During the Ming Dynasty, China sent an enormous fleet of ships led by Zheng He out to explore the world. They landed in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, and some even say North America. No empire on earth in the 1400s could have even come close to matching their might. When Zheng He died however, those ships were dismantled or burned to the ground. Records of the voyages were destroyed, and China's dominance as a world power began to decline.
With very little to show for all this work, do you think these voyages should be celebrated? Was Zheng He a hero to be commemorated for all time or in the end did his achievements mean nothing? What do you think? I look forward to hearing your responses in the comments!
I actually think his efforts were worth something. I mean,sure, all he came back with was a bunch of giraffes, but at least he got the idea of "we're the best" out of Chinese people's heads. well, sort of. ;) The trade did increase a bit, but not much.
ReplyDeleteI think it was worth the trip. They started the beginning of new technology. They spread so many ideas that it was just out of this world awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt was worth the trip because they got some awesome giraffes and giraffes are the best. Also, they got a better idea of where they stood, like are they number one, do they need drastic and quick improvements, or are they good where they are. Sure, this information went to their heads, but it matters to know these kinds of things.
ReplyDeleteI think no they shouldn't have celebrated these triumphant times. In the 1400's they were considered superior which I think that's what they kinda were going for. The trip wasn't wasteful because the learned a lot about the outside world and saw how ahead they were and probably found more ways to evolve,,and they showed how legit they were that's a victory in itself. Buring the ships to the ground was a little aggressive but not at all wasteful more as worship and obeying their personal superior Confucius.
ReplyDelete~Gollum