The remarkable career of the
Ming Dynasty admiral, Zheng He (c. 1371-1433) was more than a match for many of
the famous European explorers. In around three decades of seafaring, Zheng He
led his armada from China to places such as Vietnam, Thailand, Melaka,
Indonesia, India, Persia, Arabia, and the east coast of Africa. While these are
the canonical destinations of Zheng He’s voyages, others argue that his ships
might have circumnavigated the world around a century before Ferdinand Magellan
accomplished that feat in the early 16th century. Even though Zheng He’s
expeditions were spectacular enough to make him a legendary figure, the
admiral’s origins in Yunnan province, China, add further richness to his
already extraordinary tale.
In 1371, a boy named Ma He (or
Ma Sanbao) was born in Yunnan, China, while the region was still under the
control of the Mongols. Ma He was from a Muslim family with ancestral ties that
traced back to both Mongolia and Bukhara. At the time, Yunnan was still a
stronghold of Mongolian power, but the new Ming Dynasty of China, founded by
Emperor Hongwu in 1368, was on the offensive, ridding China of Mongolian
influence. In 1381, Ming forces successfully recaptured Yunnan—it would be a
painful time for Ma He, but it would put the 11-year-old boy on the path to
greatness.
When the Ming forces occupied
Yunnan, Ma He was one of the many young boys seized by the victorious troops. These
captured boys were castrated and trained in the ways of court eunuchs. In
exchange for their ability to reproduce, these eunuchs were given leadership
positions within the Ming government, in roles such as that of a military
officer, bureaucrat or diplomat. By 1390, Ma He had made a name for himself in
these administrative fields to the extent that he caught the appraising eye of
the prince of Yan, the uncle of Emperor Jianwen. When the prince (taking the
name, Yongle) eventually usurped his nephew’s throne in 1400, Ma He continued
to ascend the hierarchy of the Ming government. Emperor Yongle eventually
granted the eunuch the name that is still known worldwide—Zheng He. In 1405,
Zheng He set sail with a fleet of 62 ships, intending to explore Southeast
Asia. He would continue exploring for most of his life, until he died
mid-voyage near Calicut (Kozhikode), India, around 1433.
Written by C. Keith Hansley.
Picture Attribution: (Monument of Zheng He from Malacca in front of a Zheng
He Cultural Museum exhibit, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
- Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel by Michael C. Howard. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zheng-He
- http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803133445858
- http://www.economist.com/node/5381851
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