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One of China’s greatest heroes is the 15th-century mariner and explorer, Admiral Zheng He. Born into a high-ranking Mongol family he was taken captive as a boy by a conquering Ming army and made a eunuch. Sent to the Imperial Court, he rose in the ranks and eventually became a highly-valued adviser to two Emperors.
Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven naval expeditions which ventured far into the Indian Ocean basin, visiting Arabia, Brunei, East Africa, India, Siam and possibly other countries in an effort to increase recognition and trade for Ming rule. He took with him gifts of gold, silver, porcelain and silk and brought back with him ostriches, zebras, camels, giraffes and ivory. During the last expedition Zheng He died and was buried at sea.
In 2002 Gavin Menzies published a convincing argument that Zheng He had visited the Americas ahead of their discovery by Columbus in 1492 and that his fleet circumnavigated the world a century before Magellan’s circumnavigation between 1519 and 1522. In his book, ‘1421: The Year China Discovered the World’, Menzies describes in detail the expeditions and the many ships and men that were involved in them.
Much interest was centred on Zheng He and his expeditions in 2005, the 600th anniversary of the Admiral’s first expedition, and details of his exploits and of the fleets he commanded became more generally known. The principal ships, for example, were said to be huge; 416 feet long and 170 feet wide and with nine masts and four decks divided by bulkheads into various spaces. There were 62 of them accompanied by 190 smaller ships carrying horses, water tankers, troop transports, warships and patrol boats and various smaller supply ships. There was said to be a total complement of nearly 28,000 men.
The exploits of Zheng He have come to the fore once again by the announcement that Chinese and Kenyan archaeologists are about to start searching for the remains of one of his ships which is believed to have sunk off Lamu Island and Malindi.
Eleven experts will excavate land sites, in which Chinese porcelain has been found, ahead of a team of maritime experts who will arrive next month. If the remains of a ship can be found, then experts hope that it will reveal more about Ming ship design and engineering which are known to be far ahead of anything else at that time.
I for one will await developments with much interest.
.
One of China’s greatest heroes is the 15th-century mariner and explorer, Admiral Zheng He. Born into a high-ranking Mongol family he was taken captive as a boy by a conquering Ming army and made a eunuch. Sent to the Imperial Court, he rose in the ranks and eventually became a highly-valued adviser to two Emperors.
Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven naval expeditions which ventured far into the Indian Ocean basin, visiting Arabia, Brunei, East Africa, India, Siam and possibly other countries in an effort to increase recognition and trade for Ming rule. He took with him gifts of gold, silver, porcelain and silk and brought back with him ostriches, zebras, camels, giraffes and ivory. During the last expedition Zheng He died and was buried at sea.
In 2002 Gavin Menzies published a convincing argument that Zheng He had visited the Americas ahead of their discovery by Columbus in 1492 and that his fleet circumnavigated the world a century before Magellan’s circumnavigation between 1519 and 1522. In his book, ‘1421: The Year China Discovered the World’, Menzies describes in detail the expeditions and the many ships and men that were involved in them.
Much interest was centred on Zheng He and his expeditions in 2005, the 600th anniversary of the Admiral’s first expedition, and details of his exploits and of the fleets he commanded became more generally known. The principal ships, for example, were said to be huge; 416 feet long and 170 feet wide and with nine masts and four decks divided by bulkheads into various spaces. There were 62 of them accompanied by 190 smaller ships carrying horses, water tankers, troop transports, warships and patrol boats and various smaller supply ships. There was said to be a total complement of nearly 28,000 men.
The exploits of Zheng He have come to the fore once again by the announcement that Chinese and Kenyan archaeologists are about to start searching for the remains of one of his ships which is believed to have sunk off Lamu Island and Malindi.
Eleven experts will excavate land sites, in which Chinese porcelain has been found, ahead of a team of maritime experts who will arrive next month. If the remains of a ship can be found, then experts hope that it will reveal more about Ming ship design and engineering which are known to be far ahead of anything else at that time.
I for one will await developments with much interest.
.
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