When China Ruled the Seas

As Zhu Di worked to consolidate his power around the world, the Chinese interacted with many other peoples and nations. Through trade and military action, Zhu Di subdued or neutralized some of the dangerous groups to the north. Some groups required supplies from the Chinese and thus were willing to submit to the emperor’s dominance. The author writes that “[p]rofit was the main motive for Mongolian tribute missions to the Ming court, and professional traders always accompanied the diplomatic envoys” (128). In other cases, Zhu Di granted military titles to the groups’ leaders, imputing a sense of importance to them. In such fashion, he stabilized relations with Uriyangqad Mongols near Beijing, some of the Jurchen tribes in Manchuria to the northeast, and Timurids to the west. The Chinese had less success with the Oirats in the northwest and the eastern Mongols, close to China’s border, but for much of Zhu Di’s reign a virtual détente existed with neighboring territories.

The emperor also interacted with Tibet’s various religious leaders, forging a close relationship with the fifth karmapa who visited the court at Nanjing. Furthermore, Levathes describes “the sojourns across the Yellow Sea to bring back hundreds of Korean virgins for the imperial harem” (131).