The two inscriptions honored and commemorated the goddess Tianfei. The problem, it seems, was political. In this drawing, the two flagships are superimposed to give a clear idea of the relative size of these two ships. Fagan, Brian. On his third voyage, in 1409–11, he sailed to many of the same places, including Calicut, Malacca, and Ceylon. In 1381, when Ma He was about 11 years old, Yunnan was attacked and conquered by soldiers from the Ming army, who were under the rule of Emperor Hong Wu. Among around 200 ships of his fleet, most of them were allocated with fire lances and cannons. On the first voyage, the fleet numbered 255 ships, 62 of which were vast treasure ships, or baochuan. Il est également possible qu'il soit d'origine cham musulmane, lorsque le royaume Champâ arrivait jusqu'à la bordure méridionale du Tonkin avec le Yunnan au Nord. His fleet had over 27,800 people, including sailors and soldiers. Although he is often described as an explorer, Zheng He did not set out primarily on voyages of discovery. China: China Intercontinental Press, 2005. Once more back on the seas, Zheng He and his large fleet set sail for his fifth expedition (1417-1419). He was able to expand new, friendly ties with other nations, while developing relations between the east-west trade opportunities. While a well-equipped navy had been built up during the early years of the Song dynasty (960- 1279), it was in the 12th century that the Chinese became a truly formidable naval power. His seven total voyages were diplomatic, military, and trading ventures, and lasted from 1405 – 1433. He also served as a bodyguard protecting the prince Zhu Di during many battles against the Mongols. Ma He received military training, and soon became a trusted assistant and adviser to the emperor. The fleet left Nanjing in the autumn of 1405. Zheng He, at thirty-five years old, had the highest rank of any eunuch in the history of China. After the Yong-le Emperor died in 1424, Zheng He lost his influence. 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. (A 1,200-year-old shipwreck reveals how the world traded with China. Having served in the court for many years, Ma He was eventually promoted to Grand Eunuch.This was the highest rank a eunuch could be promoted to. This was the first of seven expeditions of the treasure fleet that Zheng He commanded from 1405 to 1432. Young Ma He was educated as a child, often reading books from great scholars such as Confucius and Mencius.4 Ma He was curious about the world from a young age. Ming vase from 1431, of the type traded during Zheng He’s seven voyages. Upon the orders of the emperor Yongle and his successor, Xuande, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions, the first in the year 1405 and the last in 1430, which sailed from China to the west, reaching as far as the Cape of Good Hope. 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. Then known as Ma He, he spent his childhood in Mongol-controlled, landlocked Yunnan Province, located several months’ journey from the closest port. Beyond the Blue Horizon: How the Earliest Mariners Unlocked the Secrets of the Oceans. Zheng He’s Art of Collaboration: Understanding the Legendary Chinese Admiral from a Management Perspective. None of the seven expeditions headed north; most made their way to Java and Sumatra, resting for a spell in Malacca, where they waited for the winter monsoon winds that blow toward the west. He also visited Thailand, before making his way back to China in September 1422. They set sail from Liujiagan Port in Taicang of Jiangsu Province and headed westward. Biography Early LifeZheng He was born to a noble family in 1371 in the Yunnan Province of China. Zheng He remained in the royal court working for the new emperor, helping with the construction of a large temple. These voyages traveled through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. Not only did he revist many of the ports he’d been to many times, but also went back to the Mogadishu region of Somalia. He also brought back with him several envoys or representatives of various countries for the emperor to meet with and learn from. Alas, the Song’s newfound naval mastery was not enough to withstand the invasion of the mighty Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. He returned back to China in 1419. During this trip, Zheng He temporarily split from the fleet and made his hajj to the Muslim holy city of Mecca. By the time he returned, the emperor had died. China’s greatest naval explorer sailed his treasure fleets as far as East Africa. Information Office of the People’s Government of Fujian Province, Zheng He’s Voyages Down the Western Seas (China: China Intercontinental Press, 2005), 8. Between 1405 and 1433, Ming China sent out seven gigantic naval expeditions under the command of Zheng He the great eunuch admiral. Zheng He’s sixth journey, hurriedly arranged as the emperor put a temporary ban on treasure voyages, took him to distant places. Tsai, Shih-shan Henry. Chinese ships had set sail from the ports near present-day Shanghai, crossing the East China Sea, bound for Japan. En.Wiki 22Kartika ), IntroductionZheng He was a Chinese explorer who lead seven voyages. Was as determined as the Mongol and Song emperors before him to maintain China a. Quy Nhon, Vietnam, which He told the emperor gave Ma He would distinguish himself in the Yunnan of. Sailed his treasure fleets as far as East Africa not until 1431 that He. 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