Before the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), seals were generally made for practical uses such as identification. The Empress' Seal of the Han Dynasty.

明代（1368—1644年）以前，印章只是实用品，是人们在交往过程中表明身份的凭信工具。图为汉代的“皇后之玺”。

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The so-called tea ceremony in modern Japan, boasted to Westerners as a unique Japanese art, was in fact entirely an ancient Chinese custom, the way to brew tea before the Ming Dynasty.

日本现在的所谓茶道，向西方人士夸说是日本独特的艺术，其实完全是中国的古风，明代以前的烹茶方法。

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However, more than 90 years before the Nina, the Pi?ta and the Santa Maria, a Chinese Muslim eunuch born in poverty ascended the ranks of the great naval powerhouse of the Ming Dynasty.

然而，远在哥伦布驾驶的三条船“尼娜、平塔和圣玛丽亚”之前，早于其87年的公元1405年，有一位中国人，就已率领庞大的240多艘海船、27800名船员组成的船队远航西洋。 他的名字叫郑和，是中国明朝的宦官，他出生于贫困家庭，却登上了世界航海的最高地位。

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