Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese
Muslim Admiral
Through his seven voyages of discovery to the West, Zheng
He helped transform China into the superpower of his time.
Little did the famous Muslim geographer, Ibn Battuta know,
that about 22 years after his historic visit to China, the Mongol Dynasty (called the Yuan Dynasty in China) would be overthrown.
The Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) would begin. A Muslim boy would help a Chinese prince. That prince would become emperor and
the boy would grow up to be the "Admiral of the Chinese Fleet."
His name... Zheng He. The ships that he would sail
throughout the Indian Ocean would retrace some of the same routes taken by Ibn Battuta, but he would be in huge boats called
"junks". He would go to East Africa, Makkah, Persian Gulf, and throughout the Indian Ocean.
Speak of the world's first navigators and the names
Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama flash through a Western mind. Little known are the remarkable feats that a Chinese Muslim
Zheng He (1371-1433) had accomplished decades before the two European adventurers.
The Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation
retraces the route of China’s 15th century admiral, Zheng He, who ranks as perhaps the country’s foremost adventurer.
A Muslim and a warrior, Zheng He helped transform China into the region’s, and perhaps the world’s, superpower
of his time.
In 1405, Zheng was chosen to lead the biggest naval
expedition in history up to that time. Over the next 28 years (1405-1433), he commanded seven fleets that visited 37 countries,
through Southeast Asia to faraway Africa and Arabia. In those years, China had by far the biggest ships of the time. In 1420
the Ming navy dwarfed the combined navies of Europe.
Ma He, as he was originally known, was born in 1371
to a poor ethnic Hui (Chinese Muslims) family inYunnan Province, Southwest China. The boy's grandfather and father once made
an overland pilgrimage to Makkah. Their travels contributed much to young Ma's education. He grew up speaking Arabic and Chinese,
leaming much about the world to the west and its geography and customs.
Recruited as a promising servant for the Imperial household
at the age of ten, Ma was assigned two years later to the retinue of the then Duke Yan, who would later usurp the throne as
the emperor Yong Le. Ma accompanied the Duke on a series of successful military campaigns and played a crucial role in the
capture of Nanjing, then the capital. Ma was thus awarded the supreme command of the Imperial Household Agency and was given
the surname Zheng.
Emperor Yong Le tried to boost his damaged prestige
as a usurper by a display of China's might abroad, sending spectacular fleets on great voyages and by bringing foreign ambassadors
to his court. He also put foreign trade under a strict Imperial monopoly by taking control from overseas Chinese merchants.
Command of the fleet was given to his favorite Zheng He, an impressive figure said to be over eight feet tall.
A great fleet of big ships, with nine masts and manned
by 500 men, each set sail in July 1405, half a century before Columbus's voyage to America. There were great treasure ships
over 300-feet long and 150-feet wide, the biggest being 440-feet long and 186-across, capable of carrying 1,000 passengers.
Most of the ships were built at the Dragon Bay shipyard near Nanjing, the remains of which can still be seen today.
Zheng He's first fleet included 27,870 men on 317 ships,
including sailors, clerks, interpreters, soldiers, artisans, medical men and meteorologists. On board were large quantities
of cargo including silk goods, porcelain, gold and silverware, copper utensils, iron implements and cotton goods. The fleet
sailed along China's coast to Champa close to Vietnam and, after crossing the South China Sea, visited Java, Sumatra and reached
Sri Lanka by passing through the Strait of Malacca. On the way back it sailed along the west coast of India and returned home
in 1407. Envoys from Calicut in India and several countries in Asia and the Middle East also boarded the ships to pay visits
to China. Zheng He's second and third voyages taken shortly after, followed roughly the same route.
In the fall of 1413, Zheng He set out with 30,000 men
to Arabia on his fourth and most ambitious voyage. From Hormuz he coasted around the Arabian boot to Aden at the mouth of
the Red Sea. The arrival of the fleet caused a sensation in the region, and 19 countries sent ambassadors to board Zheng He's
ships with gifts for Emperor Yong Le.
In 1417, after two years in Nanjing and touring other
cities, the foreign envoys were escorted home by Zheng He. On this trip, he sailed down the east coast of Africa, stopping
at Mogadishu, Matindi, Mombassa and Zanzibar and may have reached Mozambique. The sixth voyage in 1421 also went to the African
coast.
Emperor Yong Le died in 1424 shortly after Zheng He's
return. Yet, in 1430 the admiral was sent on a final seventh voyage. Now 60 years old, Zheng He revisited the Persian Gulf,
the Red Sea and Africa and died on his way back in 1433 in India.
Zheng He's flag "treasure ship" was four hundred feet long
- much larger than Columbus's. In this drawing, the two flagships are superimposed to give a clear idea of the relative size
of these two ships. Columbus's ship St. Maria was only 85 feet long whilst Zheng He's flag ship was an astonishing 400 feet.
Imagine six centuries ago, a mighty armada of Zheng
He's ships crossing the China Sea, then venturing west to Ceylon, Arabia, and East Africa. The fleet consisting of giant nine-masted
junks, escorted by dozens of supply ships, water tankers, transports for cavalry horses, and patrol boats. The armada's crew
totaling more than 27,000 sailors and soldiers.
Loaded with Chinese silk and porcelain, the junks visited
ports around the Indian Ocean. Here, Arab and African merchants exchanged the spices, ivory, medicines, rare woods, and pearls
so eagerly sought by the Chinese imperial court.
Seven times, from 1405 to 1433, the treasure fleets set off
for the unknown. These seven great expeditions brought a vast web of trading links -- from Taiwan to the Persian Gulf -- under
Zheng He's imperial control. This took place half a century before the first Europeans, rounding the tip of Africa in frail
Portuguese caravels, 'discovered' the Indian Ocean.
Zheng He (1371-1433), or Cheng Ho, is arguably China's most
famous navigator. Starting from the beginning of the 15th Century, he traveled to the West seven times. For 28 years, he traveled
more than 50,000 km and visited over 37 countries, including Singapore. Zheng He died in the tenth year of the reign of the
Ming emperor Xuande (1433) and was buried in the southern outskirts of Bull's Head Hill (Niushou) in Nanjing.
In 1983, during the 580th anniversary of Zheng He's
voyage, his tomb was restored. The new tomb was built on the site of the original tomb and reconstructed according to the
customs of Islamic teachings.
At the entrance to the tomb is a Ming-style structure, which
houses the memorial hall. Inside are paintings of the man himself and his navigation maps. To get to the tomb, there are newly
laid stone platforms and steps. The stairway consists of 28 stone steps divided into four sections with each section having
seven steps. This represents Zheng He's seven journeys to the West. Inscribed on top of the tomb are the Arabic words "Allahu
Akbar (God is Great)".