ZHENG HE:
Peaceful ambassador
or imperial aggressor?
600 years ago, in the early 1400s,
at the beginning of the Ming
dynasty, the Chinese emperor
sent Admiral Zheng He on a series
of expeditions to the South China
Sea and the Indian Ocean.
On seven trips spread over almost
30 years, Zheng He and his huge
fleets of ships visited 30 kingdoms
between China and the east
coast of Africa.
Zheng He’s 7th expedition,
from 1431 to 1433
Why did the
emperor send fleets
out on these long
ocean voyages?
Different historians have given
different answers to that
question.
Why did the emperor send fleets out on
these long ocean voyages?
1. To establish tributary relations with
foreign kingdoms. China considered
itself stronger than all the foreign
kingdoms. China demonstrated its
strength by inviting rulers of other
kingdoms to China, by giving them
presents, and by receiving their
presents in return.
Why did the emperor send fleets out on
these long ocean voyages?
2. To gain the respect of the Chinese
people. The emperor became emperor
by defeating the previous emperor, his
nephew, in a war. To show that he
deserved to be emperor, he did lots of
spectacular things, like building the
Imperial City in Beijing and bringing
foreign rulers to China.
Why did the emperor send fleets out on
these long ocean voyages?
3. To develop trade with other
kingdoms. In addition to tribute, which
is a form of trade, Zheng He’s voyages
promoted trade among private
merchants throughout Southeast Asia
and South Asia by making the trade
routes safe from pirates.
Who was Zheng He?
(Pronounce it “Jung Huh”)
As with many
famous people, we
know more legend
than history. People
have been making up
stories about Zheng
He for 600 years!
What we know from historical documents
• Zheng He was born
about 1370 in Yunnan,
a province in southwestern China.
• His family was
Muslim. His father
and grandfather had
made pilgrimages to
Mecca.
What we know from historical documents
• When Zheng He was
11 years old, soldiers
sent by the emperor
killed his father
during a civil war.
• By the time he was
20, Zheng He was
working for prince
Zhu Di in Beijing.
What we know from historical documents
• Zhu Di was the son of
the first emperor of the
Ming dynasty. When
the emperor died, Zhu
Di defeated his
nephew in war and
made himself the
new emperor (1402).
What we know from historical documents
• Zheng He helped Zhu
Di become emperor,
and the new emperor
made Zheng He
commander of the
fleets sent to explore
the southern and
western oceans.
What we know from historical documents
• Zheng He was the top
commander on all
seven expeditions
between 1405 and
1433.
• Zheng He probably
died during the final
expedition, but there
is no official record.
Why was Zheng He a eunuch?
• When Zheng He’s father
was killed, Zheng He
was captured. Along
with all the other
young boy prisoners,
he was castrated,
“the barbarian and
cruel custom of that
period.”(Historian Su Ming-Yang)
For a time line of Zheng He’s
seven voyages, see Document A.
For a map
of the seventh
voyage, see
Document B.
Zheng He’s fleet
Models at the
Cheng Ho
Cultural
Museum in
Melaka
This video gives an idea of what Zheng He’s
fleet might have looked like.
(Does the Chinese fleet seem friendly or scary?)
Video created for a Zheng He exhibit
at the National Library of Singapore (2005).
Based on these
models, do you
think Zheng He’s
ship is about 2½
times as long as
Columbus’s ship?
Recent research
suggests that
Zheng He’s ship
was about 220 feet
long. Columbus’s
ship was about 85
feet long.
The small model in front is one of the three ships
Columbus sailed from Spain to the Americas (1492).
The large model in the back is Zheng He’s flagship
(1405-1433).
The size of
Zheng He’s fleets
•The number of ships
ranged from about 100
to as many as 300.
•There were various kinds of ships, from the
flagship that was probably 220 feet long
(football field = 300 feet) to small supply ships.
•The crew was as large as 28,000 people on
some voyages.
Why did the
Chinese stop
sending the fleets
after 1433?
Many historians agree that the
expeditions stopped mainly
because they were too expensive.
The emperor who first sent Zheng He
out was also spending lots of money
• Building a new capital in Beijing.
• Conducting military campaigns
against the nomads in the north.
• Rebuilding the Great Wall.
• Rebuilding the Grand Canal.
• Waging war against Vietnam for 20
years.
When the emperor died in 1424, the
new emperor decided it was time to
reduce spending. After all, the
expeditions had accomplished their
original goals of establishing tributary
relationships, establishing the prestige
of the emperor, and developing trade.
As people recently observed the 600th
anniversary of Zheng He’s voyages, a
debate among historians emerged:
Was Zheng He a peaceful ambassador
or an imperial aggressor?
Historian Geoff Wade says:
“Zheng He’s expeditions were intended
to achieve the recognition of Ming
dominance over all the states and
kingdoms in the regions visited. To
achieve this they used force, or the
threat of force.”
Historian Tan Ta Sen says:
“Zheng He acted as a peacekeeper and
guardian of native states to maintain
law and order and the safety of trade
routes. Throughout his seven voyages
Zheng He did not occupy or colonize
an inch of foreign land.”
What do you think?
To help you decide, we are going to
conduct an investigation just like
historians do. We’re going to study
some documents from Zheng He’s time
to see what really happened.