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The famous voyages of [[Zheng He]] were undertaken in the early Ming, as well. Zheng journeyed across the Indian Ocean on a series of trips from [[1405]]-[[1433]], ostensibly spreading awareness of the power and virtue of the Chinese Emperor, seeking nominal pledges of submission and tribute, and bringing back numerous luxuries, including exotic animals.

The famous voyages of [[Zheng He]] were undertaken in the early Ming, as well. Zheng journeyed across the Indian Ocean on a series of trips from [[1405]]-[[1433]], ostensibly spreading awareness of the power and virtue of the Chinese Emperor, seeking nominal pledges of submission and tribute, and bringing back numerous luxuries, including exotic animals.

By sometime early in the dynasty, Chinese luxury goods were already widely traded and treasured in distant parts of the world. Silks and porcelains in particular were prized by wealthy elites from India to Iberia. Ming traders operating chiefly out of the ports of [[Hangzhou]], [[Quanzhou]], and [[Guangzhou]] sailed to the [[Pescadores]], [[Taiwan]], [[Kyushu]], the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyus]], [[Luzon]], and other parts of maritime Southeast Asia, while Chinese ports and coastal towns grew and flourished as sites of import and transshipment of goods from all around the world, as well.<ref>Tignor, Elman, et al, 430.</ref>

By sometime early in the dynasty, Chinese luxury goods were already widely traded and treasured in distant parts of the world. Silks and porcelains in particular were prized by wealthy elites from India to Iberia. Ming traders operating chiefly out of the ports of [[Hangzhou]], [[Quanzhou]], and [[Guangzhou]] sailed to the [[Pescadores]], [[Taiwan]], [[Kyushu]], the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyus]], [[Luzon]], and other parts of maritime Southeast Asia, while Chinese ports and coastal towns grew and flourished as sites of import and transshipment of goods from all around the world, as well.<ref>Tignor, Elman, et al, 430.</ref> Every year, as many as one hundred Chinese ships, with 20,000 tons of cargo space between them, sailed for Southeast Asian ports, bringing back thousands of pieces of silver, plus a myriad of tropical products. Chinese activity at [[Batavia]] (Jakarta) alone exceeded the entirety of the [[VOC|Dutch East India Company's]] operations throughout the region.<ref>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 24.</ref>

==The Fall of the Ming==

==The Fall of the Ming==