We should celebrate the voyages of Zheng He because he overcame great odds in childhood, castrated by the Ming Dynasty, he traveled over 100,000 miles with very little technology, he managed a total of 37,500 men, managed a four hundred feet boat, he was a great leader to his soldiers, and created cultural diffusion in China. Zheng He overcame great odds in childhood was by in 1381, a ten year old boy named Ma He from Yunan Province in southern China watched his father died at the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also taken into prisoner to serve the Emperor’s son, Prince Zhu Di. However before serving the emperor’s son was by being castrated and to join (forced) the thousands of eunuchs. Zheng He served the prince well and rose in the ranks of the
For a brief time in world history, China dominated maritime exploration. Even though quite unintentionally, a previous century’s invention of the magnetic compass played a pivotal and facilitating role and provided Chinese sailors a two-hundred-year head start over their European counterparts. However, it was not until blending those navigational advancements of the day, together with nautical technologies of shipbuilding architecture and propulsion found China readily thrust to the forefront. Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty desired to leverage those technologies to construct an immense armada attesting to the court’s military prowess. Supported by a backdrop of politically favorable winds and a generous endowment, the Emperor commissioned the undertaking of explorations to an experienced Admiral named Zheng He.
Yang Kwija’s “Cold Water Pass” is another work by him that does not conform to the ideals of utility by showing how a family is negatively affected by the state of their society rather than showing how the majority is prospering. “Cold Water Pass” follows the story of a family in which the father died and left them with a lot of debt and had to be taken care of by their older brother despite their financial difficulties. During this story when their mother was talking about their struggles, she said that “’Weren’t for your big brother, we would have starved.’ Mother often recalled her eldest son’s labors, and it was true. Like a cloud drifting in the sky, Father cared only for otherworldly things and died suddenly, leaving behind intense poverty,
In my opinion, Chi Li views the serpent’s victims as “timid” and “pitiful” (WM 333) because she thinks they lacked the proper strength and courage to bring about the serpent’s demise. She expected them to be clever, as she is, and to be unafraid to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their people. I think Chi Li’s attitude towards them is very realistic. Human beings tend their lives in a “bubble”. They recognize what is important to them, what their skills and talents are, and what they believe to be right and wrong.
Amadou Hampaté Bâ is extremely detailed throughout the book, The Fortunes of Wangrin, in explaining the colonial world in West African societies. He provides multiple examples in this work of fiction that precisely describe the factual aspects of African colonialism that we have discussed in class. I will point out a few of the examples that Bâ uses such as: limitations colonial governments set on Africans, the Métis relationships within colonies, and issues that arose, not only between Europeans and Africans, but within the native African communities as well. I will then point out certain details from the book that do not perfectly reflect the components of colonialism that we have studied in lecture.
Hugh realizes that even if the people of the higher class are given the knowledge that he and some other lower class people have the potential to have a way better life, they do not care enough to assist them. It makes Hugh realize that there is no hope for him unless he somehow finds a way to get one thing: ‘“Hugh, it is true! Money ull do it! Oh, Hugh, boy, listen till me! He said it true!
By saying “the further it flows...through rich veins... to improve...qualities” she reveals to her son that while traveling he should take advantage to improve himself. He is privileged to do this by experiencing enriching opportunities such as immersion in new cultures, improving his language skills, and listening and leading from his very intelligent father. Also on this paragraph she sets expectations for her son. She reveals “you, my son, that, as you are favored with superior advantages under the instructive eye of a tender parent, your improvement should be there some proportion to your advantages.” Therefore, she expects her son to work hard and take advantage of this opportunity because he was born into a wealthy and noble family where everything in life has been given to
Fantastical Realization Fantasy and fiction flood most of our childhood but, the older a child gets, the quicker fiction turns to fact as slowly but surely, the rug of fantastical imagination is pulled out beneath them. This is exactly the case in Li-Young Lee’s short poem A Story. A Story is about a father who struggles to tell stories to his son, but as the boy grows older, his coming of age begins to make their relationship complex. Even though the complexity of the relationship is never directly stated, Lee shows this idea through point of view and literary devices. found in the poem.
The Ripple Effect of Ignorance - Yin Chin Maracle chooses to display the ripple effect of racism by shedding light on the unjust treatment of the First Nations and Chinese people by writing a story of a First Nation who grew up in a mixed neighborhood that is flooded with prejudice and stereotypes. Maracle further challenges the recurring stereotypes of societal views of minority groups by addressing them through the speaker’s point of view. While sounding like a stereotypical Chinese name or word, the title “Yin Chin” stems from the related sounding word Injun, a way to describe a stereotypical First Nations man or woman who is a “savage warrior” (Churchill 1998). The word dates back to the early settlement of English colonists as a way
He makes his family out to have followed the original way to wealth, hard work instead of the noble stature his family believes in coming down from
Throughout the writing “The Rich Brother,” the speaker tells of two brothers who are very different in the way they live their lives. One brother named Pete had a wife and good job that has brought him money and a nice way of life. The other brother Donald, however, was poor,
Street and commercial photography are two very different styles with different intentions yet they sometimes have a few things in common. These two styles can be portrayed in so many different ways. I will be comparing and contrasting the work of Zun Lee, a street photographer who specialises in portraiture and Matthew Coughlin, a commercial photographer who also specialises in portraiture. Portraiture may be a standout platform amongst the most established types of visual representation. A portrait is a picture about an individual; it may be a painting, photograph or an other alternative representation.
Stories are the foundation of relationships. They represent the shared lessons, the memories, and the feelings between people. But often times, those stories are mistakenly left unspoken; often times, the weight of the impending future mutes the stories, and what remains is nothing more than self-destructive questions and emotions that “add up to silence” (Lee. 23). In “A Story” by Li-Young Lee, Lee uses economic imagery of the transient present and the inevitable and fear-igniting future, a third person omniscient point of view that shifts between the father’s and son’s perspective and between the present and future, and emotional diction to depict the undying love between a father and a son shadowed by the fear of change and to illuminate the damage caused by silence and the differences between childhood and adulthood perception. “A Story” is essentially a pencil sketch of the juxtaposition between the father’s biggest fear and the beautiful present he is unable to enjoy.
Critical Analysis “Comment Wang-Fô fut sauvé” by Marguerite Yourcenar The text that I have decided to study is “Comment Wang-Fô fut sauvé” by Marguerite Yourcenar. The extract is located after the first paragraph at the beginning of the story. We are introduced to the characters Ling, Ling’s wife and Wang-Fô .
Portuguese traders began arriving in China around 1515. They were interested in trading new goods but also intended to spread Christianity, so they brought Jesuits along with them. Matteo Ricci, the leader of the Jesuits, aimed to convert members of the elite, who he hoped would then assist in spreading his religion among the Chinese people. The Jesuits were highly educated and served the Ming and Qing emperors as advisers, astronomers, cartographers, and painters, but they were generally unsuccessful in converting. They attempted to explain how the people can believe in both Confucian and Christian teachings.
