Discovering China's Columbus--An Academic Perspective on Ming Dynasty Voyager Zheng He

Q: How do you view the fact that Zheng He's maritime exploits took him as far afield as Africa?

A: Actually, contact between China and Africa predates Zheng He, with Chinese traders reaching Africa during the Song dynasty and earlier. From the Yuan dynasty we have Wang Dayuan's work Daoyi Zhilue ("Brief Chronicle of the Island Barbarians"), which mentions East Africa and gives an accurate description of its conditions and scenery. In researching Zheng He and the background to his voyages, I have to be extremely clear on the subject of where he traveled to. Various sources provide a detailed record regarding Zheng's expeditions to East Africa. The evidence is incontrovertible.

Reaching East Africa was not unprecedented, and it wasn't just a one-off. The fact that Zheng's fleets made three or four visits to Africa proves these were planned undertakings. Another important point: Zheng was a Muslim whose parents came from Xinjiang, and he had plenty of experience with Arabs. He was accompanied on his expeditions by Arab navigators, so there was nothing peculiar in the fact that he sailed his ships as far as Africa.

Six centuries ago

When they reached East Africa, familiarity with the terrain and environment made it easy for the Chinese to be accepted by the locals. Everything progressed smoothly and each expedition was successfully concluded. In addition to bartering commodities and picking up ivory, gold and rare animals (including giraffes and zebras) to ship back to China, Zheng also invited official missions back to China with the fleet, to pay tribute to the emperor.

One thing I want to emphasize: there is a general impression that the China of antiquity was underdeveloped in terms of communication and transportation; that it was a closed, conservative society, highly restrictive for its inhabitants. But this is to underestimate the people of that era. According to what I have found in my own field of research, the Chinese of five or six centuries ago were in fact very active, both at sea and on land.

The main significance of Zheng He's expeditions lies in the fact that in terms of scale, and official backing, they were utterly unique in Chinese history. The fleet numbered as many as 300 ships at one point, but this was never to be repeated during subsequent generations as the country declined in wealth and power. Clearly, given the Confucian emphasis on "government by virtuous example," under the rule of the "Son of Heaven," China was never particularly interested in conquering, occupying and colonizing foreign lands. The goal of Chinese armies abroad was not to take control so much as to secure the dispatch of annual tribute-bearing missions and extract professions of allegiance to the emperor. Contrast this with the motives of the Western maritime powers, whose ships fanned out across the globe in search of wealth, religious converts, adventure, and new colonies.

While Zheng He's huge expeditions were both unprecedented and never-to-be repeated, plenty of Chinese traders were perpetually crisscrossing the South China Sea on their own account, in spite of active discouragement and even strict prohibition by the imperial government. Demonstrating support for Chinese settlers overseas was not therefore an avowed objective of the expeditions, and although Zheng He did come into contact with people of Chinese descent in Southeast Asia, relations were not always friendly.

Ethnic Chinese in East Africa?

Q: There's a 100-year-old woman in Kenya who claims to be the descendant of ethnic Chinese. Is this plausible?

A: There is no evidence yet for such a claim. Even if it's true that the Chinese left behind descendants, bloodlines were not documented in those days, and five or six centuries later there would be no trace of it in people's appearance. But the possibility can't be ruled out. After all, Zheng's men were at sea for months on end and must have been desperate for female company when they came ashore. It makes perfect sense to imagine that they left some mixed-blood children in their wake. Scholars such as Duyvendak, Snow, Shen Fuwei, Filesi, Needham and Chang Kuei-sheng are on record as believing that this was indeed the case.

Q: Given the limited technology that was available 600 years ago, how were they able to mount such vast expeditions?

A: It really was a massive undertaking! Zheng He's voyages took place a good century or so before those of later maritime powers such as England and Spain. In an age without precision instruments, ocean voyages were extremely risky. To set a course they had to rely on the stars and the compass, along with existing navigation charts. Transporting provisions for the journey was another major problem. Basically they followed the coastline wherever they could, as a map of the routes taken during each of the seven expeditions clearly shows.

In addition, records show that Zheng He's fleets comprised many different types of ship. The largest, the "Treasure Ship," was huge-up to 130 meters long and over 50 meters wide. The longest wooden-hulled sailing ships today are only around 60-70 meters long. In terms of the number and size of its ships, Zheng He's fleets were far ahead of anything that was subsequently mustered in the West.

This is what the history books tell us, at least. But there's no record of anyone seeing such ships with their own eyes, and questions remain about the authenticity of the claim. For one thing, ships were made entirely of wood in those pre-steel-plate days. But how could the shipbuilders have obtained tree trunks that were long enough for their needs? How was the hull held together? Many of the technical issues should have been insoluble. Secondly, a vessel of that length would have been prone to breaking up under stress. How could it have endured long spells at sea? Thirdly, contemporary records concerning Zheng He tell a different tale from those of a century or more later. Basically, the closer the sources are to Zheng He's era, the more credible they are. The problem is that the earlier records don't touch on the size of the ships. The first mention of size doesn't come until at least a century later, which makes it less convincing.

Nevertheless, judging by the partial remains of a ship from Zheng's era found recently in Nanjing, it is quite conceivable that ships were being built on the scale described above. Additionally, the huge size of Chinese ships of that era is referred to in contemporary Arabic and European accounts, as well as in Portuguese documents of the 16th century.

Missing emperor

Q: It is said that one of the reasons for Zheng's voyages to the West was to find the missing emperor Ming Huidi. Was there any connection?

A: As I've pointed out in my own work on Zheng He, this heads the list among all possible motives for the expeditions. Although it's an unsubstantiated theory, the fact is that it appears throughout the written record, so it cannot be ruled out.

Another important factor, given Emperor Ming Chengzu's grandiose obsessions, was the desire to obtain and cement the allegiance of the "vassal states" beyond China's borders and assert the might of the empire. Basically, the power of China during the early Ming was such that there was little to stop Zheng sailing wherever he wanted. His troops could subdue any resistance encountered en route, after which Zheng would force his opponents to dispatch a yearly tribute mission to the Chinese capital, symbolizing their state of vassalage. In this way, the western part of the Southeast Asian littoral came within China's sphere of influence. Furthermore, there were great profits to be had. Each expedition set out laden with silk and porcelain, to be exchanged for rare and precious commodities from overseas, and this too helps to explain why Zheng set sail on seven separate voyages.

A hero for the times?

Q: After nearly 600 years of neglect, Zheng He has suddenly started being worshipped as a hero. Was he really that special?

A: Do the times make the hero, or does the hero make the times? It's really hard to say. At the very least, Zheng must have been someone who didn't get seasick too easily! As to his other qualities, who can say? People have a tendency to worship heroes, and we all love tales of risk and adventure. Anything to lift us above the humdrum reality of daily life. It's the same old story: events get embellished with every telling until they enter the realm of myth. For example, look how folklore has handled the characters of Zhuge Liang and Guan Gong. The historical record shows that the real Guan Gong didn't even have moustache, let alone the bushy beard that he's now credited with in the popular imagination.

Stories have been written about how Zheng He sailed his fleet to Australia and North America. Whatever claims are made about Zheng, we can at least state with certainty that the emperor entrusted him with a mission of enormous significance, and that he, as the right man in the right place at the right time, successfully completed that mission. This alone, given the extraordinary character of that mission, and the fact that it was unprecedented and never-to-be repeated, accounts for Zheng's enduring renown.

Ivory towers

Q: We can see from this that there is a gulf between the way that history is perceived by academia and the public at large. Doesn't this prove that the scholars are stuck in ivory towers?

A: Basically, the results of academic research are available to whoever wants to read them, but of course most people aren't that interested. So academics have to publicize their ideas through the media, giving people second- or third-hand access to source material. You can't blame academics for this state of affairs and say that it means they are stuck in ivory towers. Also, academics spend a lot of time buried in their research work. Apart from publishing papers and exchanging information with their peers, they don't tend to get involved in publicizing their findings. Another factor that shouldn't be overlooked is the way that news is geared to the demands of society, and relates to the particular requirements of the time. For example, in the 1950s and 60s, when mainland China was establishing diplomatic relations with countries in Africa, it bent over backwards to dig up historical examples of ties between China and Africa. These examples were avidly reported on in the media, backed up by a rash of books on relevant topics. When the story recently emerged about possible descendants of Zheng He's expeditionary force, the reaction in mainland China, which had already been through a period of fascination with Zheng He, was quite subdued. In Taiwan however, the story stirred up considerable interest. As to why Taiwan is suddenly so interested in Zheng He, no doubt there are various factors behind the scenes that would account for it!

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German sinologist Professor Roderich Ptak is an international authority on Zheng He and China's maritime exploits during the middle ages. (courtesy of R. Ptak)

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Zheng He was a trusted aide to Emperor Ming Chengzu. His seven ocean voyages, which took him as far as the Arabian Peninsula and the coast of East Africa, form a remarkable chapter in maritime history, and are today a topic of fascination for academia and media alike. (courtesy of R. Ptak)

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A portrait of Zheng He, from one of Professor Ptak's works on Zheng He. Ptak describes Zheng as "China's Columbus." (courtesy of R. Ptak)

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"Sanbao" Hill in the center of the ancient Malaysian city of Malacca, is said to be where the troops of the "Sanbao Eunuch" (Zheng He's official title) were quartered when the fleet came by. The picture shows a reconstruction of the remains of a "Treasure Ship" from Zheng's fleet. (photo by Diago Chiu)

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The science of astronomy was highly advanced in ancient China, and navigational star charts were extremely detailed. (courtesy of R. Ptak)

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The Zheng He temple in Malacca is still active to this day. (photo by Diago Chiu)

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Zheng He led seven expeditions over the course of 28 years, aiming to find the missing emperor Ming Huidi, proclaim the might of imperial China, and, according to speculation, bring back a giraffe (which was thought to resemble the mythical kylin). (courtesy of R. Ptak)

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A picture of a kylin in the Zheng He temple in Malacca. Does this prove that the search for a kylin was the objective of Zheng's voyages? (photo by Diago Chiu)

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Zheng He's expeditions were the only officially dispatched ocean voyages in Chinese history, and as such were enormously important. But countless other unknown heroes crisscrossed the seas for trade both before and after Zheng He, and deserve credit for the traces of Chinese culture that they left in foreign lands. The picture above shows an Arab tomb decorated with Ming dynasty porcelain, in Kenya. To the right, a market in the port of Aden, Yemen, where locals are avidly following a game of Chinese paijiu. (courtesy of Rhythms Monthly; photo above by Hsiao Yao-hua; photo to the right by Hung Hai-peng)

Zheng He was a trusted aide to Emperor Ming Chengzu. His seven ocean voyages, which took him as far as the Arabian Peninsula and the coast of East Africa, form a remarkable chapter in maritime history, and are today a topic of fascination for academia and media alike. （courtesy of R. Ptak）

A portrait of Zheng He, from one of Professor Ptak's works on Zheng He. Ptak describes Zheng as "China's Columbus." （courtesy of R. Ptak）

"Sanbao" Hill in the center of the ancient Malaysian city of Malacca, is said to be where the troops of the "Sanbao Eunuch" （Zheng He's official title） were quartered when the fleet came by. The picture shows a reconstruction of the remains of a "Treasure Ship" from Zheng's fleet. （photo by Diago Chiu）

The science of astronomy was highly advanced in ancient China, and navigational star charts were extremely detailed. （courtesy of R. Ptak）

The Zheng He temple in Malacca is still active to this day. （photo by Diago Chiu）

Zheng He led seven expeditions over the course of 28 years, aiming to find the missing emperor Ming Huidi, proclaim the might of imperial China, and, according to speculation, bring back a giraffe （which was thought to resemble the mythical kylin）. （courtesy of R. Ptak）

A picture of a kylin in the Zheng He temple in Malacca. Does this prove that the search for a kylin was the objective of Zheng's voyages? （photo by Diago Chiu）

Zheng He's expeditions were the only officially dispatched ocean voyages in Chinese history, and as such were enormously important. But countless other unknown heroes crisscrossed the seas for trade both before and after Zheng He, and deserve credit for the traces of Chinese culture that they left in foreign lands. The picture above shows an Arab tomb decorated with Ming dynasty porcelain, in Kenya. To the right, a market in the port of Aden, Yemen, where locals are avidly following a game of Chinese paijiu. (courtesy of Rhythms Monthly; photo above by Hsiao Yao-hua; photo to the right by Hung Hai-peng)

To the right, a market in the port of Aden, Yemen, where locals are avidly following a game of Chinese paijiu. （courtesy of Rhythms Monthly; photo above by Hsiao Yao-hua; photo to the right by Hung Hai-peng）