Yujin+Chong-China+Opportunity

More Questions:

Wide areas of trees were cleared to build the Forbidden city. The Grand Canal was also rebuilt using a million teaspoons to ferry grain. Also, mass amounts of grain had to be grown to feed the emperor's armies.
 * As you continue reading write down any instances of ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION done as a result of the emperor's ambitions.**

The Chinese got what they wanted by trade, influence and bribery. The Europeans, however, gained their "diplomacy" by open conflict (violence) and direct colonization. Europeans did not gain diplomacy because they obviously resorted to conflict.
 * 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.** Zhu Di wanted to make Beijing a city of intellectual greatness and he did so by building the Forbidden City, replacing the traditional design. This City had more perfect proportions and was a stronghold to thwart his enemies.

The Grand Canal was built to carry shipments of grain to the north. There was a Grand Canal before, in 486 BC, but the emperor rebuilt and elongated it. It is the longest man-made waterway in the world. However, nearly 3 million people in the labor force perished at work. The Grand Canal was made at a very expensive cost. 300,000 laborers were needed, which caused a demand in food. (Emperor must feed his labor force) Grain was transported from other parts of China. However, this led to food shortages elsewhere. Also, a demand for timber to build the Canal and ships to transport grain consumed 3 hundred acres of forests. This Canal also gained the some dislike from the mandarins, who opposed of the emperor's grand plans.
 * 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. ** ||

Zhu Di's grand dream to bring the entire world into China's tributary system. This was a loose, but extremely stable way to organize and control an empire: make neighboring countries pay tribute (to acknowledge that you're the boss), but then, to keep them from feeling resentment, give them presents in return that more than exceed the value of the tribute they pay. Result? A stable trading empire, no wars between central power and tributary states, relatively cheap cost of governing a large territory! Smart, right?It worked so well, Zhu Di wondered why China could not do the same thing for the whole world. He also wanted to search the world for that nasty cousin of his, the one who had become the second Ming emperor, and then disappeared when Zhu Di raised an army to gain the throne. He appointed his Grand Eunuch (a "eunuch" is a man who's, well, had some important parts of his anatomy cut off!) to be the Commander-in-Chief of a vast fleet -- the biggest the world had ever known (and the biggest it would know until the Allies' D-Day Invasion in World War II!). Zheng He was a Muslim (Yes, there are Muslims in China!) who had never sailed before, but he became one of the world greatest admirals. Zheng He delegated the voyages of the treasure ships, confident that they could handle the fleets as he had instructed. The armada was enormous---huge ships would sail the Yellow Sea and Indian Oceans by the hundreds. The greatness of this armada made the other nearby countries more likely to gain tributes from nearby countries.
 * While you are reading pgs. 65-66 and 70, DESCRIBE the Armada and specifically Zheng He's Treasure Ships. What an impression this must have made!**


 * 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.**

Yes, the text clearly states taht Zhu Di had been in unhealthy conditions that caused him brain damage. Also, the shock of at the loss of his palace certainly must have affected the emperor's sudden series of ill-conceived decrees.
 * 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? **

-Palace struck by lightning; destroyed; lost his fav. concubine -Poisoned; brain damage -Better living conditions elsewhere -Strains on China's economy -Vietnam rebels and China is unable to control them, Vietnam freed -Mongol leader refuses to pay tribute, army to bring Arughtai to obey; opportunity for Zhu Di to regain his authority -Ministers object to his expedition (tired of his grandiose plans) and Zhu Di arrests (and loses) his most able, loyal leaders. (Just like in the Muslim Empires!)
 * 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. **

Because the exploration and the foreign exchanges were stopped, the spreading of Chinese culture and influence was also put to a stop. If China had continue to spread it's influence worldwide, then maybe the first major explorers and colonizers would be the Chinese, not European. But because the Chinese had such limited amount of influence-spreading (mostly through tributes), they could only be a memorable empire, not a dominating one. Europe, however, did not have such limitations, and (although very late) they began to colonize and dominate.
 * 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? **

Questions:

//1. On what philosophical assumptions are the Hongwu emperor’s words and actions based?// Emperor Hongwu believed in a morally righteous society. So, he is supporting the teachings of Confucius.

//2. Do you think that his actions will solve the problems he refers to? Why or why not?// No, I don’t that by punishing his subjects, he will fight the wrong behaviors of society, because you can not fight injustice with more injustice. By getting rid of other oppressive leaders, he has just made himself a one as well. Also, some of his motives of killing these strong leaders is not to win favor to the citizens, but to eliminate those who threaten to steal his throne.

//3. Does the emperor’s approach to solving the problem of evil behavior in this excerpt differ from that in the first? If so, how?// Here, the emperor explains how evil behavior should be avoided, whereas in the first excerpt, he stated that evil behavior must be punished physically.

//4. On what philosophical assumptions are Hongwu’s words here based? Think Chinese philosophy.// Hongwu bases his words on the Chinese philosophy of Confucianism.

//5. As an official, what would be your reaction to the emperor’s admonitions?// Although I would be outraged at the hypocrisy of the emperor’s “moral” ways, I would have to conform to his admonitions because my life and reputation depends on it. However, I think that the emperor should not be so paranoid as to pretending that he is self-controlled and a wise sage.

//6. The emperor clearly holds himself up as a model of self-restraint for his officials to emulate. As an official, how would you take this?// Good, self-control of evils should be support, whether the emperor truly believes in it or not. I would try to be the way that he did (or said he did, at least), leading a virtuous and ethical life.

//7. Would your reaction be changed if you suddenly learned that the Hongwu emperor had dozens of concubines and consorts, with whom he fathered twenty-six sons and sixteen daughters?// Though I am not surprised by this, I can say that it is disappointing to know how people in power are hypocritical to gain favor of the public.

__**DAY TWO:**__


 * //Holy Roman Emperor//:** First, I would make a short boat trip on the Adriatic Sea, hugging the boot of present-day Italy. Once you reach the Sultanate of Egypt, cross overland until you reach the Indian Ocean. Then, you horizontally cross the Indian Ocean and then pass through the Malacca Strait. Once you go through, you are free to move northeast until you reach the curve of China.


 * //Emperor of Byzantine://** By boat, go around Africa, hugging the coastline. Once you reach the Indian Ocean, pass the Malacca Strait and make your way up north towards China.

//**Doge of Venice:**// By boat, make a short trip across the Mediterranean Sea (or just go around by land) until you reach the tip of the Sultantate of Egypt. From there, make a short trip overland across the Red Sea and through the "Gate of Grief" which empties into the Indian Ocean. Next, you must travel across the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait and around 'till you reach the curve of China.


 * //England, France, Castille, and Portugal://** Because these countries are on the outer edge of Europe, they can take direct sea route around the tip of Africa, through the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait, and northeast to China.

The Yuan Dynasty definitely has more land conquered, while the Ming Dynasty has a smaller scale, losing a huge part of their Northern land. The earliest dynasties have the least amount of land conquered, and as time passes (though the size does fluctuate a bit), the land seems to be increasing in size overall. While the Yuan dynasty did not bother to restore any of China's former glory, the Ming dynasty (under the rule of Zhu Di) took the successes of the past and improved them. Ex.- Zhu Di repaired the Great Wall that the first emperor had originally built during the Qin dynasty. He extended it further and added watchtowers and turrets.
 * . Look carefully at the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and make some generalizations about China under those dynasties. Size? Change from previous dynasties? From your reading, make any observations you can about the two time periods. **

Chinese did not consider Europeans to be high on their priorities, due to their lack of knowledge in the science and technology fields. However, China later became very friendly with neighboring countries to make them join their tribute system.
 * While reading pages 49-50, explain some of the factors that affected the Chinese attitudes toward foreigners.**

The new capital would be 75,000 km and could house 2.5 million people.
 * On p. 53 Menzie notes that the new walled capital was to be "fifteen hundred times the area of walled London at that time and housing fifty times the population". SO, using your math skills, refer to the following map and figure out how big that new capital would be. **

**Can you find the old city in the modern city? Where is it? What is there now?** The Forbidden City is the Palace Museum, so look for the small, proportionately boxed "square" inside of Imperial City (which is now Tianamen Square, a museum park for ancient Chinese culture).
 * Compare the map of the great walled capital Zhu Di built (above) to the map of modern China (below). The Forbidden City is now the Palace Museum, and is located at the centre of the map below: **

If the Great Wall was really extended 6400 km from Beijing, then the wall might end up near the Hwang River.
 * On p. 54, Menzies writes that Zhu Di extended the Great Wall (which is actually many separate sections of wall created over hundreds of years) from 5,000 kms to 6,400 kms. You'll notice, that doesn't mean that the wall was 6,400 kms long. If it WAS, where would it reach if it began at the Yalu River? Use the map in MWH Atlas p A18-19 to estimate where you would end up if the wall really extended 6,400 kms due west of Beijing. **

The silk roads go through China, India, Persia, Arabia, and Egypt.
 * Also on p. 54, Zhu Di sent expeditions along the The "Silk Road", along which Chinese traders journeyed to sell their silks, spices, porcelain and other valuable commodities. This was actually a web of many routes that extended from Xi'an into the heart of the Islamic world. It was clear he wanted to recreate the earlier trading empire of the Chinese.**
 * Question: Through what MODERN countries did the silk roads go? **

The felling of
 * As you continue reading write down any instances of ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION done as a result of the emperor's ambitions.**


 * 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.**


 * 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. ** ||