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Influences of china
Influences of china
Western influence in china
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The rise of Western power is a relatively recent development in the modern era. Previously the world could be seen as polycentric with overlapping spheres of influence (Marks 34). However, by the fifteenth century, China held considerable economic and military power, leading the world in size, population, agriculture, and commerce (Mungello 1). China also excelled in technology, military strength, learning, and the fine arts (Mungello 2). Leading China through its glory days was the Ming Dynasty which endured more than 250 years until its decline in 1644 (Dardess 1).
Before the Ming dynasty, China had become little more than a portion of the Mongol Empire. Hongwu, formerly Zhu Yuanzhang, became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty after the successful rebellion that pushed the Mongols out of China (Roberts 119). The Ming Dynasty became known for its effective and organized government system that provided the foundation for the prosperity that would characterize the Ming Dynasty for the next two centuries (Mungello 2). The Prince of Yan, later known as Yongle, became emperor after a rebellion and usurping his nephew, Jianwen, in 1403 (Roberts 120) Yongle quickly cemented his position by restoring prior regiments and asserting his power by dispatching a series of seven two-year sea expeditions between 1405 and 1433 (Roberts 126). Many have speculated that Yongle’s grand expeditions were actually searches for Jianwen, who according to rumor was still alive. However, it is most likely that the ships were sent to gain recognition of Yongle as a ruler (Roberts 126). The great commander of these expeditions was Zheng He, who led the expeditions from China all the way to the African coast (Roberts 126).
Zheng He was a Chines...
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...e was little more than a memory and legend, providing little resistance to the new European explorers (Levathes 20).
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Wade, Geoff. "The Zheg He Voyages: A Reassessment." JOurnal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (2005): 37-58.
The title of Ray Huang’s book 1587: A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty Decline suggests that this book is a work based on a single year in which little occurred. But in reality, Huang’s look at the events of 1587 demonstrates the complex workings of the leadership during the decline of the Ming dynasty, giving the reader an insight into the societal structure, the governmental process, and the mistakes that occurred systematically to enhance the progression towards the seemingly inevitable downfall. Though nothing of historical significance occurred during the year 1587, Huang is able to demonstrate the way in which the existing culture and the smaller, more systematic elements of political leadership can be understood within the context of a seemingly unimportant period of time. Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
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Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomsom Learning, 2001. 374-438.
In the early part of the 15th century C.E., a massive fleet of Chinese ships went on a series of seven voyages under the direction of Admiral Zheng He (The Ming Dynasty: Exploration to Isolation). For approximately 30 years, China sailed it's ships around Southeast Asia, India, and even East Africa trading exotic goods and reportedly establishing political alliances (Viviano). In addition, many estimate the Chinese flagship as being about 4.5 times larger than a European ship of the time period (Hadingham). These accounts of Zheng He's voyages can be used to argue that China in the early 15th century was the equal or possibly even superior to Europeans in terms of technology, navigation, trade, and it's political scope. Despite these voyages tremendous success, a faction of Confu...
Greenberg, Michael. British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 - 42. New York: Monthly Review, 1979. Print.
The Age of Western Imperialism. Modern East Asia From 1600. Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009. 295-367.
Worden, Robert L., Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan. China: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1988. Print.
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 this essay, I will look at the outpouring of thought, art and literature during the early empire. More so though, I will focus on what factors led to this renewed focus on culture in the early empire. It would seem that there were several factor which would lead to this renewed interest in culture in early China, but the most significant of these factors would be the re-establishment of a strong central government. This re-establishment of a strong central government laid the foundation for cultural growth. It brought with it prosperity to China, through improved infrastructure, such as the canals and graineries. As a result of these improvements, China flourished both economically, militarily and of course culturally. We first must look at some of the history of the centralization of China, which occurred, then was destroyed and then once more established. First by the Han Dynasty, then latter by the Sui and the T'ang
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.
Hoobler, Dorothy, Thomas Hoobler, and Michael Kort, comps. China: Regional Studies Series. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Globe Fearon, 1993. 174-177.
McKay, J/P/, Hill, B.D., Buckler, J., Ebrey, P.B., Beck, R.B., Crowston, C.H., & Wiesner-Hanks, M.E. (2008). A History of World Societies, Volume A: From Antiquity to 1500. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin's
The Warring States is the subject and title of Griffith’s third chapter, which gives an enlightening look at the life and times in China after the defeat of the rule of Chin at Ching Yang in 453. (p. 20) The country was divided into eight individual warring sects (with the exception of Yen...
The purpose of this paper is to tell the history of the Ming Dynasty’s impact on the Chinese Empire, and to explain why the Chinese Empire was in fact an empire.