The Prequel by Nicholas D. Kristof
published in 1999 is a secondary historical article that vividly described not
only the voyages, but also the after effects of Admiral Zheng He’s voyage in
the 1400s. This article’s genre could be best described as a historical
documentary or historical narrative.
What made this article “historical” is the secondary sources compiled within the author’s journey
with an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of Zheng He. The article jumps
from the 15th – 16th century to the 20th
century depending on the subject of matter. Dates remain as a very important
factor that exists in any historical related works. Moreover, there were also
comparisons made between Zheng He and Christopher Columbus in the article.
Although historical figures are often mentioned in many other genres, an
analysis between them does not. The article is filled with deep historical
analysis, primary texts, as well as interviews and conversations with native
people in the countries that Zheng He visited.
When you think of a history-based
documentary on TV shows such as the history channel, there will always be
scholars and professors of history talking towards the end of each scenes
providing their own opinion/analysis on the subject matter – this article is no
different. The author Nicholas D. Kristof gave his own opinion after each
interview sessions or after describing a historical event regarding Zheng He. In
addition, historical pieces often tend to have references to primary sources or
other historical works in order to make a point more credible – this article is
filled with primary sources from all around the world, which further
strengthens the author’s research about Zheng He.
The shift between settings in this
article is also noteworthy. Normally, historical pieces will consist settings
that are located in the past. In this article, the same settings were described
within both the context of the 15th – 16th centuries as
well as the present. Furthermore, according to Wikipedia, authors also
frequently choose to explore notable historical figures in these settings,
allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have
responded to their environments.
However, from a different perspective,
the author could only be telling a story about Zheng He and his effects on the
people surrounding him – if the reader chose to look at article this way, then
this article’s genre could be narrative. In one of the paragraphs, the author
even mentioned that some people believed that Zheng He brought Giraffes to
China, and Chinese people during that time thought that giraffes were some
sorts of mythical Chinese unicorn. If this paragraph were viewed alone, then
the genre of this article would be myth or even fairy tale.
I think that the genre that you gave your project was very good. It is an interesting historical topic, and the comparison to Christopher Colombus was interesting but at the same time you didn't really give examples of the comparisons between the two men. I feel that people know more about Christopher Colombus than they do about Zheng He, so one little comparison to Colombus would have made the reader more aware of what kind of person Zheng He was. I would include more examples of things that Zheng He did because the instance with the giraffes in China is a very interesting fact. You state that the author has an abundance of information and research on He, but maybe an example or two of this information and research would make the project a little more interesting. All in all it is an interesting read as it is and very informative of the genre, but adding a specific example or two of who Zheng He was and did would help it out a little.
ReplyDelete