The Political Importance of Zheng He’s Voyages Essay

there have been many changes in commerce. One change in commerce over the years was who dominated Trade in The Indian Ocean. Over the course of this time period the Indian ocean trade was dominated by the Indians, the Chinese the Arabs and even the distant European powers. Their were also changes in what goods were traded. Some trade goods like the exotic animals taken from Africa to China that weren’t traded for longer then a few decades. The reason Ming China had imported animals was because they were in an age of exploration at the time and wanted to have some animals for their exotic royal zoo. Also sending great explorers like Zheng He showed their ability to travel to distant lands and take what they please. Another change was how things were traded. Over the course of the 1,100 years described many changes occurred in the world of sailing. China had many of these inventions with in it’s walls before this time period. China was so Ethnocentric .that they did not spread their inventions till generations after they were made, and even then it was often by accident The compass were great improvements on how sailors navigated to their destinations. The ships them selves also changed throughout this period. The Chinese Junks were incredible ships, vastly larger then the ones Columbus used, They were equipped with cannons to defend them selves from pirates and were, in their time the most impressive ships on the water. There are changes in commerce in the Indian

They constructed a massive fleet of trade ships, warships, and sustenance watercrafts to reestablish China to the outside world. On their completion, under the command of Zhen He, they sailed. Calicut, a city in west India known for its spices and unique woods, was the initial terminus that the treasure ships made. Contrary to the Confucian advisors belief that China was an agricultural country, Emperor Zhi Di’s intention was to jump-start business with the Indian Ocean countries. The ship holds came fully packed with the beautiful designs of porcelains and silks for trade. The other voyages sent to Calicut confirmed the close trade union established between China and India. This expedition enhanced the diplomatic relationship of the two

The author also mentions that China-based their economy on the exchange of silver. Another important thing in this chapter was the role of the Chinese voyages in the history of China and the entire world. The voyages that were created around the 1400s were used for three reasons,

During the 15th and 16th century, exploration became the new norm of society. Each individual country had their own motives, reasons and goals regarding voyages across land and sea. For instance, Christopher Columbus, in the name of Spain, voyaged out to find an alternative route to Asia. The Portuguese, tried to increase their knowledge about trading. Moreover, while some traveled to increase their powers, Zheng He, of China, traveled to discover raw resources and generate more capital into China’s economy. If we compare the maritime policies of the kingdom of Spain and Portugal on the one hand and the Ming Empire on the other the differences in motives clearly outweigh the similarities between these two societies. For example, the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal traveled to spread Christianity, to gain land, to rule over new subjects and to spread their power throughout the different continents, while as the Ming Dynasty was only interested in capital and new/raw resources.

Both traded along the Indian Ocean using maritime trade. As the Ming traded along the Indian Ocean, they attained luxuries, for example silver, in exchange for Chinese exports such as cotton, silk and porcelain. The Ming Emperor, Zheng He, also sailed across the Indian Ocean. He is best known for the 7 sailing expeditions, which navigated across the Indian Ocean and the Southeast Asian archipelago. Zheng He's ships carried export goods; silks and porcelains, and he also brought back foreign luxuries such as spices and tropical woods. As for the Ottoman Empire, they also traded along the Indian Ocean; however, with items they had already attained. Armenians and Jews would often go to the port of Izmir, along the Ottoman Empire, and bring wool, beeswax, cotton and silk, causing great traffic. The Ottomans then traded these items in exchange for other luxurious items. Another similarity between the Ottoman and the Ming was why they traded along the Indian Ocean. Both traded along the Indian Ocean due to geography. The Ottomans were located closely to the Indian Ocean; they also had the right technology to trade along it, including ships and compasses. The Ming also traded along the Indian Ocean due to their geography. They were located nearest to the Indian Ocean, which then caused them to trade along it; also Zheng He had also laid out the groundwork for the Chinese to start trading

Zheng He traveled a total of 105,300 miles throughout his seven voyages (Doc A). He began his voyages from Nanjing, China and traveled to Calicut, Hormuz, Malindi, Mogadishu, and Mombasa (Doc A). All of these places were already well established trading ports. Zheng He didn’t find any new land and claim it for China. Because Zheng He did not discover any new land, there isn’t anything to

The illustration from When China Ruled of Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria, and Zheng He’s treasure ship on Document B show you just how ridiculous and overzealous his ships were. According the chart under the illustration on Document B, Zheng He had 255 ships, and a crew consisting of 27,500 people. Too fully comprehend how ridiculous this was, compare it to Christopher Columbus’s 3, 85 feet long ships and 90 person crew. Zheng He’s ships were 440 feet long, and 180 feet wide according to Document C’s illustration by Edward L. Dreyer. Apparently these massive ships could not sail in water more shallow than roughly 20 feet, because the port elevation was 20 feet itself so optimally, the water would have to be 30 feet deep. To understand how large the crew was; the doctor to patient ratio in the United States is

One purpose of these voyages was to explore foreign lands unfamiliar to the Chinese.   In addition, China hoped to establish trade relationships with foreign countries and expand the Chinese tribute system.  The Changle Inscription, 1431, an inscription carved into a stone pillar in eastern China near the city of Changle shortly before Zheng He’s seventh voyage, stated that, “we captured alive and barbarian bandits who invaded and plundered we wiped out.  

China was a very advanced civilization during the 16th Century and rose to power. They had large libraries, conducted trade by using a series of canals. They also had large cities and used paper money for trade. The Chinese invented the gunpowder and the magnetic compass. They had a very large navy with over 2,000 vessels in all sizes and they conducted overseas expeditions. After the last Chinese expedition, there was an imperial edict that banned the construction of ships with more than two masts. Warships were put away and not maintained. The navy was too costly and the Chinese wanted to spend their money defending their Northern frontiers from the Mongols. This did not require a large navy. Paul Kennedy stated “that in this Restoration atmosphere, the all important officialdom was concerned to preserve and recapture the past, not to create a brighter

In terms of the Chinese tribute system we examined in class, the leaders of China’s voyages dealt with leaders of countries they visited by treating them based on the tribute gifts they received. Under Confucian civilization, China often received tribute from the foreign states they visited and gave them Chinese products and recognition of their authority and sovereignty in return. There were several tribute states to China including neighboring countries such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Indonesia, South Asia and Central Asia. However when countries stopped paying tribute to China, there were often tensions. During the Zheng He expeditions many goods were carried to build tribute relationships between the Ming Dynasty and newly discovered kingdoms. An example of the a tribute gift given was an eyeglass given to Zhu Di by Parameswara of Malaca. “Of all the tributes Zhu Di received that summer from the many envoys

Zang He's voyages were important in many different ways. First, he showed off the wealth of China by going to different places and trading expensive things. Also, he could make his pilgrimage to Mecca. This was important because he was Muslim, and all able Muslim bodies are supposed to make a holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Finally, he discovered new lands, and traveled about twelve thousand miles. In those reasons are why Zang He's voyages were important.

Fifth Voyage (1417-1419) – The emperor ordered Zheng He to return the envoys back to their home countries. During this voyage, the fleet stopped in Champa, Java, Sumatra, Malacca, the Maldive Islands, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Cochin, and Calicut. From there, the fleet ventured through Hormuz to Aden on the southern coast of Arabia near the entrance of the Red Sea. In Aden, Zheng He bartered gold, silver, porcelains, sandalwood and pepper for rare gems, pearls, coral amber and a giraffe. The giraffe was given as a tribute to the emperor. The fleet also traveled the eastern coast of Africa, returning envoys to Mogadishu, Brawa, and Malindi.

the Ming dynasty had a highly ranked Muslim admiral that turned into a great explorer. This admiral was named Zheng He. His voyages were remarkable because of the massive ships and the multiple allies that were made. The ships that were taken consisted of huge treasure ships that were surrounded by smaller fleets of ships. The places that the fleets visited were amazed by the wealth and power of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming dynasty demanded tribute and gave precious goods to the people that they met which gained many positive allies. Eventually Zeng he died as well as the emperor he had befriended and the lavish expedition came to a stop.

He was chosen to go on the first diplomatic mission to china, which shows the connections that are made today in the Asian world. This changes my view on how scared and offended a culture can be and how misunderstandings, how the Portuguese had thought the Chinese where pirates, can cause massive conflicts."the man who has the most white men in his kingdom is the most powerful. in this simple scheme, the Chinese where white and therefore should have been an natural affinity for the Portuguese. the Chinese, however, saw things quite differently." This quotes shows me how there where misunderstandings on both sides that caused the small conflict between the Chinese and the Portuguese. This story shows how the Asian world still mad much to learn from other cultures and religions from around them and that not everyone had thought the same as they do in the Chinese

Military life was inferior and developed a militant class. This class ranked higher than any civil servant. Hongwu’s name is also known to mean vast military, and reflects the increase of the military. At the height of the Ming Dynasty were the Maritime Expansion, Agricultural Revolution and the Commercial Revolution. Although the agricultural and commercial revolutions had impact on the Chinese Empire, the Maritime expansion seemed to give China more power as “an empire”. The Maritime Expansion was under the third ruler Yung-lo (1403-1424). Yung-lo began to sponsor Naval expansion between 1405 and continued under the leaders who followed him, Hung His (1425) and Hsuan Le (1426-1435). There are many reasons for the Naval expansion but the Yung- lo emperor expanded trade with other countries and imported exotic goods. Expedition went to East Asia and Southeast to Asia, Southern India, Ceylon, the Persian Gulf and Africa. Trading from Africa to Southeast Asia made China the world’s greatest commercial Naval power in the world at the time.