中文
HOME
HOME / LATEST NEWS / Content

Middle and Primary School History and Geography Department: Zheng He Voyages Role-Play Activity of Grade 6

June 14, 2024

From 1405 to 1433 CE, the Chinese admiral Zheng He led seven voyages, visiting over 30 countries and regions，reached the East coast of Africa and the Red Sea. The so-called Treasure Fleet demonstrated China‘s world-leading maritime and shipbuilding technologies. These voyages encouraged overseas trade and strengthened cultural exchanges between China and other civilizations. However, later on, the Ming government changed its foreign policy and ceased the explorations, which had profound effects on Chinese history. Why did the Ming government stop these voyages? In the last history activity class, the teachers guided the sixth-grade students to analyze the reasons leading to the change of Ming Dynasty’s policy through a role-play activity.

Time turned back to the Ming Dynasty. The students were divided into groups of four, with each group taking on different roles: Emperor Yongle, Zheng He, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Minister of War. The focus of this simulated meeting of the Imperial Court is whether to continue or stop long-distance navigation. The groups who played Zheng He, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Minister of War presented their viewpoints to the students who played Emperor Yongle. The Emperor then decided whether to destroy or continue their maritime policy despite the other problems that they faced, such as the plagues, floods, fixing the Grand Canal and military threats in the north.

During the activity, the students read from primary sources to help them to identify and gather key information necessary for their presentation. They had to analyze what impact and changes Zheng He’s voyages brought to the Ming Dynasty. They shared their ideas during group discussions and ultimately formed a single persuasive argument for each role. Each group then selected one student as the representative to present their views to the emperor. They tried to persuade Yongle to accept their opinions by highlighting the impacts of the voyages to the economy, military security, and culture of China.

One highlight that appeared during the group presentation was the "Minister of War" not only emphasized the threat of the northern border which demanded more financial support for protection, but also forming an alliance with the "Minister of Agriculture". Their collaboration eventually convinced "Emperor Yongle" to make a decision to stop the voyages, much to the disappointment of Zheng He.

Overall, this activity was a meaningful learning experience. In the role-playing activity, the students engaged in the debates with great enthusiasm. They not only deepened their historical understanding of Zheng He’s voyages, but also got to experience some of the different perspectives that go into ruling a country.

(Written by Liu Chen Pictures by Liu Chen Edited by Cong Luo, Bianca Noguera)