Early China: History, Legends, and Myths

Ai generate image of Hongwu Emperor, founder of Ming dynasty..

Discussion and analysis of the Sword of Guojian with an expert in Chinese antiquities, in particular with swords.


Despite all the workmanship that went to the sword, this sword wasn't mean for collection and decorative purpose. It was meant to really kill people and surely this have done so. Yue kings often fight mano o mano in battle, and some die doing so.

sunnymaxi said:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1651099139936223232

Ai generate image of Hongwu Emperor, founder of Ming dynasty..

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An impressive mausoleum.

Did Zheng He sail to Americas?

_killuminati_ said:

Did Zheng He sail to Americas?

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No.

Ancient ships relied exclusively on wind currents to move, aka the trade winds. The wind pattern from China to America is not favorable, it takes you through Japan to Siberia/Alaska before reaching the US. There was no reason for ships to move in that direction since there's no settlement known north of Japan, it's cold as hell, and the seas are especially treacherous.



Furthermore the traditional flat-cut Junk rig (as was on Zheng He's fleet) is good downwind but relatively poor going upwind. This was fine for China because most destinations were downwind and the return journey was aided by the unique nature of the Indian Ocean - the interaction between the Indian Monsoon and the Siberian High causes a seasonal reversal of trade wind direction in the Indian Ocean.

Only the Europeans who didn't have any trade winds in the Mediterranean and needed to fight against the trade winds to get to China developed sails suited for going upwind. In return their downwind performance was worse. Even then, they went with the trade winds as much as possible, which is why the Caribbeans and South America were colonized first before North America.

This is because when you go downwind, you move with the waves and so your ship ride is much smoother and less at risk of capsizing. Going into the wind results in your ship constantly climbing the waves and crashing back down. This of course means more stress on the ship hull and the likely inability to carry fragile goods. So ships going downwind are faster and can safely carry more cargo.

To bring it back to Zheng He; going from China to America would have required his fleet to sail against the wind the entire way without any known target. Going with the winds would mean skirting the Arctic waters where icebergs and rough seas await. The Europeans had both a reason (trade with China without going through the Ottomans) and favorable winds.

I watched a documentary on Netflix today called Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors. I highly recommend it.

solarz said:

Indeed, it's another commonly peddled myth that the Taiwanese retain more of Chinese culture than the Mainland.

What Taiwan inherited was really ROC culture: that is, the culture of late Qing and early Republic. The only cultural relics Taiwan have are the artifacts from the Forbidden City stolen by Jiang Jieshi and his cronies when they fled to Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the Mainland has the Terra Cotta army, the Forbidden City itself, the Great Wall, the Erlitou and Erligang archaeological sites, countless ancient temples, monasteries, and pagodas.

Although we rightly mourn for the lost heritage during China's tumultuous Cultural Revolution era, it is important to remember that, historically, cultural destruction is the norm, not the exception. Every dynastic change was accompanied by widespread destruction, followed by a rapid renewal and progress to even greater heights. The Golden Age of Tang occurred after nearly 400 years of constant strife and warfare.

Just as a forest fire clears the land for new growth, the historical cycle of cultural destruction and renewal is what allows the Chinese civilization to achieve progress all the while retaining an unbroken tie to its far, mythical, origins.

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As far as I can determine, the Cultural Revolution did not destroy anything significant. Several monasteries (out of hundreds) were pulled down, but there were no Red Guards involved.