WI: Admiral Zheng He Discovers Europe

As far as I understood these treasure ships were ocean goiing. And about quality of armor I don't doubt the quality of armore of Europe.
The ocean gooing chinese ships of that day were much larger than the Cog of the Europeans. Also the ships in the Chinese fleet had different tasks. Some of them were only to have cattle on board. The Chinese also ahd some understanding of the need of fresh food, so when they made land fall, even after a long period offshore they were not the under fed, desease ridden half rotting men, and women as the Europeans after that long period.

The fully armored European warrior of this time peroid was superiour to anything else. But all is about impression and looks, And I think, even the European courts of that day were bright and collorfull the Cinese can make an impression.
To call the Chinese just undisiplined peasant levies, I think this is an under estimation of them.
Small doubt if the Chinse were impersed of Europe, but what about the Europeans?
 
Parma

Given the reports they were ocean going, although how far they could get in some of the rougher waters I'm less certain. Even Menzies's book seems to point to the larger ships being largely relegated to travelling with the winds and being rather unmanouverable and there seems to have been a huge casualty rate. One voyage I think he reported only a single ship returned to China. [It was unclear whether this was only one ship or one treasure ship from the multitude involved].

Steve

As far as I understood these treasure ships were ocean goiing. And about quality of armor I don't doubt the quality of armore of Europe.
The ocean gooing chinese ships of that day were much larger than the Cog of the Europeans. Also the ships in the Chinese fleet had different tasks. Some of them were only to have cattle on board. The Chinese also ahd some understanding of the need of fresh food, so when they made land fall, even after a long period offshore they were not the under fed, desease ridden half rotting men, and women as the Europeans after that long period.

The fully armored European warrior of this time peroid was superiour to anything else. But all is about impression and looks, And I think, even the European courts of that day were bright and collorfull the Cinese can make an impression.
To call the Chinese just undisiplined peasant levies, I think this is an under estimation of them.
Small doubt if the Chinse were impersed of Europe, but what about the Europeans?
 
They are ocean going, only they could not sail against the wind, I read the book of Menzies too ;)
That why a wrote that, if they would make it to Europe they probably came from the West.
Rounding the Cape of Africa, and then taken by wind and current first to South America or the Carabieen. From there taken again by current and wind to Europe.
But the threat was, how would Europe react, not if its possible or not. What would be the impact on Europe and China
 
The treasure ships, as far as I know, were not ocean worthy; doing the straits of Magellan with those would be suicide. .

I don't get it, why do they have to go through the strait of Magellan? Why can't they just go around Africa as the Portuguese did in the XVI century? Is it something related to the nature of their ships and/or the wind?
 
While I admit I don't know much about the Ming dynasty and they might have been more open-minded, I should point out that the Macartney mission to the Qing court indeed brought along Western technology including clockwork clocks, steam engines and orreries/astrolabes, and the mandarins dismissed them as irrelevant toys.

Because by the 18th century China was makign clockwork clocks? If you wannnta do Chian well, you really need to read the Great Divergence. Eeven if you don't agree with it, he gets the small details like this right.
 
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