CHINAREDISCOVEREDThe years China traveled the world .

DARYL SEAHMandarin 11

郑和下西洋 (Zheng He’s western expedition)In the early 15th century, a huge fleet of ships set sail from Nanjing. It was the first of a series of voyages that would, for a brief period, establish China as the leading power of the age. The voyage was led by Zheng He, the most important Chinese adventurer of all time and one of the greatest sailors the world has ever known.

郑和前介 (Introduction of Zheng He)• Zheng He (formally known as Ma Sanpao),

was born in what is now Yunnan province to Muslim parents. When he was 11, he was captured by Ming armies and served the prince who later became the Yong Le Emperor.

• Brave, strong, intelligent and totally loyal, Ma won the trust of the prince who, after ascending the throne, gave him a new name and made him Grand Imperial Eunuch.

永乐大帝 (Emperor Yong Le)• Emperor Yong Le wanted to create a

maritime empire in China.• He believe that through trades and

influence, rather than open conflict and direct colonization, only he could truly create an empire that greatly surpasses his ancestors.

• In 1405, he ordered Chinese ships to sail to the Indian Ocean, and put Zheng He in charge of the voyage. Zheng went on to lead seven expeditions in 28 years, visiting more than 40 countries.

下西洋的意义 (Objective of the great voyages)• The initial objective of these voyages is to seek out Zhu

Yunwen (previous Emperor of China).• One of the many objectives of the great voyages is also to

stabilize the emperor’s status as well as show off China’s richness and military strength.

• Besides that, it was to enroll far flung states into the Ming tributary system.

• On top of that, the Chinese was also keen on charting the world map to show that they are more superior than the other countries.

公元 1405 － 1407 年 (1405-1407 AD)• Zheng He was on his way for the first expedition with a fleet of

200 ships and a crew of 28,000 men, these historic voyages are considered to be the largest maritime expeditions in world history.

• The purpose of Zheng’s voyages was to spread peace and good will; colonization was never the objective.

• During his expedition, he visited places such as Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Kollam, Cochin, Calicut.

公元 1407 － 1419 年 (1407-1419 AD)• In Zheng He’s second to fifth expedition, he set foot on more

places such as Siam (Thailand), Pahang, Kelantan and went as far as the Straits of Hormuz and Mogadishu, Somalia.

• During these expeditions, Zheng He has traded gold, silk and porcelain. He also brought back spices and many exotic animals to be added to the king’s zoo.

• In his fifth expedition, the Chinese escorted ambassadors to China to attend the inauguration of the Forbidden City.

公元 1421 － 1424 年 (1421-1424 AD)• During Zheng He’s sixth expedition, their objective was to escort

the ambassadors back to their homeland after spending 2 years in China. He returned in the year 1422.

• Not long after Zheng He returned from his sixth expedition, Emperor Yong Le died (1424 AD) and his son (Emperor Hong Xi) became the next Emperor of China.

• According to Gavin Menzies, author of 1421, the Chinese may have even traveled round the Cape of Good Hope to The New World (North and South America) seventy years before Christopher Columbus and discovered Australia, Artic, and Antarctic before any European explorers.

公元 1431 － 1433 年 (1431-1433 AD)• Now 60 years old, Zheng would visit the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea

and Africa on his seventh and final voyage. He died on the way back from sea in 1433, and was buried in the Indian Ocean as per Muslim custom.

• Though Zheng He died in 1433 and was probably buried at sea, a grave and small monument to him still exist in Jiangsu Province.

• Three years after Zheng He's death, a new emperor (Emperor Xuan De) banned the construction of oceangoing ships, and China's brief era of naval expansion was over. Chinese policy turned inward, leaving the seas clear for the rising nations of Europe.

• Records of Zheng He's incredible voyages were burned.

用具 (Equipments)• Compass was the main means used by Zheng He in his epic

ocean voyages. The compass was used to fix the direction and to measure distance. A needle was placed on floating water contained in a wooden box. On the compass there are 24 scales. Each scale, marked by different Chinese characters, represents a direction.

• Stars were used to determine latitude. The most important star of all was the Pole Star, which the chinese used to determine latitude.

资料来源 (Sources of Informations)Internet• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature2/map.html• http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/chengho.htm• http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/7622696• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He• http://mycoordinates.org/zheng-he%E2%80%99s-sailing-to-

west-ocean/all/1/

Books• 1421: The Year China Discovered The World, Gavin Menzies• Zheng He's Voyages Down The Western Seas, China

Intercontinental Press

Thanks for listening

DARYL SEAHMandarin 11