In the early 15th Century, Ming China was the the most technologically advanced nation and the greatest naval power in the world. Huge fleets of ocean-going junks traveled as far as the east coast of Africa and China traded actively with Europe and the Islamic world. And then, suddenly, they just brought the fleets home, dismantled them, and isolated themselves. As a result they fell farther and farther behind technologically, and became easy prey for western powers.
The most frequently cited cause for this isolation was a power struggle between the court eunuchs, who favored expansionism and trade, and the Confucian scholars, who claimed that such policies were fiscally wasteful and brought no great advantage to China. In the end, the scholars won, and China withdrew into itself.
But how could this have been otherwise? And if China does not withdraw into itself, how does that affect history? Do we have, perhaps, a nation sort of like Japan in the late 19th and 20th centuries, only much bigger and much more dangerous to the rest of the world? Any ideas?
The most frequently cited cause for this isolation was a power struggle between the court eunuchs, who favored expansionism and trade, and the Confucian scholars, who claimed that such policies were fiscally wasteful and brought no great advantage to China. In the end, the scholars won, and China withdrew into itself.
But how could this have been otherwise? And if China does not withdraw into itself, how does that affect history? Do we have, perhaps, a nation sort of like Japan in the late 19th and 20th centuries, only much bigger and much more dangerous to the rest of the world? Any ideas?