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Louise LevathesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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As Zhu Di worked to consolidate his power around the world, the Chinese interacted with many other peoples and nations. Through trade and military action, Zhu Di subdued or neutralized some of the dangerous groups to the north. Some groups required supplies from the Chinese and thus were willing to submit to the emperor’s dominance. The author writes that “[p]rofit was the main motive for Mongolian tribute missions to the Ming court, and professional traders always accompanied the diplomatic envoys” (128). In other cases, Zhu Di granted military titles to the groups’ leaders, imputing a sense of importance to them. In such fashion, he stabilized relations with Uriyangqad Mongols near Beijing, some of the Jurchen tribes in Manchuria to the northeast, and Timurids to the west. The Chinese had less success with the Oirats in the northwest and the eastern Mongols, close to China’s border, but for much of Zhu Di’s reign a virtual détente existed with neighboring territories.
The emperor also interacted with Tibet’s various religious leaders, forging a close relationship with the fifth karmapa who visited the court at Nanjing. Furthermore, Levathes describes “the sojourns across the Yellow Sea to bring back hundreds of Korean virgins for the imperial harem” (131). She explains the Chinese emperors’ complex relationships with their wives and concubines and the belief that the sexual energies of male and female—symbolized by yang and yin—affected an emperor’s health. Under Daoism, adherents believed that a combination of sexual relations with both young women and a variety of different women maintained the emperor’s “true yang,” which added years to his life. This was the source of the court’s demand for so many Korean virgins, considered very beautiful, as part of that nation’s tribute.
The author outlines the reign of Zhu Di at the height of his power in the 1410s, a period that encompasses the fourth, fifth, and sixth expeditions of the treasure fleet. The largest to date, fourth voyage departed in early 1414. Zheng He and his crew made the usual stops for trade purposes but then went farther west, all the way to Strait of Hormuz off the coast of present-day Iran. It’s unclear why this destination was chosen, but Hormuz was known to be a source of luxury items such as gemstones and pearls. In addition, local leaders gave exotic animals like lions and giraffes as tribute to take back to the emperor. The fleet arrived home in mid-1415.
At this auspicious moment in his reign—as the emperor’s successes reflected the approval of the heavens—Zhu Di decided to move the capital back to Beijing from Nanjing. He spent his youth in the northern city and wished to create a court of immense grandeur. This enormous undertaking took several years and involved over one million workers in the capital, plus thousands of others across the country.
In early 1417, the treasure fleet set sail again, in part to return the many visiting emissaries picked up from various countries during the previous voyage. They were given parting gifts as a sign of good will between their countries and the dragon throne. After stops in Indonesia and India, the fleet sailed as far as Aden in Yemen, where Zheng He met with the sultan and exchanged gifts. From there, the fleet proceeded down the African coast for the first time in its travels, to places like Somalia and Malindi. They returned to China in the summer of 1419 with more ambassadors from foreign lands.
Two years later, a sixth expedition returned this group of emissaries. This time, Zheng He only went as far as Sumatra, while a eunuch under him continued on to Aden and the African coast. Zheng probably cut short his participation so he could be back in China for the official dedication of the new capital in 1420.
Here, the author relates the sudden turn of events that abruptly interrupted the emperor’s long run of success, writing that “[t]he months after the dedication of the Forbidden City should have been a time of great joy for the emperor. Instead, trouble festered like an infected wound” (155). That spring, a favorite concubine died, a sex scandal led to a palace purge resulting in the killings of over 2,500 concubines and eunuchs, and the emperor had a riding accident. However, the most foreboding incident was a serious fire in the Forbidden City—the emperor’s court in the new capital—caused by a lightning strike.
The fire was a bad omen. Citizens often read such events as a sign that an emperor lost the favor of the heavens and that a dynastic change was imminent. Suddenly, Zhu Di questioned everything he had done. He wondered if the foreign excursions were a sign of overreach and if the new capital was a waste of the resources collected from his subjects, putting too much burden on them. He sought input from his advisers and tried to make amends to appease the gods, including a tax reduction and a hold on all foreign travel.
In the midst of this, the emperor led three separate military campaigns against the Tartars to the northwest, who refusing to pay tribute. In 1424, Zhu Di died on the way home from the third campaign. His eldest son, Zhu Gaozhi, became the next emperor. Raised in Nanjing, Zhu Gaozhi was far more studious than adventurous. He was greatly influenced by his Confucian tutors and advisers, who subscribed to a narrower focus of ruling than did the eunuchs with whom Zhu Di surrounded himself. Thus, among the new emperor’s first actions were to end the voyages of the treasure ships and to return to agriculture-based policies. He gave attention to the land and people within China’s borders. Then, only a year into his reign, Zhu Gaozhi died suddenly, probably from a heart attack.
This set of chapters lays out in more detail how Zhu Di consolidated regional power through a mix of trade, diplomacy, and war. Several groups of peoples on China’s northern borders presented constant threats. It’s worth remembering that Mongols to the north defeated the Chinese Song rulers and set up their own dynasty—the Yuan—preceding the Ming; likewise, Manchus from the northeast would eventually defeat the Ming to create China’s final dynasty, the Qing. Therefore, the emperor made continual efforts to keep these groups at bay. Levathes explains how trade with the Mongols was sufficient to avoid conflict, given that the Mongols were mostly interested in making a profit, and the Chinese had goods they needed. Other rebels accepted titles from the emperor in exchange for keeping the peace. Still others were too hostile to be subdued without military might. It was a delicate balance to maintain.
In terms of the treasure fleet voyages, the majority of the activity involved trade. Chapter 8 describes how the fleet picked up emissaries from as far away as Africa and took them back to Nanjing, where they stayed for up to two years. They brought with them gifts to the emperor as tribute, in deference to the dominant role China played in the region and to maintain favorable trading status. These included exotic animals from Africa like lions, zebras, and giraffes. The last represented the qilin, an animal from Chinese folklore that symbolized good fortune, a sign that the emperor’s rule was prosperous and favorable. This intricate series of gestures kept smooth relations with nations in China’s sphere of influence. That this included most of Asia, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean supports the book’s theme that China was poised to dominate the world, including Europe, at this point.
Chapter 9 is the turning point in the story, indicating why this dominance was not to be. Bad omens, according to the Chinese way of thinking, brought back the old debate of whether to focus attention within China or outward with trade. Zhu Di’s death led to the Confucian bureaucrats gaining the upper hand at court, but the next emperor’s unexpected early death temporarily halted this. For a decade the direction of the court fluctuated, largely influenced by the happenstance of untimely deaths. Levathes’ narrative clearly shows how the fate of the treasure ships—and by extension, China’s future—hung in the balance.