Ming treasure voyages
Ming treasure voyages | ||
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Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Hé Xià Xīyáng | | |
Southern Min | ||
Hokkien POJ | Tēⁿ Hô Hā Se-iûⁿ |
The Ming treasure voyages were maritime expeditions undertaken by
The Chinese expeditionary fleet was heavily militarized and carried great amounts of treasures, which served to project Chinese power and wealth to the known world. They brought back many foreign ambassadors whose kings and rulers were willing to declare themselves
The Ming treasure voyages were commanded and overseen by the eunuch establishment whose political influence was heavily dependent on imperial favor. Within Ming China's imperial state system, the civil officials were the primary political opponents of the eunuchs and the opposing faction against the expeditions. Near the end of the maritime voyages, the civil government gained the upper hand within the state bureaucracy, while the eunuchs gradually fell out of favor after the death of the Yongle Emperor and lost the authority to conduct these large-scale endeavors. The collapse of the expeditions was further brought about by authorities and elites who had economic interests antagonistic to the central state control of commerce, since the state-sponsored maritime enterprise had been key to counterbalancing localized private trade.
Over the course of these maritime voyages, Ming China became the pre-eminent naval power by projecting its sea power further to the south and west. There is still much debate regarding issues such as the actual purpose of the voyages, the size of the ships, the magnitude of the fleet, the routes taken, the nautical charts employed, the countries visited, and the cargo carried.[1]
Background
Creation of the fleet
The
Under the reign of the Yongle Emperor, Ming China underwent
The fleet's high-ranking officers, such as Admiral Zheng He, were from the eunuch establishment.[15] Zheng served as the Grand Director in the Directorate of Palace Servants, a eunuch-dominated department, before his command of the expeditions.[16] The emperor placed great trust in Zheng and appointed him to command the fleet.[5][17] He even gave him blank scrolls stamped with his seal to issue imperial orders at sea.[17] The other principal officers, such as Wang Jinghong, Hou Xian, Li Xing, Zhu Liang, Zhou Man, Hong Bao, Yang Zhen, Zhang Da, and Wu Zhong, were court eunuchs employed in the civil service.[18] The rest of the crew was predominantly from the Ming military[15] and mostly recruited from Fujian.[19][20]
Regions
During the onset of their voyages, the Chinese treasure fleet embarked from the Longjiang shipyard and sailed down the
The voyages sent the fleet to the Western Ocean (西洋), which was the maritime region encompassing today's South China Sea and Indian Ocean during the Ming dynasty.[27] More specifically, contemporary sources including the Yingya Shenglan seem to indicate that the Eastern Ocean ended at Brunei and the Western Ocean was west of this place.[28]
During the first three voyages from 1405 to 1411, the fleet followed the same basic maritime route: from Fujian to the first call in Champa, across the South China Sea to
Course
First voyage
In the third lunar month (30 March to 28 April) of 1405, a preliminary order was issued to Admiral Zheng He and others to lead 27,000 troops to the Western Ocean.[33] An imperial edict, dated 11 July 1405, was issued containing the order for the expedition.[34][35][36] It was addressed to Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, and others.[34]
The
The fleet sailed to
During the return trip in 1407, Zheng and his associates engaged Chen Zuyi and his pirate fleet in battle at Palembang.[41][42][48][49] Chen had seized Palembang[41][48] and dominated the maritime route along the Malaccan Strait.[41] The battle concluded with the defeat of Chen's pirate fleet by the Chinese treasure fleet.[41][49] He and his lieutenants were executed on 2 October 1407 when the Chinese fleet returned to Nanjing.[50] The Ming court appointed Shi Jinqing as the Pacification Superintendent of Palembang, establishing an ally at Palembang and securing access to its port.[51]
The fleet returned to Nanjing on 2 October 1407.[35][52][53] After accompanying the fleet during the return journey, the foreign envoys (from Calicut, Quilon, Semudera, Aru, Malacca, and other unspecified nations) visited the Ming court to pay homage and present tribute with their local products.[34][50][54] The Yongle Emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites, whose duties included the protocol concerning foreign ambassadors, to prepare gifts for the foreign kings who had sent envoys to the court.[50]
Second voyage
The imperial order for the second voyage was issued in October 1407.
On 30 October 1407, a grand director was dispatched with a squadron to Champa before Zheng followed with the main body of the treasure fleet.
In this voyage, the Chinese forcibly settled the enmity between Ming China and Java.
During the journey, as recorded by Fei Xin, the fleet visited the Pulau Sembilan in the Strait of Malacca in the seventh year of the Yongle reign (1409).[56][59] Dreyer (2007) concludes that the stop was made during the return journey of the second voyage as the fleet did not leave the Chinese coast for the third voyage until early 1410.[59] Fei wrote that "In the seventh year of Yongle, Zheng He and his associates sent government troops onto the island to cut incense. They obtained six logs, each eight or nine chi[note 5] in diameter and six or seven zhang[note 5] in length, whose aroma was pure and far-ranging. The pattern [of the wood] was black, with fine lines. The people of the island opened their eyes wide and stuck out their tongues in astonishment, and were told that 'We are the soldiers of the Heavenly Court, and our awe-inspiring power is like that of the gods.'"[64] The fleet returned to Nanjing in the summer of 1409.[41][59]
The confusion of whether Zheng undertook the second voyage stems from the fact that a Chinese envoy was dispatched before he had departed with the main body of the fleet.[50] The imperial edict for the third voyage was issued during the second voyage while the fleet was still in the Indian Ocean, so Zheng was either absent when the court issued the imperial order or he had not accompanied the fleet during the second voyage.[65] On 21 January 1409, a grand ceremony was held in the honor of the goddess Tianfei, where she received a new title.[66] Duyvendak (1938) thinks that Zheng could not have been on the second voyage, because the ceremony's importance required Zheng's attendance.[67] Mills (1970), citing Duyvendak (1938), also states that he did not accompany the fleet for this voyage.[55] However, Dreyer (2007) states that it is strongly suggested that Zheng had been on the second voyage, as Fei's account about the 1409 visit to Pulau Sembilan explicitly mentions him.[68]
Third voyage
Straight-away, their dens and hideouts we ravaged,
And made captive that entire country,
Bringing back to our august capital,
Their women, children, families and retainers, leaving not one,
Cleaning out in a single sweep those noxious pests, as if winnowing chaff from grain...
These insignificant worms, deserving to die ten thousand times over, trembling in fear...
Did not even merit the punishment of Heaven.
Thus the august emperor spared their lives,
And they humbly kowtowed, making crude sounds and
Praising the sage-like virtue of the imperial Ming ruler.
— Yang Rong (1515) about the conflict in Ceylon[69]
The imperial order for the third voyage was issued in the first month of the seventh year of the Yongle reign (16 January to 14 February 1409).[70][71][72] It was addressed to Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, and Hou Xian.[70][72]
Zheng embarked on the voyage in 1409.[73] The Chinese treasure fleet departed from Liujiagang in the ninth month (9 October to 6 November 1409) and arrived at Changle the following month (7 November to 6 December 1409).[65][72][73] They left Changle in the twelfth month (5 January to 3 February 1410).[65][73] They proceeded via the Wuhumen.[72] The fleet made stops at Champa, Java, Malacca, Semudera, Ceylon, Quilon, Cochin, and Calicut.[41][65][74] They traveled to Champa within 10 days.[65][72] Wang and Hou made short detours at Siam, Malacca, Semudera, and Ceylon.[41] The fleet landed at Galle, Ceylon, in 1410.[65]
During the homeward journey in 1411, the Chinese treasure fleet
Zheng returned to Nanjing on 6 July 1411.[72][79] He presented the Sinhalese captives to the Yongle Emperor,[72] who decided to free and return them to their country.[72][75][76] The Chinese dethroned Alakeshvara in favor of their ally Parakramabahu VI as the king with Zheng and his fleet supporting him.[80][81] From then on, the fleet did not experience hostilities during visits to Ceylon.[76]
Fourth voyage
On 18 December 1412, the Yongle Emperor issued the order for the fourth voyage.[74][82][83] Zheng He and others were commanded to lead it.[82][83]
The emperor attended an archery contest for the
The fleet left Nanjing in 1413, probably in the autumn.[83][86][87] It set sail from Fujian in the 12th month of the 11th year in the Yongle reign (23 December 1413 to 21 January 1414).[86][87] Calicut was the westernmost destination during the previous voyages, but the fleet sailed beyond it this time.[88] The Taizong Shilu records Malacca, Java, Champa, Semudera, Aru, Cochin, Calicut, Lambri, Pahang, Kelantan, Jiayile, Hormuz, Bila, Maldives, and Sunla as stops for this voyage.[74]
The fleet sailed to Champa,
In 1415, the fleet made a stop at northern Sumatra during the journey homeward.[92] In this region, Sekandar had usurped the Semudera throne from Zain al-'Abidin,[83] but the Chinese had formally recognized the latter as the King of Semudera.[92] In contrast, Sekandar, an autonomous ruler, was not recognized by the Chinese.[92] Zheng was ordered to launch a punitive attack against the usurper and restore Zain al-'Abidin as the rightful king.[83] Sekandar and his forces, comprising reportedly "tens of thousands" of soldiers,[93] attacked the Ming forces and were defeated by them.[92][93] The Ming forces pursued Sekandar's forces to Lambri where they captured Sekandar, his wife, and his child.[83] King Zain al-'Abidin later dispatched a tribute mission to express his gratefulness.[92] This conflict reaffirmed Chinese power over the foreign states and the maritime route by protecting the local political authority that sheltered the trade.[92] Sekandar was presented to the Yongle Emperor at the palace gate and later executed.[83] It is not known when this execution happened, but Ma states that Sekandar was publicly executed in the capital after the fleet returned.[94] Fei Xin describes Sekandar as a false king who robbed, stole, and usurped the throne of Semudera, Ma Huan portrays him as someone who attempted to overthrow the ruler, and the Ming Shilu records that Sekandar was the younger brother of the former king and plotted to kill the ruler.[93]
On 12 August 1415, the fleet returned to Nanjing from this voyage.[74][83][94] The Yongle Emperor was absent since 16 March 1413 for his second military campaign against the Mongols and had not returned when the fleet arrived.[86] After the fleet's return, envoys bearing tribute from 18 countries were sent to the Ming court.[89]
Fifth voyage
On 14 November 1416, the Yongle Emperor returned to Nanjing.[95] On 19 November, a grand ceremony was held where he bestowed gifts to princes, civil officials, military officers, and the ambassadors of 18 countries.[note 7][95] On 28 December, the ambassadors visited the Ming court to take their leave and were bestowed robes before departure.[95] That day, the emperor ordered the undertaking of the fifth voyage,[86][96][97] the aim of which was to return the ambassadors and to reward their kings.[96][97]
Zheng He and others received orders to escort the ambassadors back home.[95] They carried imperial letters and gifts for several kings.[95] The King of Cochin received special treatment because he had sent tribute since 1411 and later also sent ambassadors to request the patent of investiture and a seal.[95] The Yongle Emperor granted him both requests, conferred to him a long inscription (allegedly composed by the emperor himself), and gave the title "State Protecting Mountain" to a hill in Cochin.[95]
Zheng may have left the Chinese coast in the autumn of 1417.
On 8 August 1419, the fleet had returned to China.[96][100][105] The Yongle Emperor was in Beijing, but he ordered the Ministry of Rites to give monetary rewards to the fleet's personnel.[106] The accompanying ambassadors were received at the Ming court in the eighth lunar month (21 August to 19 September) of 1419.[96][105] Their tribute included lions, leopards, dromedary camels, ostriches, zebras, rhinoceroses, antelopes, giraffes, and other exotic animals.[89] The arrival of the various animals brought by foreign ambassadors caused sensation at the Ming court.[105]
Early in the fall of 1420, after the emperor announced the move of the capital to Beijing, he made arrangements for all foreign envoys to journey to the new capital for a celebration in early 1421.[107]
Sixth voyage
The Taizong Shilu's 3 March 1421 entry notes that the envoys of sixteen countries (Hormuz and other countries) were given gifts of paper money, coin money, ceremonial robes, and linings before the Chinese treasure fleet escorted them back to their countries.[106] The imperial order for the sixth voyage was dated 3 March 1421.[108][109] Zheng He was dispatched with imperial letters, silk brocade, silk floss, silk gauze, and other gifts for the rulers of these countries.[106]
Upon return, several squadrons regrouped at Calicut and all the squadrons regrouped further at Semudera.[113] Siam was likely visited during the return journey.[111] The fleet returned on 3 September 1422.[109][115] They brought with them envoys from Siam, Semudera, Aden, and other countries, who bore tribute in local products.[115] The foreign envoys, who traveled with the fleet to China, proceeded overland or via the Grand Canal before reaching the imperial court at Beijing in 1423.[116]
On 31 January 1423, as reported in the Tarih al-Yaman fi d-daulati r-Rasuliya, the Sultan of the
Nanjing garrison
On 14 May 1421, the Yongle Emperor ordered the temporary suspension of the treasure voyages.[note 8][117] At the expense of the voyages, imperial attention and funding was diverted to the emperor's third, fourth, and fifth military campaigns against the Mongols.[118] Between 1422 and 1431, the Chinese treasure fleet remained in Nanjing to serve in the city's garrison.[119]
In 1424, Zheng He departed on a diplomatic mission to Palembang.[note 9][120][121] Meanwhile, Zhu Gaozhi ascended the throne as the Hongxi Emperor on 7 September 1424 following the death of his father, the Yongle Emperor, on 12 August 1424.[122][123] Zheng returned from Palembang after this death.[121][124][125]
The Hongxi Emperor was hostile to the undertaking of the treasure voyages.[106][126] On 7 September 1424, he terminated further voyages.[127] He kept the treasure fleet, which retained its original designation Xiafan Guanjun, as a part of Nanjing's garrison.[128] On 24 February 1425, he appointed Zheng as the defender of Nanjing and ordered him to continue his command over the fleet for the city's defense.[129] The Hongxi Emperor died on 29 May 1425 and was succeeded by his son as the Xuande Emperor.[130]
On 25 March 1428, the Xuande Emperor ordered Zheng and others to supervise the rebuilding and repair of the
Seventh voyage
Gong Zhen records that an imperial order was issued on 25 May 1430 for the arrangement of necessary provisions for the dispatch of Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, Li Xing, Zhu Liang, Yang Zhen, Hong Bao, and others on official business to the countries of the Western Ocean.[110] It was addressed to Yang Qing (楊慶), Luo Zhi (羅智), Tang Guanbo (唐觀保), and Yuan Cheng (袁誠).[110] On 29 June 1430, the Xuande Emperor issued his orders for the seventh voyage.[108][116][134] It was addressed to Zheng and others.[108] The Xuanzong Shilu reports that Zheng, Wang, and others were sent to distant foreign lands to bring them into deference and submission.[116] The emperor wished to reinvigorate the tributary relations that were promoted during the Yongle reign.[135] Before departing for the seventh voyage, Zheng and his associates had the Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions inscribed.[136]
The Xia Xiyang provides information about the dates and itinerary for this voyage.
We have traversed more than one hundred thousand li of immense water spaces, and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising sky-high. We have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapours, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds, day and night continued their course with starry speed, breasting the savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare.
— Zheng He and his associates[145]
Hormuz was farthest west of the eight destinations recorded for the seventh voyage in the Xia Xiyang.[144] The Mingshi and other sources describe the voyage with the fleet visiting at least seventeen countries (including those already mentioned in the Xia Xiyang).[144][146] The additional destinations reported in the Mingshi are Ganbali,[note 3] Bengal, Laccadive and Maldive island chains, Dhofar, Lasa, Aden, Mecca, Mogadishu, and Brava.[147] Gong recorded a total of 20 visited countries.[146] Fei Xin mentions that the fleet stopped at the Andaman and Nicobar island chains during the voyage.[147][148] He writes that, on 14 November 1432, the fleet arrived at Cuilanxu (probably the Great Nicobar Island) where it anchored for three days due to the unfavorable winds and waves.[143] He further writes that the native men and women came in log boats to trade coconuts.[143] The neighboring Aru, Nagur, Lide, and Lambri were certainly visited by a few ships, according to Dreyer (2007), on the way to Semudera in northern Sumatra.[147]
Zheng is mentioned in the Mingshi in connection to the visits of Ganbali,[144][149] Lasa,[144][149] Djorfar,[144] Mogadishu,[144][149] and Brava.[144][149] Dreyer (2007) states that the account is unclear on whether he went to those places in person, but the wording could indicate that he did as it states that he proclaimed imperial instructions to the kings of these countries.[144] He remarks that it is also possible that Zheng did not, because the fleet only made short stops at Calicut (4 days outward and 9 days homeward), which would not have provided enough time to travel overland to Ganbali, unless the location did not refer to Coimbatore but elsewhere in southern India.[150] The overland journey may have been undertaken by someone other than Zheng.[147]
Hong commanded a squadron for the journey to Bengal.[147] Ma Huan was among the personnel in this squadron.[151] It is not known when they exactly detached from the fleet for Bengal.[note 11] They sailed directly from Semudera to Bengal.[152] In Bengal, they traveled in order to Chittagong, Sonargaon, and the capital Gaur.[153] Afterwards, they sailed directly from Bengal to Calicut.[152][153] The fleet had departed from Calicut for Hormuz by the time Hong's squadron arrived in Calicut.[152] Ma writes that Hong sent seven men to accompany a ship[note 12] from Calicut bound for Mecca after he observed that Calicut was sending men there.[154][155] He adds that it took a year for them to go and return and that they had purchased various commodities and valuables, including giraffes, lions, and ostriches.[154][155] Hong's tomb, located in Nanjing, contains an inscription that substantiates the visit to Mecca by the squadron commanded by Hong.[155] It is likely that Ma was one of the people who visited Mecca.[note 13][156][157] Dreyer (2007) suggests that Hong may also have been involved with other destinations such as Dhofar, Lasa, Aden, Mogadishu, and Brava.[158]
Dreyer (2007) states that the following countries may also have been visited by a few of the ships when the fleet passed by them: Siam; the northern Sumatran states of Aru, Nagur, Lide, and Lambri (when sailing to Semudera); and Quilon and Cochin (when sailing to Calicut).[147] Mills (1970) concludes that Zheng's associates—not Zheng himself—had visited Siam, Aru, Nagur, Lide, Lambri, Nicobar Islands, Bengal, Quilon, Cochi, Coimbatore, Maldive Islands, Dhufar, Lasa, Aden, Mecca, Mogadishu, and Brava.[148] Pelliot (1933) suggests that the squadrons detached from the fleet at Hormuz to travel to Aden, the East African ports, and perhaps Lasa.[159]
The Xia Xiyang also provided the dates and itinerary, as described hereafter, for the return route of the seventh voyage.[note 10] The Chinese treasure fleet departed from Hormuz on 9 March 1433, arrived at Calicut on 31 March, and departed from Calicut on 9 April to sail across the ocean.[160][161] They arrived at Semudera on 25 April and left there on 1 May.[160][161] On 9 May, they arrived at Malacca.[160][161] They arrived at the Kunlun Ocean[note 14] on 28 May.[note 15][161] They arrived at Vijaya (present-day Qiu Nhon) on 13 June and left there on 17 June.[161][162] The Xia Xiyang records several geographical sightings[note 16] at this point.[162] The fleet arrived at Taicang on 7 July.[161][162] The Xia Xiyang notes that it did not record the later stages, that is, the journey between Taicang and the capital.[161] On 22 July 1433, they arrived in the capital Beijing.[161][163] On 27 July, the Xuande Emperor bestowed ceremonial robes and paper money to the fleet's personnel.[161][163]
According to Dreyer (2007), the fleet's detached squadrons were probably already assembled at Calicut for the homeward journey, as the main fleet did not remain long there.
The fleet returned with envoys from 11 countries, including from Mecca.[164] On 14 September 1433, as recorded in the Xuanzong Shilu, the following envoys came to court to present tribute: King Zain al-Abidin of Semudera sent his younger brother Halizhi Han and others, King Bilima of Calicut sent his ambassador Gebumanduluya and others, King Keyili of Cochin sent his ambassador Jiabubilima and others, King Parakramabahu VI of Ceylon sent his ambassador Mennidenai and others, King Ali of Dhofar sent his ambassador Hajji Hussein and others, King Al-Malik az-Zahir Yahya b. Isma'il of Aden sent his ambassador Puba and others, King Devaraja of Coimbatore sent his ambassador Duansilijian and others, King Sa'if-ud-Din of Hormuz sent the foreigner Malazu, the King of "Old Kayal" (Jiayile) sent his ambassador Abd-ur-Rahman and others, and the King of Mecca sent the headman (toumu) Shaxian and others.[163]
Aftermath
Situation near the end
During the course of the treasure voyages, Ming China had become the pre-eminent naval power of the early 15th century.[165] The Yongle Emperor had extended imperial control over foreign lands during the span of the voyages.[166] However, in 1433, the voyages ceased and Ming China turned away from the seas.[167] Admiral Zheng He himself died in 1433[168] or 1435.[169]
The trade still flourished long after the voyages had ceased.[170] Chinese ships continued to control the Eastern Asian maritime trade.[164][171][172] They also kept on trading with India and East Africa.[171] However, the imperial tributary system over the foreign regions and state monopoly over the foreign trade gradually broke down as time progressed,[173] while private trade supplanted the centralized tributary trade.[172] The voyages were a means to establish direct links between the Ming court and foreign tribute states, which effectively outflanked both private channels of trade and local civil officials sabotaging the prohibitions against overseas exchange.[166] The end of the voyages led to the shift of foreign commerce to the domain of local authorities, which further undermined the authority of the central government.[173]
The nobility and military were an important part of the ruling elite during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, but the political power gradually shifted to the civil government.[174] As a consequence, the eunuch faction was unable to gather enough support to initiate projects opposed by civil officials.[174] These bureaucrats remained wary of any attempt by the eunuchs to restart the voyages.[174] The withdrawal of Ming China's treasure fleet left a power vacuum across the Indian Ocean.[175]
Causes of cessation
It is not exactly known why the Ming treasure voyages completely ended in 1433.[176] Duyvendak (1939) suggests that the heavy costs partly contributed to the ending of the expeditions,[177] but Ray (1987), Finlay (1992), and Dreyer (2007) note that the costs had not overburdened the Ming treasury.[178][179][180] Ray (1987) adds that the voyages were a profitable enterprise and rejects the notion that the voyages were terminated because they were wasteful, costly, or uneconomic.[178] Siu (2023) remarks that pressure on the government and the economy by increasing expenditure should not be attributed to the voyages, since the voyages created positive revenue for the state.[181]
Even though civil officials had ill feelings toward eunuchs for their overbearing nature and interference in state affairs, much of the hostility that came to characterize the relationship between the officials and eunuchs manifested long after the voyages ended, when eunuchs wielded their power to enrich themselves through extortion and to persecute their critics.[182][183] According to Lo (1958) and Ray (1987), the hostility between these factions cannot explain the cessation of the voyages.[182][183] Lo (1958) also notes that Zheng He was on friendly terms with many high officials and was respected by them,[182] while Ray (1987) mentions that eunuchs such as Zheng He and Hou Xian were held in high esteem by the court.[183]
Ray (1987) states that the cessation of the voyages happened as traders and bureaucrats, for reasons of economic self-interest and through their connections in Beijing, gradually collapsed the framework supporting both the state-controlled maritime enterprise and the strict regulation of the private commerce with prohibitive policies.[184] Similarly, Lo (1958) states that rich and influential individuals used their connections in Beijing to undermine efforts to restore the trade to official channels and possibly revive the voyages, because they wanted to safeguard their interests and were antagonistic to the government's monopoly of foreign trade.[172]
Sui (2023) argues that the cessation of the voyages was a consequence of the fiscal competition between emperors and civil officials.[185] The Yongle Emperor extracted funds from the national treasuries to finance his construction projects and military operations, which included the treasure voyages, while he monopolized on the trade income to ensure freedom to realize his ambitious plans.[185] In doing so, the emperor enhanced his authority in fiscal matters and encroached on the fiscal power of the civil government.[185] The civil officials were charged by the emperor to raise funds for the voyages, but they had no influence in the trade income as the emperor had designated the eunuchs to manage the trade and its revenues.[185] Herein, the voyages became a focal point of criticism by officials.[186] Even though the financial allocation for the voyages was a relatively small portion of the government's overall budget, the voyages signified a step toward a new division of fiscal authority between the emperor and the civil officials, one which excluded the officials from the budget process.[187]
In 1435, when the
Impact
Goals and consequences
The Ming treasure voyages were diplomatic, militaristic, and commercial in nature.[36][188] They were conducted to establish imperial control over the maritime trade,[6][165] to bring the maritime trade into the tributary system,[189] and to force foreign countries to comply with the tributary system.[165][189][190] The diplomatic aspect comprised the announcement of the Yongle Emperor's accession to the throne, the establishment of hegemony over the foreign countries, and safe passage to foreign envoys who came bearing tribute.[191] The emperor may have sought to legitimize his reign by compelling foreign countries to recognize their tributary status, as he came to rule the Chinese empire by usurping the Ming throne.[192][193][194]
The Chinese did not seek territorial control, as they were primarily motivated by the political and economic control across space entailing domination over a vast network with its ports and shipping lanes.[195] Finlay (2008) underscores the goal of controlling maritime commerce in which the voyages are regarded as an attempt to reconcile China's need for maritime commerce with the government's suppression of the private aspects of maritime commerce, representing "a deployment of state power to bring into line the reality of seaborne commerce with an expansive conception of Chinese hegemony."[166] Neither the pursuit for exclusive access to nor the forceful integration of other countries' wealth was a feature of the expeditions.[196][197] China's economy did not necessitate or was dependent on the systematic exploitation of foreign countries and their resources for its own capital accumulation.[197] The trading centers along the maritime routes were kept open to other foreigners and remained unoccupied in a joint effort to further promote international trade.[198]
The voyages changed the organization of the
The tributary relations promoted during the voyages manifested a trend toward cross-regional interconnections and early globalization in Asia and Africa.[208] The voyages brought about the Western Ocean's regional integration and the increase in international circulation of people, ideas, and goods.[199] It provided a platform for cosmopolitan discourses, which took place in locations such as the ships of the Chinese treasure fleet, the Chinese capitals Nanjing and Beijing, and the banquet receptions organized by the Ming court for foreign representatives.[199] People from different countries congregated, interacted, and traveled together as the fleet sailed from and to China.[199] For the first time in its history, as Sen (2016) emphasizes, the maritime region from China to Africa was under the dominance of a single imperial power, which allowed for the creation of a cosmopolitan space.[209]
Another purpose of the Chinese expeditions was the maintenance of political and ideological control across the region.[196] In this regard, other countries needed to acknowledge that China was the hegemonic power in the region, not cause trouble with neighboring people, and accept the tributary system out of their own self-interest.[196] Foreign rulers were compelled to acknowledge the inherent moral and cultural superiority of China, an obligation expressed by paying homage and presenting tribute before the Ming court.[210] The Chinese intended to civilize the many foreign peoples by bringing them into formal submission within Ming China's greater world order.[210] The cultural aspect of the voyages appears in the Liujiagang inscription, stating that "those among the foreigners who were resisting the transforming influence (genghua) of Chinese culture and were disrespectful, we captured alive, and brigands who indulged in violence and plunder, we ex-terminated. Consequently the sea-route was purified and tranquillised and the natives were enabled quietly to pursue their avocations."[211]
Diplomatic relationships were based on a mutually beneficial maritime commerce and a visible presence of a Chinese militaristic naval force in foreign waters.[192] Firstly, the Chinese naval superiority was a crucial factor in this interaction, namely because it was inadvisable to risk punitive action from the Chinese fleet.[195] The fleet was, as Mills (1970) characterizes, "an instrument of aggression and political dominance."[6] It brought forth the manifestation of China's power and wealth to awe foreign lands under Chinese hegemony.[212][213] This was actualized by showing the Ming flag and establishing a military presence along the maritime trade routes.[214] Secondly, the worthwhile and profitable nature of the Chinese maritime enterprise for foreign countries served as a persuading factor to comply.[192] Even though the Chinese fleet demonstrated military might through their large warships and military forces, the Chinese often sent smaller squadrons comprising a few ships to foreign polities to pursue tributary relations through primarily trade opportunities instead.[215]
A theory, considered very unlikely, suggests the voyages were initiated to search for the dethroned
Policy and administration
In the Ming court, the civil officials were the faction who opposed the treasure voyages.[179][193][218] They condemned the expeditions as extravagant and wasteful,[218][219] but the Yongle Emperor was unconcerned about the costs of the voyages and was determined to undertake them.[220] In contrast, the eunuch establishment stood at the head of the treasure fleet and the expeditions.[167][176][193][218] Traditionally, civil officials were the political opponents to the eunuch faction[167][193][218] and to the military who crewed the fleet.[193] This political and institutional disadvantage within the state system contributed to the inherent opposition of these bureaucrats against the voyages.[193][218][221] Moreover, civil officials criticized the state expenses brought by the fleet's construction, but the emperor was set on realizing its formation.[5] Construction projects were in fact usually the domain of the eunuchs.[16] Eunuchs were assigned to supervise the fleet's construction, while the military was assigned to carry it out.[5] On cultural grounds, the civil officials were hostile to the voyages, because the trade and acquisition of strange foreign goods conflicted with their Confucian ideologies.[218][219][222][223] The undertaking of these expeditions only remained possible as long as the eunuchs maintained imperial favor.[176][224]
The Hongwu Emperor initiated the haijin, a private maritime trade proscription, in 1371.[225] He was wary of the political and social consequences that maritime commerce could bring,[226][227] so he sought to restrain it by outlawing private maritime trade.[228][229] This policy continued well into the Yongle reign.[228][229][230] In addition, the Yongle Emperor aimed at consolidating imperial control over maritime commerce, stopping the coastal criminality and disorder, providing employment for mariners and entrepreneurs, exporting Chinese products to foreign markets, importing desired goods for Chinese consumers, extending the tributary system, and displaying imperial majesty to the seas.[231] He limitedly reformed the tributary system and encouraged the opening up of state-run foreign trade, which resulted in the restoration of maritime supervisorates in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Ningbo, the expansion of tributary relations through measures such as tax exemptions for private trade activities by foreign envoys, and the treasure voyages led by Zheng He.[232] The voyages functioned as trade commissions in the government's attempts to regulate maritime commerce by establishing an imperial monopoly over it and incorporating it into the tributary system.[166] Dreyer (2007) states that there seems to have been an idea about a foreign policy comprising an extended foreign trade supported by a heavy military naval presence and a cultivation of shared interests with local allies.[212]
The emperor's interest in the voyages was the highest during the period spanning the first three voyages, but he became more occupied with his military campaigns against the Mongols after establishing the capital at Beijing.[233] By the fourth voyage, he showed interest in the expansion of trade and diplomatic activity to West Asia.[234] Therefore, the Chinese sought and employed Persian and Arabic language interpreters, such as Ma Huan and Guo Chongli, to accompany the fleet.[234] After the capital was transferred from Nanjing to Beijing, the south and the seas were given less and less attention from emperors and officials alike.[86] The Hongxi Emperor wished to revert his predecessor's relocation of the capital, but he died on 29 May 1425 before he could do so.[129][235] He was succeeded by the Xuande Emperor who remained in Beijing.[130] Dreyer (2007) states that the prospects for the voyages would have been better if the capital was relocated back to Nanjing, because the court would have been near the locations where the voyages started and the Longjiang shipyards where most of the ships were built.[174]
Minister of Finance Xia Yuanji was a vocal opponent to the voyages.[123][236][237] The Hongxi Emperor was also fiercely against the voyages throughout his reign.[106] After taking Xia's advice, the emperor ordered the cessation of the voyages on 7 September 1424, the day of his accession to the throne.[123] In contrast, the Xuande Emperor went against the general court opinion when he ordered the seventh voyage.[135] This emperor relied on eunuchs during his reign, whereas the Hongxi Emperor had relied on civil officials.[238]
Personnel and organization
The
There were seven Grand Directors (taijian) and ten Junior Directors (shaojian).[245] The Grand Directors, such as Zheng He, served as ambassadors and commanders of the fleet, while the Junior Directors were their highest ranked assistants.[245] In total, there were 70 eunuchs, including the aforementioned, at the head of the fleet.[245] This was followed by two brigadiers (du zhihuishi), 93 captains (zhihuishi), 104 lieutenants (qianhu), and 103 sub-lieutenants (bohu).[note 19][245][246] There were guard judges (wei zhenfu) and battalion judges (suo zhenfu), who adjudicated military offenses and were expected to replace lieutenants (qianhu) or sub-lieutenants (bohu) when necessary.[245] Furthermore, there were 180 medical personnel, a bureau director from the Ministry of Finance,[note 20] two secretaries, two protocol officers from the Court of State Ceremonial,[note 21] an astrological officer, and four astrologers.[246][247] The remaining personnel, the rank and file, included petty officers (qixiao or quanxiao), brave corps (yongshi), power corps (lishi),[note 22] military soldiers (referred as guanjun, 'official soldiers', or qijun, 'flag soldiers'), supernumeraries (yuding), boatsman (minshao), buyers (maiban), and clerks (shushou).[247][248] Religious leaders from different faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam also served in the fleet.[18]
The Liujiagang inscription records Zheng He (鄭和) and Wang Jinghong (王景弘) as the principal envoys as well as Zhu Liang (朱良), Zhou Man (周滿), Hong Bao (洪保), Yang Zhen (楊真), and Zhang Da (張達) as deputy envoys.[249] The Changle inscription repeats this, but adds Li Xing (李興) and Wu Zhong (吳忠) as deputy envoys.[249] All envoys are recorded to have carried the rank of Grand Director in both inscriptions, except Zhang Da who was reported with the rank of Senior Assistant Director in the Liujiagang inscription and the rank of Grand Director in the Changle inscription.[249] Additionally, the Changle inscription mentions Zhu Zhen (朱真) and Wang Heng (王衡) as the brigadiers.[20][249] These people and unnamed "others" are mentioned on the respective inscriptions as those who have composed it.[249] The Changle inscription also mentions that the Daoist priest Yang Yichu (楊一初) begged to erect the respective stele.[249]
Zhu Yunming's Xia Xiyang records the following personnel: officers and petty officers (guanxiao), soldiers (qijun), mess leaders (huozhang), helmsman (tuogong), anchormen (bandingshou), interpreters (tongshi), business managers (banshi), accountants (susuanshi), doctors (yishi), anchor mechanics (tiemiao), caulkers (munian), sailmakers (dacai), sailors (shuishou), and boatmen (minshaoren).[247][248]
For the first Ming treasure voyage, the Chinese fleet had a personnel of 27,800[39] or 27,870[34][41] men. The fleet comprised 317 ships,[17][34][41] which included 62 treasure ships.[34][39] It is possible that the fleet had 63 treasure ships.[47] The Mingshi states that the fleet had 62 treasure ships and a crew of 27,800 for the first voyage.[47] Tan Qian's Guoque records 63 treasure ships and a crew of 27,870 for the first voyage.[47] The Zuiweilu records a personnel of 37,000, but this is probably an error.[47] The Taizong Shilu records two imperial orders for ship construction to the Nanjing's capital guards: one for 200 ships (海運船 haiyunchuan) on 4 September 1403 and one for 50 ships (海船 haichuan) on 1 March 1404.[250] The text did not record the purpose for which these 250 ships were constructed.[251] Yan Congjian's Shuyu Zhouzilu conflated this to one imperial order for the construction of 250 ships specifically for the voyages to the Western Ocean.[47] The Taizong Shilu also records a 2 March 1404 imperial order for Fujian to construct five ships (haichuan) to be used in the voyages to the Western Ocean.[47] These 255 ships plus the 62 treasure ships add up to 317 ships for the first voyage.[note 23][47]
For the second voyage, it is thought that the fleet comprised 249 ships.[55][228] On 5 October 1407, as the Taizong Shilu records, Wang Hao was ordered to supervise the conversion of 249 ships in preparation for embassies to the countries at the Western Ocean.[252] This was close to the date when the second voyage was ordered, thus the fleet likely comprised these 249 ships for the second voyage.[251] The number of treasure ships[57] or personnel[55][57] is not known.
For the third voyage, Fei Xin's Xingcha Shenglan records that the fleet had 48 haibo (海舶) and a crew of over 27,000.[253] Dreyer (2007) states that Fei was probably referring to the treasure ships as haibo.[254] Yan's Shuyu Zhouzilu and Lu Rong's Shuyuan Zaji use the term "treasure ship" instead when they mention the 48 ships for this voyage.[253] Coincidentally, the Taizong Shilu records the imperial order issued on 14 February 1408 for the construction of 48 treasure ships to the Ministry of Works at Nanjing; these were possibly the 48 treasure ships for the third voyage.[253] Dreyer (2007) states that the fleet likely had an undisclosed array of support ships in addition to the 48 treasure ships.[253]
Ma's Yingya Shenglan records 63 treasure ships for the fourth voyage.[255] Dreyer (2007) says that these were probably accompanied by support ships.[255] The fleet was crewed by 28,560[83][86] or 27,670 men.[89] Fei records a personnel of 27,670 for this voyage, but another source records 28,560.[255]
There is no record for the number of ships or personnel for the fifth voyage.[96][255]
On 2 October 1419, an order was issued for the construction of 41 treasure ships from an undisclosed shipbuilder.[256] Most scholars conclude that these were likely used for the sixth voyage,[255] but many other treasure ships had already been constructed or were in construction by that time.[257] There is no specific figure for the ships or personnel of the sixth voyage.[255] The fleet probably made use of several dozen of the treasure ships each accompanied by half a dozen support vessels.[111]
For the seventh voyage, the Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions speak of over a hundred large ships (巨舶 jubo).[255] Dreyer (2007) suggests that these ships probably included most of the remaining treasure ships, which were likely accompanied by support ships.[255] The Xia Xiyang records the names of several ships—Qinghe (清和; 'pure harmony'), Huikang (惠康; 'kind repose'), Changning (長寧; 'lasting tranquility'), Anji (安濟; 'peaceful crossing'), and Qingyuan (清遠; 'pure distance')—and notes that there were also ships designated by a series number.[146] The fleet had 27,550 men as personnel for the voyage.[138][255]
Military affairs
Before the Ming treasure voyages, there was turmoil around the seas near the Chinese coast and distant Southeast Asian maritime regions, characterized by piracy, banditry, slave trade, and other illicit activities.[258] The Chinese treasure fleet had a large number of warships to protect their precious cargo and to secure the maritime routes.[258] They established a substantial Chinese military presence around the South China Sea and trading cities in southern India.[59] The early stages of the voyages were especially characterized by highly militaristic objectives, as the Chinese stabilized the sea passages from hostile entities as well as strengthened their own position and maintained their status in the region.[259] Even though Zheng He sailed through the oceans with a military force larger and stronger than any local power, there is no written evidence in historical sources that there was any attempt that they forcibly tried to control the maritime trade in the regions of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.[70] Dreyer (2007) adds that the large Chinese fleet would still have been a "terrifying apparition" when it came within visible reach along the coastlines of foreign nations, bringing any state into submission by the sole sight of it alone.[260] From the fourth voyage onwards, the fleet ventured further than their usual end-destination of Calicut to lands beyond where there would be less direct hostilities.[30]
The fleet engaged and defeated
In
On the Malabar coast,
Diplomacy and commerce
The commodities that the Chinese treasure fleet carried included three major categories: gifts to be bestowed on rulers, items for exchange of goods or payment of goods with fixed prices at low rates (e.g., gold, silver, copper coins, and paper money), and items which China held a monopoly over (e.g., musks, ceramics, and silks).[265] It was said that there were sometimes so many Chinese goods unloaded into an Indian port that it could take months to price everything.[12][266] In turn, Zheng He returned to China with many kinds of tribute goods, such as silver, spices, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, ebony, camphor, tin, deer hides, coral, kingfisher feathers, tortoise shells, gums and resin, rhinoceros horn, sapanwood and safflower (for dyes and drugs), Indian cotton cloth, and ambergris (for perfume).[240] The ships even brought back exotic animals, such as ostriches, elephants, and giraffes.[240] The imports from the Ming treasure voyages provided large quantities of economic goods that fueled China's own industries.[266] For example, there was so much cobalt oxide from Persia that the porcelain industry at Jingdezhen had a plentiful supply for decades after the voyages.[240] The fleet also returned with such a large amount of black pepper that the once-costly luxury became a common commodity in Chinese society.[240][267] Meanwhile, large-scale exports during the voyages prompted the development of Chinese industries and opened up their overseas markets.[268]
The voyages resulted in a flourishing Ming economy[269] and stimulated the lucrative maritime commerce.[270][271] The expeditions developed into a maritime trade enterprise where the Chinese began trading and supplying the commodities that were non-Chinese in origin.[265] This highlighted the commercial character of the voyages in which the Chinese expanded upon the already large profits from their trade.[265] The impact of the expeditions on commerce was on multiple levels: it established imperial control over local private commercial networks, expanded tributary relations and thereby brought commerce under state supervision, established court-supervised transactions at foreign ports and thereby generate substantial revenue for both parties, and increased production and circulation of commodities across the region.[272] The voyages induced a sudden supply shock in the Eurasian market, where the Chinese maritime exploits in Asia led to disruptions of imports to Europe with sudden price spikes in the early 15th century.[273]
Geography and society
The Chinese treasure fleet sailed the equatorial and subtropical waters of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, where they were dependent on the circumstances of the annual cycle of monsoon winds.[24][25] Therefore, the fleet's navigators precisely organized the treasure voyages under careful considerations of the periodical patterns of the tropical and subtropical monsoon.[25] For the southward route from Changle in China to Surabaya in Java, the fleet followed the northeast wind, crossed the Equator (where the northeast wind changes into the northwest wind due to the Coriolis force), and then followed the northwest wind.[278] At Java, the fleet waited for the arrival of the tropical southeast wind in the Southern Hemisphere and used it to sail toward Sumatra.[278] At Sumatra, the fleet was halted due to the change of the southeast wind into a strong southwest wind at a northern latitude close to the equator and waited until next winter for the northeast wind.[278] For the northwestward route toward Calicut and Hormuz, the Chinese took advantage of the northeastern wind.[278] The return journey was set during the late summer and early autumn because favorable monsoon winds were present at that time.[279] The fleet left Hormuz before the southwestern monsoon arrived over the Indian Ocean.[278] They made use of the northern wind for the southward journey from Hormuz to Calicut.[278] For the eastward journey from Sumatra, the fleet used the newly arrived southwestern monsoon over the eastern parts of the Indian Ocean.[278] After the fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca, the fleet caught up with the southwest wind over the South China Sea to sail back to China.[278] As maritime conditions were limited by the monsoon winds, squadrons were detached from the main fleet to diverge to specific destinations.[278] The first point of divergence was Sumatra from where a squadron would travel to Bengal.[278] The second point of divergence was Calicut, from where ships sailed to Hormuz as well as other destinations at the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.[278] Malacca was the rendezvous point where the squadrons would reassemble for the final leg of the return journey.[278]
During all the voyages, the fleet departed from Sumatra to sail westward across the Indian Ocean.
Calicut was a main destination throughout the voyages and also served as a place of transit to destinations further west during the later voyages.[283] Ming China had cordial relations with Calicut, which was valuable as they tried to extend the tributary system to the states around the Indian Ocean.[212] Ma described Calicut as the "great country of the Western Ocean" and had a positive response to the Calicut authorities' regulation of trade and attention to weights and measurements.[46][88] Fei Xin described Calicut as the "great harbor" of the Western Ocean countries.[144]
During the Ming treasure voyages, the Chinese treasure fleet acquired and collected a large amount of navigational data.[284] These were specifically recorded by the astrological officer and his four astrologers.[285] The navigational data were processed into different types of charts by a cartographic office,[284][285] comprising an astrological officer, four astrologers, and their clerks.[285] It provided the expeditionary commanders with the necessary navigational charts for their voyages.[284] Many copies of the expeditionary charts were housed in the Ministry of War.[284] Additional navigational data were probably also supplied by local maritime pilots, Arab records, Indian records, and other Chinese records.[285]
The fleet's navigators and pilots were known as huozhang (火長) or, in the case they were foreigners, as fanhuozhang (番火長).[286] Among their responsibilities, they operated compasses.[286] The fanhuozhang and the huozhang as well as others were recorded in the Ming Shilu, in connection to awards given to the crew for participation in the battles at Palembang and Ceylon as well as a hostile encounter between returning ships led by the eunuch Zhang Qian (張謙) and Japanese pirates—who were inflicted a heavy defeat—near Jinxiang in Zhejiang.[286]
The
Faith and ceremony
The power of the goddess, having indeed been manifested in previous times, has been abundantly revealed in the present generation. In the midst of the rushing waters it happened that, when there was a hurricane, suddenly a divine lantern was seen shining at the masthead, and as soon as that miraculous light appeared the danger was appeased, so that even in the peril of capsizing one felt reassured and that there was no cause for fear.
— Zheng He and his associates about witnessing
The faith of the Chinese treasure fleet's crew was centered around
In Galle, Ceylon, Zheng set up a
On 20 September 1414, Bengali envoys presented a giraffe as tribute in the name of King Saif Al-Din Hamzah Shah of Bengal (r. 1410–1412) to the Yongle Emperor of Ming China.[297] The giraffe was identified as the qilin, but the emperor did not want his officials to send laudatory memorials on behalf of its auspicious appearance during his reign and, as suggested by Church (2004), probably did not think it was a qilin.[298]
Historiography
There are several extant contemporary accounts, including
The
A number of later works contain accounts about the voyages. These include the
Luo Maodeng's Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi [三寶太監下西洋記通俗演義] (1597) is a novel about the exploits of Zheng and his fleet.[304][320] In the preface, Luo states that Chinese maritime power was essential to maintain world order.[321] In Luo's work, Zheng sailed the oceans in search of a sacred imperial seal to restore harmony in the Middle Kingdom.[320] Finlay (1992) remarks that the story gives the suggestion that, as Zheng never actually finds this seal, the world order cannot be restored by any other means than military force.[322] Luo's novel contains a description of different classes of ships with their sizes: the 36 nine-masted treasure ships (baochuan) were 44.4 by 18 zhang, the 700 eight-masted horse ships (machuan) were 37 by 15 zhang, the 240 seven-masted grain ships or supply ships (liangchuan) were 28 by 12 zhang, the 300 six-masted billet ships or troop transports (zuochuan) were 24 by 9.4 zhang, and the 180 five-masted combat ships or warships proper (zhanchuan) were 18 by 6.8 zhang.[323] Dreyer (2007) argues that this work holds no evidential value as a historical source, but notes that Duyvendak (1953) thinks that it may be based on some truth.[319]
The Kezuo Zhuiyu and the Shuyu Zhouzilu describe the following circumstances of what happened to the official archives about the expeditions.[324] During the reign of the Chenghua Emperor (r. 1465–1487), an order was issued to retrieve the documents concerning the expeditions to the Western Ocean from the Ministry of War archives.[324][325] However, the official Liu Daxia (劉大夏) had hidden and burned the documents.[324][325] He dismissed the accounts as "deceitful exaggerations of bizarre things far removed from the testimony of people's ears and eyes."[324][325][308]
The Shuyu Zhouzilu adds the following to the story.[324] The Minister of War Xiang Zhong (項忠; in office 1474–1477) sent a clerk to retrieve the documents, but the clerk could not find them after several days of searching.[324][325] Liu eventually confessed and justified his actions to Xiang by stating that "the expeditions of Sanbao to the Western Ocean wasted tens of myriads of money and grain, and moreover the people who met their deaths [on these expeditions] may be counted by the myriads. Although he returned with wonderful things, what benefit was it to the state? This was merely an action of bad government of which ministers should severely disapprove. Even if the old archives were still preserved they should be destroyed in order to suppress [a repetition of these things] at the root."[324][325] Xiang Zhong was recorded to have been impressed by this explanation.[324][325]
The Mingshi, the Xuanzong Shilu, and the Mingshi Jishi Benmo [明史紀事本末] attribute the reason for the suppression and destruction of the archived records to prevent eunuch Wang Zhi (汪直) from consulting it for his invasion of Vietnam.[326] Dreyer (2007) notes that Liu could not have had access to the records and doubts his alleged involvement.[325] Duyvendak (1939) states that the Ministry of War officials were not influential enough to stop the retrieval of the documents and speculates that Liu may have destroyed them with the Minister of War's approval.[327] Schottenhammer (2021) states that it is unclear whether Liu really hid and burned the documents, but she surmises that, as Lin (2015) suggests, the documents were possibly destroyed in the chaos when Beijing was captured by the rebel Li Zicheng and his army in the 17th century.[328]
Suryadinata (2005) remarks that Southeast Asian sources also provide information about the voyages, but that their reliability should be scrutinized as these local histories can be intertwined with legends but still remain relevant in the collective memories of the people concerned.[329] For instance, he highlights the difficulties of doing research about the role of the Chinese voyages in the Islamization of Java and Malacca, as these activities are not mentioned in the Chinese chronicles and local accounts may contain more legend than history.[330]
Arabic sources provide insight on the dates of the fleet's arrival and course of events at various locations in the Arabic region, which supplements the general time frames provided in Chinese sources.[331] It also offers insight about the commodity exchange, such as which commodities were traded and what value was placed on Chinese trade goods or gifts.[332] The Tarih al-Yaman fi d-daulati r-Rasuliya (ca. 1440) is an example of an Arabic text that adds to the insight about the dates and commodity exchange.[333] The Qurrat al-Uyun fi Akhbar al-Yaman al-Maimun (1461–1537) describes an encounter between Rasulid Sultan al-Nasir Ahmad (r. 1400–1424) and Chinese envoys, providing an example of a ruler who willingly accedes to the requested protocol of the tributary relationship in the unique perspective of a non-Chinese party.[334] The Kitab as-Suluk li-ma rifat duwal al-muluk (1436–1442), a text from Mamluk Egypt, describes the contacts between the Chinese and the Mamluk rulers, which adds to the dating and understanding of the expedition to Mecca during the seventh voyage.[333]
Legacy
It is now about 80 years since there arrived in this city of Chalicut certain vessels of white Christians, who wore their hair long like Germans, and had no beards except around the mouth, such as are worn at Constantinople by cavaliers and courtiers. They landed, wearing a cuirass, helmet, and vizor, and carrying a certain weapon [sword] attached to a spear. Their vessels are armed with bombards, shorter than those in use with us. Once every two years they return with 20 or 25 vessels. They are unable to tell what people they are, nor what merchandise they bring to this city, save that it includes very fine linen-cloth and brass-ware. They load spices. Their vessels have four masts like those of Spain. If they were Germans it seems to me that we should have had some notice about them; possibly they may be Russians if they have a port there. On the arrival of the captain we may learn who these people are, for the Italian-speaking pilot, who was given him by the Moorish king, and whom he took away contrary to his inclinations, is with him, and may be able to tell.
— Girolamo Sernigi (1499) about the then-unknown Chinese visitors[335]
In 1499, shortly before Vasco da Gama's return from India to Portugal, Girolamo Sernigi reported on the Portuguese accounts from da Gama's expedition that "certain vessels of white Christians" had made port at Calicut on the Malabar coast generations before their arrival.[336] He speculated that these unknown mariners could have been the Germans or the Russians, but concluded that they may learn who those people are when da Gama arrives.[336] After his arrival at Calicut, da Gama began hearing tales of pale bearded men who sailed with their giant ships along the local coastal waters of Calicut generations before.[337] The Portuguese had encountered Malabar traditions that preserved the memory of the Ming treasure voyages led by Zheng He,[338] but they were not aware that these tales were about his fleet.[337] They would eventually discover that these unknown mariners were the Chinese.[336] Da Gama's men were apparently even mistaken for the Chinese at first on arrival at the East African coast, because the Chinese were the last pale-skinned strangers arriving in large wooden ships in the memories of the East African people.[336]
In the late 16th century, Juan González de Mendoza wrote that "it is plainly seene that [the Chinese] did come with the shipping unto the Indies, having conquered al that is from China, unto the farthest part thereof. [...] So that at this day there is great memory of them [...] The like notice and memory is there in the kingdom of Calicut, wheras be many trees and fruits, that the naturals of that countrie do say, were brought thither by the Chinos, when that they were lords and governours of that countrie."[339]
Many present-day Chinese people perceive that these expeditions were conducted in accordance with Confucian ideals.[340] During a Harvard University speech in November 1997, President Jiang Zemin praised Zheng for spreading Chinese culture abroad.[340] Since 2005, in commemoration of the voyages, China has annually celebrated its National Maritime Day on 11 July.[341] That year also marked the 600th anniversary of Zheng's maiden voyage.[341][342]
Although the present-day popular narrative may emphasize the peaceful nature of the voyages, especially in terms of the absence of territorial conquest and colonial subjugation, it overlooks the heavy militarization of the Chinese treasure fleet to exercise power projection and thereby promote its interests.[343] In present-day Chinese political discourse, with rising developments in China's maritime capabilities and ambitions, the voyages are evoked to underscore a peaceful emergence of modern China.[344][345] By drawing parallels between contemporary China and the historical narrative as provided by these voyages, the political process serves to stimulate national pride, shape national identity, reaffirm a maritime identity, legitimize the development of maritime power, provide an image of a harmonious and peaceful development, highlight interconnectedness with the broader world, and provide contrast to the violent nature of western colonialism.[345] As such, the voyages play an important narrative role in China's desire to change its strategic paradigm to that of a maritime power.[345]
Notes
- ^ Circa December and January (Dreyer 2007, 30; Mills 1970, 9)
- ^ In the Taizong Shilu, the imperial order is dated to 17 October 1408 (Dreyer 2007, 62; Duyvendak 1939, 361). In the Mingshi, this date is 7 October 1408 (Duyvendak 1939, 361). However, the imperial order is dated to 1407 in Zheng He's inscriptions and Ma Huan's book (Dreyer 2007, 62). After correction of the year in the former two works, the order date would be 23 October 1407 derived from the Taizong Shilu (Dreyer 2007, 62; Duyvendak 1939, 364) or 13 October 1407 derived from the Mingshi (Duyvendak 1939, 364).
- ^ a b c The Mingshi states that Ganbali was a little country in the Western Ocean. It has traditionally been identified as Coimbatore, but Cambay in Gujarat or Cape Comorin may also be possible. (Dreyer 2007, 46 & 93–94)
- ^ Chan (1998, 271–272) gives a different account, stating that, during the second voyage between 1408 and 1409, the King of West Java killed 170 members of Zheng He's personnel who had come ashore on his rival's territory at East Java, so Zheng He was forced to intervene militarily.
- ^ a b A zhang was ten chi and a chi was 10.5–12 inches (Dreyer 2007, 65).
- ^ Dreyer (2007, 66 & 72–73) thinks it happened during the outward journey in 1410, but notes that most authorities think it happened during the homeward journey in 1411. Dreyer (2007, 72–73) also notes that Chinese sources make no mention when the confrontation exactly happened during the course of the third voyage.
- ^ The Taizong Shilu lists 19 names of countries for its 19 November and 28 December entries (Dreyer 2007, 82–83). However, the 19 names comprise 18 countries, because Lambri was listed twice, namely as Nanwuli and Nanpoli (Dreyer 2007, 82–83; Mills 1970, 13). The 18 countries were Champa, Pahang, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Semudera, Lambri, Ceylon, the Maldive Islands, Cochin, Calicut, Shaliwanni (possibly Cannanore), Hormuz, Lasa, Aden, Mogadishu, Brava, and Malindi (Mills 1970, 13).
- ^ On 9 May 1421, lightning struck the emperor's new palace in Beijing, causing the Fengtian, Huagai, and Jinshen Halls to be destroyed in a fire (Ray 1987b, 161–162). For his decision to discontinue the Indian Ocean expeditions, the Yongle Emperor was influenced by views that this disaster was a bad omen and a sign against the voyages (Sen 2016, 612).
- ^ The Taizong Shilu 27 February 1424 entry reports that Zheng He was sent to Palembang. The Xuanzong Shilu 17 September 1425 entry reports that Zhang Funama was sent to Palembang. The later Mingshi compilers seem to have combined these two accounts into one journey. (Dreyer 2007, 96)
- ^ a b See Dreyer (2007, 150–163) and Mills (1970, 14–18).
- ^ Pelliot (1933, cited in Mills 1970, 19) argues that they did not travel with the main fleet to Java. Another authority (Cited in Dreyer 2007, 156–157) argues for a detachment after Vijaya. Although, Dreyer (2007, 157) argues that there is no reason to believe a detachment had happened before Semudera.
- ^ Ma Huan's account is ambiguous on whether the Chinese traveled on a foreign ship or on their own Chinese ships in company of a foreign ship. The Chinese likely traveled with their own ships: (1) the Arabic texts Kitab as-Suluk li-ma rifat duwal al-muluk by al-Maqrizi and the Inba' al Gumr bi nba' al-umr by al-Asqallani use terminology specific to Chinese ships, (2) a letter by a captain to the authorities in Jeddah and Mecca for permission to make port was received as Chinese, and (3) the massive Chinese treasure ships—not Indian or Arab ships—were able to transport large animals for a very long span of time. (Jost 2019, 86–88)
- ^ The following facts attest to this: (1) Ma Huan wrote a very detailed record about Mecca (Dreyer 2007, 158–159; Mills 1970, 36), (2) the imperial clerk Gu Po wrote in the afterword of the Yingya Shenglan that Ma Huan and Guo Chongli had visited Mecca (Mills 1970, 35–36 & 41–42), (3) Ma Huan wrote in his foreword that he spoke of personal observations that were reflected in his book (Mills 1970, 35 & 41), and (4) he desired to go there as he was a Muslim himself (Mills 1970, 36).
- ^ This is the waters around Poulo Condore and the Con Son Islands (Dreyer 2007, 160; Mills 1970, 17).
- ^ The Xia Xiyang records: "fifth month, tenth day [28 May 1433]: returning, [the fleet] arrived at the Kunlun Ocean." Dreyer (2007) deems it more likely that the date of 28 May refers to the departure from Malacca. He suggests the possibility that the arrival date at the Kunlun Ocean could have been dropped out in the text, as the word "returning" possibly indicated a departure from a location (similar to the account for Hormuz). He adds that, if the text is accepted as it is, the fleet would have departed from Malacca within a few days and would have traveled at a very slow pace of 16 days along the Champa coast. (Dreyer 2007, 160–161)
- ^ It records Culao Re's mountains on 19 June, Nan'ao Island's mountains on 25 June, Dongding Island's (Chapel Island) mountains in the evening of 26 June, Qitou Yang (Fodu Channel) on 30 June, Wan Tieh [possibly Damao Island's mountains] on 1 July, and the mountains of Daji Island (Gutzlaff Island) and Xiaoji Island (Hen and Chicks) on 6 July (Mills 1970, 17–18).
- ^ For instance, in 1436, civil officials requested that Wang Jinghong convey three million catties of pepper and sappanwood to Beijing and hand it over to the government. They drew up instructions in the name of the Zhengtong Emperor, who was nine years old. Officials could only legally access the inventories of overseas products, which were under the strict control of the eunuchs, with the emperor's permission. This was because, constitutionally, the emperor had absolute power in diplomatic affairs, which included goods imported by diplomatic missions. (Siu 2023, 5)
- ^ Major ports in their respective regions included Palembang on the Malaccan Strait, Calicut on the Malabar coast, and Mombasa on the Swahili Coast (See Sen 2016).
- ^ There are no exact translations for these military ranks. In this case, the article's text follows Mills (1970).
- ^ He was probably the principal purser for the fleet (Dreyer 2007, 128).
- ^ They were in charge of the reception of foreign envoys to the Chinese capital (Dreyer 2007, 128).
- ^ They likely operated heavy (war) equipment (Mills 1970, 32).
- ^ Dreyer (2007, 123) thinks that the fleet had a total of 255 ships, including the treasure ships, but he also mentions that the figure for 317 ships is credible and the general consensus of most scholars.
- ^ This date of 15 February 1409 possibly refers to when the trilingual inscription was erected in Galle, indicating that it was put up during the homeward journey of the second voyage (Dreyer 2007, 66). If not, the inscription could have been prepared in China and erected between 1410 when the fleet arrived at Galle to 1411 during the third voyage (Dreyer 2007, 72). Duyvendak (1939, 369) states that the inscription must have been prepared in China on 15 February 1409 and erected during the third expedition (1409–1411), because he thinks that the 15 February 1409 date is connected to the dates for the conference of honors to two deities, Tianfei (天妃) on 21 January 1409 and Nanhaishen (南海神) on 15 February 1409.
- ^ Duyvendak (1939, 387) and Mills (1970, 8–9) made the conclusion that the recorded Palembang journey never happened. However, Dreyer (2007, 96) states that it cannot be proven whether it did or did not happen.
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- Wang, Yuan-kang (2015). "The Myth of Chinese Exceptionalism: A Historical Perspective on China's Rise". Responding to China's Rise: US and EU Strategies. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-10033-3.
- Wills, John E. Jr. (1998). "Relations With Maritime Europeans, 1514–1662". The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1398–1644, Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24333-9.
- Zheng, Yangwen (2014). China on the Sea: How the Maritime World Shaped Modern China. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-19477-9.
Further reading
- Liu, Ying; Chen, Zhongping; Blue, Gregory (2014). Zheng He's Maritime Voyages (1405–1433) and China's Relations With the Indian Ocean World: A Multilingual Bibliography. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-28016-8.
External links
- Bragg, Melvyn; Mitter, Rana; Lovell, Julia; Clunas, Craig; Morris, Thomas (2011). "The Ming Voyages". In Our Time. BBC Radio 4.
- Luard, Tim (2005). "Swimming Dragons". Masterpiece. BBC World Service.
- Mitter, Rana; Crighton, Ben; Smith Rosser, Elizabeth (2018). "Zheng He: The Admiral Goes to Africa". Chinese Characters. BBC Radio 4.
- Smith, Adam (2013). "The Voyages of Chinese Explorer Zheng He". Great Voyages: Travels, Triumphs, and Tragedies. Penn Museum. Video on YouTube.
- Snow, Dan; Clunas, Craig; Hickmann, James; Patmore, Dougal (2023). Zheng He: The Ming Dynasty Explorer. Dan Snow's History Hit. Acast.
- Waley-Cohen, Joanna (2012). "To Sail the Seas: Marine Technology and the Treasure Fleets of Early Ming China". Technology and Society in Pre-Modern China. Brown University. Archived 9 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Video on YouTube.