Asia and Exploration

Ming Dynasty

▫Ming rulers would not allow outsiders from distant lands to threaten the peace and prosperity they had brought to China after the end of Mongol rule.

▫Mongols had been a foreign group that invaded China and now finally an ethnically Chinese dynasty was in power.

Ming Dynasty Continued

•Yonglo – son of 1st Ming Emperor•Had strong interest in exploring the world•Mongols had been a foreign group that

invaded China and now finally an ethnically Chinese dynasty was in power.

Zheng He

•Zheng He led these voyages!▫Early voyages set out to Southeast Asia

and India▫Later expeditions roamed as far as

Arabia and eastern Africa.▫Later expeditions went to Arabia and

eastern Africa

Zheng He▫40 to 300 ships sailed in each exploration▫Fighting ships, storage vessels, and huge

“treasure” ships up to 440 feet long▫Crews outnumber 27,000 on some voyages▫Sailors, soldiers, carpenters, interpreters,

accountants, doctors, and religious leaders▫Sailed from port to port along the Indian Ocean▫Distributed gifts, such as gold, silver, silk, and

scented oils, to show Chinese superiority▫More than 16 countries sent tribute to the

Ming Court

And then….

•Chinese scholar-officials complained that these voyages wasted valuable resources▫After the 7th voyage ended in 1433,

there were no more.▫China withdrew itself into self-sufficient isolation.

Isolation• To keep the influence of outsiders to a minimum,

only the government was to conduct foreign trade, through three coastal ports.▫In reality, trade flourished up and down the

coast▫Profit-minded Chinese merchants smuggled

cargoes of silk, porcelain, and other valuable goods out of the country into the hands of eager European merchants

▫Europeans would pay for these goods with the silver that had been mined in the Americas at the expense of Native Americans

Effects

•China did not become fully industrialized for 2 reasons▫The whole idea of commerce offended

Chinese Confucian beliefs. Merchants, it was said, made their money “supporting foreigners and robbery”

▫Second, Chinese economic policies traditionally favored agriculture. Taxes on agriculture stayed low. Taxes on manufacturing and trade skyrocketed.

Cultural Diffusion!•Accompanying European traders into China

were Christian missionaries.•Brought Christianity and variety of European

inventions, like the clock and prism to China.•Many educated Chinese opposed Christianity•First missionary was Italian Jesuit, Matteo

Ricci. He gained special place in Ming Court through his intelligence and ability to speak and write Chinese.