The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving Essay

The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving - Essay Example Apparently, the initiation of the voyages marked a great Chinese historical period in cultural exchanges and trade. The number of ships in each fleet that Zheng led to the Western Sea had about 40 to 60 ships and over 27,000 people. In each envoy, Zheng acted as the business representative and herald of the Ming court. The voyages navigated through various countries where Zheng stopped and presented gifts to the rulers as a perfect way of enhacing cooperation and relationships. Unfortunately, in 1424, Yongle Emperor who was the sponsor of the expensive voyages was murdered in a skirmish touching the Mongols. Zheng could hardly undertake any other voyages, and set out for his last voyage in 1429 before the Hongxi Emperor who succeeded Yongle Emperor banned the voyages in 1433 on the grounds that they were a misappropriation of resources and money. While the emperor did this to circumvent China from external influence, it limited china’s development by cutting trade with the outside world, and advanced Europeans could easily target China (Jessie, 2). It is evident that Chinese voyages had cr eated great contribution to the Chinese culture and Economy and the decision of stopping more voyages was undeniably wrong. The Chinese society could have been improved much better if Hongxi Emperor did not stop the voyages. The voyages greatly contributed to growth of trade between China and the outside world as well as spreading Chinese culture to the outside world, factors that contributed to the growth of China. In the ships, there was a myriad of special Chinese products that were meant for the foreign countries such as India and coast of Africa. These included skein, newly established celadon, enamelware, gauze, and brocade. Noteworthy, during the Tang Dynasty, people in China had already understood the technology of making glass to be heat resistant through addition of