Epoch Times
34 July 4 – 17, 2014
Values
Virtues
The Treasure Voyages of Admiral Zheng He
By Yue Qing Epoch Times Staff
I
n 1405 (early Ming Dynasty), the Admiral Zheng He led a treasure fleet of over 240 ships and almost 28,000 crew members on the first of a series of far-reaching maritime voyages. The fleet would go on to complete a total of seven voyages over the next 28 years, visiting more than 30 countries in and around the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. This epic journey would become known throughout history as “The Treasure Voyages of Zheng He”. Zheng He was a pioneer in sea navigation, and his treasure voyages represented one of the greatest maritime pinnacles of that era. More impressive is the fact that the Ming voyages took place 80 years before the expeditions of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Compared to the West, the Ming Dynasty was considerably advanced in naval technology, including sea navigation, ship organisation, naval architecture, and propulsion. This, along with the Ming Dynasty’s impressive fleet, marked China as the preeminent maritime power in the region for centuries.
The Treasure Fleet
In 1402, fresh into his reign, the Emperor Yongle conceived the idea of constructing a large treasure fleet that would sail the oceans, representing the power of the Ming Dynasty. The ships in the treasure fleet were of immense scale and meticulous organisation, at a level that surpassed their Western counterparts. Ma Huan, a translator who accompanied Zheng He on his voyages, wrote in his book Yingyai Shenglan that the larger treasure ships were 44 zhang and 4 chi (137 metres) long and 18 zhang (55 m) wide. These dimensions were twice as long as the largest European ships at the end of the 16th century. Each treasure ship had nine 27-metre masts and 12 square sails. The ships weighed about 3,000 tonnes each, and were large enough to hold 1,000 men. Ma Huan further describes the 27,670 men that formed the voyages’ crew. There were seven Grand Directors (taijian) who served as commanders and envoys, assisted by 10 Junior Directors (shaojian) and 53 eunuchs. There were also two brigadiers, 93 captains, 104 lieutenants, 103 sub-lieutenants, two drafters, four astrologers, 180 medical personnel, and 26,802 military soldiers, boatsmen, buyers, and clerks.
Zheng He led a treasure fleet of over 240 ships and almost 28,000 crew members on a total of seven far-reaching treasure voyages. The Seven Treasure Voyages
Zheng He’s fleets visited over 30 kingdoms and territories, including Java, Sumatra, the Sulu Archipelago (Philippines), Pahang (Malaya), Chenla (present-day Cambodia), Siam, Calicut (South India), Bengal, Sofala (present-day Mozambique), Mogadishu (presentday Somalia), Aden (Yemen), and Hormuz (Iran). He travelled as far as Eastern Africa, the Red Sea, and Mecca, and, according to some historians, possibly even the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. The voyages promoted diplomacy, trade, and the exchange of knowledge between the
countries, particularly in Asia and Africa. The flow of trade and knowledge was, in fact, instrumental in the opening up of the South Asian countries. According to estimates by scholars, the profits that the Ming Dynasty garnered from foreign trade during the voyages amounted to 2,300,000 gold taels and 10,000,000 silver taels. In addition the vassal states of Ming China served as ports for the influx of Western goods, such as aloe vera and gold jewellery.
Purpose of the Voyages: An Unsolved Mystery
There is still much debate today about the actual purpose of the treasure voyages. Theories include:
1. Emperor Yongle’s aim to assert Ming China’s political and cultural hegemony in the region 2. Locating the second Ming Emperor Jianwen (who was rumoured to have escaped after being usurped by Emperor Yongle) 3. Intimidating the Timurid dynasty (which ruled over present-day Iran), an enemy of Ming China 4. Establishing Chinese colonies in foreign territories Most of these theories, however, are postulates from historical records, and have no factual basis. We may never know the truth, as the original records of Zheng He’s voyages were destroyed after his death.
Copy of a 1418 map charted by Admiral Zheng He, which raises the possibility that he discovered America before Christopher Columbus.