Could have China’s worldview brought an end to their expeditions?
Could have China’s worldview brought an end to their expeditions? Nicholas D. Kristof says yes and even theorizes that the Chinese could have colonized the rest of the world, in place of the Europeans, if they hadn’t stopped their explorations. Kristof credits Zheng He, China’s version of Christopher Colombus with more miles. Zheng He was a Muslim prisoner of war that worked as a servant in the imperial court. He joined with the Emperor’s son Zhu Di to overthrow the Emperor’s successor. When Zhu Di took rule he granted Zheng He permission to conduct naval voyages. Zheng He sailed a ship with over 37,000 men and 317 ships he went farther than any explorer before him or after him. With Zheng He’s excessive knowledge of traveling and how far he has went, doors opened up for China.It was more than likely that Asia, not backwards Europe, would colonize and explore unknown lands. So why didn’t they?
Kristof claims that the East philosophy of Confucianism doesn’t include riches or wealth in what a person should strive to achieve. Prestige, culture, honour, family...all came before wealth on the Confucianists to-do list. Zheng He found trade routes and interacted with cultures all over the Eastern world, even though he was severely unimpressed by the Europeans. With this great success, China sought no wealth. Yes, they traded spices, medicine, ivory, and wood, with the Africans but they gathered no wealth. Kristof claims the Chinese weren’t greedy. Confucianism shows them they don’t need wealth as much as they need honour and respect and in return those principles are what came before maritime trading by a huge margin.
When the Ming dynasty came to power, not only did end all maritime voyages, because they were viewed as simply a waste of resources, but demonished any records or anything Zheng He gathered.By 1424 all evidence of previous voyages were nearly extinct and any desire for future voyages was extinguished. The low regard for extracting wealth do to
Kristof claims that the East philosophy of Confucianism doesn’t include riches or wealth in what a person should strive to achieve. Prestige, culture, honour, family...all came before wealth on the Confucianists to-do list. Zheng He found trade routes and interacted with cultures all over the Eastern world, even though he was severely unimpressed by the Europeans. With this great success, China sought no wealth. Yes, they traded spices, medicine, ivory, and wood, with the Africans but they gathered no wealth. Kristof claims the Chinese weren’t greedy. Confucianism shows them they don’t need wealth as much as they need honour and respect and in return those principles are what came before maritime trading by a huge margin.
When the Ming dynasty came to power, not only did end all maritime voyages, because they were viewed as simply a waste of resources, but demonished any records or anything Zheng He gathered.By 1424 all evidence of previous voyages were nearly extinct and any desire for future voyages was extinguished. The low regard for extracting wealth do to