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Who was the Chinese navigator Zheng He?
Unlike explorers from the European sea powers in the late 15th century who seized territories or tyrannized locals, Zheng He’s mission was mainly one of trade.
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Tourists visit Sam Poo Kong Temple in Semarang, Central Java on Jan. 1, 2018. The temple was built as a remembrance of the arrival of Chinese admiral Zheng He Cheng Ho in the 1400s. (Antara/R. Rekotomo)
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ore than 600 years ago, a large fleet of hundreds of ships from China’s Ming dynasty sailed to the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea. The man at the helm was Zheng He, Asia’s most famous navigator and explorer whose adventures preceded that of Christopher Columbus by over 80 years.
But Zheng He's story is told much less in a Eurocentric narrative of history. Where did Zheng visit?
Historical accounts of Zheng He’s travels record seven voyages to the “Western Oceans,” which at that time referred to the Namoli Ocean, later called the Indian Ocean.
Setting out from what is modern China’s Fujian Province, Zheng He and his crew made port calls at today’s Java, Palembang, Thailand, Malacca, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, India, Iran and as far as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Some historians count more than 30 countries and places in Asia and Africa that Zheng visited between 1405 and 1433.
What was his fleet like?
While scholars are still trying to agree on the exact sizes of Zheng’s ships, historical records suggest that the capital ship would have been 61.2 meters long, 13.8 meters wide and of 1,000 tonnes’ displacement.
One particular trip was described in more detail. In July 1405, Zheng led a fleet of more than 240 ships with a 27,000-strong crew, among whom were marine surveyors, sailors, soldiers, doctors, cooks, translators, astrologists and barbers.
