not too certain on how tis would work, but at a quick guess, I would say that a second mongol empire that annexes a large tracts of chinese territory or something about equally tremendous is what it would take to pull the ming burocrats off of their high horse and interest them in colonisation.
Fusang (a semi-legendary land described as far to the east of China) is generally what I use though I am sure Hendryk or another board sinophile can come up with something better.I wonder what they would have called it? Anyone know Chinese? Can you think of a good name for North America?
One would think that Lewis & Clark, not to mention the Russian and British expeditions to the area, would be observant enough to locate it . . .Oddly, for a while I thought about a TL where the Southern Ming reach Vancouver around 1700. Hilarity ensued in the 1840s as the Americans reached the Rockies to find a meritocratic industrialized society.
One would think that Lewis & Clark, not to mention the Russian and British expeditions to the area, would be observant enough to locate it . . .