Quote:
Originally Posted by Parihaka
It fascinates me. I've never read a good explanation of why China closed up after Zheng He, any ideas?
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I've heard various explanations along the following lines:
1. Money - China still had to defend against the Mongols, and Zheng He's expeditions weren't exactly cheap
2. Power struggle - Zheng He was a Muslim enuch and as such wasn't exactly loved by Confucian officials. After his death, court officials wanted to destroy his legacy and concocted a bunch of ******** reasons to do it.
3. Threat to central control - The Ming dynasty emperors were notoriously authoritarian. The chaos and freedom of the open seas were a direct threat to their absolute control in the coastal provinces.
As usual in history, the real reason was probably some combination of all three plus additional factors we do not / will never know about.
