...Recently the inquiry, were Zheng He’s seven voyages historically plausible, has come into question. I firmly believe that his voyages were that his voyages were not possible. I believe this for multiple reasons. One reason is that the technology during the Golden Age was not as advanced at it should have been to create the ships. Also, there is not enough information or evidence to support the realization of these seven voyages. In the 1400s, the technology was simply not as strongly advanced, as it must have been in order to make at least one of the massive ships, let alone over 100! According to nationalgeographic.com, on the first voyage there were presumably 317 ships. In addition, the treasure ships had about 400-foot-long decks and nine masts connected to each one. In simple terms, there was not enough manpower to make the ships. In Nanjing, a capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, a replica of one a treasure ship was made. Even though “old school techniques” were used, according to China.org.cn, hammers, screwdrivers, power drills, and other modern day tools were used. They did not have these gears in the 1400s, so how could they have possibly made so many ships with the lack of the...
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...Should we celebrate the voyages of zhen he? Have you every heard of Zheng He? His name was originally Ma He, he was the trusted advisor of the Emperor Yongle. The emperor sent him on a mission to guide a fleet of ships, up until recent years he was hardly known by the world. The real question is if we should celebrate Zheng He’s voyages, I personally think that we shouldn’t. You might be wondering why, well in order to make the voyage possible there was a lot of expenses and all the tribute he received was not enough to pay off the expenses, also he traveled far and didn’t find any new land or establish any new trade relationships, lastly some officials from the government said that they did not need trade or political communication so they concluded the expedition to be a big mistake. Now lets get more in to it. To start off, the voyage took a lot of expenses that couldn’t be regained by the tributes offered to Emperor Yongle. In Document D it states “ Emperor Yongle acquired goods and treasures…yet they did not makeup for the wasteful expenditures of the Middle Kingdom”. Officials or representatives from overseas would frequently return to China with Zheng He’s fleet to offer tributes. Some local leaders did it to avoid military fight; they made sure to pay their respect to the emperor. Tributes are often offerings of money or goods given by a weaker country to a stronger country. Next, Zheng He traveled far and wide and was unable to find new land or...
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...When discussing the early history of Ming China, there’s one historical figure that must be mentioned, and that man was Zheng He. He was a great Chinese commander for Emperor Yongle. Zheng He was sent on a series of seven voyages, sailing all over the Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean world. He and his enormous fleet navigated to many different countries, and for this reason historians believe that the purpose of his voyages were exploration and that he was an explorer. Historians also debate whether or not Zheng He’s expeditions were imperialistic. However, Dreyer argues that Zheng He was not an explorer and the purpose of his voyages were not imperialistic. The main purpose of Zheng He’s voyages was to project the wealth and the power of...
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...Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Literature Study Guide © Kent Duryée Table of Contents PART ONE Overview for Parents…………………………………………………………….Page 1 I. Main Characters II. Points for Discussion: • Vocabulary • The Spanish Main • The Age of Reason • Victorian Industrialism • The bildungsroman • Women in Victorian Europe and America Answer Key for “Setting the Stage” and “As You Read” questions…………Page 3 Questions For Discussion……………………………………………………….Page 6 END OF ANSWER KEY PART TWO Study Guide for Students………………………………………………………..Page 7 • History and Setting • The Triangle Trade • Geography • European Colonialism Questions: Setting the Stage…………………………………………………..Page 7 Questions: As You Read……………………………………………………….Page 8 Questions: After Your Reading………………………………………………..Page 9 Vocabulary Exercises………………………………………………………….Page 10 END OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES PART THREE Parents’ Footnotes – Plot Synopsis…………………………………………..Page 12 Answers to Vocabulary Exercises………………………………………….…Page 13 References / Internet Resources……………………………………………..Page 14 1 Literature Study Guide: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Part One: For the Parent/Teacher Recommended Ages/Grade Level: Ages 12 and up or Grades 7 and up. Edition used: Children’s Classics, Random House Value Publishing, 1998 Ed. Part One: Overview for Parents: ______________________________________________________ Treasure Island is an adventure novel set in England during the 1700’s. This is one of the classic adventure tales;...
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...Why did China fall behind Europe in the 15th century? In my opinion, the main reason that China fell behind Europe in the 15th century is the closing down of itself with other civilizations and the banned international trades strategies which severed the communication and connection of the Chinese people with the outside world. And in the same time the rapid growth of the European countries had boosted those civilizations in the other direction thanks to the newly discovered resources on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I would like to explain these ideas from the following aspects: The early developments of China: China has gone through a period of rapid technological advances in the first centuries of human history thanks to its particular geographical location and the early coming together of the nations within its boundary. Although there were lots of nations fighting wars against each other, aiming to control all the territory on the land of the so-called East Asia nowadays, the Chinese empire was finally founded by the Qin and the united nation has adopted lots of governing strategies to develop the livelihood of its people not only in literature but also in science. Because of these factors, the Chinese people have invented ways to preserve the cultural and technological achievements and also have developed ways to explore the 1/7 outside world. Such decisions have been made since the Han dynasty when the empire opened up the Silk Road to the west, connecting...
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...the design and construction of ships. Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as "naval engineering". The construction of boats is a similar activity called boat building. China boasts a shipbuilding history as long as that of mankind. Spanning a time period of thousands of years, Chinese ships have evolved from rafts and canoes to wheel ships and today's steel vessels. The various ship models, structures, and propellers have vividly reflected the humankind's technological development and creativity, which is true with the famous ships in ancient China, such as the Lou Chuan (castle ships) of the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), the Big Dragon Boats of the Sui Dynasty(581-618), and the treasure boats used by Zheng He during his voyages to the West seas in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644). First Shipbuilding China had established a fairly mature shipbuilding industry as early as the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD). Possessing well-developed shipbuilding technology and expertise, the artisans of the time were...
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...This period of discovery lasted from about 1418 to 1620. During this time, European explorers made many daring voyages that changed world history. A major reason for these voyages was the desire to find sea routes to east Asia, which Europeans called the Indies. When Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean, he was looking for such a route. Instead, he landed in the Americas. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies. In time, Europeans would realize that he had found what they called the ”New World.” European nations soon rushed to claim lands in the Americas for themselves. Early explorers often suffered terrible hardships. In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan set out with three ships to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America. He had guessed, correctly, that the Indies lay on the other side of the Pacific. But Magellan had no idea how vast the ocean really was. He thought his crew would be sailing for a few weeks at most. Instead, the crossing took three months. While the ships were still at sea, the crew ran out of food. One sailor wrote about this terrible time. “We ate biscuit… swarming with worms…. We drank yellow water that had been putrid [rotten] for days... and often we ate sawdust from boards.” Why did explorers brave such dangers? In this reading, you will discover some of the reasons for the Age of Exploration. Then you will learn about the voyages of explorers from Portugal, Spain, and other European countries. You will also learn about the impact of their...
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...In image C-created by an unknown artist- “the Folding screens of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, 17th century”, the image depicts the interaction between Cortes’ army and the emperor Montezuma’s people in Tenochtitlan. The interaction varies between scholars, however the overall opinion is that the interaction was a bloody one. The image of the conquistadores depicts those in armor, with guns and cutlasses; although statistically speaking this phenomenon did not occur. According to the book Seven myths of the Spanish Conquest, a small minority of the conquistadores actually had military background, while the vast majority of the Conquistadores were middle class workers such as farmers and sailors-cite. There were a couple of reasons why these middles class workers joined the Conquistadores some of those reasons were due to financial opportunity provided by the Crown such as encomiendas (which as land with indigenous labor) and money grants. A small portion of the people who came were priests, whose main purpose was to convert the natives to...
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...Norweg an N o r w e g iia n Shetland Islands Shetland Islands G een and G rre e n lla n d Sea Sea Spitsbergen Spitsbergen Longyearbyen Longyearbyen 0° 0° North North Sea Sea NORWAY NORWAY Sea Sea North North Pole Pole 30° 30° 60° 60° 90° 90° Franz Josef Franz Josef Land Land Novaya Novaya Zemlya Zemlya 2012 EXPEDITION PROGRAM CRUISE DATES VOYAGE * Kayaking Option # Diving Option WILD SCOTLAND & EUROPEAN ARCTIC 11-24 June 14 days WILD SCOTLAND AND THE FAROE ISLANDS*# SPITSBERGEN ODYSSEY* SPITSBERGEN ODYSSEY*# JEWELS OF THE ARCTIC *# JEWELS OF THE ARCTIC * RUSSIAN COAST TIC IC ARC T ARC E CL E L CIR C CIR B aren ts B aren ts Murmansk Murmansk Sea Sea a lya mly em Ze aaZ yy vaa oov N N Kara Kara Sea Sea PAGE 8 R R 19-29 July 11 days 29 July-8 Aug 11 days 8-21 Aug 14 days 21 Aug-3 Sept 14 days 10 10 12 12 25 June-7 July 13 days 7-19 July 13 days 19-31 July 13 days 31 July-13 Aug 14 days 13 Aug-7 Sept 26 days 8-21 Sept 14 days RING OF FIRE* BERING SEA EXPLORER* TREASURES OF THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST* ARCTIC OCEAN DISCOVERER* ACROSS THE NORTH EAST PASSAGE* VOYAGE TO THE END OF THE EARTH* 16 18 20 24 26 28 2 (Alaska) USA A Nome Bering Strait 150° ARCTIC Wrangel Island Anadyr Bering Sea D le u an ti 180° Isl an ds 150° OCEAN East S i be ri a n CIRC LE E AT LI N E Sea P A C I F I C...
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...Name; Subject; Date; Instructor; The great pyramid of Giza The pyramids of Ancient Egypt are as entrancing and interesting, as they are amazing. Egyptologists and history specialists have since quite a while ago faced off regarding the topic of who manufactured the pyramids, and for what reason. There are a wide range of and regularly clashing hypotheses as to the development of the Great Pyramid of Giza. At the point when turning back the pages of history, it is found that various speculations have been produced to clarify the nearness of such a critical authentic milestone. Speculations differ from a tomb for a lord, to an uncommon synthetic plant, a reference point for extraterrestrial aircraft's, a stone type of the Bible, a conceivable approach to contact a Higher Being and a stone declaration of the second happening to Christ. Such case of shifting questionable hypotheses has started various theories to the riddle of the Great Pyramid of Giza. As indicated by customary Egyptology, the Great Pyramid of Giza was worked by Egyptian pharaoh Khufu amid the Fourth Dynasty around .the year 2560 BCE Schillings, M. : 1999 : Sheet . It has been proposed that the Egyptian civilization succeeded in setting up an unpredictable and sorted out work power of individuals to make and manufacture an astounding entombment tomb for the pharaoh in help of his voyage to the great beyond. Be that as it may, in opposition to this recommendation, one must inquire as to why the present day...
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...poem for them. Penelope objects to Phemius' theme, the "Return from Troy"[5] because it reminds her of her missing husband, but Telemachus rebuts her objections. That night Athena, disguised as Telemachus, finds a ship and crew for the true Telemachus. The next morning, Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca to discuss what should be done with the suitors. Accompanied by Athena (still disguised as Mentor), he departs for the Greek mainland and the household of Nestor, most venerable of the Greek warriors at Troy, now at home in Pylos. From there, Telemachus rides overland, accompanied by Nestor's son, Peisistratus, to Sparta, where he finds Menelaus and Helen, now reconciled. He is told that they returned to Sparta after a long voyage by way of Egypt. There, on the island of Pharos, Menelaus encountered the old sea-god Proteus, who told him that Odysseus was a captive of the nymph Calypso. Incidentally, Telemachus learns the fate of Menelaus’ brother...
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...Final Research Paper: Tainos, The indigenous people Before the discovery of the new world, it has been known of the various indigenous people that once inhabited our lands. The more popular natives such as the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs have been widely sought out in today’s age, unlike other lesser-known tribes such as the Tainos. Today many tribes have vastly decreased in number and size, but there are those who still practice and familiarize themselves with their heritage. I myself can relate to this small percentage of people, due to the fact I am descendent of the Tainos from Cuba. Hence, I decided to make my research paper based on the history of my heritage: The Tainos. The word Taino derived from the meaning “men of the good.” Based on historical facts, the Tainos were indeed good people. These indigenous people established a culture where the human temperament was kind. Among the Taino at the time of contact, generosity and kindness were governing values in society as well as directed towards an ecological interaction with the natural surroundings. It suggested a lifestyle that tried to feed its entire people, and a spirituality that was valued, through ceremonies. The Taino lived humbly in an abundant place and so their environment was abundant. The Tainos & Ciboneys were related to the cultural Arawak group, who was one of the main indigenous people of South America and the Caribbean. They spoke Taino, which was considered Arawak language...
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...August 20, 2015 3.2.13 Practice: Revision Strategies The tempest one of the most difficult Shakespearean works in my opion to stage, from its stormy, chaotic first scene to its sureality to its ambiguous resolution, with Prospero facing his silent, treacherous brother and renouncing the power that has made every action in the story possible. Potent language remains the central force and mystery of this fathomless play. Prospero speaks almost a third of the lines in The Tempest, and controls the amount of speech every other character on the island has through manipulation and magic. Prospero’s narrative of how he came to the island, what he did once there, and what he is owed for this history, goes largely unchallenged in the text. Yet the play offers innumerable readings and opportunities for alternate staging, particularly in light of postcolonial discourse about Prospero’s relationship with Ariel and Caliban, the legitimacy of his authority, and the nature of his magic and command over language. Though Prospero can be played many ways, there is no doubt he is The Tempest’s show runner. The metatheatrical nature of the play sometimes detracts from its action on the page, but it also offers the chance to explore exactly why Prospero needs an audience for his revenge, and whether or not it satisfies him, onstage. Prospero restricts the sight and knowledge of the other characters, putting them to sleep or manipulating them with invisible forces, but he often lets us, the audience...
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...A NEW WORLD The First Americans At daybreak on the morning of Friday, August 3 1492, an Italian adventurer named Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain to find a new way from. His aim was to open up a shorter trade route between the two continents. In Asia, he intended to load his three ships with silks, spices and gold, and sail back to Europe a rich man. Columbus first sailed south to the Canary Islands. Then he turned west across the unknown waters of the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Ten weeks after leaving Spain, on the morning of October 12, he stepped ashore on the beach of a low sandy island. He named the island San Salvador – Holy Savior. Columbus believed that he had landed in the Indies, a group of islands close to the mainland of India. For this reason he called the friendly, brown-skinned people who greeted him ‘los Indios’ – Indians. In fact, Columbus was not near India. It was not the edge of Asia that he had reached, but islands off the shores of a new continent. Europeans would soon name the continent America, but for many years they went on calling its inhabitants Indians. Only recently have these first Americans been described more accurately as ‘native Americans’ or Amerindians. There were many different groups of Amerindians. Those north of Mexico, in what is now the USA and Canada, were scattered across the grasslands and forests in separate groups called ‘tribes’. These tribes followed very different ways of life. Some were hunters...
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...Саратовский Государственный Университет им Н.Г.Чернышевского Literary Language Formation of English Literary Language Выполнила студентка 411 группы Журкина Дарья Саратов, 2012 1. Literary Language Literary language is a developed form of a national language, with norms fixed in writing to varying extents; the language of all manifestations of culture that are expressed in words. The concept of a “developed form” is historically variable (in different ages and with different peoples). In the age of feudalism many peoples of the world used foreign languages as their written literary languages. The Iranian and Turkish peoples used classical Arabic, the Japanese and Koreans used classical Chinese, the Germanic and West Slavic peoples used Latin, and the people in the Baltic region and the Czechs used German. The popular languages supplanted the foreign language in many functional spheres of communication during the 14th and 15th centuries in some states and in the 16th and 17th centuries in others. The literary language is always the result of collective creative activity. The notion that the norms of a literary language are “fixed” is somewhat relative (despite all the importance and stability of the norm, it changes in time). It is not possible to imagine a national culture that is rich and developed without a rich and developed literary language. This is why the problem of the literary language is very important for society. Linguists do not agree about the...
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