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郑和 Zheng He (1371-1433) Did admiral Zheng discover the New World?
December 9, 2011, Friday
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ZHENG He, also known as "Eunuch Sanbao," is remembered today as a great Chinese mariner, explorer and fleet admiral. Some even argue he discovered the New World.
Zheng's seven epic voyages from 1405 to 1433 were decades earlier than that of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish explorer credited with discovering the New World.
According to Gavin Menzies, author of the book "1421 - The Year China Discovered the World," Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook were later to make the same "discoveries" while using Chinese maps when they set off on their own journeys into the "unknown."
Zheng was born into a Muslim family in today's Jinning County of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. Both his father and grandfather had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, which had kindled Zheng's curiosity about the outside world.
However, his father died of illness when soldiers of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) conquered Yunnan in 1383 - Zheng was 12 years old at the time.
His family suddenly fell into abject poverty and the 12-year-old boy was then taken by the Ming troops and made into a eunuch to serve Zhu Di, one of the emperor's sons and the Prince of Yan.
Zheng was very smart and hard working. Gradually, he won the trust of the prince and later played an important role in helping his master win many battles. So, when the prince eventually ascended to the throne and became Emperor Yongle, he appointed Zheng the Eunuch Grand Director.
As the country became increasingly prosperous and powerful, Emperor Yongle decided to launch ocean expeditions to boost trade and business relations with overseas kingdoms and boost China's influence in the world. Zheng was named the fleet's admiral.
After receiving the order, Zheng began to arduously study compass maps, navigation, astronomical geography, seamanship and other nautical knowledge. He also supervised the building of a large fleet of gigantic wooden ships. The so-called Treasure Ships to be used by the admiral and his deputies were about 450-feet long and 180-feet wide, by far the largest of its kind in the world at that time.
In July 1405, Zheng's fleet, comprising more than 300 ships and nearly 30,000 crewmen, left Suzhou in east China to embark on his first voyage to the West.
In the following 28 years, Zheng traveled more than 50,000 kilometers on a total of seven voyages. His fleet visited more than 30 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, eastern Africa. Some said the Chinese ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope and further sailed up the African continent, eventually crossing the Atlantic and discovering the New World.
Along the way, Zheng gave out a large amount of Chinese products, such as gold and silverware, porcelain and silk. In return, he brought back ivory, spices, plant seeds and exotic animals, including lions, zebras, ostriches, rhinoceros and giraffes.
Based on his experiences of sea navigation, Zheng worked out what later became known as the Nautical Charts of Zheng He. They were the earliest collection of nautical maps in the world. And those ancient Chinese maps clearly show the eastern seaboard of America and Caribbean islands, Menzies wrote in his book.
According to some historical documents, Zheng died of illness during his seventh ocean voyage and was buried at sea. But a tomb, believed to be empty, was built on the outskirts of today's Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, two years after his death. It was restored in 1985, marking the 580th anniversary of the beginning of Zheng's epic voyages. As a Muslim, Zheng's tomb bears the Arabic words "Allah Is Great."
Zheng's seven epic voyages from 1405 to 1433 were decades earlier than that of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish explorer credited with discovering the New World.
According to Gavin Menzies, author of the book "1421 - The Year China Discovered the World," Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook were later to make the same "discoveries" while using Chinese maps when they set off on their own journeys into the "unknown."
Zheng was born into a Muslim family in today's Jinning County of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. Both his father and grandfather had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, which had kindled Zheng's curiosity about the outside world.
However, his father died of illness when soldiers of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) conquered Yunnan in 1383 - Zheng was 12 years old at the time.
His family suddenly fell into abject poverty and the 12-year-old boy was then taken by the Ming troops and made into a eunuch to serve Zhu Di, one of the emperor's sons and the Prince of Yan.
Zheng was very smart and hard working. Gradually, he won the trust of the prince and later played an important role in helping his master win many battles. So, when the prince eventually ascended to the throne and became Emperor Yongle, he appointed Zheng the Eunuch Grand Director.
As the country became increasingly prosperous and powerful, Emperor Yongle decided to launch ocean expeditions to boost trade and business relations with overseas kingdoms and boost China's influence in the world. Zheng was named the fleet's admiral.
After receiving the order, Zheng began to arduously study compass maps, navigation, astronomical geography, seamanship and other nautical knowledge. He also supervised the building of a large fleet of gigantic wooden ships. The so-called Treasure Ships to be used by the admiral and his deputies were about 450-feet long and 180-feet wide, by far the largest of its kind in the world at that time.
In July 1405, Zheng's fleet, comprising more than 300 ships and nearly 30,000 crewmen, left Suzhou in east China to embark on his first voyage to the West.
In the following 28 years, Zheng traveled more than 50,000 kilometers on a total of seven voyages. His fleet visited more than 30 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, eastern Africa. Some said the Chinese ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope and further sailed up the African continent, eventually crossing the Atlantic and discovering the New World.
Along the way, Zheng gave out a large amount of Chinese products, such as gold and silverware, porcelain and silk. In return, he brought back ivory, spices, plant seeds and exotic animals, including lions, zebras, ostriches, rhinoceros and giraffes.
Based on his experiences of sea navigation, Zheng worked out what later became known as the Nautical Charts of Zheng He. They were the earliest collection of nautical maps in the world. And those ancient Chinese maps clearly show the eastern seaboard of America and Caribbean islands, Menzies wrote in his book.
According to some historical documents, Zheng died of illness during his seventh ocean voyage and was buried at sea. But a tomb, believed to be empty, was built on the outskirts of today's Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, two years after his death. It was restored in 1985, marking the 580th anniversary of the beginning of Zheng's epic voyages. As a Muslim, Zheng's tomb bears the Arabic words "Allah Is Great."
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