Flashermac Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 ... Prof Geoff Wade, a historian who has translated Ming documents relating to Zheng's voyages, disputes the portrayal of a benign adventurer. He says the historical records show the treasure fleets carried sophisticated weaponry and participated in at least three major military actions; in Java, Sumatra and Sri Lanka. "Because there is virtually no critical analysis of these texts even now - history writing is still in the hands of the state - it's very difficult for Chinese people to conceive of the state as being dangerous, expansionist, or offensive in any way to its neighbours. "Chinese nationalism is fed on ignorance of its past relations. The way Zheng He is being represented is part of this." ... Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 Why anyone trusts these people is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted July 31, 2010 Report Share Posted July 31, 2010 Peaceful explorator...like Cortez or Pizarro maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 ... the weapons were to deal with the Somali pirates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 The fleets of ships that sailed from China in the 1400's had soldiers aboard. From the books I read, China was not out to conquer as much as to setup trade with other countries. If they ran into trouble, that's when the soldiers came in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 The British Empire didn't set out to conquer either, just trade. But if the wogs wouldn't cooperate, one had to take them over for their own good. Unlike the French, Spanish and Portuguese who made no pretence of having lofty ideals... The US government had some serious soul searching when it came to annexing the Philippine Islands in 1898. Fortunately, in the end greed won out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 ... but the Spanish were on a mission for god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Mammon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 Was the Philippine-American war the first 'dirty' war the USA led....was a pretty dirty one IMO -> should wa say the USA built 'concentration camps'? Sorry my bad, these were internment camps -> probably one of the reasons the number of Filipinos passed from 9 million to maybe 8 million by the end of the war.... Anyway the Ming empire was of course a peaceful nation..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizardKing Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 If you really want to have fun, tell a Malay that he's the guy who introduced Islam to Malaysia and watch their heads explode because he was Chinese... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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