Earlier this year magazines and television networks were awash with articles and programs celebrating the 600th anniversary of the first voyage of China's greatest maritime explorer, Zheng He (
Both Time and the National Geographic magazines published lengthy articles about the famed eunuch admiral and Life magazine even went as far as to rank him as the 14th most important person of the last millennium.
While it might have taken the National Museum of History (
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Having reportedly spent two years preparing for the exhibition, one would have thought that the museum's historians and curators would have had ample time to create a wonderfully in-depth and entertaining display packed with a wide range of exhibits and information. Sadly, however, the exhibition is one of the most shoddily organized exhibits the museum has ever put together.
It might boast over 200 artifacts, but it gives visitors only a fleeting glimpse of the exploits of China's famed maritime explorer and even less of an insight into the man himself. It's safe to assume that long deceased admiral would be turning in his grave if could see the way in which the museum has set about telling his story in an overly simplified and boring manner.
The first area deals with historical facts. The crux of this section is, however, overshadowed by the inclusion of a dozen replica boats. The models are colorful, well made and look fantastic and the information about each boat is enough to satisfy the appetites of most amateur historians. For example, we learn that the fleet consisted of 30,000 men and 300 ships, which included everything from huge treasure ships to smaller patrol boats and water tankers.
The second part proves a bigger disappointment than the first. Here visitors get to see how China's navy of the day navigated its way from China through the Indian Ocean to what is today the Saudi Arabian peninsular and Africa. It's pretty mundane stuff and unless you happen to be a 12-year-old school kid there's very little to learn here. Here visitors can also see a display of models of generic 15th century Chinese junks that were made in Belgium at the turn of the 20th century. Quite what these models have to do with Zheng He is anybody's guess and, while interesting to look at, they don't boast the same charm as those in the exhibition's first section.
The final part of the exhibition deals with artifacts from several of Zheng He's ports of call. There are over 100 porcelain, wood and pottery objects on display and they range from African tribal statuettes to Malayan tableware of the period.
The exhibition's most intellectually stimulating exhibit is a hand drawn Ming dynasty map (1368 to 1644) which plots Zheng He's travels from his base in the Yangze River delta through South East Asia. The map makes for an interesting few minutes for those with an understanding of Chinese characters. A more recent map published by China's nav allows visitors to plot Zheng He's course on a modern map and makes for equally engrossing viewing.
With the exception of the aforementioned maps the exhibition has little to offer anyone with prior knowledge of Zheng He's voyages and the exhibit makes the story of the Yunnan-born admiral appear like a passing footnote in history.
There are a couple of English language explanations of Zheng He's journeys, but they are pretty basic and as is all too often the norm with exhibitions at the National Museum of History, if you haven't got time for a tour and can't read Chinese then there's little point in going.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located