China started exploration from 2nd century to 15th century. Historians have different explanations about exploration in China in terms of socio-economic, political and social values. In terms of socio-economic values, it was told to be for trade and to create allies. Political reason suggested their interest in showing off their power and wealth. Similarly, social cause showed their Knowledge about ocean-exploration, ship-building and an ambitious explorer as the main cause for exploration. Chinese nautical technology was more advanced than Europeans, so China should have done more international trade, colonized more land and expanded more territories than Europeans. It didn’t happen in history instead, China suddenly ceases exploration and Europeans took control over international market with expansion and colonization. I argue that it was not the lack of nautical technology that cease exploration in China instead centralized government and increased rivalry between Confucius and eunuchs played a prominent role in the cessation of Chinese Exploration.
Nautical technology was not the obstacle for cessation of Chinese exploration because china had more advanced nautical technologies than Europe. China made an expedition advanced with nautical technology even before the legendary explorations of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan. The famous explorer Zheng He of Ming dynasty in China first sailed in the expedition named “Western Ocean” in 1405, commanding 62 ships with 27,800 crew members (Pletcher 10). Explorer Zhen He’s expedition would never been succeeded if there would be less advanced technologies because if all the crew members were divided among 62 ships then there would be around 448 people in each...
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...ith the advanced maritime technology of China which they utilized later to explore and colonize new territories. Even though Chinese expedition was stopped with some internal problems within China, it has great significance in the history because of it contribution in development of nautical technology.
Works Cited
Bosworth, Michael
“China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization” City University of Hong Kong press
Hucker, Charles “Governmental Organization of the Ming Dynasty” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies,
Vol. 21, (Dec., 1958), pp. 1-66.
Pletcher, Kenneth “The Age of Exploration: From Christopher Columbus to Ferdinand
Magellan” Britannica Educational Publishing
Yamashita, Michael “Zheng He: tracing the epic voyages of China's greatest explorer” White
Star Publishers, Oct 17, 2006.
...ntly influenced more than just the expansion of the Chinese economy, it has brought in new ideas and cultures from foreign countries that have an everlasting impact on China as a whole.
Accompanied by 27,000 men on 62 large and 255 small ships, the Chinese eunuch Zheng He, led 7 naval expeditions to Southeast Asia, Middle East and east coast of Africa in the span of 28 years during the Ming Dynasty. The scale of Zheng He’s fleet was unprecedented in world history. The large treasure ships used during the expeditions were purported to be 440 feet long and 180 feet wide (Dreyer, p. 102). Throughout his travels, Zheng He brought Chinese tea, porcelain and silk products to foreign countries and also brought back exotic goods to the Ming court such as spices, plants and leather. Although his voyages fostered commercial trades and cultural exchange between China and foreign countries, the goal of his expeditions stemmed from the political motivation to maintain the tributary system and his voyages had important political implication of causing Neo-Confucian opposition and suspension of the expedition.
The Chinese empire had once been one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the world. Before the 19th century, China had a large population and was ruled by families or dynasties. It was considered technologically advanced as China had a history of many miraculous inventions, such as: writing, magnetic compasses, movable sails, porcelain, abacus and paper money. Although China was isolated from the rest of the world, it coped well on its own, and saw no need to begin trading with the west, (as Lord McCartney proposed in 1793), since it was a self-sufficient nation. At that particular time, the Chinese empire was still able to exclude the ‘barbarians’, thus forcing them to only trade at one port. However, China soon took a turn for the worst as important ...
During the 15th century, the Chinese had one of the most advanced naval fleets known to man. As a result, China was able to establish many trade routes to places such as Africa, India, Singapore, etc… If the Chinese wanted to, they could have sailed all the way to Europe and even as far as North America. However, the Chinese ran into some political problems that prevented explorations in the future. If they had continued their voyages, it would have been possible for them to have discovered the New World before Columbus. Had China discovered America before Columbus, our world would be different from what it is today.
The Age of Exploration or Age of Discovery was a period in time from the early 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which Europeans began to travel by sea in search of new trade route to accommodate for the high demands for Asian goods in Europe. Advancements in technology lead Europeans to build improved ships and begin using new sailing techniques, creating new maps using the cartographer, and advances in astronomy by means of new tools such as the sextant to seek a viable trade route to Asia. They wanted a trade route that did not involve traveling through the Middle East and paying high taxes. Portugal had already established a route by going around the southern tip of Africa into India, and the other European nations wanted an even shorter route to the wealth.
The Ming was a dynasty that had greatly influenced art and trade. In fact, they were almost on top of trade. “Lui Chin, when he was finally disgraced in 1510, his fortune was assessed at over 251 ounces of silver (Rodzinski, 151).” Being masters at their trade, they were brought an abundance of silver to China in 1565. Therefore, china had a very prosperous land. Consequently, the abundance of resources may have influenced attention. Resourcefully, China used their tea to get horses. Furthermore, grain, cotton, and tea were required to keep a calm town and citizens. Accomplishing this feat was most likely easier with their wealth. Portuguese were another key trade influence. They arrived in China during 1514. “They established themselves as major actors in the “carrying trade,” the
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes tells us about seven voyages made by junk armadas during the Chinese emperor Zhu Di's reign. 'Treasure ships' as they were called, were under the command of admiral Zheng He, these ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine objects of value. They sailed from India to East Africa, throughout Korea and Japan, and possibly as far as Australia. She believes that China might have been able to create a great colonial realm one hundred years before the Europeans explored and expanded, from China's navy of some three thousand ships.
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes talks about seven voyages made by the Chinese armadas during emperor Zhu Di's reign. Admiral Zheng was in control of many “Treasure ships”. These ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine goods. They sailed from India to East Africa, through Korea and Japan, and might have even traveled all the way to Australia. Levathes believes that it could have been very possible for China to have been able to create a great kingdom to rule over one hundred years before the Europeans even explored and expanded, with China's giant navy of about three thousand of these large treasure ships.
With deserts and the Himalayas running along most of the border, it was extremely difficult to cross over one of the most dangerous mountain ranges in the world and a few other scorching deserts with the little transport they had during that time. The only way merchants could come into the country was the southeastern coast of China, where most of the prosperous cities resided. What led China to become conceited was because they had an abundance of goods that most of the world wanted. In the 1760-1830s, China was famous for its porcelain (rich Europeans loved it), silk, and of course, tea. Since this Eastern Powerhouse’s goods were so popular, therefore, there were only a few things that interested them to trade with.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Europe was just coming out of a time where ideas flourish and man was the main focus this time was called the renaissance. This sparked the want for more and to buy goods and valuables from Asia and so the motivation for exploration was started.The most impactful exploration was the discovery of the americas. In 1492 Christopher Columbus came across the americas. There he found such valuable as gold and spices but, he treated the natives to the land poorly. There are many things that motivated Europe's discovery and exploration of america's the 1400 and 1600s here are a few.
These advancements really helped increase the chance of not getting lost or the navigators ships breaking
As the invention of better ships came about, many people realized that the boats were much more stronger and reliable than by land. Even though the ships had to face bad weather and pirates, it was better to take your chance at sea. Traders by land were often ambushed and robbed while on the road from nomadic tribes and it became difficult to travel the road. While China and Russia maintained a trading relationship with silk and fur, trade and travel had declined so much that no other activity occurred. Internal problems in China also led to the demise of the Silk road. Many of the later Chinese dynasties like the Tang, Ming, and Qing faced corruption, rebellion, and illegitimate rulership. The Ming dynasty, for example, did not help advance the Silk road with its foreign policy. During that time, they did not trust the westerners or any foreign influences which hindered the trade between the east and west. This attitude of Chinese nationalism lasted from the all the way to the Qing dynasty and got better during the Sung dynasty (Wu,
D’Addese 1 The Qing Dynasty prospered well into the 20th century despite the numerous problems the administration faced. However, during the early days of the 20th century, civil disorders continued to grow in such unmanageable factions that the administration was pushed to do something about it. The high living standards of the previous century had contributed to a sharp increase in China’s population, there was approximately 400 million people living in China around the nineteenth century. This spike increased population density, it also created a surplus of labour shortages, land shortages, inadequate food production and several famines. As an attempt for a solution, Empress Dowager Cixi proclaimed a call for proposals for reform from the generals and governors.
Change spread to new places mostly through trading contacts. Some people welcomed change, while others avoided change and tried to maintain traditional ways. In the late middle ages, China was a superpower with the greatest navy in the world until China's rulers chose to reduce contact with the outside world and dismantled the fleet. This choice opened the door for Europeans to make the great voyages of discovery that connected the world and began the modern era around the year 1500. Change was moving faster now.