China has surpassed the West since the Ming DynastyThis may be a subversive view, but by digging deeper into the historical details, we may be able to uncover some striking facts. In "Has China lagged behind the West since the Ming Dynasty?".In this controversial proposition, it is necessary to re-examine history and understand the contrast between China and the West from a more comprehensive perspective.
In the debate, there is a voice that argues that China as a whole is not as backward as the West has been argued. In fact, most of Europe before the 18th century was quite poor, with only a few small states slightly prosperous. During the Middle Ages in Europe, only a few commercial city-states in southern Europe, such as Venice, Genoa, and Florence, were relatively developed, while the rest of Europe was extremely poor.
It was not until the 15th century that Portugal began to rise, and at the end of the 15th century, Spain also woke up. Although these countries were ahead of the Ming Dynasty in commerce, crafts, and so on, overall, Jiangnan prospered far more than anywhere else in Europe.
Comparing Zheng He's fleet with the Portuguese expedition fleet, we may be able to find some surprising differences. Zheng He's fleet and Portuguese overseas expeditions were carried out almost simultaneously, but the Ming Dynasty far surpassed Portugal at that time in terms of the number of crews, navigation skills, technology and sailing distance.
Unlike Portugal, which explored slowly and little by little, China had already had contacts with the Arabs and Indians, so Zheng He's fleet could easily reach the east coast of Africa with little to no exploration. This allows China to demonstrate a higher level of maritime activity, which is different from the traditional view of "Western leadership".
The glory of Zheng He's fleet is only the tip of the iceberg in history. In the 17th century, the Netherlands became the "coachman of the sea" and was the most advanced country in the world. However, Zheng Chenggong's maritime group defeated the strongest Dutch national power at that time and successfully recovered the territory during this period.
One might argue about the means and costs of Zheng Chenggong's defeat of the Dutch, but it is undeniable that China won the war at that time. War is a game of exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and Zheng Chenggong made full use of China's advantages to make the final victory very beautiful.
A re-examination of history may reveal that China did not lag behind the West across the board during the Ming Dynasty, as the conventional wisdom suggests. On the contrary, China showed its advanced side in many ways, whether it was surpassing the West in seafaring technology or defeating the Netherlands, which was the most advanced at the time, in the war. This view may provide us with a more diverse perspective on our understanding of history.
China during the Ming Dynasty may not have been a "laggard" in the eyes of the West. By revisiting the details of history, we may be able to see more clearly that China has even surpassed the West in some respects. This change in historical perception may help us better understand and respect the contributions of various civilizations throughout history.
This essay provides an in-depth analysis of a controversial topic in Chinese history, presenting a subversive view of the Ming dynasty that China did not lag behind the West across the board as the conventional wisdom suggests. Based on facts, the article attempts to present a more diversified historical picture by comparing Chinese and Western voyages and Zheng Chenggong's victories.
First, the article provides a holistic look at Europe before the 18th century, emphasizing poverty in most parts of Europe, in contrast to the traditional view. By highlighting the relative prosperity of the commercial city-states of Venice and Genoa in southern Europe, and by pointing out the poverty of vast areas in medieval Europe, it provides a foundation for the establishment of a subsequent view.
Secondly, by comparing the Chinese and Western maritime activities, the article emphasizes that the level of Chinese navigation during the Ming Dynasty surpassed that of the West. In particular, in the comparison between Zheng He's fleet and the Portuguese overseas expedition fleet, the article points out that the Ming Dynasty not only surpassed Portugal in terms of crew size, navigation technology, and technological level, but also performed well in sailing distance. This argument challenges the traditional view of the over-emphasis on Western explorers and provides a concrete case for the splendor of China during the Ming Dynasty.
Further, the article highlights China's victory in the war with the Netherlands in the 17th century through the case of Zheng Chenggong's victory. By emphasizing China's flexible use of tactics in the war and giving full play to its own advantages, the article successfully defeated one of the most advanced countries in Europe at the time, which provided a powerful response to the traditional view of questioning China's ability to do things.
From a comprehensive point of view, this article is based on objective facts, and through an in-depth analysis of historical events, it attempts to challenge some stereotypes about Chinese history in traditional views. However, I think this view needs to be considered in a broader historical context. After all, history is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and it is not possible to make a comprehensive judgment on an entire era based on just a few cases. This view has a positive effect on stimulating a rethinking of history, but it also needs to be supported by more comprehensive and in-depth research.
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