Early Chinese history
What occurred there?....
By Cory Riemer Published on March 13, 2014 at 1:15 PM
In early Chinese history, the Portuguese ships dropped off the Chinese coast in 1514, China had the most dominant power in the region under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Hongwu commanded the rebel army that drove the Mongols out of China in 1368 and he was a son of a peasant. The very first Ming emperor used his own respected traditions and institutions to bring stability to China. Hongwu died in 1398 and led to a power struggle. His son Yonglo emerged victorious from this struggle. Yonglo continued many of his father’s policies, although he moved the royal court to Beijing. In addition, Yonglo had a far-ranging curiosity about the outside world. In 1405 before to sail beyond their borders he launched the first of seven voyages of exploration. The were led by a Chinese Muslim admiral named Zheng He.
Zheng He’s explorations were very remarkable for their magnitude. They liked to travel long distances for everything, have very big fleet size, had to have very big ships to travel on to cross the seas and other waters. Their earliest voyages were to the Southeast. Later after they were done in the Southeast they went to eastern Africa. Hongwu’s son Yonglo hoped to impress the world with the power and splendor of Ming China and also hoped to expand China’s tribute system. Among them were fighting ships, storage vessels, and huge “treasure” ships up to 440 feet long. Everywhere Zheng He went, he distributed gifts, such as gold, silver, silk, and scent oils, to show Chinese superiority. China’s official trade policies in the 1500s reflected its isolation. In reality, trade flourished up and down the coast. Usually, Europeans paid for their purchase with silver much of it from mines in the Americas. Industries such as silk making and ceramics grew rapidly. However, commerce offended China’s Confucian beliefs. Second, Chinese economic policies traditionally favored agriculture. Accompanying European traders into China were Christian missionaries. The first missionary to have an impact was an Italian Jesuit, Matteo Ricci. However, many educated Chinese opposed Christianity. |
Information Retrieved from: Beck, Roger, Linda Black, Larry Krieger, Phillip Naylor, and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction. 1st ed. Evanston, Boston, Dallas: McDougal Littell, 2003. Print.