An imagined view of the E-pang Palace. Chinese, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period Yuan Yao Chinese, active around — Strict laws and severe punishments meant the Emperor had a ready supply of convict labour to embark on his ambitious building projects. The Emperor also had hundreds of luxurious palaces built in his capital at Xianyang to house his concubines, children and servants. Although there is no clear archaeological evidence to show it ever existed, it has become legendary as the biggest and most sumptuous palace ever created.
He sought magical potions that would guarantee eternal life and regularly consulted magicians and alchemists. Image: Bronze goose, Qin Dynasty. The pit was designed to represent an imperial garden with geese, cranes, swans and musicians for the enjoyment of the First Emperor in the afterlife. Even though he failed to conquer death, the Emperor had grand plans for his afterlife. In a bid to secure his position as cosmic ruler, he commissioned an entire kingdom to accompany him to the next world; unlike anything seen before or since.
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Tournaments Scores Rankings News Videos. Career Stats -. Player Profiles -. Previous Matches. Jan 21 Factions at court had long been critical of the Yongle emperor's extravagant ways. Not only had he sent seven missions of the enormous Treasure Ships over the western seas, he had ordered overseas missions northeast and east, had sent envoys multiple times across desert and grassland to the mountains of Tibet and Nepal and on to Bengal and Siam, and had many times raised armies against fragmented but still troublesome Mongolian tribes to the north.
He had embroiled China in a losing battle with Annam northern Vietnam for decades most latterly due to exorbitant demands for timber to build his palace.
In addition to these foreign exploits, he had further depleted the treasury by moving the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and, with a grandeur on land to match that on sea, by ordering the construction of the magnificent Forbidden City. This project involved over a million laborers. To further fortifying the north of his empire, he pledged his administration to the enormous task of reviving and extending the Grand Canal.
This made it possible to transport grain and other foodstuffs from the rich southern provinces to the northern capital by barge, rather than by ships along the coast.
Causing further hardship were natural disasters, severe famines in Shantong and Hunan, epidemics in Fujian, plus lightning strikes that destroyed part of the newly constructed Forbidden City. In , flooding of the Yellow River left millions homeless and thousands of acres unproductive.
As a result of these disasters coupled with corruption and nonpayment of taxes by wealthy elite, China's tax base shrank by almost half over the course of the century. Furthermore the fortuitous fragmentation of the Mongol threat along China's northern borders did not last. By several tribes unified and their raids and counterattacks were to haunt the Ming Dynasty for the next two centuries until its fall, forcing military attention to be focused on the north. But the situation in the south was not much better.
Without continual diplomatic attention, pirates and smugglers again were active in the South China Sea. The Ming court was divided into many factions, most sharply into the pro-expansionist voices led by the powerful eunuch factions that had been responsible for the policies supporting Zheng Ho's voyages, and more traditional conservative Confucian court advisers who argued for frugality.
When another seafaring voyage was suggested to the court in , the vice president of the Ministry of War confiscated all of Zheng He's records in the archives, damning them as "deceitful exaggerations of bizarre things far removed from the testimony of people's eyes and ears.
Although he returned with wonderful precious things, what benefit was it to the state? Linked to eunuch politics and wasteful policies, the voyages were over. By the century's end, ships could not be built with more than two masts, and in the government ordered the destruction of all oceangoing ships. The greatest navy in history, which once had 3, ships the U. Navy today has only , was gone.
Discussion Questions. Classroom Activities. Acknowledgment: Dr. Sue Gronewald, a specialist in Chinese history, was the author of this unit. Introduction From until , the Chinese imperial eunuch Zheng He led seven ocean expeditions for the Ming emperor that are unmatched in world history. The Emperor and His Ambitions The Ming dynasty was a Chinese dynasty with a Chinese imperial family, as distinct from the dynasty that came before it the Mongol, or Yuan, dynasty of Chinggis and Khubilai Khan or the one that followed it the Manchu, or Qing, dynasty.
Preparing the Fleet China had been extending its power out to sea for years. The Seven Voyages The first expedition of this mighty armada was composed of ships, including perhaps as many as sixty huge Treasure Ships, and nearly 28, men.
The Fateful Decision Factions at court had long been critical of the Yongle emperor's extravagant ways. Discussion Questions Describe the many projects of the Yongle emperor to proclaim Ming power. Why do you think that the voyages to the west were the most grand? Why has the Yongle emperor been called one of the most active of the Ming emperors, both militarily and politically? Why did the Ming court rely so heavily on imperial eunuchs like Zheng He to carry out its policies rather than on traditional Confucian officials?
Compare China's maritime power in the fifteenth century with Europe's at that time. What was the basis for China's naval power? Why do you think that the overseas voyages were halted?
Just as important, why do you think that the Yongle emperor's attempt to reinstate the traditional tributary system was abandoned? What were some of the implications of these decisions? Classroom Activities Divide the class into seven groups.
Have each group research one of Zheng He's voyages, detailing the itinerary, the exchange of tribute and trade, and the reactions of the Chinese to the regions visited. Imagine you were a resident or a leader of one of the sites visited by Zheng He. Write journal entries or letters to the Yongle emperor to be sent with Zheng He about your impressions of the Chinese and the problems and possibilities of more contact with them.
Make a map of the trade and tribute routes of Ming China, with a key that indicates all the products that were exchanged at its borders: northeast, north, northwest, west, south, southeast, and east.
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