Manchu. He went on seven major expeditions to explore the world for the Chinese emperor and to establish Chinese trade in new … Between 1405 and 1433 CE Zheng He commanded huge fleets loaded with trade goods and high-value gifts to such far-flung places as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and Mogadishu in East Africa. "The Western Ocean" refers to the Asianand Africanplaces Zheng He explored, including: Cite This Work His father was a hajji, a Muslim who had made the hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 07 February 2019 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. But while his name may be … He was then conscripted into the army commanded by a Ming prince, none other than the future emperor Yongle. The traditional presentation of tribute to Chinese emperors by other, smaller states in Southeast Asia was given to prevent invasion or achieve a theoretical promise of protection in the case of invasion by a third party or because diplomatic missions giving that tribute were permitted to conduct trade while in China. Zheng was then selected by the emperor to be commander in chief of what became a series of missions to the “Western Oceans.” He first set sail in 1405, commanding 62 ships and 27,800 men. The ships were packed with fresh water, food supplies, and Chinese luxury goods intended to woo foreign rulers into displaying their appreciation of the Ming dynasty’s obvious wealth and power by sending back to China their own riches in tribute. Zheng He or Ma He (Chinese 郑和; 1371–1433) was an explorer, diplomat, and admiral from China.He lived during the Ming Dynasty.Zheng He was the leader of a very large fleet of ships that traveled all over the Indian Ocean and Southwest Asia.Zheng He was an eunuch of China's Imperial Court.The fleet that Zheng He commanded had 317 ships that were very large. 28,000 … This time, going beyond the seaports of India, he sailed to Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. Zheng He was a member of the Hui, a minority group in China that is predominantly Muslim. Answer: Zheng He traveled by ship. In 1405 a Chinese Muslim eunuch, Zheng He, launched the first of seven voyages west from China across the Indian Ocean. The Ming court then sought to display its naval power to bring the maritime states of South and Southeast Asia in line. 4000 B. Put simply, many foreign states, although interested in the trading possibilities, did not quite agree that China, the self-styled Middle Kingdom, was the centre of the world; a view confirmed by the opening up of the New World at the other end of the same century that Zheng He had begun his voyages. In October 1409 Zheng He set out on his third voyage. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the treasure fleet for the expeditions. "THE MING VOYAGES OF CHENG HO (ZHENG HE), 1371-1433. Another possible motive, at least for the earlier voyages to Southeast Asia, may have been to discover the whereabouts of the deposed emperor Jianwen (r. 1398-1402) and so ensure he did not stir up a rebellion to take back his throne from his usurper Yongle. Cartwright, Mark. These and other actions only strengthened the view that China was the chief power in the region and its greatest source of stability. The Kangnido map(1402) predates Zheng He's voyages, and suggests that he had quite detailed geographical information on the totality of the Old World, from Europe and Africa in the west, to Korea and Japan in the east. He was raised in Yunnan, China. Traditional and popular accounts of Zheng He's voyages have described a great fleet of gigantic ships far larger than any other wooden ships in history. Professor of History, University of California, Davis, 1969–76. Zheng died in Calicut in the spring of 1433, and the fleet returned to China that summer. These included diplomats, medical officers, astrologers, ship’s crews, and military personnel which, along with canons, bombs, and rockets, ensured the expedition could ably defend itself wherever it ventured. The family name Ma was derived from the Chinese rendition of Muḥammad. Born into a Muslim peasant family in Yunnan province in southern China c. 1371 CE, his family-given name was Ma Ho. How far did Zheng He travel? Written in the Ruins: Cape Breton Island’s Second Pre-Columbian Chinese... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, Bennet Peterson, B. A Chinese mission visited Mecca and continued to Egypt. 17 Jan 2021. He introduced gold and silk to some of these regions. The system had lapsed during the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1276-1368 CE) but Yongle wanted to revive it. Not until 1431 was Zheng He sent on the final voyage, which once again traveled to ports stretching from Asia to Arabia and eastern Africa. There were also secondary adventures besides securing new diplomatic ties. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Many of the vessels, built at the shipyards of Nanjing, were equipped with such innovations as water-tight compartments, sternpost rudders, magnetic compasses and paper charts and maps. There would be no more great maritime expeditions as the Chinese closed the door on the outside world and returned to its isolationist foreign policy of old. Zheng He was a Chinese explorer who lead seven great voyages on behalf of the Chinese emperor. Zheng He did not travel looking to conquer and kill but instead to show the might and wealth of the Ming Empire. In fact, Menzies says Columbus used a copy of Zheng He's map to plot his own voyage. Between 1405 and 1433, Ming China sent out seven gigantic naval expeditions under the command of Zheng He the great eunuch admiral. On his fourth voyage Zheng He left China in 1413. Zheng He's seventh and final voyage left China in the winter of 1431. We have traversed more than 100,000 li (50,000 kilometers or 30,000 miles) 0 … Living in a region of China that was then controlled by the Mongols, Ma Ho was captured by Ming forces at the age of ten. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Zheng He (or Ma Sanbao) (1371-1433 AD) was a court eunuch, marine explorer and fleet admiral, born into an adventurous Muslim family in Kunyang of Yunnan Province. Between 1405 and 1433 CE Zheng He commanded huge fleets loaded with trade goods and high-value gifts to such far-flung places as … License. Technological developments in shipbuilding and in the arts of seafaring reached new heights by the beginning of the Ming. ", Wade, G. "THE ZHENG HE VOYAGES: A REASSESSMENT. After the death of my dear friend, the Yongle Emperor, our voyages have momentarily paused. Yet, in their wake, Chinese emigration increased, resulting in Chinese colonization in Southeast Asia and the accompanying tributary trade, which lasted until the 19th century. These Chinese junks, also known as ‘treasure ships’, were perhaps up to 55 metres (180 ft) in length and 8.5 metres (28 ft) wide (although the exact dimensions are disputed amongst historians). The Seven Voyages of Zheng Heby Vmenkov (CC BY). By 1390, when those troops were placed under the command of the prince of Yan, Ma He had distinguished himself as a junior officer, skilled in war and diplomacy. On his return in 1411 he touched at Samudra, on the northern tip of Sumatra. Mark is a history writer based in Italy. Last modified February 07, 2019. He used these ships under the service of the Chinese emperor in an effort to explore the vast chinese empire of the middle ages and to bring wealth back to the emperor. There was space, too, for a huge number of personnel: estimates range from 20,000 up to 32,000 expedition members on the first voyage. In 1381, when he was about 10 years old, Yunnan, the last Mongol hold in China, was reconquered by Chinese forces led by generals of the Ming dynasty, which had overthrown the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty in 1368. Zheng defeated Alagonakkara’s forces and took the king back to Nanjing as a captive. Many rulers took up the offer immediately and delegates were accommodated on Zheng He’s ships to be eventually taken to China on the return voyage. The Seven Voyages of Zheng He. Under the Yongle administration (1402–24), the war-devastated economy of China was soon restored. Cartwright, Mark. Zheng He returned to China in 1407. What three regions did Zheng He travel to on his naval expedition? Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/article/1334/. His travels may not have brought much success in terms of new trade or lasting tribute to the imperial court but the knowledge, ideas, and exotic goods he brought back home - from jewels to giraffes - created an interest in foreign countries and a realisation of their wealth which contributed to China’s increased role in world trade in later centuries. Zheng He organized this expedition but did not actually lead it in person. What Prompted the End of the Treasure Fleet? In the typical treatment of those captured in warfare and destined to be slaves or servants, Ma Ho was castrated. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. Zheng He's Pilgrimage to Mecca The holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia, was the birthplace of the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam. More secure on his imperial throne, and having grabbed it in the first place after a three-year civil war, Yongle perhaps sought some international legitimacy for his position as emperor. The emperor’s purpose for this expedition seems to have been to obtain recognition and gifts from other rulers. The tribute, usually far less valuable than the goods which the emperors gave out, had always been a badge of approval to the Chinese, indicative that their emperor was indeed the Son of Heaven and the most powerful ruler on earth. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. The future explorer would have a difficult childhood but he certainly had the travel bug in his veins as his father had made the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Zheng He and his 317 ship and nearly 30,000 crew fleet set sail from the Liujiagan Port in the Jiangsu Province in China, and they sailed as far as... See full answer below. 2009-09-11 03:55:13. Zheng He's Travel Journal: Blog Bibliography Top Moments Seventh Voyage. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Again he visited Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and Africa. Books Top Answer. ". Ancient History Encyclopedia, 07 Feb 2019. The expense of the expeditions and the goods they carried did not match the value of the tributes that came in return. He traveled with over 60 other ships, some of which were over 400 feet long, known as treasure ships. He visited the states of Southeast Asia, the coast of India, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the east coast of Africa. Besides animals, Zheng He also brought back gems, spices, medicines, and fine cotton cloth, as well as knowledge of strange foreign peoples and customs. Although some historians see no achievement in the naval expeditions other than flattering the emperor’s vanity, those missions did have the effect of extending China’s political sway over maritime Asia for half a century. Yongle’s predecessors had been cautious to the point of isolationism when it came to foreign affairs, largely out of fear of military conquest by neighbouring peoples, especially the Mongols. Ma also had made influential friends at court. After his voyages ended, China turned inwards once again ended its brief … The first three voyages of Zheng He (1404, 1408 and 1409 CE) followed more established trade routes. Explanation: Zheng He (1371 - 1433) was a Chinese explorer who commanded many fleets in behalf of China. He went via Southeast Asia, sailing down the coast of Vietnam, stopping at Sumatra and Java and then on through the Malay Archipelago and through the Straits of Malacca, crossing the eastern Indian Ocean to reach India and Sri Lanka. Aiming to spread the word of the Chinese emperor's might and open Chinese trade to new markets, Zheng He traveled as far as the east coast of Africa. Ancient History Encyclopedia. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1334/. Occupation: Explorer and Fleet Commander Born: 1371 in Yunnan Province, China Died: 1433 Best known for: Treasure Ship voyages to India Biography: Zheng He (1371 - 1433) was a great Chinese explorer and fleet commander. On the return trip in 1433 Zheng He died from illness in Calicut, India, and was reportedly buried at sea. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The second voyage on its return in 1408 CE successfully resolved a local dispute on Java. Web. Recommended Annotation Visible only to you Name 3 things that were banned with the death of Emperor Yongle's death. Zheng died in Calicut in the spring of 1433, and the fleet returned to China that summer. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. On his return to China in 1415, Zheng He brought the envoys of more than 30 states of South and Southeast Asia to pay homage to the Chinese emperor. In exchange, he brought back fuel, building materials and other exotic artifacts. These voyages traveled through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. Cost very expensive, belief that. These voyages traveled through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. When Yongle won a three-year civil war and became emperor in 1403 CE, Ma Ho was given the new name of Zeng He (aka Cheng Ho). A report states that 19 foreign rulers sent tributes and diplomatic missions to the emperor as a consequence of this fourth voyage. During Zheng He’s fifth voyage (1417–19), the Ming fleet revisited the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa. Even if his wake was not immediately followed, Zheng He had shown the way. His grandfather was a noble from the Mongolian tribe and once made a pilgrimage to Mecca. He'd travel by ship (a subject that he was very understood of); were he realized diplomatic, military, trading ventures voyages across Asia … The ruler of Mogadishu was responsive and did send an embassy to Yongle, and even distant Zanzibar was reached by Zheng He’s fleet.