Marco Polo the Venetian Trader and Adventurer

Marco Polo

The Venetian trader and adventurer Marco Polo was an exceptionally astute observer as he traveled the caravan routes to China, Tibet, and India, and then returned by sea over twenty years later, with tales of countries few people in Europe had ever seen before. His brother and uncle had travelled there in 1260-65, then returned again four years later, and reported on their meeting with the Kublai Khan at Kaifeng (Beijing) and his request for one hundred Christian missionaries. The Khan's message was ultimately relayed to the Pope but he did not send the requested missionaries. When he left Venice with his father in 1271, Marco Polo was a boy of seventeen, and had no idea what adventures were ahead of him. Virtually no one in the Western world at that time could possibly have known since they literally had no maps of China or the route to…… [Read More]

Marco Polo The Explorer in

This suggests that Polo feels an obligation to tell his readers, with whom he shares a common sympathy and culture, about the strangeness and wonders of the Orient, prioritizing the strange above the ordinary. Also it implies that these tales seem strange and magic on their surfaces. This hyperawareness of strangeness, in contrast with making strangeness have a veneer of normalcy when talking about different people and places to the 'other' Khan, is obviously not shared with the Marco Polo of Invisible Cities.

The Calvino cities seem to hover in thin air, normal or not, as Polo weaves his web of stories that may or may not be true. There is no urgent 'must' of convincing the reader or Kublai Khan, rather the cities are conjured up through the genius of the author, and the artful nature of storytelling, although Marco Polo's memory is not trustworthy even while "things can…… [Read More]

Globalization the Medieval Travelogues of Marco Polo

Globalization

The medieval travelogues of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta show how the world is viewed from the lens of our own culture. Polo, the Venetian trader, emphasizes trade in his descriptions of the place he visits while Battuta, the Islamic judge, emphasizes morality in his descriptions of the same places. This framing is not a fault of either writer, but rather it can lend perspective to our own view of the world -- we all see the world through our own lens. Thus, like our two ancient travelers, we characterize the world in terms of juxtapositions -- what is similar to what we know and what is different from what we know. In doing so, we create an artificial division between our culture and all other cultures. The differences and similarities define us. There is nothing inherently wrong with this -- the only important thing is that we always…… [Read More]

Culture Bias in the Travels

If it isn't demons, idols, and black magic, it's sex -- the most repressed impulse in the estern-Christian tradition.

During and after his time in the court of Kubla Khan, one notices an increased tone of rationality in the narrative. Less exoticized details of the life of people in the Orient begin to emerge, such as food and clothing habit, but the earlier sensationalism is not lost entirely -- perhaps cannot be, as it is such an engrained part of the estern perspective when viewing the sights of Asia. He travels to a region he identifies as "Bengala," which according to Latham is likely Bengal but could possibly be Pegu, which was in the process of being conquered during the time of the Great Khan's court (Latham, 189). Though this passage also contains a brief and simple message about the main sources of sustenance for the people in this region,…… [Read More]

China and the Mongol Conquest China and

China and the Mongol Conquest

China and Mongol Conquest

The 13th century saw the influence of the Mongol Empire which Genghis Khan established stretching from the borders of Poland in the west to the East around Yellow Sea. Grandson of Genghis named Kublai Khan was the ruler of this empire in 1260 after which he went a head to consolidate his power when he relinquish the Mongol conquests outside China and established his capital where modern-day Beijing is now located.

As Venetian merchants, Nicolo Polo and his brother traveled overland in 1260 to the Mongol capital where they remained within the court of Khan until when they reached Venice in 1269. The two merchant once again traveled (though dangerous trip) to Kublai Khan's court in 1271 accompanied by their seventeen-year-old son Marco. They had to take three and a half years before their adventure came to an end. After staying…… [Read More]

Invisible Cities All Over the World Like

invisible cities all over the world like Ahwaz in south of Iran, that suffer through horrible tragedies and the world won't pay attention to. They are the real life invisible cities. Through literature one is able to empathize to people and situations that otherwise would never be seen or known. Calvino's Invisible City explores the imaginative world of Kublai Khan and Marco Polo.

The book discusses the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo. The book is put together as a conversation between the aging and busy emperor Kublai Khan, a busy man with many emperors who talk to him about the state of his expanding and vast empire, and Polo, the boundless explorer. The largest percentage of the book is of short prose poems describing 55 cities, narrated by the explorer Marco Polo.

Every five to ten cities, there are small dialogues that act as transitions between the…… [Read More]

Footbinding the Chinese Idea of

This era is significant because it was dominated by peace at a local level, political constancy, and economic growth as a result of a dictatorship created by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The moment when he became shogun was very important in Ieyasu's life, as he was provided with the opportunity to commence a plan that he was thinking of long before he came to rule Japan. He sent many of his allies to rule over areas that he considered being potentially hostile in an attempt to have people there change their opinions regarding his personae. This individual was well-acquainted with the fact that control was one of the most effective tools that a leader could use and thus focused on having as much control as possible. Ieyasu's successor further continued his predecessor's system of gaining control over his people and influenced all of the Daimyos in Japan to live in Edo for…… [Read More]

Kublai Khan Improvements to The Chinese System and Ideals

Improvements to The Chinese System and Ideals Done by Kublai Khan
Introduction
Genghis Khan moved his troops into the quasi Chinese Chin-rule north China in 1211, and in 1215 they crushed the capital city. Hisson Ogodei vanquished all of North China by 1234 and ruled it from 1229 to 1241. Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, vanquished the Chinese Southern Song in 1279, and out of the blue all of China was under foreign rule (Johnson, 2014).
In 1271 Kublai Khan named his administration Yuan which signifies "origin of the universe." The Yuan tradition in China kept going from 1279 to 1368. Kublai Khan took after a speculative approach of Sinicization, that is, he adjusted to the Chinese method for administering and when you take a look at his picture, he looks especially like other Chinese rulers. Then again, in spite of the fact that he utilized some Chinese in low…… [Read More]

Early Chinese History

Chinese History

There are a number of factors that contributed to the rise of the Mongols in China. Chief among these is that after the Mongols invaded China, they were able to establish strong political control over the area. This was an extension of the Mongol system of governance that had been utilized in many of the lands conquered by the Mongol empire. Marco Polo, who visited Khanbalik during the reign of Kublai Khan, described the system of governance that the Mongols had imposed on China. They "appointed twelve…barons to supervise all decisions concerning the movement of the armies…" Polo noted that this council led to a high quality of decision-making with respect to resource deployment, and allowed for a stronger overall military presence in China as a result. Polo also noted that this tactic allowed the military leaders to identify the stronger soldiers and units, and cull the weak…… [Read More]

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

It is interesting that descriptions of items such as plumbing and roof tiles can be captivating, but they are, and that is only one of the things that makes this book so unusual. It covers a subject that might not seem to interest many readers, and yet, it is hard to put it down once you begin to read it. This is the mark of a good writer, and it is the mark of a well-written book, as well. This interesting book is very well written, and the vivid descriptions are just part of that. The conversations between Kublai Khan and Polo are interesting and add depth to the book, giving it a sense of real history, rather than the fantasy it really is. It makes the reader want to travel the world, see those incredible cities themselves, and then report back about their adventures, just as Polo does in…… [Read More]

Civilizations Have Often Resulted in Dramatic Changes

civilizations have often resulted in dramatic changes to both sides. Peaceful encounters bring transfers to new goods, new technologies and new ideas, while encounters built on conflict can change outlooks, governments and ways of life. A violent culture clash occurred with the Crusades, while a more peaceful meeting of the cultures occurred with traders from Europe (especially Venetians) heading eastward to Asia. These two encounters between civilizations would lead to much of what we see in the geopolitical world today. We have conflict in the Middle East between the Arab world and the Western world. We also see global trade as a major driving force in the world. This trade also would eventually lead to the age of exploration and mass colonization.

The rise of Islam and the response of Christian Europe during the Crusades not only characterized its era, being one of the most important events of the time,…… [Read More]

Dragon Rising by Jasper Becker

138). Despite the contribution these SEZs have made to the Chinese state, Becker cautions that such meteoric growth is probably not sustainable over the long-term. For instance, Becker points out that, "Technology is changing assumptions about the future of industrial labor needs. ecent studies suggest that the link between high growth and job creation may not continue forever. In the 1980s it took a 3% increase in economic growth to produce a 1% increase in employment. By the 1990s, it took more than twice as much growth -- a 7.8% increase -- to achieve the same result. (2006, p. 154).

6.

How has all of China's modernization affected rural China in places as Fengyang?

While the major urban centers of China have enjoyed spectacular growth in recent years, less prosperity (or none at all) has flowed to the country's rural regions such as Fengyang. Fengyang stands out because it was…… [Read More]

Science and Technology

China vs. Europe

Compare the development of science and technology in these two civilizations: China and Europe. In what ways did cultural, social, and political factors influence development of science and technology?

It is easy to view scientific progress in a comparative fashion. hich power was 'better' at scientific progress, China or Europe, one might ask? But such a pairing of opposites is in fact a false dichotomy. Both civilizations saw, over the course of early modernity, tremendous technical as well as intellectual advances in their civilization's understanding of science. However, although Europe's religious and political intransigence to scientific discovery often presented itself as an obstacle, ultimately its greater openness and willingness to study and take into consideration advances of foreign cultures proved its 'making,' while China's geographical and political isolation, for all of its intellectual ferment proved its undoing in terms of becoming an early modern power of scientific…… [Read More]

Co-Creation Does Not Exist in

As these preferences are determined, the algorithm then determines the best invitations to treat to present to the consumers. Today, these processes are powerful and can drive business at these websites, but they do not yet constitute bona fide interaction between the travel provider, the agent (website) and the consumer. Rather, the algorithms merely produce smarter sales pitches. At such a point when algorithms can literally cater to consumers' needs based upon the consumers' interactions the travel industry will be on the cusp of experiencing genuine co-creation. Co-creation at this point, however, is not an automated process. It must be conducted by humans. Given that more people are purchasing travel online than ever before, this would point to a decline in co-creation. It may be, however, that this technology will emerge in the next few years and truly transform the travel industry into one where co-creation is the norm.

Li…… [Read More]

Suzhou Museum -- I M Pei

Pei did not stop at this but went ahead to choose Jiang Nan residence primary color, white and grey, and in capturing this Pei used gray granite to replace whitewashed plaster wall dark gray clay tiles. If anyone thinks that these colors are not modern then Jodidio and Adams (2008, Inc. 311) think otherwise, they say that "The gray and white forms recall those of the region, but they remain resolutely modern."

Summary and conclusion

In any project that is undertaken by man there must be challenges and so did the design of Suzhou museum face challenges. The first challenge was on the location which was at the historic district of the city and this would necessitate the moving or destruction of some traditional houses, obviously the residents complained. Pei was lectured by government officials, despite the respect they had for him, he was instructed to make the museum modern…… [Read More]

Miracle Worker Is an Inspiring

The Ghost of Canterville Hall adapts Oscar Wilde's fairy tale and plays upon the middle school fascination with English ghosts and haunting: it depicts a ghost who has grown tired of haunting a family who needs the help of a young girl to be free of a curse.

The Magic Garden by Irene Corey is designed for theatre-goers between ages 5-9 and unfolds a nutritional tale: the battle of vegetables vs. sweets.

A Midsummer Night's Dream adapted by Aurand Harris uses William Shakespeare in a humorous fashion to introduce children to the Bard in this tale of mistaken identity, love, and mischievous fairies.

Dramatists Play Service

Dragonwings by Lawrence Yep is the story of a Chinese boy who comes to America and his struggles adjusting to life in his new country.

The Children's Crusade by Paul Thompson tells the tale of the failed idealism of young children in the 13th…… [Read More]

Cultural and Construction History of

Thomas Aquinas led the move away from the Platonic and Augustinian and toward Aristotelianism and "developed a philosophy of mind by writing that the mind was at birth a tabula rasa ('blank slate') that was given the ability to think and recognize forms or ideas through a divine spark" (Haskins viii). y 1200 there were reasonably accurate Latin translations of the main works of Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy, Archimedes, and Galen, that is, of all the intellectually crucial ancient authors except Plato. Also, many of the medieval Arabic and Jewish key texts, such as the main works of Avicenna, Averroes and Maimonides now became available in Latin. During the 13th Century, scholastics expanded the natural philosophy of these texts by commentaries and independent treatises. Notable among these were the works of Robert Grosseteste, Roger acon, John of Sacrobosco, Albertus Magnus, and Duns Scotus. Precursors of the modern scientific method can be…… [Read More]

European Studies When Most People

The problem was: that the distances were much further and many of the different explorers (such as: Columbus) began to seek out other routes to these areas. This led directly to: the colonial ambitions of many European nations and their desire to explore the new world to achieve these objectives. (Willner, 2008, pp. 255 -- 294)

The Role that the Individual will Play in Society

A third development of the Middle Ages, was that the individual is playing a vital role in: matters of government and society. This developed out of frustration that many people were feeling about the different monarchies. As, everyone was expected to follow: the various traditions and the laws that were imposed upon them by the nobility. This became problematic over the years, as this would turn into a sense of anger. At which point, many of these different monarchies faced direct challenges to their power.…… [Read More]

13th Century the World's Civilizations -- by

13th century, the world's civilizations -- by the most accurate of definitions -- were emerging from lower cultural and technological evolution to a higher plane of refinement. Thought, manners, life situations, and the like were being considered as important as survival.

From 1200 to 1600 AD, Europe demonstrated its emergent renaissance; France, Asia, Africa, and the Northern Hemisphere were sending explorers to uncharted territories and discovering wonders not yet conceived. Average citizens took control of personal destinies and global civilizations shrunk the world practically overnight. The end of the period of increased contact ushered the Industrial Revolution into the lifestyles of the largest countries in the world and with it entered competition. Marketplace dominance, intellectual pursuits, quality of life, and a longer life expectancy emerged as one result of ever-increasing contact with other nations.

Examples of Global Contact

In 1275, Marco Polo discovered "burning black rocks" while traveling through China.…… [Read More]

Economics Causes of Contraction 2001-2003

Bush implied unemployment figures were declining and Kerry touted very high unemployment figures. In hindsight, it appears that the labor department statistics concurred with the Kerry camp. When Bush still won, unemployment trend indicators seem to be coming true now and there seems to be more problems on the horizon for the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated recently that new jobs being created in the economy were the types of jobs that cannot fuel economic growth. Thus, the economy is and will continue to lose jobs to cheaper labor markets around the globe.

The Federal eserve has dictated the cost of capital for businesses to borrow. Trends show that cash shortages in corporate American are increasing and borrowing heavily will be a likely result. Therefore, future actions of the Federal eserve impacts a major aspect of America's future. Trends to observe by the Fed relate to consumer consumption…… [Read More]

Collaborative Design for a Build-To-Order

" (Brown, 1996, p. 74)

That potential of globalization can be attributed directly to the current business processes working to its fullest capabilities. Some may think that these trends towards globalization are new to the twentieth or twenty-first centuries. In a sense that is true because of the fact that our current globalization phenomenon can be linked with the advent of our new technology, financial methods and distribution channels to any point on the globe. However, globalization is technically not a new process that was created in or by our current digital and information revolution. Actually, not even the industrial revolution can be credited with the idea of globalization because the concept originated even before Christopher Columbus or Marco Polo. (Employees, 2005)

World trade has linked disparate locations into highly complex and extensive systems of finance, communication, migration, and other interconnections for thousands of years. Some of these events have…… [Read More]

Rise of the Renaissance and

The Maritime Revolution occurred at the turn of the 1500s and began in full swing around 1550. It was started by many nation states within Europe at roughly the same time. Spain and England were the two early contributors to the Maritime Revolution, and many other European states soon followed. The Tudors of England and Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain were the main drivers behind this revolution. For the first time, Spain had complete control over its government following the union of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the wake of peace they turned their sites to new conquests the expansion of Spanish control. As a result, the Maritime Revolution occurred as Europe hastened to explore the world to discover unknown territories and new outlets for commerce. Spain was the first to sponsor such expeditions with the most famous being Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the Americas. Columbus's predecessors…… [Read More]

Story Design

successful Storytelling?

There are so many things that make successful storytelling. One of the major components that stick out is the events in the story. Selecting and arranging the events is highly important in the process of composing the story passage. ithout the events, there really is not kind of story. Brainstorming and writing down an important list of the things that have gone on is something that is very vital. The more ideas a story has the better it will be to the reader. hat makes good storytelling is the fact they a writer knows how to capture the reader's attention without having to go back and repeat themselves over and over. It is also important to make sure that the story has a lot of detail and also the links that are between them. The details make a story really good because it draws the reader into the…… [Read More]

Globalization Is a Complex Phenomenon

Apple, for example, outsources much of their production to a vendor known as Foxconn in China whose working conditions are so severe that the company has actually installed a suicide prevention netting around their buildings to keep employees from jumping to their deaths. Hebron & Stack have pointed out that Nobel Prize winning economist Joesph Stiglitz has identified one of the attributes of what improves the quality of life for the indigent population as being whether the movement was "homegrown"; that is the local residents welcome the changes. Others such as Tulchin and Bland argue that areas without adequate rule of law many corporations take advantage of the local population and corruption is rampant and the locals are not able to demand accountability from their governments.

The financial advantages that have been gained and that can be attributed to globalization are pretty compelling on the whole. However, I think the…… [Read More]

Art Over the Past Several Thousand Years

Art

Over the past several thousand years, the Chinese have contributed some of the world's most significant technological tools and inventions. Most of these inventions have had a tremendous impact on human history and it is hard to imagine life without any of them. Among the most influential of Chinese inventions include gunpowder/explosives; paper; moveable type; the magnetic compass; tea; noodles; matches; and silk. Of these eight inventions, the four most important include paper, gunpowder, tea, and noodles. Of those four, the Chinese invention I could least likely live without would be noodles.

It is difficult to imagine how human beings could have spread information without paper. Even if the Chinese had not invented moveable type well before the Gutenberg printing press was designed in Europe, the invention of paper is one of the most important contributions to the spread of knowledge, learning, ideas, and information. As the Franklin Institute…… [Read More]

Song Dynasty Refers to Period in the

Song dynasty refers to period in the history of China spread over the span of 300+ years. This period lasts from 960 to 1279 (Kuiper). In the history of China, the Song Dynasty enjoys special portion of eminence. The uncountable inventions made this era to be named as China's Age of Invention (Benn). The paper tends to explore it from various angels and aspects. The objective of paper is to give the reader a fair idea about the achievements and shortcomings of the Song Dynasty and compare it with other dynasties to see the possible causes of rank at which the Song Dynasty is placed.

Before going into the details of the Dynasty, it is important to mention that the period between 10th to 13th centuries was the period when human race was developing and exploring the earth resources for betterment of lifestyle. It was the time, when civilizations were…… [Read More]

Boron Composites Under the Top

Boron Composite Structures in Aviation

The purpose of this paper is to discuss, and analyze the development and application of boron composites in airframe structures.

BORON'S HISTORY

Compounds of boron, most notably from unfinished borax ore, known as Tincal, were exported from Tibet in olden times. Historically, boron has been used for refining gold and silver in Arabia, ceramic glazes in China, and embalming in Egypt.

During the 13th Century A.D., "Regular imports of Tincal (name derived from tincana, the Sanskrit word for borax), from the Far East into Europe began along trade routes taken by Marco Polo's caravans. The source of Tincal (Tibet) and its methods of production remained a secret closely guarded by Venetian traders for four centuries."

Boric acid, a mild antiseptic, was isolated in the laboratory by chemistry professor illiam Homberg in 1720 and was discovered also occurring naturally from steam vents in Tuscany, Italy. Sir…… [Read More]

Detail Facts on How Persia Became Iran

Persia became Iran

Iran, which is the name nowadays for its country, was formerly known as Persia. The two identities of present day Iran is associated both to the peak of power of pre-Islamic, Achaemenid Persia, as also to its Islamic origin situated both in the 7th century start of Islam in Iran via Arab invasion, and to its 16th century when Shiite Islam formally turned out the state religion of Iran. The country has always been acknowledged among its own people as Iran (land of the Aryans); even though for centuries it was pinpointed to as Persia (Pars or Fars, a provincial state in southern Iran) by the Europeans, mainly because of the writings of Greek historians. In 1935 the government mentioned that it should be called Iran, although in 1949 allowances were made for both names to be implemented. Persia turned out a powerful empire under the Cyrus…… [Read More]

International Regulation of Tourism in Antarctica

International egulation of Tourism in Antarctica

Since the mid-1980s, Antarctica has been an increasingly popular tourist destination, despite the relative danger of visiting the largest, least explored -- and arguably least understood -- continent on earth. Beginning with the 1959 treaty establishing Antarctica as an international zone free of claims of sovereignty by nation's that had been instrumental in establishing research stations there, there has been almost constant negotiation about how to administer regulations pertaining to the preservation of life forms on the continent, what those regulations should be, and what sanctions should be applied and by whom.

To understand the depths of the negotiations, and the potential for discord, it is necessary to understand what the continent offer the 65% of global nations that are party to the 1959 and all subsequent treaties. To understand the possible future of Antarctica, it is necessary to outline treaty attempts to minimize…… [Read More]

Western Attitudes Toward Islam in the Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Centuries

Islam in the 14th-16th Centuries

With the rapid rise of the Ottoman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, European attitudes toward Islam would change vastly. We can see this illustrated in the differing attitudes toward Islam which are expressed by William of Adam, in his strange early-fourteenth century strategy pamphlet emphasizing the total European defeat of the Saracens, and Martin Luther, in his sixteenth century publications offering policy recommendations toward the Islamic power to the southeast. William of Adam wrote at the time when the Ottoman Empire was barely yet a phenomenon -- with his tract How To Defeat The Saracens dating to approximately 1317, this was a point in time when the Ottomans had barely yet made inroads against the Byzantine Empire that was still standing. By the time of Luther's central pamphlet on Muslim policy, the 1529 publication On the War Against the Turk, the Ottoman Empire…… [Read More]

Crusade Influence on the West

crusades on the west?

Effects of Crusades on the West

For centuries, the Muslims had been attacking and usurping Christian lands. With no real boundaries differentiating territories, it was impossible to fathom any measure of cordiality to exist between the two

The wars that then raged, The Crusades, as the western world sought to exact revenge have altered the present and the future so much that the effects are being felt even today. According to Edward Gibbon

, a chronicler belonging to the Enlightenment era, the effort would have been better utilized to seek and forge better and peaceful relations with the Muslims. This, according to him and others of his ilk, was highly improbable, because the warmongers would have instead indulged in infighting, instead. According to the eminent historians of the Enlightenment age, the crusaders were instigated by vested interests and were a rather gullible misdirected lot that were…… [Read More]

Adam Smith Globalization America

discovery of the New World and attendant new trade routes can certainly be described as momentous and significant, but the benefits of conquest and contact have been eclipsed by the inhumane, unjust, and hypocritical consequences thereof.

Three major aspects demonstrating Old and New World exchanges.

Discovery of new raw materials creating market demand and shifting patterns of trade, eg. Tobacco, cotton, corn.

Global trans-Atlantic slave trade creating free labor for the owners of the means of production and generating massive humanitarian disasters.

Decimation of indigenous populations throughout the Americas, representing genocide on unprecedented levels, justified by newfound sense of European superiority.

Five (5) specific groups that were affected by this event and two (2) examples for each cohort describing how they were affected.

A. Native Americans

Diseases

Forced migration and stripping of access to wealth.

B. Africans

Slave labor, brutality

2. Lack of access to wealth, resources, power, fruits of…… [Read More]

How the Chinese Invented Porcelain

Invention and Evolution of Porcelain in China

Although the precise origins of porcelain have been lost in the mists of time, most modern researchers believe that it was invented in China. Not surprisingly, then, many Chinese today boast that their ancestors were drinking tea from porcelain cups when their European counterparts were still wearing animal skins and living in caves, and it turns out that this pride is accurate and justifiable. To determine the facts, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a discussion concerning the technical and artistic history of porcelain drawing on four examples that span four different time periods in Chinese history. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings about the invention and evolution of porcelain in China are provided in the conclusion.

eview and Discussion

Porcelain differs in fundamental ways from ordinary pottery known as earthenware that is formed from clay and then…… [Read More]

American History

American History

Northwest Passage- 1492-1600 when Europeans encountered the new world

After the Portuguese and Spanish took control of the South's sea pathways, the English and French began seeking a northwestern route to Asia. However, by the 17th century, they lost hope of ever making their way across North America's northern part after many generations of sailors failed to find a way. Nevertheless, early 15th and 16th century explorations and colonization increased knowledge regarding the world by a significant amount. Cornelius Wytfliet, the cartographer from Flanders created a world map that continued to depict the mythical "Straits of Anian" -- a province in China connecting the Atlantic and the legendary Northwest Passage, which finds mention in the edition of traveler, Marco Polo's work dated 1559. European powers' endeavors to make their homes in the Americas succeeded, ultimately, in the 17th century, when the English and the French successfully contested the…… [Read More]

Gender Roles in Traditional East Asia

Confucianism is one of the major factors that influenced gender views and perception in traditional East Asia, particularly in relation to the treatment of women in these societies. Confucianism is primarily a teaching that was brought by Confucius, a philosopher, political figure, and educator. The teachings of Confucius formed the foundation of education in the traditional societies in East Asia, especially in China, Korea, and Japan. Confucius teachings affected many things in these societies including fixing gender roles between women and men. Based on these teachings, which influenced nearly every facet of life in the conventional Korean, Japanese and Chinese societies, placed women at a disadvantaged position. The teachings contributed to the development of a patriarchal environment in these societies, which worked to the disadvantaged of women. This paper examines how women exerted power and influence in a patriarchal environment in these three societies and what it teaches us about…… [Read More]