HIST 1011 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ming Dynasty, Zheng He, Chinese Exploration
Document Summary
Lecture 3: asian imperium ("like the sun at midday" -the book of changes---> asian empires at the height of their power only way to go from here is down asian empires declined after this point) Asia is the center of the world at this point that"s why europeans tried to go there! Ming con dent and engaged with the wider world. Asshole barbarian hordes force them to go from open, curious, extroverted to closed and introverted. Remembering that the last major chinese dynasty was ruled by mongols (yuan), they ipped the geek out and tried to build up defenses. Concentration of imperial authority in cities and towns along important canals the state is actually completely absent elsewhere the only way the ming could rule more rural areas was through the use of local collaborators. Early in the ming dynasty, very interested in exploration and expanding chinese culture. Zheng he was most famous explorer: sailed across indian ocean, arabian.
