1. Social Policy and Social Practice in Ming and Qing

2. Song dynasty 960-1279 Song Liao Turkic Tribes Xi Xia Tibetan Tribes
Song State
Song dynasty
Dali

6. Zhu Yuanzhang 1328-98 Emperor Taizu Ming dynasty founder

7. Population change

10. Zhu Di, 3rd Ming emperor, r. 1403-1425

11. the routes of Zheng He’s seven fleets

13. Chinese and European trading routes in 15th century

14. Zheng He’s ( AD) 7 major expeditions between 1405 AD and 1430 AD. A fleet might have as many as 28,000 people on 300 ships. The largest of the ships had a length of 440 Chinese feet and a width of 180 (dwarfing Columbus' Santa Maria (75 ft x 25 ft) more than 6-fold), it took 1000 passengers and crew.
for pic on right
Biography from
Zheng He was a Muslim eunuch who served as a close confidant of the Yongle Emperor of China (reigned ), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Originally named Ma Sanbao (馬 三保), he came from Yunnan province. He belonged to the Semur minority, who are originally from Central Asia, and practice Islam. Both his father and grandfather have travelled on pilgrimage to Mecca, and no doubt he heard them recounting tales of travels to far away lands. After the Ming army conquered Yunnan, he was taken captive, and castrated, thus becoming a eunuch. The name Zheng He was given by the emperor. He studied at Nanjing Taixue (The Imperial Central College). His missions showed impressive demonstrations of organizational capability and technological might, but did not lead to significant trade, since Zheng He was an admiral and an official, not a merchant. Zheng He sailed to Malacca in the 15th century and brought with him a princess of China, Princess Hang Li Po. She was to marry to the king of Malacca. The princess came with her 1,500 servants who eventually settled in Bukit Cina in Malacca. The descendants of these people are known today as Baba (the male title) and Nyonya (the female title). (MP) in the twelfth year of Yongle (1414 AD).
In 1424 the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Hongxi (reigned ), decided to curb the influence of the eunuchs at court. Zheng He made one more voyage under the Xuande Emperor (reigned ), but after that Chinese treasure ship fleets ended