Zheng He's voyages and why Ming China turned inward

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Ships and winds (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, ship sizes. The largest Ming treasure ship: sources differ, from about 70 m to more than 100 m, because a Ming record gives its size in old units that scholars convert differently. The usual Chinese trading junk before 1500: about 20 to 30 m. The Santa María, Columbus's largest ship (1492): about 19 m, an estimate, and the largest of his three small ships. Card B, the voyages: seven voyages between 1405 and 1433, each lasting up to about two years. Card C, historians: historians still debate the size of the ships, the size of the fleet and the purpose of the voyages. Card D, ocean winds: ships crossing the Indian Ocean depended on seasonal monsoon winds, which blow toward the west in winter and back toward the east in summer.

2. 1.

   A student writes, "Zheng He's largest ship was exactly 130 m long." What in card A challenges that, Milo asks?

   • Card A says the ship was 20 to 30 m, so 130 m is ten times too long
   • Card A says the Santa María was about 19 m, so a 130 m ship is impossible
   • Card A says sources differ, from about 70 m to more than 100 m, so no length is settled
   • Card A says the ship was 100 m, so 130 m is the sole wrong guess among the sizes in the card
3. 2.

   Card A says a Ming record gives the ship's size in old units. What should Noah do with that record?

   • Ignore the record, since old units cannot be turned into meters
   • Use one conversion and call it exact, since a Ming record is a reliable source
   • Treat the converted size as a range, since scholars convert the units differently
   • Trust the newest conversion, since newer scholars know more than older ones
4. 3.

   The usual junk was 20 to 30 m and the largest treasure ship at least 70 m (card A). At least how many times as long as the longest junk was it, Pia asks?

   • Exactly 3 times as long, since the largest size, 100 m, divided by 30 is about 3
   • About 23 times as long, since 70 divided by 30 is about 23 in this case
   • At least 2 times as long, since even 70 divided by 30 is about 2.3
   • About 40 times as long, since 70 minus 30 is 40 and that gives the ratio
5. 4.

   Card B says seven voyages came between 1405 and 1433. On average, about how many years is that for each voyage, Tala asks?

   • About 2 years, the length of a single voyage given in card B
   • About 21 years, since 28 years minus 7 voyages is 21
   • About 0.4 years, since 28 years divided by 7 voyages is 0.4
   • About 4 years, since 28 years divided by 7 voyages is 4
6. 5.

   Card C says historians debate the ships, the fleet and the purpose of the voyages. Which statement is most careful, Zee asks?

   • Historians disagree about whether the voyages happened, so nothing is known about them
   • The debate is settled by the Ming record, since it is the oldest source for the fleets
   • A debate means the voyages cannot be studied, since each side may be right
   • Historians agree the voyages happened but debate the ships' size, fleet and purpose
7. 6.

   Compare the Santa María (about 19 m) with the usual junk (20 to 30 m) in card A. Which statement is supported, Ari asks?

   • The Santa María was exactly the size of each Chinese junk before 1500
   • The Santa María was a treasure ship, since it was the largest of Columbus's ships
   • The Santa María was far bigger than the usual Chinese junks of the time
   • The Santa María was about the size of the smallest usual Chinese junks
8. 7.

   Which new find would best settle the size of the largest treasure ships, Bo asks?

   • Remains of a treasure ship's hull or measured timbers from a dated 1400s shipyard
   • A modern book that repeats card A's range in new words for readers today
   • A list of the foreign gifts that the fleets carried back to China
   • A new poem from the 1400s that praises the beauty of the fleets and their ships at sea
9. 8.

   Why might a Ming record give ship sizes in old units, Esme asks?

   • It was written for foreign sailors, who needed sizes in a Chinese system
   • It was written for scholars today, who prefer old units to meters
   • It was written to hide the ships' size, so no one could ever convert the numbers
   • It was written for readers of its own time, so we must convert the numbers
10. 9.

    A student writes, "The fleet had exactly 300 ships." Why does card C challenge that, Jun asks?

    • Card C says historians agree on a fleet of 300 ships, so the number is correct
    • Historians still debate the fleet's size, so one exact number claims too much
    • Card C says the ships were 70 m long, so the fleet could not have had 300 ships
    • Card C says no one can know the size of the fleet, so any number is equally good
11. 10.

    Card B says each voyage lasted up to about two years. Across seven voyages, about how many years at most were spent at sea, Kira asks?

    • About 28 years, the span from the first voyage in 1405 to the last in 1433
    • No more than about 14 years, since 7 voyages times 2 years is 14
    • About 140 years, since 7 voyages times 2 years is 140
    • About 9 years, since 7 voyages plus 2 years is 9