Final Paper

Agenda

• Imperial growth

• Primary Source Analysis: Ma Huan

• HW: finish Chap 2

• HW: quiz #3 (due tomorrow at 11:59 pm)

• HW: Writing Assignment due Thurs at 11:59 PM

- How do empires affect

environment?

- cultural values

- economic policies

- political ideology

Effects of Mongol Invasion - Culture: preferred grasslands

(horses)

- Destroyed farms, irrigation,

cities

- Cut down trees

- Steppe landscape returned

- 1279: Song China conquered

(not destroyed)

Return of the Han

• 1294: Kubilai Khan dies

Mongols retreat  steppes

• 1368: Ming dynasty

• Culture: Confucian

• Continues markets

• Ends international trade

(initially)

How do markets & trade affect environment?

Economic: Markets

• Markets multiply people’s environmental effect

• Markets lead to specialization

• Specialization leads to monoculture

• Artificially increase demand on producers

Markets • Earlier dynasties (Zhou & Tang) had markets but HIGHLY controlled • Establishment, operation, prices

• Mongols encouraged trade between Europe and other regions

• First Ming emperor  Confucian values • agriculture • specialization & monoculture

Ming dynasty

Lots of rivers =

lots of agriculture

Political: Grand

Canal = southern

agriculture feeds

northern defense

when Beijing

becomes new

Ming capital

Beijing 

Agriculture as

military conquest in

SW Yunnan province

“tun-tian”

- Political: Farmers

‘colonize’ land and

soldiers defend

Beijing 

- How do empires affect

environment?

- cultural values

- economic policies

- political ideology

DISCUSS AN EXAMPLE

OF EACH WITH YOUR

PARTNER

BE PREPARED TO SHARE

Approaching Primary Sources

C: context

A: audience

R: reliability

P: purpose

Ma Huan, “The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores”

• Accompanied Zheng He on three expeditions • Possibly 32 on first expedition (1412)

• Rather educated • Work familiar with Chinese classics, Buddhist

texts

• At some point converted to Islam • Knew Arabic, therefore, translator on trip to

Hormuz

• Compiled new accounts after each voyage • He never became famous – works not widely read after his death (1480)

HOW DOES HE DESCRIBE:

PEOPLE?

GEOGRAPHY?

NATURAL RESOURCES?

HOW DO PEOPLE

INTERACT WITH

ENVIRONMENT?

DO WE NOTICE MA

HUAN’S POINT OF VIEW?

To Do

•HW: finish Chap 2

•HW: quiz #3 (Wed 11:59 pm)

•Writing Assignment due Thurs @ 11:59 pm