The Voyages of Zheng He
Dennis Rees
Teacher-Consultant
Arizona Geographic Alliance
From 1405 until 1433, Admiral
Zheng He made 7 voyages.
The purpose of the voyages
was to establish trade and
diplomatic relations
between China and nations
in Southeast Asia, South
Asia, and the Arabian
Peninsula.
The fleets ranged in size from 48 to 317
ships carrying 27,000 to 30,000 sailors,
soldiers, merchants, and scholars.
The ships used maps, star charts, and compasses to
navigate the open seas. It is the first fleet in history
to not hug the coast as a means of guidance.
They took silk,
porcelain, and
copper coins to
trade for spices,
gems, fragrant
woods, animals,
textiles, and
minerals.
Throughout each voyage, detailed maps
were made, information gathered on the
climate and cultures encountered, and plant
and animal specimens were collected.
The first voyage, 1405-1407, visited Champa
(central Vietnam), Java, Sumatra, Malacca,
Ceylon, and Cochin and Calicut in India.
Impressed with China’s wealth and
power, local rulers sent ambassadors
back with the fleet to pay tribute
(money and goods) to the emperor.
Also on the way home, Zheng He’s
fleet destroyed the pirate fleet in the
Strait of Malacca, thus restoring safe
passage to all ships in the region.
The second (1407-1409) and third
(1409-1411) voyages returned to the
same areas and to some new ones,
including Siam (Thailand).
Ambassadors were returned home,
and diplomatic and trade relations
strengthened. During the third
voyage, when the king of Ceylon
attacked the fleet, Zheng He
defeated and captured him.
It was also on the
third voyage that
Zheng He erected
this tablet in
Ceylon honoring
Buddha. The
inscription is
written in Chinese,
Tamil, and Persian.
The fourth voyage, 1413-1415,
reached Hormuz and Aden on the
Arabian Peninsula. These two ports
controlled the rich trade routes of the
Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. He
returned home with riches from
Arabia and Africa, and more
ambassadors.
The fifth voyage, 1416-1419, returned
to the places in Southeast Asia,
Ceylon, India, Hormuz, and the
Arabian Peninsula that had been
visited before. The fleet also sailed
down the east coast of Africa making
stops at Mogadishu and Malindi. He
returned home with exotic animals
and African ambassadors.
So many exotic
animals were
arriving in China
due to the voyages
that the emperor
created a special
garden to house
them , China’s first
zoo.
The sixth voyage, 1421-22, returned ambassadors
to various countries, but concentrated on the
Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.
Emperor Zhu Di died
shortly after this
voyage. His son
decided to suspend
the voyages during
his brief reign.
The next emperor,
Zhu Di’s grandson,
decided to resume
the voyages. He
called upon Zheng
He to once again
lead the fleet.
The seventh voyage, 1430-1433, revisited
Champa, Java, Sumatra, Malacca, Ceylon,
Calicut, and Hormuz.
In Hormuz, Zheng He split his fleet.
Part of it continued on to Aden and
then the Red Sea port of Jiddah.
From Jiddah, a delegation traveled to
Mecca. Another part sailed down the
east coast of Africa. The remainder
returned to China. On the way, Zheng
He died and was buried at sea.
With Zheng He’s death,
the voyages ended
and the fleet was
dispersed. Over the
course of 28 years,
they had restored
China’s diplomatic and
trade relations, freed
the ocean routes from
Asia to India and
Arabia of pirates, and
established Chinese
communities that
exist today in many of
the places they had
visited.