INTRODUCTION
World exploration and explorers are always hailed in history books and classes as significant events and people because they have opened doors to new eras of trade, knowledge and information, technology and cultural consolidation. The names Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Ferdinand Magellan are some of the greatest names in exploration. Countries that have often been associated with historical explorations are Spain, Portugal, Great Britain – in other words, Western countries. A closer scrutiny, however, of historical explorations showed that ancient China conducted explorations and voyages even before these Western countries did in the 15th century. The voyages occurred during the Ming Dynasty in the time of Emperor Yongle. One such set of voyages was those led by Zheng He – a eunuch who had earned the trust of the Emperor. Not only were these voyages conducted decades earlier than those by the great historical explorers, but they were grander, of larger scale, had hundreds of thousands of more crews and had heavier tonnages. Yet, these voyages did not seem to attract as much historical attention as those of Columbus, de Gama and Magellan.
BACKGROUND OF THE VOYAGES
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, China kept an open policy with respect to foreign trade. These were the dynasties that preceded the Ming Dynasty that thrived in China from 1368 to 1644. Offices of the Commissioner of Foreign Trade were set up in various parts of China, such as Guangzhou and Mingzhou, during the Song Dynasty. Envoys were sent out to foreign lands to establish commercial relationships and engage in foreign trade. Similarly, the Yuan governments encouraged foreign trade, particularly with Vietnam. However, during the Yuan Dynasty had nurtured territorial expansionism, which was believed to have been the cause of its downfall. Emperor Ming Taizu, who was the first emperor of the Ming Dynastry, tried to prevent such a downfall by veering away from the expansionist mindset. Instead, he advocated for peaceful relations with other countries and even issued an edict addressed to his descendants that disallowed them to pursue militaristic tactics against other countries. The Emperor indentified the countries that should not be invaded and these included Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei and parts of Indonesia, among others (Hoon 11).
This approach to governance that highlighted peace and prosperity instead of territorial expansionism worked well for the Ming China. Indeed, the Ming Dynasty has been known to be an era of economic and commercial success for China. It was at this period that the Silk Route was established as well as commerce involving ceramics and shipbuilding. In the home front, a demand for spices from Arabia and Southeast Asia increased necessitating more foreign trade. Even when Yongle grabbed the throne from Emperor Hui, eldest grandson and successor of Taizu in 1399 (Hoon 10), the same approach towards commerce and trade continued. He had also expansionist dreams although he carried them out to the nearby south. Emperor Yongle, previously called Zhu Di, although more radical in his approach – he would send his own envoys to foreign lands instead of waiting for their envoys to visit China – stayed well within the established approach when it came to foreign relations. The envoys were tasked to impress foreign lands that China was willing to pursue trade and commercial relations with them notwithstanding the change in emperorship. To cement China’s position in the world as a commerce-friendly, rich nation, as well as established legitimacy on the part of the Emperor (Wade 45), Yongle thought of sending voyages to all parts of the world to be headed by a special envoy (Hoon 11-12).
The man who led these voyages was Zheng He – a eunuch who came from a Chinese ethnic group called Hui. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Zheng He, who was then called Ma He, and his entire family moved to Yunnan. The family abided by the Islamic faith with the grandfather and father able to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. At the age of 10, Zheng He was captured and brought to Beijing after Yunnan was invaded and overran by the Ming army. He was brought to the palace of the king and served the latter’s fourth son, Zhui Di. Zhui Di saw the talents of Zheng He and had him educated. Zheng He grew up to be a man of knowledge and wit with a reputation for bravery and courage, which he displayed when the Zhui Di seized the Chinese throne from his nephew Emperor Hui. He was given the position of head eunuch in the imperial court - position equivalent to the fourth ranking (IOPGFP 8). Thus, in 1405, Emperor Yongle chose Zheng He to lead the ocean voyage. For that purpose he was promoted a rank higher. Aside from leading the voyage, he was also expected to act as China’s envoy to the foreign lands his voyage would take him (IOPGFP 8).
Zheng He’s task was to sail to the West as a representative of Emperor Yongle and China. The voyages were meant to showcase China’s wealth to the world and the fact that Yongle had taken over rein of it. For every voyage, the Emperor issued an imperial decree detailing therein the mission, the state to be visited, and the gifts that Zheng He will be bearing to the rulers of the place being visited (Hoon 13).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE VOYAGES
The voyages achieved many of the things that the ambitious Emperor Yongle had wanted to gain for China under his rule. This was primarily because Zheng He was an excellent and able leader. The voyages showcased not only China’s wealth and advances in maritime, but also the courage and bravery of the Chinese. It resulted in establishing new friendships in new kingdoms and established China as a mighty force militarily.
For one, the voyages involved large fleet of ships that could only be done by a country of prosperity and wealth. Zheng He conducted seven voyages in all under the dicta of Emperor Yongle. The voyages were made using large fleets perhaps because of the treasure they were bringing. The first voyage began in 1405 and lasted for two years and involved 317 ships and about 28,000 men and sailed for Vietnam, Thailand, parts of Indonesia and India. During this voyage, Zheng He stopped a pirate rebellion in Sumatra and brought its pirate chief to China with him to be punished. The second voyage was conducted in 1407 up to 1409 and its destination was Calicut – in India - to attend the place’s inauguration of its new king. It used only 68 ships. The third voyage occurred in 1409 up to 1411 and stopped in some of the places visited in the first voyage. In addition, the expedition also stopped in Malacca and Sri Lanka. During this voyage, which involved 48 huge ships and carried about 30,000 men, Zheng He faced a fight with a king in Sri Lanka. He was able to defeat the forces and brought the king with him to China. Emperor Yongle played host, showed off China to the king who later left for home impressed with what he saw (Gronewald).
The later voyages were even more expansive than the earlier ones as it sailed for farther places. The fourth voyage sailed for the Persian Gulf and this involved 63 ships and approximately 28,000 men. It was during this voyage that Zheng He helped a sultan in Sumatra take back the kingdom that was taken from him and brought back the sultan’s enemy with him to China for execution. In the fifth voyage in 1417, which lasted up to 1419, Zheng He brought home 17 heads of state to their respective countries after visiting China to bring their tributes to the Emperor. Zheng He also had the opportunity to venture farther than the last voyage into the areas of Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa. Dangers also met him, but he defeated all hostile forces. More importantly, he won more friendships for China brining with him many ambassadors from those countries to visit China. The objective of the sixth voyage was to return those ambassadors to their homeland. The final or seventh voyage was memorable because it was during this expedition that Zheng He met his end. This last voyage was commissioned by Emperor Yanglo’s grandson and his successor. It had more than a hundred ships and 27,000 men. It visited previously visited places as well as new ones, such as Mecca and Medina (Gronewald).
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VOYAGES: CHINA AND THE WORLD
The significance of the voyages led by Zheng He is astounding from the perspective of the modern day world as well as that of China. Although the dates, the size and achievements of the voyages were earlier, larger and bigger than those of the most renowned explorers, Zheng He is not as familiar or as renowned as Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. For one, these voyages took place years before the world renowned discoverers conducted their respective expeditions. Christopher Columbus conducted his expedition that saw the discovery of the New World in 1492, some 59 years after Zheng He’s last voyage. On the other hand, Vasco de Gama who discovered the route from Europe to the East started his voyage in 1498 and Ferdinand Magellan, who was able to sail around the world, made his move only in 1521 (Zheng He’s Voyages of Discovery). Yet, these are the explorers and their expeditions that are being taught as the game changers in history classes and history books.
Aside from having taken place decades before the world’s most renowned explorers’ expedition took place, Zheng He’s voyages were bigger, grander and heavier than those of Columbus, de Gama and Magellan. Zheng He’s voyages involved hundreds of ships. He even had as many as 317 ships in of those voyages. Emperor Yongle commissioned the building of ships during this time by the thousands (Wade 45). Columbus’ maiden voyage involved only 3 ships and had up to as many as 17 only in subsequent voyages. On the other hand, de Gama and Magellan had only four and five ships, respectively, in their voyages certainly paling in comparison to that of Zheng He’s. Similarly, Zheng He’s voyages involved hundreds of people as many as 28,000 thousand. Columbus had up to 300 in one of his voyages, while de Gama and Magellan had 170 and 265, respectively. With respect to tonnage, the differences are even more significant. Zheng He carried as much as 7,000 to 8,000 tons in his voyage, while Columbus had only 100, de Gama and Magellan had 120 tons each (Hoon 14). Moreover, the crews of these voyages were of various origins – Muslims, Chinesem non-Chinese, and even Arabs (Wade 43). Yet, the voyages conducted by Zheng He are not as famous historically as those of Columbus, de Gama and Magellan.
With respect to the significance of the Zheng He voyages to China, it can be inferred that ancient China had as much or even more advanced technology than Portuguese, Spanish and other European countries. From the size, breadth and distances of those voyages, it can be said that ancient China had advanced shipbuilding technology as it was able to construct large ships that can travel long distances for years. Moreover, the voyages also pointed to the navigational capabilities of ancient China. This is evident from the successes of the voyages – the way the ships were able to reach their destinations, discover new places and go back home to China. Moreover, the successes of the voyages and even the fact that China was able to come up with them in the first place showed that a system of successful management approach was already in place even in the 15th century in ancient China. Putting hundreds of ships to sea carrying thousands of tonnage of food and water for hundreds of thousands of people to last them for several years, as well treasures to be given as gifts to the kings and rulers of various destinations, necessarily required planning and carrying out of those plans effectively and efficiently (Zheng He’s Voyages of Discovery). The Zheng He voyages, thus, provide proof that ancient China was as advanced as Western countries, at least in the 15th century.
CONCLUSION
Although the voyages undertaken by Zheng He, was primarily aimed at establishing the legitimacy of the new Emperor and to showcase the wealth and might of the kingdom, the voyages established several facts about ancient China. The first is that ancient China was as capable, if not more capable, as Western countries, such as Portugal, Spain and England, to launch voyages and maritime explorations in 15th century. As a matter of fact, the Chinese voyages were grander, of bigger scale and had heavier tonnage than those of the historically hailed ones. The implication is that ancient China was as, or even more than, advanced as/than Western countries, with respect to shipbuilding, navigation and management matters. This is evident from the number and size of ships that were launched during the Zheng He voyages, their capability as to the size and number of freight and the number of crew that can be accommodated. The distance that the ships were able to sail to as well as the various places that the ships were able to travel to also speak volumes of the navigational and management capabilities of the Chinese in 15th century. Perhaps, the expansionist limits that the Ming Dynasty founder had previously imposed limited the Chinese ambition to sail further to the West and explore new lands like what Columbus, de Gama and Magellan achieved.
Works Cited
Gronewald, Sue. “The Ming Voyages.” Asia for Educators. 2009. Web. 12 May 2016. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1000ce_mingvoyages.htm>.
Hoon, Hum Sin. Zheng He’s Art of Collaboration. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012. Print.
IOPGFP. Zheng He’s Voyages Down the Western Seas. Ed. Lin. China International Press, 2005. Print.
Wade, Geoff. “The Zheng He Voyages: A Reassessment.” Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Asiatic Society, vol. 78, no. 1, 2005, pp 37-58. Print.
“Zheng He’s Voyages of Discovery.” UCLA Center for Chinese Studies. 20 April 2004. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://www.international.ucla.edu/china/article/10387>.
