Free Essay

Zheng He

In:

Submitted By hadiyah34
Words 767
Pages 4
Zheng He vs. Christopher Columbus When you hear the name Christopher Columbus the first thing that probably comes to your mind is that he was the one who founded America. However, if you actually do some research you will find out that he wasn’t the only one. Evidence shows that there was another man who discovered America seventy years before, Zheng He. He was a Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty, who also served as the Ming Dynasty Emperor and leader of seven voyages in the Indian Ocean. Christopher Columbus and Zheng He were both great travelers with great differences in their journey. Columbus’ story is one of great greed and domination while Zheng’s however one of a more noble cause. Very rarely, does the name Zheng He ever come up unless you’re in China. But he was a very important traveler in the world of discovery and he predates many of the more famous explorers. The purpose of his travel and explorations was to display the power of China while also creating better relations with other nations and setting up trade agreements in different parts of the world. One of the things that Zheng He’s voyages are known for is the size of the fleets that he commanded. In all, there were seven voyages headed up by Zheng He, including voyages to East Africa, India, and Arabia. Zheng He and his expedition exemplified the highest level of ancient Chinese propriety in terms of foreign trade. Zheng’s voyage stimulated and inspired the development of overseas trade. His journey had a double-edged effect as those who traveled and returned brought back their positive experiences from other nations and helped to positively influence the lives of a great number of people. The people that Zheng He met felt very comfortable with him. He gave gifts to the people in return the people gave him goods for his trip back to China. Not only was he an explorer but also an official ambassador with a powerful wealthy fleet, he met the leaders and merchants of these places. Zheng He used many different kinds of advanced technologies to make his great trips. One of the things he developed to help with navigation was celestial fixing, a system of navigation by looking at stars. Being Muslim and a eunuch in a Eurocentric Judeo-Christian world made Zheng He's revolutionary accomplishments invisible outside Asia. Zheng He had the most powerful navy force established. His great voyages are the magnificent landmarks not only in China’s political and diplomatic history but also in navigational channels of the world. Moreover, after discussing Zheng He and his travels and can see the differences he had from Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was an explorer and navigator who was sent by King Ferdinand of Spain to find a shorter route to Asia. Columbus promised to bring back gold, spices, silk, spread Christianity, and explore China. He also has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization. After the success of finding this new land, Columbus set sail west again on September 23, 1493 with 17 ships and 1,200 men. The purpose of this journey was to establish colonies in the name of Spain, check on the crew at Navidad, and continue his search for riches in what he still thought was the Far East. He made four different voyages. Christopher Columbus met a lot of different people on his journey. The groups of native people incorrectly labeled “Indians” by Columbus were actually a diverse mix of different tribes which spanned the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The people Columbus encountered are known as the Tainos. After European colonization the Tainos people became slaves and eventually were forced to leave the lands. For years mariners determined their latitudinal direction by following the east to west advancement of the sun and by tracking the movement of the stars at night, until Christopher Columbus’s explorations. As the voyagers traveled farther distances, they relied on a variety of both new and existing navigational tools to help them reach their destinations safely like: the compass, the astrolabe, and the cross staff. By the time Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492, the Doctrine of Discovery was a well-established idea in the Christian world. When he reached the Americas, Columbus performed a ceremony to take possession of all lands discovered. Columbus and Zheng were both great explorers who travels helped to establish the world to what we know today. Their travels can be compared and ridiculed but there is no denying the impact they had on the world.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Zheng He Imperialism

...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...

Words: 1953 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

How Did Zheng He Celebrate His Achievements

...If Zheng He was the explorer with more achievements why do we not celebrate his accomplishments? Zheng He was the far more advanced explorer who with the help of all of his technological advances was able to explore new lands. Money was a huge contribution to how the fleets came to be so powerful and stand out from the rest. The rout he traveled on was the farthest and longest of all the other explorations of that time. That makes it very significant and unlike other traditional explorations. How advanced China was for it is time made sea travel easier for explorers. The Chinese has the compass, the map, and the astrolabe to help find their way and know what direction they where heading in. All of these are essential sea traveling tools and you could not choose one or the other or else you would get lost. China was also one of the largest working countries, which meant more workers and more production. All of China is extra manpower was why they were able to create so many fleets. It was also were a large portion of their crew on the ship came from....

Words: 486 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

How Did Zheng He's 7 Voyages

...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...

Words: 463 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Great Wall of China

...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 establish trade. Zheng He’s voyages...

Words: 478 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

History Is Here

...Christopher Columbus –VS- Zheng He Exploring the world and see what it has to offer was nothing that any other person would naturally think of or about in their time. Upon the more detailed check out the experiences on the adult men guiding the actual explorations, we could study a whole lot concerning the trips, the actual adult men whom took these individuals, and also the nations that will recognized the attempts. The particular voyage by Christopher Columbus along with Zheng. They are actually the voyages of two nations along with the search for extreme power along with management in the ever-expanding world. For The world, Columbus’ trips showed both equally to be able to get around governed industry avenues along with master fresh persons on fresh lands. For China, Zheng He’s trips showed a chance to keep along with replenish existing associations along with neighboring nations. Even though trips of Columbus along with Zheng had been many generations separated, the parallels along with differences outlined exactly why guiding the journeys along with revealed what exactly both pondered the actual ethnicities they stumbled upon as you go along. Early fifteenth one hundred year found China’s Ming Dynasty for the maximum of its controlling power being a kingdom. China’s money along with electric power improved the actual circumstance of its seek trips through those of other nations over the “age of voyages. ” Because of the money along with the controlling power of China...

Words: 313 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Why China Wasn't Revolutionary

...scientific revolution is one of history's greatest complexities. Although "Zheng He's fleet led seven major expeditions commanding the largest armada the world would see for five centuries" and proceeded to " underscore just how far ahead of the West the East once was,"it is astonishing and perplexing that China's accomplishments from an explorative and revolutionary perspective were not more pronounced(Reilly 553). Similarly, the power struggles that ensued after YongLe's death resulted in an essential demolition of potential prosperity in voyage. There was an ending of voyages, destruction of Zheng He's sailing records, and a concerted effort to "dismantle China's navy"that all amassed to put a cork in China's explorative progression during a premier time of discovery(556). According to Reilly, there are two and a half reasons amongst the many that historians attribute to China's lack of worldly influence; "Asia was simply not greedy enough", "a culture of complacency", and the fact that "China was a single nation while Europe was many"also attributed to the setbacks that were encountered(557). First and foremost, China's greatest shortcoming is due to their "culture of complacency". It is evident that China's culture and mindset played a major role in their self perpetuated setback because they lacked a central focus and goal; regardless of the fact that "half a century before Columbus, Zheng He had reached East Africa and learned about Europe", China's progress in...

Words: 623 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Why Did China Fall Behind Europe in the 15th Century?

...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...

Words: 1527 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Chinese vs Columbus

...between the yes (Gavin Menzies) and the no (Robert Finlay). Menzies is the yes the Chinese found American first. He says that the Chinese spent four months exploring the pacific coastline and left substantial evidence that will support his contention that the chines found America way before the Europeans. Finlay believes that Menzies does not have concrete evidence that the Chinese found America because other historians have not come up with the same conclusion, that the Chinese discovered America first Robert Finlay talks about how Menzies is wrong and how he bases all his knowledge on facts and evidence that puts the Chinese on America before Columbus. Finlay accuses Menzies of “ignoring the basic rules of historical study and logic to concoct an implausible interpretation of the Chinese”. Finlay believes that Columbus found America first because they used the maps of the Chinese. When the Chinese explored the pacific coast they didn’t set foot on the land they just made a map that told there was land. The Chinese then used the maps that they made to trade with the Europeans for other goods. Then Columbus used the maps to find other land to colonize and make a new colony to spread. Finlay believes that Columbus explored the land and actually set foot on the new America, and expanded the map by putting new locations and land marks that he and his crew explored. He says that Menzies has very limited evidence that the Chinese found America first. Finlay says that “many professional...

Words: 638 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Chapter Summaries Of Zheng He Voyages

...SPICE Summaries Social During the maritime revolution, there were many conquerors and explorers that played a huge role in society. Zheng He was a Muslim eunuch who was sent out to voyage by the Ming emperor, Yongle. In the Atlantic Ocean the greatest mariners were the vikings. Arawak were Amerindians who settled in greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Henry the Navigator was the prince of Portugal who promoted navigation and led voyages across the African coast. Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco de Gama were Portuguese explorers who led expeditions through the oceans. Christopher Colombus was the leader of the Spanish mission that took place overseas. Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator who led Spanish expeditions. Conquistadors were Spanish conquerors. Hernan Cortes was one of them and he led the Aztec Mexicans conquest for Spain. Moctezuma II was an Aztec emperor who was in custody of Cortes. Atahualpa was an...

Words: 641 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Xfydrtyhch

...counter arguments for all of Josh's points. Josh's girlfriend Kara (Cassidy Gifford) breaks up with him, fearing that standing up to Radisson will jeopardize their academic future. Ultimately, it comes down to the third and final debate between Radisson and Josh, who again both make compelling points. Josh then halts his line of debate to pose a question to Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" After Josh repeats the question twice more, Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God for his mother's death that left him alone despite his prayers. Josh then casually asks Radisson how he can hate someone that doesn't exist. In the end, Martin (Paul Kwo), a foreign exchange student whose father had encouraged him not to convert to Christianity, stands up and says "God's not dead." Almost the entire class follows Martin's lead, causing Radisson to leave the room in defeat. Against the backdrop of the debates, a series of peripherally related subplots develop. Radisson dates Mina (Cory Oliver), a Christian whom he often belittles in front of his...

Words: 4586 - Pages: 19

Free Essay

Asasa

...fly through the courts without anything resembling due process, and it’s as if no one realizes that the perpetrator lacks the mental faculties needed to represent or stand up for himself when everyone is against him from the start—even including the policemen and lawyers whose job it is to assume his innocence. Instead, they work only to prove his guilt, because there’s literally nothing to stop them. Especially not the law. What follows is a story that takes place in two time periods. There’s the modern storyline, where the father’s grown-up daughter works as a lawyer to clear his name—though that takes up far less screen time than the flashback to 1997, the year that her father was accused and imprisoned in Cell No. 7. It was there that he met the cellmates who would become not only his friends but also family to him and his daughter after they devise an (admittedly improbable) plan to sneak her into the prison. Soon the entire prison population joins in the effort to try and save the innocent man from being executed, culminating in a heart-rending and revelatory masterpiece which manages to shine a spotlight on humanity at its best and at its unbelievable, infuriating worst. Ryu Seung-ryong plays YONG-GU, a man with the intelligence of a child but whose world revolves around his young daughter. She, on the other hand, has been forced by circumstance and unconditional...

Words: 2025 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

First Empire of China

...King Zheng first Emperor of China is considered the most powerful and successful leader in his time. Zheng was a successful leader as he not only unified all 6 warring states but then further developed a lasting government and legal system, gained control over a powerful army, introduced a new coinage system, establishing social cohesion, developed a building program and a consistent system of transport which all contributed to his lasting legacy. King Zheng established a unified China with one ruler, the Emperor, regarded as the sole divine power. He accomplished this by using his army to overtake all the other six states he did this by taking over the neighbouring Han State, which already had a political organisation and combined their armies with his giving him enough power to conquer all other states. He then made himself the ‘sole divine leader.’ After he accomplished this he established a system of government among the seven states none of which had any more power than him. He was the sole leader of his and the other six states, which were ruled by six governors or ministers and under them were six lower leaders of their own individual sections. He established this and form of government to gain full control over all people of China. Each set family would spy on one another and report back to the Emperor, thus giving King Zheng control of all aspects of life.  An example of this occurs in the movie/documentary ‘The first Emperor of China’ where a spy uncovers plans his...

Words: 1779 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Seven Great Treasure Voyages

...better exemplifies the pursuit of Chinese exceptionalism and total impact of the cultures more than the Seven Great Treasure Voyages of Admiral Zheng He, of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1368-1644) Zheng He (born Ma He, circa 1371 in Kunyang, China) was a naval admiral and court eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, born to a Muslim...

Words: 765 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Terra-Cotta Warriors: Ying Zheng's War Warrior

...Since he knew he could not be immortality, he prepared well his afterlife. He believed after he dead, and his spirit was still there, he could be an emperor as before. There had to be a proper army to protect him, and helped me to conquer the world after death. Consequently, he put many a large number of clay warriors in his tomb, then he could enjoy the same imperial status and the military power as his early lifetime. According to Lubow stated, "The artifacts offer a glimpse of the treasures that attract visitors from around the world to the Xi'an museum site, where 1,900 of an estimated 7,000 warriors have been disinterred so far"(36). Ying Zheng love using "brute force", he thought violent is the very thing to build his empire. No matter...

Words: 403 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Sleep Patterns

...1. IDUS 711 - Methods of Contextual Research | Frances Manning, Lauren Peters, HaoTing Zhang, Ila Zheng | Prof. Sara Jo Johnson | May 28, 2013 1A q u a l i tat i v e s t u d y o f s l e e pi n s i g h t r e p o r tSleep Patterns 2. IDUS 711 - Methods of Contextual Research | Frances Manning, Lauren Peters, HaoTing Zhang, Ila Zheng | Prof. Sara Jo Johnson | May 28, 2013 2Insight REPORTWhat this document is for:Patterns have emerged from our research study and generated compellingquestions around the culture of sleep. Ultimately this research will allowus to explore future design concepts using the following insights:12 653 74 8Reflection causes Zzzzs. Try before I buy.Sharing is caring. I feel like I’m buying a car.My room, my style. Stop and smell the roses.Technological distractions?! I’ll sleep when I’m dead. #YOLO 3. IDUS 711 - Methods of Contextual Research | Frances Manning, Lauren Peters, HaoTing Zhang, Ila Zheng | Prof. Sara Jo Johnson | May 28, 2013 3Insight 1Reflection causes Zzzzzzzs.Because of the lack of restful sleep, users are often triggered to monitortheir sleep patterns through natural reflection, technology, and otherforms of sleep logs. 4. IDUS 711 - Methods of Contextual Research | Frances Manning, Lauren Peters, HaoTing Zhang, Ila Zheng | Prof. Sara Jo Johnson | May 28, 2013 4I monitor my sleep with an iPhoneapp, and my alarm clock is my iPad.Although I usually have mycomputer in my bedroom, it’sonly there for work reasons and itdoesn’t have anything to...

Words: 2829 - Pages: 12