Zheng He: The Superpower Of Southeast Asia

Zheng he was so compassionate that he had only about 110 people on each ship (Doc.C). The doctor to patient ratio today is about 1 doctor to 400 patients. On Zheng He’s voyages he had as few as 1 doctor to 152 patients, which is amazing compared to our ratio today (Doc.C). While trading and finding new land usually Zheng He would stay at each port for the shortest of 1 year and at the max at 2 years for trade and for the passengers to have a break from the ship (Doc.A).

In the early 15th century, an explorer named Zheng He started his first of many voyages to India. He was appointed by Emperor Yongle from the Ming Dynasty. He was castrated and taken away from his family at a young age. As he got older, he gained more power and authority. Zheng He's excellent leading skills lead the exploration of new cultures for China, although they did not voyage the Americas, but had an effect on exploration thereafter.

Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, was born in 1371 in the Yunan Province of southwestern China (background essay). When Zheng He was ten years old, his father was killed right in front of him by the Ming Dynasty’s army (background essay). He was then taken prisoner, castrated, and forced to become part of the eunuchs (background essay). As he grew older, Emperor Yongle began to trust him more and more (background essay). The Emperor trusted him to travel by ship and lead a crew down the coast of China and across the ocean to eventually land in India in 1405 (background essay). This was one of the seven voyages he would take (background essay). When asked if Zheng He’s voyages should be celebrated, three factors must be taken into account: skill, scale and significance. Skill is the measure of one’s ability to do something. Scale is the measure of actions taken to preform something. Significance is the meaning of an event. The voyages of Zheng He should not be celebrated because there was no new land discovered, the cost of the trips were expensive and wasteful, and the reasons for the voyages mainly purposed Zheng He himself and Emperor Yongle.

The Europeans who dreamt of conquering Asia were under the impression that Asia was a blank slate, isolated with no history and traditions. However, that is their misconception for Asia from 500-1500 CE “was a vast world of contrast… [and] bewildering variety” thriving with many empires, capital cities, religions, and cultures (Gordon, 177). Because of this, Asia then can be classified as a compilation of many key eras such as the Medieval Age in China and the Golden Age. Such prosperous times for Asian states and empires are to be accredited to the notable networking in Asia at this time period. People who utilized the establishment of fundamental institutions such as the religions of Islam and Buddhism and various modes of trading and traveling were able to facilitate the diffusion of ideas and cultures therefore indirectly contributing to the overall connection of Asian states and empires during 500-1500 CE.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, power is the ability or right to control people or things. This definition is apparent throughout the history of China and through historical figures. Confucius is one of the most influential historical figures of Chinese history. In Confucius’s mind, the government should retain power, however, not to the extent that they do today. According to The Confucian Ethic and More About Confucius, “the government’s most important job was to inspire people [...] to feed and protect the people and gain their admiration” (The Confucian Ethic 13) . Confucius’ beliefs differ from what is going on now because he is calling for the government to treat the people with respect and take care of them. This may exist somewhat in China today, but China is known for killing political prisoners and silencing people who disagree with them. Mao Zedong, another historical

One extremely prosperous time of the trade in China was in the Ming Dynasty under the reign of Yonglo. This was because during this period, the explorer, Zheng He, was promoting the trade with China and showing off the Chinese culture through goods like silk or ceramic art. He went on seven voyages to places like Southeast Asia, the Indian Coast, the Arabian Peninsula, and East Africa (document 2). One effect of his voyages was the making of a port city called Canton where the Portuguese, Dutch, and English merchants all traded with China. Unfortunately, after the death of Zheng He, the explorations ended due to it being too costly and then came the end of external trade after limiting contact with other places.

Zheng He may have journeyed far, but with little avail compared to competing captains. As the image in The Voyages of Zheng He: 1405-1433 depicts, his ships sailed to only populated areas with very little undiscovered territory (Document A). Unlike other famed explorers, who became popular off of their discovery of new land, Zheng He remained in an area within proximity of China and made no discoveries worth recognizing. In addition, the chart in When China Ruled the Sea shows Zheng He’s mileage compared to Columbus’s (Document B). He traveled nearly two days slower than his fellow explorer, and made far less progress.

People argue that Zheng He didn't accomplish anything, but in Document B it states, ¨Voyages; 7; (1405-1433).¨ This tells us he was traveling for twenty-eight years out of his whole life, so at least he tried. Also not everything you try gets accomplished, it was just his luck he couldn't explore anything new. From information that I have gathered from Document A, it clarifies that in total, he traveled one hundred five thousand, three hundred miles in total! He was also very intelligent by going back to Nanjing each voyage for new crew, and repairments.. For his great intelligence, that gives one good reason for recognition

The voyages of Zheng He are vastly understated, the difficult trials and tributes making for a grand exploration little known today. Zheng He was a Eunuch, or a castrated man employed by the government, born as Ma He. He was enslaved at the age of ten in the Ming Dynasty. He rose through the ranks quickly, and Emperor Yongle decided to recognize him. He received a new noble name, Zheng He, and was sent on the first of seven voyages in 1405. Zheng He’s voyages should be celebrated due to all that was accomplished during them. Zheng He was a kind, strong, leader who led thousands of people in a grand exploration which later inspired the Spaniards to send out Christopher Columbus. He traveled on the coast of Eurasia, stopping at places such as Calicut, Hormuz, and Mombasa.

Zheng He’s voyages have been a constant source of controversy in the historical world because of the differing opinions on whether they should be celebrated or not. In July of 1405, Zheng He was given the task to lead a fleet of ships for exploration. This task was assigned to him by Emperor Yongle of China’s Ming Dynasty. Over the next twenty-eight years, the Chinese Admiral, Zheng He went on seven separate voyages through the Indian and Pacific Oceans with one of the largest fleet of wooden ships in history. He navigated his massive fleet from Nanjing along the Chinese coast and through these oceans to explore new lands and bring prosperity to China. The Chinese Emperor sent Zheng He on these explorations to explore new lands, establish trade

Trade flourished under his command of the trading ports, especially at Malacca, a port very to the southern tip of Malaysia, right after the straits you had to pass through to reach the Indian Ocean (Jin, 58). The Chinese established very good relations with the city and expanded it into one of the most important centers for trade in that time period. To cement their position as the overruling entity in the area, they had Sultan Mansur Shah (ruler of Malacca) marry princess Hang Li Poh from China (Jin, 58). Over the years, Malacca became a trusted port, and Zheng He’s fleets always stopped there before moving into the Indian Ocean and uncharted territory (Jin, 58). They even ended up controlling various operations there, such as Malacca’s gambling and entertainment scenes. They also played a major hand in their currency and commodity markets, due to the fact that they were the largest consumer of the main product traded there: spice (Menzies, 73). Controlling this strategic port that accumulated large amounts of cash gave the Ming a lot of influence in the trade business.

During the time of the 15th-century early Ming Dynasty, the Chinese went exploring. A Muslim eunuch from the Yunnan Province called Zheng He assembled a great exploratory navy. The first westward expedition, seeking new trading relationships, set off in 1405, and discovered many new things; however, he went short of the New World. Had Zheng He found the New World, everything would have been different. China would have conquered most of the world, and Europe would cease to exist.

The achievements and accomplishments of Zheng He were immense. First and foremost, Zheng He visited many different countries and most of them welcomed hi. In. This in turn allowed Zheng He to speak for China and give gifts in their name. Although he was dishing out gifts such as silk and gold, he got lots of countries to pay a tribute to China. This made them very wealthy over a course of seven total voyages. Also, Zheng He, being Muslim, made his pilgrimage to Mecca when he made a stop in the ports there. Finally, he showed off China's wealth and power. He took many huge ships to sail with him, with a fleet of hundreds of ships. When people saw the vast armada they realized what a success China had become. They stated themselves as number

Do you feel that Asian Civilizations from 1500 to 1700 veered towards modernity or careened back toward traditional culture?

In the current anarchic world, The United States acts as the global hegemon. However, China’s recent rise to power has lead international relations experts, Ikenberry, Mearsheimer, Subramanian, and Friedberg, to predict an upcoming power shift in the international system. China’s increasing control over the Asia-Pacific region has threatened U.S. power. According to Waltz, the realism paradigm interprets the anarchic structure of the international community, as a constant power struggle. Although each country may be different, to survive, they must all strive for power. Under the liberalism paradigm, the system is still anarchical but cooperation may be achieved by shared norms, and aligned political and economical interests.