Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Muslim Admiral

Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Muslim Admiral

Through his seven voyages of discovery to the West, Zheng He helped transform China into the superpower of his time.



Little did the famous Muslim geographer, Ibn Battuta know, that about 22 years after his historic visit to China, the Mongol Dynasty (called the Yuan Dynasty in China) would be overthrown. The Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) would begin. A Muslim boy would help a Chinese prince. That prince would become emperor and the boy would grow up to be the "Admiral of the Chinese Fleet."

His name... Zheng He. The ships that he would sail throughout the Indian Ocean would retrace some of the same routes taken by Ibn Battuta, but he would be in huge boats called "junks". He would go to East Africa, Makkah, Persian Gulf, and throughout the Indian Ocean.

Speak of the world's first navigators and the names Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama flash through a Western mind. Little known are the remarkable feats that a Chinese Muslim Zheng He (1371-1433) had accomplished decades before the two European adventurers.

The Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation retraces the route of China’s 15th century admiral, Zheng He, who ranks as perhaps the country’s foremost adventurer. A Muslim and a warrior, Zheng He helped transform China into the region’s, and perhaps the world’s, superpower of his time.

In 1405, Zheng was chosen to lead the biggest naval expedition in history up to that time. Over the next 28 years (1405-1433), he commanded seven fleets that visited 37 countries, through Southeast Asia to faraway Africa and Arabia. In those years, China had by far the biggest ships of the time. In 1420 the Ming navy dwarfed the combined navies of Europe.

Ma He, as he was originally known, was born in 1371 to a poor ethnic Hui (Chinese Muslims) family inYunnan Province, Southwest China. The boy's grandfather and father once made an overland pilgrimage to Makkah. Their travels contributed much to young Ma's education. He grew up speaking Arabic and Chinese, leaming much about the world to the west and its geography and customs.

Recruited as a promising servant for the Imperial household at the age of ten, Ma was assigned two years later to the retinue of the then Duke Yan, who would later usurp the throne as the emperor Yong Le. Ma accompanied the Duke on a series of successful military campaigns and played a crucial role in the capture of Nanjing, then the capital. Ma was thus awarded the supreme command of the Imperial Household Agency and was given the surname Zheng.

Emperor Yong Le tried to boost his damaged prestige as a usurper by a display of China's might abroad, sending spectacular fleets on great voyages and by bringing foreign ambassadors to his court. He also put foreign trade under a strict Imperial monopoly by taking control from overseas Chinese merchants. Command of the fleet was given to his favorite Zheng He, an impressive figure said to be over eight feet tall.

A great fleet of big ships, with nine masts and manned by 500 men, each set sail in July 1405, half a century before Columbus's voyage to America. There were great treasure ships over 300-feet long and 150-feet wide, the biggest being 440-feet long and 186-across, capable of carrying 1,000 passengers. Most of the ships were built at the Dragon Bay shipyard near Nanjing, the remains of which can still be seen today.

Zheng He's first fleet included 27,870 men on 317 ships, including sailors, clerks, interpreters, soldiers, artisans, medical men and meteorologists. On board were large quantities of cargo including silk goods, porcelain, gold and silverware, copper utensils, iron implements and cotton goods. The fleet sailed along China's coast to Champa close to Vietnam and, after crossing the South China Sea, visited Java, Sumatra and reached Sri Lanka by passing through the Strait of Malacca. On the way back it sailed along the west coast of India and returned home in 1407. Envoys from Calicut in India and several countries in Asia and the Middle East also boarded the ships to pay visits to China. Zheng He's second and third voyages taken shortly after, followed roughly the same route.

In the fall of 1413, Zheng He set out with 30,000 men to Arabia on his fourth and most ambitious voyage. From Hormuz he coasted around the Arabian boot to Aden at the mouth of the Red Sea. The arrival of the fleet caused a sensation in the region, and 19 countries sent ambassadors to board Zheng He's ships with gifts for Emperor Yong Le.

In 1417, after two years in Nanjing and touring other cities, the foreign envoys were escorted home by Zheng He. On this trip, he sailed down the east coast of Africa, stopping at Mogadishu, Matindi, Mombassa and Zanzibar and may have reached Mozambique. The sixth voyage in 1421 also went to the African coast.

Emperor Yong Le died in 1424 shortly after Zheng He's return. Yet, in 1430 the admiral was sent on a final seventh voyage. Now 60 years old, Zheng He revisited the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and Africa and died on his way back in 1433 in India.

Zheng He's Junks

Zheng He's flag "treasure ship" was four hundred feet long - much larger than Columbus's. In this drawing, the two flagships are superimposed to give a clear idea of the relative size of these two ships. Columbus's ship St. Maria was only 85 feet long whilst Zheng He's flag ship was an astonishing 400 feet.

Imagine six centuries ago, a mighty armada of Zheng He's ships crossing the China Sea, then venturing west to Ceylon, Arabia, and East Africa. The fleet consisting of giant nine-masted junks, escorted by dozens of supply ships, water tankers, transports for cavalry horses, and patrol boats. The armada's crew totaling more than 27,000 sailors and soldiers.

Loaded with Chinese silk and porcelain, the junks visited ports around the Indian Ocean. Here, Arab and African merchants exchanged the spices, ivory, medicines, rare woods, and pearls so eagerly sought by the Chinese imperial court.

Seven times, from 1405 to 1433, the treasure fleets set off for the unknown. These seven great expeditions brought a vast web of trading links -- from Taiwan to the Persian Gulf -- under Zheng He's imperial control. This took place half a century before the first Europeans, rounding the tip of Africa in frail Portuguese caravels, 'discovered' the Indian Ocean.

His humble tomb



Zheng He (1371-1433), or Cheng Ho, is arguably China's most famous navigator. Starting from the beginning of the 15th Century, he traveled to the West seven times. For 28 years, he traveled more than 50,000 km and visited over 37 countries, including Singapore. Zheng He died in the tenth year of the reign of the Ming emperor Xuande (1433) and was buried in the southern outskirts of Bull's Head Hill (Niushou) in Nanjing.

In 1983, during the 580th anniversary of Zheng He's voyage, his tomb was restored. The new tomb was built on the site of the original tomb and reconstructed according to the customs of Islamic teachings.

At the entrance to the tomb is a Ming-style structure, which houses the memorial hall. Inside are paintings of the man himself and his navigation maps. To get to the tomb, there are newly laid stone platforms and steps. The stairway consists of 28 stone steps divided into four sections with each section having seven steps. This represents Zheng He's seven journeys to the West. Inscribed on top of the tomb are the Arabic words "Allahu Akbar (God is Great)".

Zheng He is a very famous person in China. I have read many things about him, but what I am really interest is where and what exact places did he visited. Zheng He used the port near Fuchow, Fujian for his voyages, so there are many tales from Fujian about him. Since he recruits many of his men from Fujian, that why so many Fujianese are in the southeast Asia now.

Zheng he never had such giant ships, there is not any prove for it, noone has seen them in 15th century and there is only one drawing of them in wich they are much smaller. He also never landed in america(newport) the so called star observatory there is just a copy of one wich is locaed in england.

This is all the theory of a so called sciencist called Menzies. It's really weird how everyone now belives this is true. He fleq over an island and saw some big white aereas in the grass, he just claimed this are sank junks without ever looking at it. Also the so called Shipyard to repair the sank junks after they were hit by a hurricane was now tested and is most likely natural origin. One step earlier the Map in venice is showing one little junk with a text under it with something like "they only found 70 days of open water and just returned" , thats about it

Zheng he never had such giant ships, there is not any prove for it, noone has seen them in 15th century and there is only one drawing of them in wich they are much smaller. He also never landed in america(newport) the so called star observatory there is just a copy of one wich is locaed in england.

Click to expand...

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta Arab explorer documented seeing huge ships in 1347



...We stopped in the port of Calicut, in which there were at the time thirteen Chinese vessels, and disembarked. On the China Sea travelling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements. The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks (junks), middle sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams. The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind.
A ship carries a complement of a thousand men six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred men-at-arms, including archers, men with shields and crossbows, who throw naphtha. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.
This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished." (Ibn Battuta).

Plus there would be other sources to validate the size of the ships, I personally do not know of any controversy over ship size but if u look hard enough u prob find it.

I do not want to comment extensively on your second paragraph because i do not understand what u mean but i say if the map is a forgery it does not distract the significance of Zhengs expediation. Maybe you just want to be controversial but i dont know if you are? if you are trying to dismiss his journey what is your reason please explain.

i can only imagine reasons for.

I was watching an interesting documentary on TV the other day highlighting Zheng He's voyages. A British historian and China specialist says that Zheng He could have travelled to the America's even before Christopher Colombus. This was also reported in the local news.

If true it changes American history but I think they will be very reluctant to give the Chinese Muslim the honour.

Well, there are no soild proofs, so it wll be anyone guess. Unless people find something that have historian value to proof otherwise, these will be just speculation

if a junk did reach america, it wasn't part of zhenghe's amanda. could be a pirate or something... the amanda was broke up because the official didn't like the project started by eunuch. maybe some of the sailors took off with their remaining ships and see the world, who knows...

but that is not the main point, the main point was the level of dominate the chinese fleet archived. it prove that the chinese did indeed managed to traded directly with arab and africa; and rival, no they surpasses the european in maritime capabilities of that period. :coffee:

While i too have my reservations regardin Menzies theory of Chinese discovering America, but even in the documentary that did the rebutal for this theory acknowledges the capabilities and size of Chinese junks. They showed huge ship building yards in China where these Junks were built and even dug out some of them proving thier big sizes compared to western designs in that era.

With the maps left by Zheng He's voyages, one could still sail to South Africa today, which is as far as factual evidence can back, which is also of course, as far as Chinese historians would claim.

Menzies theories (I would hesitate to call them even that) is completely groundless such that Chinese historians rebutted him many times. For example, one claim of his was that the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty already was using a longitude and latitude coordinational system, which was thoroughly rebutted by Chinese historians who pointed out that such technology was brought to China by Jesuit priests.

So could Zheng He have reached America? He could. There is always a chance. His ships certainly had the capabilities to do it. But that's where it stops. Could and did are two separate things. Menzies COULD be right, but I think he's just pulling crap out of his ass.

On another note, I observe many people blame the end of Zheng He's legacy on neo-Confucianism, on how it is backwards, conservative and xenophobic. My god, what a stupid way to simplify the situation.

I think most people here forget that Zheng He's voyages are not making money. If Zheng He went around in his fleet and conquored or plundered eveything he saw (his fleet certainly had more than the capacity to do so) thus yielding a positive cashflow, I doubt any minister in the Ming court would complain.

But no, they are costing billions. And following the great floods during the middle of the dynasty which wiped out half of the country's production, it just looked plain stupid to continue with such an endeavor. Neo-Confucianism had nothing to do with it.

Mindreader,

I guess you have also watched the documentary that i watched on PBS .

Regarding the usefulness of these voyages i would recall what they said in that documentary.

1) Trade benefits:

a) They cut short the tricky routes through central asia through a more secure sea route.
b) China could take their products (mainly silk) to middle east which was more easily accessible to west and other world than going through the silk route and having to deal with bandits.
c) China was dealing in spices from India , horses and herbs of medicinal value from middle east. They were even able to bring in a girrafe from africa :rofl:

2)Strategic benefits:

I think china did made it's outposts and stationed military there. If i am not wrong they did influence local politics. Specially in Srilanka there was a military confrontation if i am not wrong.


If you combine those above two we get a shorter more secure route for trade with the rest of the world that would have helped Chinese cash inflow IMO.