Rest+of+Day+2


 * DIPLOMACY is the art of talking and negotiating without having to resort to conflict. On pg. 60, there is a discussion on how Chinese diplomacy was different than later European diplomacy. Explain this difference. **

**Explain how Zhu Di strived to make Beijing the world's INTELLECTUAL capital.** He expelled the last Mongols from China in 1382, Zhu Di had despatched his eunuch Isiha to the perennially troublesome region of Manchuria in the far north-east, and in 1413 the Jurchen people of Manchuria responded by sending a prestigious mission to Beijing, where its members were showered with titles, gifts, and trading rights.


 * The Grand Canal and the Forbidden city were engineering marvels of the 15th century, and HUGE accomplishments for a a single ruler to achieve in less than 2 decades. But they were not his most important legacy.**


 * Look at this visual of the GRAND CANAL and just be AMAZED at this marvel! In your reader's log, jot down a few facts about it. ** ||


 * Zheng He's fleet made 7 voyages in all, dying on his last one, in 1433. When his ships returned to China, the political situation had changed dramatically. In fact, soon after the great Treasure Fleet left Tanggu, Zhu Di suffered a series of disasters that suggested to everyone that he had lost the "mandate of heaven" -- the approval of Heaven for his rulership.**


 * When you get to p. 75, read to the bottom of p. 77. Stop at the paragraph beginning "Thereafter the Qazi..." Is there evidence here that Zhu Di truly did not understand what was happening to his rule? **


 * Start up again on the bottom of p. 78 (from "Apparently abandoned by heaven..."). List all the things that happened to the old emperor near the end of his life. **


 * Finally read the edict of the new emperor, Zhu Di's son, Zhu Gaozhi, on the very day he ascended the throne, pp 81-85, beginning " All voyages of the treasure ships are to be stopped." Explain how this edict changed the history of not only China but of the WORLD. How did this leave open the "door" for Europe to take center stage now? **