syed did not murder Hae Min Lee nor did he have anything to do with her death. However, without a doubt, Jay Wilds, his alleged partner in crime, was involved.
Zheng He, an admiral of the 15th century, who sailed the Indian Ocean to make alliances for the Ming dynasty should not be celebrated because his actions were not essential to China. Although he did travel thousands of miles, he did not discover any new territory, so what makes him different from any other admiral? He had a crew of 27,500 people which was not necessary at all just for making alliances by giving gifts or repaying a gift. Also those 27,500 people could have been more resourceful in China than of those seven voyages. Since China was already the best out of the rest of the nations, there was no real reason to give gifts to foreign envoys especially since the Ming Dynasty became bankrupt because of these actions.
There may been times when people have been treated unfairly, just because of their appearance or their social life.
The other skill that Vikings excelled at was the skill of navigation. Their longships were the cutting–edge technology at the time, and their ingenious sun-compass, which worked somewhat like a sundial, allowed them to sail to their destination with precision. The longships were usually made with oak boards stripped from trees with thin ropes soaked in pitch trapped between joints to act as a flexible, waterproof membrane. These ships, combined with their streamlines design, are very fast and seaworthy and would flex out of places when a sturdier ship would shatter. The sun compass is also very useful because it is the only directional tool at the time. It uses a shadow cast by a small pin in the middle of a round plate with bearings to give the direction. This tool allowed them to sail on open seas without landmarks for directions, a great advantage. This tool allowed them to sail on open seas without landmarks for directions, a great advantage.
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.
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.
To navigate during the night and day they looked out for well-known landmarks such as mountains. They could also follow the sun and stars or watch out for birds that were found at different times and places of the year. Navigators were needed in the time of Vikings as they were the key to successful voyages. Without them Vikings would have never been able to sail across Western Europe and leave an impact that would actually make way into our history. Therefore their would of not been any impact to live on today. One example was when the Viking found their way into the Mediterranean Sea and raided the coasts of Spain but of course with the help of navigation. In addition to navigation, religion also did impact.
“Three explorers from the Age of Exploration” 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.
It's impossible to teach someone the significance or the act of loving the stars and the ocean but that's what makes navigation without instruments (wayfinding) so beautiful. One can "give the heavens a meaning his own meaning" says Nainoa Thompson. Anyone can learn the aspects of navigation through personal observation and the study of charts and maps. Thus creative thinking and logic are two important skills in learning the ancient art of wayfinding.
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.
Zheng He is one of the biggest explorer of the world but unfortunately he is to one of the lesser known.
Compass is a basic geometrical tool with two arms and looks like an alphabet “V”. One arm carries needle and the other arm contains a pen or pencil with an adjustable screw. The pointer represents the center of the circle.