About the Speaker

Sara Schneewind, Sarah Schneewind, Professor of History, University of California at San Diego.

Slides for Classroom Use

China’s Ming Voyages: The Truth about the Maritime Expeditions Led by Zheng He – PowerPoint [18 MB]

Teaching Guide

Outline & Key Points for Teachers

Background Reading and Classroom Material

Videos and Podcasts

“Zheng He”: The Great Voyager, 1405-1433 [YouTube 5 min]
A short 5-minute video focusing on Zheng He’s life, accomplishments, and background as a Muslim.

Ming Banknote: History of the World in 100 Objects [BBC: UK]
AUDIO 15 min (with transcript) Ming Banknote: The Threshold of the Modern World (1375-1550 AD), Episode 2 of 5: Neil MacGregor’s history of the world is exploring the great empires of around 1500 – the threshold of the modern era.

The Sultan’s Lost Treasure [PBS/NOVA]
The companion Web site to “Sultan’s Lost Treasure,” originally broadcast on January 16, 2001.

Matteo Ricci and the Ming Dynasty [BBC: UK]
AUDIO 43 min (with transcript) Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest who in the 16th century led a Christian mission to China.

Great Voyages: Zheng He [U of Pennsylvania of Archaeology and Anthropology] 48 min Youtube Dr. Adam Smith, Assistant Curator, Asian Section, kicks off the 2013–2014 “Great Lectures” series.

Lesson Plans and Curriculum Units
Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor, 1587 [Reacting to the Past, Barnard]
This game is set in the Hanlin Academy in Ming dynasty China and brings to life the suppleness and power of Confucian thought.

Cross-Cultural Connections: Astronomy and the Jesuits in China [PDF] [China Institute]
Unit K from the curriculum guide From Silk to Oil: Cross-cultural Connections along the Silk Roads asks, “What was the importance of astronomy to the pre-modern Chinese state and people?”

The Court of the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644 [Asia Art Museum]

Map of the Imperial Ming Palace in Nanjing [China Institute/China360online]
A map of the imperial city.

Medieval Travelers Lesson Plan [Indian Ocean website]
Lesson that includes Zheng He as well as other travelers of the Medieval period, from the Indian Ocean website.

School Primer from the Ming [Columbia University Starr Library]
A Ming dynasty primer for teaching children the Chinese language.

Homes during the Ming [Visual Sourcebook, U of Washington]
Prepared by UW history professor Patricia Buckley Ebrey, includes images, questions for discussion, timelines, maps, and suggested readings throughout.

Chinese Gardens during the Ming [Visual Sourcebook, U of Washington]
This particular unit discusses the origins, design, social uses, and aesthetics of Chinese garden design, which reached its fullest development during the late Ming.

Primary Sources with DBQs

“An Imperial Edit Restraining Officials from Evil” by the Hongwu Emperor [PDF] [AFE]

“Village Ordinances – Excerpts” from the Ming dynasty [PDF] [AFE]

Empress Xu’s Instructions for the Inner Quarters (for women) – Excerpts [PDF] [AFE]
Instructions issued by, Empress Xu, the third wife of the Ming Yongle emperor.

Neo-Confucianism during the Ming – Primary Sources with DBQ [AFE]
Several primary source excerpts focusing on revived Confucianism during the Ming, with DBQ for students.

Articles and Books

The Indian Ocean and Global Trade (in History) [Aramco WORLD]
Discusses the monsoon trading system between the years 750 and 1500. Features articles on the monsoon system, early tales of China, Zheng He, Sindbad, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Ahmad Ibn Majid. July/Aug 2005

“Passage to China” by Amartya Sen [NY Review of Books]
Explores the historical intellectual links between China and India and their significance over the last two thousand years. Looks at the spread of Buddhism from India to China and its displacement by Confucianism and Taoism a thousand years later. Discusses broader connections between the two countries, important for political and social issues today. Dec. 2, 2004

“1492: The Prequel” by Nicholas D. Kristof [NY Times Magazine]
“Decades before Columbus, Zheng He sailed from China with 300 ships and 28,000 men. His fleet got as far as Africa and could easily have reached America, but the Chinese turned back. What happened?” Nicholas Kristof reporting his findings from the coast of Kenya.

“Rebuilding a Treasure Ship” by Mara Hvistendahl [Archaeology Magazine]
Using 15th-century techniques, shipbuilder Fang Jiebo works on ribs for a reproduction of a massive “treasure ship” captained by the Muslim eunuch explorer Zheng He. Modern Chinese officials want to use Zheng He’s legacy to shape perceptions of their country’s rise to global prominence. March/April 2008.

“Chinese Trade in the Indian Ocean during the Ming Dynasty” [Asia Society]
Background article for teachers and students.

Matteo Ricci and the Wanli Emperor of the Ming [Wikipedia]
Entry on Italian Jesuit priest, Matteo Ricci, who became an adviser to the imperial court of the Ming dynasty Wanli Emperor in 1601. Ricci was reputed to be “the first Westerner to be invited into the Forbidden City…in recognition of Ricci’s scientific abilities, chiefly his predictions of solar eclipses, which were significant events in the Chinese world.”

A Tale of Two Melons: Emperor and Subject in Ming China by Sarah Schneewind [Hackett Publishing]
A commoner presents the emperor with a lucky omen from his garden; the repercussions provide the background for an engaging introduction to Ming Dynasty, including its founding; the character of the first emperor; the role of omens in court politics; the structure of central and local governments (including the civil service examination system); the power elite families; the roles of women; filial piety; and the concept of ling or efficacy in Chinese religion.

The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, by Timothy Brook [U of California Press]
During the Ming Dynasty, China, not Europe, was the center of the world. The European voyages of exploration were searching not just for new lands but also for new trade routes to the Far East. The book explores the changing landscape of life over the three centuries of the Ming (1368-1644), when China was transformed from a closely administered agrarian realm into a place of commercial profits and intense competition for status.