Minrong zheng he biography

Zheng He was a living example of religious tolerance, perhaps even syncretism, or at least a master of diplomacy. We have traversed more thanli 50, kilometers of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course [as rapidly] as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare….

Louise Levathes. Treasure ship is the name of a type of vessel that the Chinese admiral Zheng He sailed in. His fleet included 62 treasure ships, with some said to have reached feet meters long. The fleet was manned by over 27, crew members, including navigators, explorers, sailors, doctorsworkers, Muslim teachers, and soldiers. According to ancient Chinese sources, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions.

The expedition consisted of 27, men and a fleet of 62 treasure ships supported by approximately smaller ships. The dimensions of the Zheng He's ships according to ancient Chinese chronicles and disputed by modern scholars see below :. Six more expeditions took place, from towith fleets of comparable size. The dimensions of the treasure ships, as recorded in later historical chronicles, are disputed by scholars.

It is probable that the actual size of the ships was smaller, since in later historical periods wooden ships approaching this size such as HMS Orlando were unwieldy and visibly undulated with the waves, even with steel braces in the hull. The problem of "hogging," the tendency of the largest wooden ships to sag like a pig 's body because of buoyancy in the middle, would have been impossible to solve.

The length-to-width ratio of 2. Hydrodynamic models have proved that ships with such dimension are unsailable in open seas. Recent research suggests that the actual length of the biggest treasure ships may have lain between 59 m and 84 m. The length of the treasure ships would have been equivalent to that of the first generation aircraft carriers in the early twentieth century.

Research on the original source of these dimensions indicates that they came from a novel written in the sixteenth century. The characteristics of the Chinese ships of the period are described by Western travelers to the East, such as Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo. According to Ibn Battuta, who visited China in China Sea traveling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements.

The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks junksmiddle sized ones called zaws dhows and the small ones kakams. The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind.

Three smaller ones, the "half," the "third" and the "quarter," accompany each large minrong zheng he biography. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.

This is the manner after which they are made; two parallel walls of very thick wooden planking are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks the bulkheads secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished.

Much of the information on Zheng He's voyages was compiled by Ma Huan, also Muslim, who accompanied Zheng He on several of his inspection tours and served as his chronicler and interpreter. Zheng He had many Muslim eunuchs as his companions. At the time when his fleet first arrived in Malacca, there were already Chinese of the ' Muslim ' faith living there.

Zheng He wax statue in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. The Xuanzong Shilu 17 September entry reports that Zhang Funama delivered a seal, because the old seal was destroyed in a fire. The later Mingshi compilers seem to have combined the accounts, remarking that Shi Jisun's succession was approved in and that a new seal was delivered insuggesting that only one seal was destroyed by fire.

References [ edit ]. Citations [ edit ]. Yale University Press. ISBN University of Washington Press. The great explorer Cheng Ho. Ambassador of peace. Zheng He's art of collaboration: Understanding the legendary Chinese admiral from a management perspective. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Cited in Needham, Joseph Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Rubinstein, p. In Kimura, Jun ed. China Intercontinental Press. Journal of Chinese StudiesNo. Retrieved 17 October Archived from the original on 2 December Retrieved 14 April Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Institute for Advanced Study. University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on 11 December Retrieved 25 November Office of the People's Government of Fujian Province ed.

Zheng He's Voyages down the Western Seas. Fujian, China: China Intercontinental Press. Retrieved 2 August The Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 9 May Retrieved 28 September A Revision to Socio-economic History". Columbia University Press. Grygiel Great Powers and Geopolitical Change. JHU Press. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Hong Kong University Press. Dictionary of Ming Biography, —Vol. Columbia Univ. Press New York National Sun Yat-sen University. Archived from the original on 21 November Zheng He was an ethnically Muslim Chinese figure of the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China for years between the and But he was also much more. He was a great military and naval commander, diplomat, adviser, emissary and political insider.

Zheng He was all but forgotten to Chinese history until his story was rediscovered and documented in a popular book by the Chinese scholar, Liang Qihao. Shortly after this incredible biography became widespread knowledge, a monument to the explorer placed in Sri Lanka was also rediscovered. It is known as the Trilingual Stele because written on the stone are homages to the Buddhist, Islamic, and Hindu religions in three different languages.

Zheng He belonged to a Muslim subgroup of Chinese culture known as the Hui people. He was born inthe second son in a large family. His birth name was Ma He, and his father was Ma Hajji. In the 22nd year of the Yongle periodthe Yongle Emperor passed away, and Zhu Gaozhi later known as the Renzong Emperor ascended the throne. Zhu stopped Zheng's voyages to the West, owing to bankruptcy.

He died from overwork inon the homeward voyage. The fleet was then led by another eunuch, Wang Jinghong, and returned to Nanjing on July 7th, The number of crewmen on that voyage was 27, Zheng He's travels to the West were unprecedented in their scale and scope. Zheng made a great contribution to friendly relations between China and the rest of the world in the spheres of politics, economy and culture.

Zheng's travels to the West turned a new page in the history of world marine navigation, 87 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America, 92 years before Vasco da Gama discovered the Cape of Good Hope and years before Magellan sailed around the globe.

Minrong zheng he biography

In China, Zheng He is regarded as an outstanding diplomat and navigator. His travels to the West made a great impact on world history, for which he is justifiably renowned. Be the first to receive exciting updates, exclusive promotions, and valuable travel tips from our team of experts. Home Chinese Culture China History.