Are Zheng He’s Voyages Deserving of Celebration?

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Exploration has been an important action to take part of since the beginning of time. We have to explore to find out what’s out there right? We could potentially obtain so much knowledge, and so many resources. You can only obtain the maximum potential of something if your motives and ideology are correct. A great example of someone who had the potential to do so much good, and obtain so much greatness was a Chinese admiral by the name of Zheng He. Zheng He watched his father die at the hand of the Ming Dynasty, along with being castrated himself. Zheng He was forced to join thousands of eunuchs, and then rose quickly through the ranks of the military. The emperor basically assigned Zheng He the task of leading a fleet of exploration ships. They sailed this huge fleet of ships to unknown areas in hopes to make friends with other countries, and the local leaders usually offered tribute and emissaries to avoid conflict. This whole process preceded the colonialism practiced by the Europeans in years to come. The question begging to be answered here is, are Zheng He’s voyages deserving of celebration? I will be discussing my opinion on the subject and supporting with the documents provided. However; there are a few particular words I have used in this paragraph that we need to define to make sure we know what we are talking about. The Ming Dynasty was the imperial dynasty of China from the years 1368 to 1644. A eunuch is man who has been castrated. A tribute is an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration. An emissaries is a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative. Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another ...

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...aders usually offered tribute and emissaries to avoid conflict. This whole process preceded the colonialism practiced by the Europeans in years to come. The question begging to be answered here is, are Zheng He’s voyages deserving of celebration? In my opinion, I feel that we should acknowledge what he did, and continue to try to learn about the voyages. Just the fleet that he sailed across the world was remarkable; 255 huge ships, 27,500 people, and an astounding doctor-to-patient ratio of 1 to 151. Should Zheng He’s voyages be celebrated? Definitely not, he did not capitalize on the resources available to him. He cared too much about animals that weren't very beneficial, and essentially wasted precious time and money. We need to celebrate people that maximized the potential of their opportunities and actually got close, or achieved something truly great and useful.

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