Word: emperors
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...brief interlude, Zheng He challenged such conservative tendencies. By the end of his fleet's seven voyages, China had become an unrivaled naval power. As a result of the expeditions, the Emperor in Nanjing (and later Beijing when the capital was moved north in 1420) commanded the fear and respect of leaders throughout South and Southeast Asia. China had established itself as a trade and diplomatic force, its authority backed up by the thousands of troops who accompanied Zheng He on his travels. If countries could be said to "own" centuries - the 20th century is often viewed as America...
...facilitated grain transport and other internal commerce in gentle inland waters, obviating the need for an ocean route. And the tax burden of maintaining a big fleet was severe. But the decision to scuttle the great ships was in large part political. With the death of Yongle, the Emperor who sent Zheng He on his voyages, the conservatives began their ascendancy. China suspended naval expeditions. By century's end, construction of any ship with more than two masts was deemed a capital offense. Oceangoing vessels were destroyed. Eventually, even records of Zheng He's journey were torched. China's heroic...
...more than a historical curiosity. Through the centuries, China has struggled to find its proper place in the world. The pendulum has shifted back and forth between openness and insularity, between the spirit embodied in Zheng He and that of, say, Yang Rong, the Confucian tutor to the Emperor who argued for rolling back the power of eunuch adventurers like Zheng He. The Confucians won; China wouldn't emerge again as a naval force until the past decade or so, as it began to build up a sizable fleet, probe disputed islands like the Spratlys and project a presence...
...battery-driven cars or carts drawn by horses or camels. Despite fixed rates, overcharging is the norm. The drivers are rude, the hiring and negotiating shambolic. Flies swarm the animals and the dung they liberally scatter across the potholed roads. When you reach the entrance to the mausoleum that Emperor Shah Jahan built for his second wife, Queen Mumtaz Mahal, hawkers touting miniature Taj Mahals, bottled water and postcards, add to the chaos. You may shake them off, but you won't escape being stung at the ticket counter. Foreigners are expected to pay $20 rather than...
...established genre. Chinese directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige have succeeded on the international art-house circuit, but their movies are either banned in China because of sensitive political content (the fate of To Live) or they've failed with domestic audiences because of their musty themes (The Emperor and the Assassin). Feng makes the light-hearted comedies that draw the big Chinese crowds. Unlike Zhang and Chen, Feng eschews sweeping epic dramas with brocaded courtesans or peasants tilling unforgiving earth, preferring to tell tales of China's glorious, go-go present. His characters are tour guides and Ikea-shopping...