Six hundred years ago, China had an unstoppable fleet. It was led by Zhen, a long-forgotten admiral. He was one of the most accomplished sailors in history. He commanded an unrivaled fleet, a fleet known as the Treasure Fleet. A modern-day adventurer recreated one of his ships and is setting the theory of this fleet to practice. This documentary drama is the story of this grand fleet.
At the time when Europe was torn by war and the black death, the Chinese have an empire. The Ming Dynasty was in command. The Emperor orders the construction of a fleet and will execute anyone who stands in his way. Timbers are floated on the Yangzi River. Seven dry docks are built and the shipbuilding commences. Within three years, sixteen hundred ships have been refitted or built. The largest ships had nine sails. These ships could have rivaled the battleships of World War II. How could this be possible? These ships were constructed with watertight compartments and could hold over 2,000 tons of cargo. The Emperor was looking for prestige. The Emperor’s fleet was larger than the Spanish Armada and was larger than the combined fleets of Europe. Zheng was appointed to be admiral of the fleet. With everything in place, the fleet was ready to follow the Emperor’s orders. Rex Warner discovered Zheng He and the treasure fleet. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Zheng. So he found an ocean-going junk and assembled a crew. Will he discover the traces of the treasure fleet? Rex first has to have his ship refitted. His first mate oversees the refit. The ship, the Precious Dragon will be run by a crew of five. They will be sailing in the stormy and pirate-infested South China Sea. What will Rex and the crew discover about the treasure fleet? The Precious Dragon sets sail and looks forward to rediscovering the past. The Admiral was originally captured by the first emperor. Zheng was castrated and made a slave of the Emperor’s son. He and the son became friends. He would eventually prove his loyalty to the Emperor. The Emperor appointed him a naval admiral. Zheng was able to issue orders on behalf of the Emperor. His appointment may have been a way for the Emperor to hunt down the Emperor’s rival, however, it was a way for the Emperor to show his power. It had a psychological impact on those who saw the fleet. Flash forward to the trip of the Precious Dragon. It has been two and a half days since the ship left. They are sailing due south and encountering storms. To help retrace the Treasure Fleet, Rex is using the two records that survive. There was a map and a written record left behind. After a difficult crossing, they make their way into port. After four days in port, the crew moves to land to learn more about Admiral Zheng. The Precious Dragon sails down the South China Sea. They will encounter the same threat that Admiral Zheng faced: pirates. How will the Precious Dragon Crew handle this pirate threat? How did Admiral Zheng handle this threat? Will the Precious Dragon successfully recreate the voyage of the Treasure Fleet? What will Rex learn about Admiral Zheng? Tune into this documentary to find out more. This was an interesting documentary on a topic that you never learned about in school: how the Chinese explored the South China Sea and beyond. If you want something different to introduce to your students, then I would recommend this documentary. If you have an independent study student, then they could watch this documentary as well
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |