Zheng He - wikipedia Zheng He For other uses, see Zhenghe ( disambiguation ). This is a Chinese name ; the family name is Zheng. Zheng He Statue from a modern monument to Zheng He at the Stadthuys Museum in Malacca City, Malaysia 1371 Dian Lake shores, Yuan dynasty ( modern - day Kunyang, Kunming, Yunnan, China ) 1433 ( aged 61 -- 62 ) or 1435 ( aged 63 -- 64 ) Resting place Unknown Other names Ma He Sanbao Occupation Admiral, diplomat, explorer, and palace eunuch Era Ming dynasty Zheng He `` Zheng He '' in traditional ( top ) and simplified ( bottom ) Chinese characters Traditional Chinese 鄭和 Simplified Chinese 郑 和 show Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Hé Wade -- Giles Cheng Ho Yale Romanization Jèng Hé IPA ( ʈʂə̂ŋ xɤ̌ ) Wu Suzhounese Zên Ghóu Yue : Cantonese Yale Romanization Jehng Wòh IPA ( tsɛ̀ːŋ wɔ̏ː ) Jyutping Zeng6 Wo4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tēn Hô Tâi - lô Tēnn Hô hide Part of a series on Islam in China History of Islam in China By dynasty Tang Song Yuan Ming Qing Rebellions and revolts Jahriyya revolt Panthay Rebellion ( 1856 -- 73 ) First Dungan revolt ( 1862 -- 77 ) Second Dungan revolt ( 1895 -- 96 ) Afaqi Khoja revolts Post-dynastic China 1911 -- present Major figures Haji Noor Hu Dahai Hui Liangyu Hu Songshan Liu Zhi Ma Anliang Ma Bufang Ma Buqing Ma Fuxiang Ma Gui Ma Hualong Ma Laichi Ma Mingxin Ma Qixi Ma Yize Yeheidie'erding Yusuf Ma Dexin Wang Daiyu Zheng He Culture Cuisine ( Uyghur ) Han Kitab Mosques Sini Uyghur Arabic Xiao'erjing Islamic Association of China Cities Regions Hong Kong Kashgar Linxia Macau Ningxia Xinjiang Xunhua Groups Hui Uyghurs Kazakhs Dongxiangs Kyrgyz Salar Bonans Tajiks Uzbeks Tatars Utsul Tibetans Islam in China portal Zheng He ( Chinese : 鄭和 ; 1371 -- 1433 or 1435 ) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and enslaved court eunuch during China 's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family, later adopted the conferred surname Zheng from Emperor Yongle. Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. His larger ships stretched 120 meters or more in length. These carried hundreds of sailors on four tiers of decks. As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whose usurpation he assisted, Zheng rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing ( the capital was later moved to Beijing by the Yongle Emperor ). His voyages were long neglected in official Chinese histories but have become well known in China and abroad since the publication of Liang Qichao 's Biography of Our Homeland 's Great Navigator, Zheng He in 1904. A trilingual stele left by the navigator was discovered on the island of Ceylon shortly thereafter. Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Capture, castration and service 3 Adulthood and military career 4 Death 5 Expeditions 6 Sailing charts 7 Size of the ships 8 Legacy 8.1 Imperial China 8.2 Southeast Asia 8.2. 1 Veneration of Zheng He 8.2. 2 Malacca 8.2. 3 Indonesia 8.3 Modern scholarship 8.4 Cultural influence 8.5 Relics 8.6 Commemoration 9 Gallery 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 External links Early life and family Zheng He was born Ma He ( 馬 和 ) to a Muslim family of Kunyang, Kunming, Yunnan, China. He had an older brother and four sisters. Ma He 's religious beliefs became all - embracing and eclectic in his adulthood. According to Dreyer ( 2007 ), the Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions suggest that Zheng He 's devotion to Tianfei ( the patron goddess of sailors and seafarers ) was the dominant faith to which he adhered, reflecting the goddess ' central role to the treasure fleet. John Guy mentions, `` When Zheng He, the Muslim eunuch leader of the great expeditions to the ' Western Ocean ' ( Indian Ocean ) in the early fifteenth century, embarked on his voyages, it was from the Divine Woman that he sought protection, as well as at the tombs of the Muslim saints on Lingshan Hill, above the city of Quanzhou. '' Zheng He was a great - great - great - grandson of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al - Din Omar, who served in the administration of the Mongol Empire and was the governor of Yunnan during the early Yuan dynasty. His great - grandfather was named Bayan and may have been stationed at a Mongol garrison in Yunnan. Zheng He 's grandfather carried the title hajji, while his father had the sinicized surname Ma and also the title hajji, which suggests that they had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Peterson ( 1994 ) suggests that the Hajji of both his father and grandfather indicated that Zheng He may have had Mongol - Arab ancestry and that he could speak Arabic. In the autumn of 1381, a Ming army invaded and conquered Yunnan, which was then ruled by the Mongol prince Basalawarmi, Prince of Liang. In 1381, Ma Haji ( Zheng He 's father ) died in the fighting between the Ming armies and Mongol forces. Dreyer ( 2007 ) states that Zheng He 's father died at age 39 while resisting the Ming conquest. Levathes ( 1996 ) states Zheng He 's father died at age 37, but it is unclear if he was helping the Mongol army or just caught in the onslaught of battle. Wenming, the oldest son, buried their father outside of Kunming. In his capacity as Admiral, Zheng He had an epitaph engraved in honor of his father, composed by the Minister of Rites Li Zhigang on the Duanwu Festival of the 3rd year in the Yongle era ( 1 June 1405 ). Capture, castration and service Ma He was captured by the Ming armies at Yunnan in 1381. General Fu Youde saw Ma He on a road and approached him in order to inquire about the location of the Mongol pretender. Ma He responded defiantly by saying that the Mongol pretender had jumped into a lake. Afterwards, the general took him prisoner. He was castrated before he, at age 10, was placed in servitude of the Prince of Yan, but another source indicates that the castration occurred in 1385. Ma was sent to serve in the household of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, who later became the Yongle Emperor. Zhu Di was eleven years older than Ma. Since 1380, the prince had been governing Beiping ( later Beijing ), which was located near the northern frontier where the hostile Mongol tribes were situated. Ma would spend his early life as a soldier on the northern frontier. He often participated in Zhu Di 's military campaigns against the Mongols. On 2 March 1390, Ma accompanied the Prince when he commanded his first expedition, which was a great victory as the Mongol commander Naghachu surrendered as soon as he realized he had fallen for a deception. Ma Hajji, a Yuan Dynasty official in Yunnan ( a descendant of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al - Din Omar ), and his young son Ma He, future admiral Zheng He, as imagined by a modern Kunyang sculptor. Eventually, he would gain the confidence and trust of the prince. Ma was also known as `` sān bǎo '' during the time of service in the household of the Prince of Yan. This name was a reference to the Three Jewels ( 三寶, triratna ) in Buddhism. There is also document saying his name could be 三保 ( lit. `` Three Protections '', also pronounced sān bǎo ). Ma received a proper education while at Beiping, which he would not have had if he had been placed in the imperial capital Nanjing, as the Hongwu Emperor did not trust eunuchs and believed that it was better to keep them illiterate. Meanwhile, the Hongwu Emperor purged and exterminated many of the original Ming leadership and gave his enfeoffed sons more military authority, especially those in the north like the Prince of Yan. Adulthood and military career Ma He 's appearance as an adult was recorded : he was seven chi. tall, had a waist that was five chi in circumference, cheeks and a forehead that was high, a small nose, glaring eyes, teeth that were white and well - shaped as shells, and a voice that was as loud as a bell. It is also recorded that he had great knowledge about warfare and was well - accustomed to battle. The young eunuch eventually became a trusted adviser to the prince and assisted him when the Jianwen Emperor 's hostility to his uncle 's feudal bases prompted the 1399 -- 1402 Jingnan Campaign which ended with the emperor 's apparent death and the ascension of the Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, as the Yongle Emperor. In 1393, the Crown Prince had died, thus the deceased prince 's son became the new heir apparent. By the time the emperor died ( 24 June 1398 ), the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin had perished, which left Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, as the eldest surviving son of the emperor. However, Zhu Di 's nephew succeeded the imperial throne as the Jianwen Emperor. In 1398, he issued a policy known as xuēfān, or `` reducing the feudatories '', which entails eliminating all the princes by stripping their power and military forces. In August 1399, Zhu Di openly rebelled against his nephew. In 1399, Ma He successfully defended Beiping 's city reservoir Zhenglunba against the imperial armies. In January 1402, Zhu Di began with his military campaign to capture the imperial capital Nanjing. Zheng He would be one of his commanders during this campaign. In 1402, Zhu Di 's armies defeated the imperial forces and marched into Nanjing on 13 July 1402. Zhu Di accepted the elevation to emperor four days later. After ascending the throne as the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di promoted Ma He as the Grand Director ( 太監, tài jiàn ) of the Directorate of Palace Servants. During the New Year 's day on 11 February 1404, the Yongle Emperor conferred the surname `` Zheng '' to Ma He, because he had distinguished himself defending the city reservoir Zhenglunba against imperial forces in the Siege of Beiping of 1399, Another reason was that the eunuch commander also distinguished himself during the 1402 campaign to capture the capital Nanjing. It is believed that his choice to confer the surname `` Zheng '' was because the eunuch 's horse had been killed during the battle at Zhenglunba near Beiping at the onset of his rebellion. In the new administration, Zheng He served in the highest posts, as Grand Director and later as Chief Envoy ( 正 使, zhèngshǐ ) during his sea voyages. Over the next three decades he conducted seven of these voyages on behalf of the emperor, trading and collecting tribute in the eastern Pacific and Indian Oceans. In 1424, Admiral Zheng He traveled to Palembang to confer an official seal and letter of appointment upon Shi Jisun, who was placed in the office of Pacification Commissioner. The Taizong Shilu 27 February 1424 entry reports that Shi Jisun had sent Qiu Yancheng as envoy to petition the approval of the succession from his father Shi Jinqing, who was the Pacification Commissioner of Palembang, and was given permission from the Yongle Emperor. On 7 September 1424, Zhu Gaozhi had inherited the throne as the Hongxi Emperor after the death of the Yongle Emperor on 12 August 1424. When Zheng He returned from Palembang, he found that the Yongle Emperor had died during his absence. After the ascension of Zhu Di 's son as the Hongxi Emperor, the ocean voyages were discontinued and Zheng He was instead appointed as Defender of Nanjing, the empire 's southern capital. In that post, he was largely responsible for the completion of the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, an enormous pagoda still described as a wonder of the world as late as the 19th century. On 15 May 1426, the Xuande Emperor ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to send a letter to Zheng He to reprimand him for a transgression. Earlier, an official petitioned the emperor to reward workmen who had built temples in Nanjing. The Xuande Emperor responded negatively to the official for placing the costs to the court instead of the monks themselves, but he realized that Zheng He and his associates had instigated the official. Dreyer ( 2007 ) noted that the nature of the emperor 's words indicated that Zheng He 's behaviour in this situation was the last straw, but that there 's too little information about what had transpired beforehand. Nevertheless, the Xuande Emperor would eventually come to trust Zheng He. In 1430, the new Xuande Emperor appointed Zheng He to command over a seventh and final expedition into the `` Western Ocean '' ( Indian Ocean ). In 1431, Zheng He was bestowed with the title `` Sānbǎo Tài Jiàn '' ( 三寶 太監 ), using his informal name Sanbao ( `` Three Treasures '' ) together with the title of Grand Director. Death One theory is that Admiral Zheng He died in 1433. It may have happened during or shortly after the seventh voyage. Another belief is that Zheng He continued to serve as the defender of Nanjing, dying in 1435. A tomb was built for Zheng He at the southern slope of Cattle Head Hill, Nanjing. The original tomb was a horseshoe - shaped grave. It is a cenotaph believed to contain his clothes and headgear. In 1985, the tomb was rebuilt following a Muslim style. He adopted the eldest son of his elder brother, who was awarded a hereditary officer rank in the imperial guard. Expeditions Main article : Ming treasure voyages The Yuan dynasty and expanding Sino - Arab trade during the 14th century had gradually expanded Chinese knowledge of the world : `` universal '' maps previously only displaying China and its surrounding seas began to expand further and further into the southwest with much more accurate depictions of the extent of Arabia and Africa. Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored seven naval expeditions. The Yongle Emperor -- disregarding the Hongwu Emperor 's expressed wishes -- designed them to establish a Chinese presence and impose imperial control over the Indian Ocean trade, impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin, and extend the empire 's tributary system. It has also been inferred from passages in the History of Ming that the initial voyages were launched as part of the emperor 's attempt to capture his escaped predecessor, which would have made the first voyage the `` largest - scale manhunt on water in the history of China ''. Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control of the huge fleet and armed forces that undertook these expeditions. Wang Jinghong was appointed his second in command. Preparations were thorough and wide - ranging, including the use of such numerous linguists that a foreign language institute was established at Nanjing. Zheng He 's first voyage departed 11 July 1405, from Suzhou and consisted of a fleet of 317 ships holding almost 28,000 crewmen. Early 17th - century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He 's ships. Zheng He 's fleets visited Brunei, Java, Thailand and Southeast Asia, India, the Horn of Africa, and Arabia, dispensing and receiving goods along the way. Zheng He presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain, and silk ; in return, China received such novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, and ivory from the Swahili. The giraffe he brought back from Malindi was considered to be a qilin and taken as proof of the favor of heaven upon the administration. While Zheng He 's fleet was unprecedented, the routes were not. Zheng He 's fleet was following long - established, well - mapped routes of trade between China and the Arabian peninsula employed since at least the Han dynasty. This fact, along with the use of a more than abundant number of crew members that were regular military personnel, leads some to speculate that these expeditions may have been geared at least partially at spreading China 's power through expansion. During the Three Kingdoms Period, the king of Wu sent a twenty year long diplomatic mission led by Zhu Ying and Kang Tai along the coast of Asia, which reached as far as the Eastern Roman Empire. After centuries of disruption, the Song dynasty restored large - scale maritime trade from China in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, reaching as far as the Arabian peninsula and East Africa. When his fleet first arrived in Malacca, there was already a sizable Chinese community. The General Survey of the Ocean Shores ( 瀛 涯 勝 覽, Yíngyá Shènglǎn ) composed by the translator Ma Huan in 1416 gave very detailed accounts of his observations of people 's customs and lives in the ports they visited. He referred to the expatriate Chinese as `` Tang '' people ( 唐人, Tángrén ). The Kangnido map ( 1402 ) predates Zheng 's voyages and suggests that he had quite detailed geographical information on much of the Old World. Detail of the Fra Mauro map relating the travels of a junk into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. The ship also is illustrated above the text. Zheng He generally sought to attain his goals through diplomacy, and his large army awed most would - be enemies into submission. But a contemporary reported that Zheng He `` walked like a tiger '' and did not shrink from violence when he considered it necessary to impress foreign peoples with China 's military might. He ruthlessly suppressed pirates who had long plagued Chinese and southeast Asian waters. For example, he defeated Chen Zuyi, one of the most feared and respected pirate captains, and returned him back to China for execution. He also waged a land war against the Kingdom of Kotte on Ceylon, and he made displays of military force when local officials threatened his fleet in Arabia and East Africa. From his fourth voyage, he brought envoys from thirty states who traveled to China and paid their respects at the Ming court. In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor ( r. 1424 -- 1425 ), stopped the voyages during his short reign. Zheng He made one more voyage during the reign of Hongxi 's son, the Xuande Emperor ( r. 1426 -- 1435 ) but, after that, the voyages of the Chinese treasure ship fleets were ended. Xuande believed his father 's decision to halt the voyages had been meritorious and thus `` there would be no need to make a detailed description of his grandfather 's sending Zheng He to the Western Ocean. '' The voyages `` were contrary to the rules stipulated in the Huang Ming Zuxun '' ( 皇 明 祖 訓 ), the dynastic foundation documents laid down by the Hongwu Emperor : Some far - off countries pay their tribute to me at much expense and through great difficulties, all of which are by no means my own wish. Messages should be forwarded to them to reduce their tribute so as to avoid high and unnecessary expenses on both sides. They further violated longstanding Confucian principles. They were only made possible by ( and therefore continued to represent ) a triumph of the Ming 's eunuch faction over the administration 's scholar - bureaucrats. Upon Zheng He 's death and his faction 's fall from power, his successors sought to minimize him in official accounts, along with continuing attempts to destroy all records related to the Jianwen Emperor or the manhunt to find him. Although unmentioned in the official dynastic histories, Zheng He probably died during the treasure fleet 's last voyage. Although he has a tomb in China, it is empty : he was buried at sea. Order Time Regions along the way 1st voyage 1405 -- 1407 Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Aru, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Qulion ( Kollam ), Kollam, Cochin, Calicut 2nd voyage 1407 -- 1409 Champa, Java, Siam, Cochin, Ceylon, Calicut 3rd voyage 1409 -- 1411 Champa, Java, Malacca, Semudera, Ceylon, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, Siam, Lambri, Kayal, Coimbatore, Puttanpur 4th voyage 1413 -- 1415 Champa, Kelantan, Pahang, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Semudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut, Kayal, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Baraawe, Malindi, Aden, Muscat, Dhofar 5th voyage 1417 -- 1419 Ryukyu, Champa, Pahang, Java, Malacca, Samudera, Lambri, Bengal, Ceylon, Sharwayn, Cochin, Calicut, Hormuz, Maldives, Aden, Mogadishu, Baraawe, the Lamu Islands, and Malindi. 6th voyage 1421 -- 1422 Champa, Bengal, Ceylon, Calicut, Cochin, Maldives, Hormuz, Djofar, Aden, Mogadishu, Baraawe 7th voyage 1430 -- 1433 Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Semudera, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bengal, Ceylon, Calicut, Hormuz, Aden, Ganbali ( possibly Coimbatore ), Bengal, Laccadive and Maldive Islands, Djofar, Lasa, Aden, Mecca, Mogadishu, Baraawe Zheng He led seven expeditions to the `` Western '' or Indian Ocean. Zheng He brought back to China many trophies and envoys from more than thirty kingdoms -- including King Vira Alakeshwara of Ceylon, who came to China as a captive to apologize to the Emperor for offenses against his mission. Zheng himself wrote of his travels : We have traversed more than 100,000 li of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course ( as rapidly ) as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare... Sailing charts See also : Chinese geography and Mao Kun map One of a set of maps of Zheng He 's missions ( 郑 和 航海 图 ), also known as the Mao Kun map, 1628 A section of the Wubei Zhi oriented east : India in the upper left, Sri Lanka upper right, and Africa along the bottom. Zheng He 's sailing charts, the Mao Kun map, were published in a book entitled the Wubei Zhi ( A Treatise on Armament Technology ) written in 1621 and published in 1628 but traced back to Zheng He 's and earlier voyages. It was originally a strip map 20.5 cm by 560 cm that could be rolled up, but was divided into 40 pages which vary in scale from 7 miles / inch in the Nanjing area to 215 miles / inch in parts of the African coast. Investigation into folios 19V to 20R of the Mao Kun Map which covers the Indian Ocean including the South India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and East Africa suggests that it is a composite of four maps, one for Sri Lanka, one for South India one for the Maldives and one for around 400 km of the East African coast, no further south than 6 degrees south of the Equator. Each of these maps is positioned at a different orientation to fit with the ocean currents and winds required of a sailing chart, rather than a formal map. The analysis also suggests that Arabic - speaking pilots with a detailed knowledge of the African coast were involved in the cartography. There is little attempt to provide an accurate 2 - D representation ; instead the sailing instructions are given using a 24 - point compass system with a Chinese symbol for each point, together with a sailing time or distance, which takes account of the local currents and winds. Sometimes depth soundings are also provided. It also shows bays, estuaries, capes and islands, ports and mountains along the coast, important landmarks such as pagodas and temples, and shoal rocks. Of 300 named places outside China, more than 80 % can be confidently located. There are also fifty observations of stellar altitude. Size of the ships Traditional and popular accounts of Zheng He 's voyages have described a great fleet of gigantic ships, far larger than any other wooden ships in history. Chinese records state that Zheng He 's fleet sailed as far as East Africa. According to medieval Chinese sources, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions. The 1405 expedition consisted of 27,800 men and a fleet of 62 treasure ships supported by approximately 190 smaller ships. The fleet included : `` Chinese treasure ships '' ( 宝船, Bǎo Chuán ), used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies ( nine - masted, about 127 metres ( 417 feet ) long and 52 metres ( 171 feet ) wide ), according to later writers. Equine ships ( 馬 船, Mǎ Chuán ), carrying horses and tribute goods and repair material for the fleet ( eight - masted, about 103 m ( 338 ft ) long and 42 m ( 138 ft ) wide ). Supply ships ( 粮 船, Liáng Chuán ), containing staple for the crew ( seven - masted, about 78 m ( 256 ft ) long and 35 m ( 115 ft ) wide ). Troop transports ( 兵船, Bīng Chuán ), six - masted, about 67 m ( 220 ft ) long and 25 m ( 82 ft ) wide. Fuchuan warships ( 福 船, Fú Chuán ), five - masted, about 50 m ( 160 ft ) long. Patrol boats ( 坐 船, Zuò Chuán ), eight - oared, about 37 m ( 121 ft ) long. Water tankers ( 水 船, Shuǐ Chuán ), with 1 month 's supply of fresh water. Six more expeditions took place, from 1407 to 1433, with fleets of comparable size. If the accounts can be taken as factual Zheng He 's treasure ships were mammoth ships with nine masts, four decks, and were capable of accommodating more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount of cargo. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta both described multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1,000 passengers in their translated accounts. Niccolò Da Conti, a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen 5 masted junks weighing about 2,000 tons. There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as 600 feet. On the ships were navigators, explorers, sailors, doctors, workers, and soldiers along with the translator and diarist Gong Zhen. The largest ships in the fleet, the Chinese treasure ships described in Chinese chronicles, would have been several times larger than any other wooden ship ever recorded in history, surpassing l'Orient, 65 metres ( 213.3 ft ) long, which was built in the late 18th century. The first ships to attain 126 m ( 413.4 ft ) long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Some scholars argue that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He 's ship was 450 feet ( 137.2 m ) in length, some estimating that they were 390 -- 408 feet ( 118.9 -- 124.4 m ) long and 160 -- 166 feet ( 48.8 -- 50.6 m ) wide instead while others put them as small as 200 -- 250 feet ( 61.0 -- 76.2 m ) in length, which would make them smaller than the equine, supply, and troop ships in the fleet. One explanation for the seemingly inefficient size of these colossal ships was that the largest 44 Zhang treasure ships were merely used by the Emperor and imperial bureaucrats to travel along the Yangtze for court business, including reviewing Zheng He 's expedition fleet. The Yangtze river, with its calmer waters, may have been navigable by these treasure ships. Zheng He, a court eunuch, would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships, seaworthy or not. The main ships of Zheng He 's fleet were instead 6 masted 2000 - liao ships. Legacy Imperial China The pet giraffe of the Sultan of Bengal, brought from the Somali Ajuran Empire, and later taken to China in the thirteenth year of Yongle ( 1415 ). In the decades after the last voyage, Imperial officials minimized the importance of Zheng He and his expeditions throughout the many regnal and dynastic histories they compiled. The information in the Yongle and Xuande Emperors ' official annals was incomplete and even erroneous ; other official publications omitted them completely. Although some have seen this as a conspiracy seeking to eliminate memories of the voyages, it is likely that the records were dispersed throughout several departments and the expeditions -- unauthorized by ( and in fact, counter to ) the injunctions of the dynastic founder -- presented a kind of embarrassment to the dynasty. State - sponsored Ming naval efforts declined dramatically after Zheng 's voyages. Starting in the early 15th century, China experienced increasing pressure from the surviving Yuan Mongols from the north. The relocation of the capital north to Beijing exacerbated this threat dramatically. At considerable expense, China launched annual military expeditions from Beijing to weaken the Mongolians. The expenditures necessary for these land campaigns directly competed with the funds necessary to continue naval expeditions. Further, in 1449, Mongolian cavalry ambushed a land expedition personally led by the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu Fortress, less than a day 's march from the walls of the capital. The Mongolians wiped out the Chinese army and captured the emperor. This battle had two salient effects. First, it demonstrated the clear threat posed by the northern nomads. Second, the Mongols caused a political crisis in China when they released the emperor after his half - brother had already ascended and declared the new Jingtai era. Not until 1457 and the restoration of the former emperor did political stability return. Upon his return to power, China abandoned the strategy of annual land expeditions and instead embarked upon a massive and expensive expansion of the Great Wall of China. In this environment, funding for naval expeditions simply did not happen. However, missions from Southeast Asia continued to arrive for decades. Depending on local conditions, they could reach such frequency that the court found it necessary to restrict them : the History of Ming records imperial edicts forbidding Java, Champa, and Siam from sending their envoys more often than once every three years. Southeast Asia Veneration of Zheng He The Cakra Donya Bell, a gift from Zheng He to Pasai, now located at the Museum Aceh in Banda Aceh. Among the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, Zheng He became a figure of folk veneration. Even some of his crew members who happened to stay in this or that port sometimes did as well, such as `` Poontaokong '' on Sulu. The temples of this cult -- called after either of his names, Cheng Hoon or Sam Po -- are peculiar to overseas Chinese except for a single temple in Hongjian originally constructed by a returned Filipino Chinese in the Ming dynasty and rebuilt by another Filipino Chinese after the original was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. ( The same village of Hongjian, in Fujian 's Jiaomei township, is also the ancestral home of Corazon Aquino. ) Malacca The Sam Po Kong Temple in Malacca. The oldest and most important Chinese temple in Malacca is the 17th - century Cheng Hoon Teng, dedicated to Guanyin. During Dutch colonial rule, the head of the Cheng Hoon Temple was appointed chief over the community 's Chinese inhabitants. Following Zheng He 's arrival, the sultan and sultana of Malacca visited China at the head of over 540 of their subjects, bearing ample tribute. Sultan Mansur Shah ( r. 1459 -- 1477 ) later dispatched Tun Perpatih Putih as his envoy to China, carrying a letter from the sultan to the Ming emperor. The letter requested the hand of an imperial daughter in marriage. Malay ( but not Chinese ) annals record that, in the year 1459, a princess named Hang Li Po or Hang Liu was sent from China to marry the sultan. The princess came with 500 high - ranking young men and a few hundred handmaidens as her entourage. They eventually settled in Bukit Cina. It is believed that a significant number of them married into the local populace, creating the descendants now known as the Peranakan. Owing to this supposed lineage, the Peranakan still use special honorifics : Baba for the men and Nyonya for the women. Indonesia Stamp from Indonesia commemorating Zheng He 's voyages to secure the maritime routes, usher urbanization and assist in creating a common prosperity throughout continents and cultures. The Zheng Hoo Mosque in Surabaya. Indonesian Chinese have established temples to Zheng He in Jakarta, Cirebon, Surabaya, and Semarang. In 1961, the Indonesian Islamic leader and scholar Hamka credited Zheng He with an important role in the development of Islam in Indonesia. The Brunei Times credits Zheng He with building Chinese Muslim communities in Palembang and along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. These Muslims allegedly followed the Hanafi school in the Chinese language. This Chinese Muslim community was led by Hajji Yan Ying Yu, who urged his followers to assimilate and take local names. The Chinese trader Sun Long even supposedly adopted the son of the king of Majapahit and his Chinese wife, a son who went on to become Raden Patah. Amid this assimilation ( and loss of contact with China itself ), the Hanafi Islam became absorbed by the local Shafi'i school and the presence of distinctly ethnic Chinese Muslims dwindled to almost nothing. The Malay Annals also record a number of Hanafi mosques -- in Semarang and Ancol, for instance -- were converted directly into temples of the Zheng He cult during the 1460s and ' 70s. The Sam Poo Kong temple in Semarang was built to commemorate Zheng He 's voyage to Java. Modern scholarship In the 1950s, historians such as John Fairbank and Joseph Needham popularized the idea that after Zheng He 's voyages China turned away from the seas due to the Haijin edict and was isolated from European technological advancements. Modern historians point out that Chinese maritime commerce did not totally stop after Zheng He, that Chinese ships continued to participate in Southeast Asian commerce until the 19th century, and that active Chinese trading with India and East Africa continued long after the time of Zheng. Moreover, revisionist historians such as Jack Goldstone argue that the Zheng He voyages ended for practical reasons that did not reflect the technological level of China. Although the Ming dynasty did ban shipping with the Haijin edict, this was a policy of the Hongwu Emperor that long preceded Zheng He and the ban -- so obviously disregarded by the Yongle Emperor -- was eventually lifted entirely. However, the ban on maritime shipping did force countless numbers of people into smuggling and piracy. Neglect of the imperial navy and Nanjing dockyards after Zheng He 's voyages left the coast highly vulnerable to Japanese Wokou during the 16th century. Richard von Glahn, a UCLA professor of Chinese history, commented that most treatments of Zheng He present him wrongly : they `` offer counterfactual arguments '' and `` emphasize China 's missed opportunity. '' This `` narrative emphasizes the failure '' instead of the accomplishments, despite his assertion that `` Zheng He reshaped Asia. '' Glahn argues that maritime history in the 15th century was essentially the Zheng He story and the effects of his voyages. Cultural influence Despite the official neglect, the adventures of the fleet captured the imagination of some Chinese and novelizations of the voyages occurred, such as the Romance of the Three - Jeweled Eunuch in 1597. On his travels, Zheng He built mosques while also spreading the worship of Mazu. He apparently never found time for a pilgrimage to Mecca but did send sailors there on his last voyage. He played an important part in developing relations between China and Islamic countries. Zheng He also visited Muslim shrines of Islamic holy men in the Fujian. In modern times, interest in Zheng He revived substantially. In Vernor Vinge 's 1999 science - fiction novel A Deepness in the Sky, an interstellar society of commercial traders in human space are named the Qeng Ho after the admiral. The expeditions featured prominently in Heather Terrell 's 2005 novel The Map Thief. For the 600th anniversary of Zheng He 's voyages in 2005, the China 's CCTV produced a special television series Zheng He Xia Xiyang, starring Gallen Lo as Zheng He. He is also mentioned in part of the main storyline of the first - person shooter game Far Cry 3. Relics Nanjing Temple of Mazu Zheng He built the Tianfei Palace ( 天 妃 宫, Tiānfēigōng, lit. `` Palace of the Celestial Wife '' ), a temple in honor of the goddess Mazu, in Nanjing after the fleet returned from its first western voyage in 1407. Taicang Stele The `` Deed of Foreign Connection and Exchange '' ( 通番 事跡 ) or `` Tongfan Deed Stele '' is located in the Tianfei Palace in Liuhe, Taicang, whence the expeditions first departed. The stele was submerged and lost, but has been rebuilt. Nanshan Stele In order to thank the Celestial Wife for her blessings, Zheng He and his colleagues rebuilt the Tianfei Palace in Nanshan, Changle county, in Fujian province as well prior to departing on their last voyage. At the renovated temple, they raised a stele entitled `` A Record of Tianfei Showing Her Presence and Power '' ( 天 妃 靈 應 之 記, Tiānfēi Líng Yīng zhī Jì ), discussing their earlier voyages. Sri Lankan Stele The Galle Trilingual Inscription in Sri Lanka was discovered in the city of Galle in 1911 and is preserved at the National Museum of Colombo. The three languages used in the inscription were Chinese, Tamil and Persian. The inscription praises Buddha and describes the fleet 's donations to the famous Tenavarai Nayanar temple of Tondeswaram frequented by both Hindus and Buddhists. Tomb and Museum Zheng He 's tomb in Nanjing has been repaired and a small museum built next to it, although his body was buried at sea off the Malabar Coast near Calicut in western India. However, his sword and other personal possessions were interred in a Muslim tomb inscribed in Arabic. The tomb of Zheng He 's assistant Hong Bao was recently unearthed in Nanjing, as well. Commemoration In the People 's Republic of China, 11 July is Maritime Day ( 中国 航海 日, Zhōngguó Hánghǎi Rì ) and is devoted to the memory of Zheng He 's first voyage. Initially Kunming Changshui International Airport was to be named Zheng He International Airport. In 2015 Emotion Media Factory dedicated a special multimedia show `` Zheng He is coming '' for amusement park Romon U-Park ( Ningbo, China ). The show became a finalist of the amusement industry prestigious Brass Rings Awards by IAAPA. Gallery Zheng He 's tomb in Nanjing Museum to honor Zheng He, Nanjing Gallery of Admiral Cheng Ho in Malacca Zheng He statue in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum See also China portal Nautical portal Geography portal History portal Biography portal Ming dynasty Ming Shi - lu Galle Trilingual Inscription Chinese exploration Romon U-Park Hui Ma Huan Fei Xin CMA CGM Zheng He Chang Yuchun Hong Bao Zhou Man Zhu Di Notes Jump up ^ A chi is thought to vary between 10.5 to 12 inches ( Dreyer 2007, 19 ). Jump up ^ The Taizong Shilu 27 February 1424 entry reports that Zheng He was sent to deliver the seal, because the old seal was destroyed in a fire. The Xuanzong Shilu 17 September 1425 entry reports that Zhang Funama delivered a seal, because the old seal was destroyed in a fire. The later Mingshi compilers seem to have combined these accounts, remarking that Shi Jisun 's succession was approved in 1424 and that a new seal was delivered in 1425, suggesting that only one seal was destroyed by fire. ( Dreyer 2007, 96 ) Jump up ^ Unnamed official who served as a Department Director under the Ministry of Works, who earlier had departed for Nanjing to supervise the renovation of government buildings and to reward the skilled workers ( Dreyer 2007, 141 ). References ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 11. Jump up ^ Hoon, H.S ( 2012 ). Zheng He 's art of collaboration : Understanding the legendary Chinese admiral from a management perspective. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 32, 155. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 22 -- 23. Jump up ^ Pollard, Elizabeth ( 2015 ). Worlds Together Worlds Apart. New York : W.W. Norton & Co. p. 409. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 91847 - 2. Jump up ^ Liang Qichao. `` Zuguo Da Hanghaijia Zheng He Zhuan ''. 1904. ( in Chinese ) ^ Jump up to : Hui Chun Hing. `` Huangming Zuxun and Zheng He 's Voyages to the Western Oceans ''. Journal of Chinese Studies, No. 51 ( July 2010 ). Retrieved 17 October 2012. ^ Jump up to : Mills 1970, 5. ^ Jump up to : Ray 1987, 66. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 148. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 61. ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1996, 62. ^ Jump up to : Encyclopedia of China : The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture, p. 621. ( 2000 ) Dorothy Perkins. Roundtable Press, New York. ISBN 0 - 8160 - 2693 - 9 ( hc ) ; ISBN 0 - 8160 - 4374 - 4 ( pbk ). Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 148 & 150. `` The inscriptions (... ) devotion to Tianfei, the goddess of seafarers, had become the dominant strand in his eclectic religious heritage. '' Jump up ^ Guy, John. `` Quanzhou : Cosmopolitan City of Faiths ''. The World of Khubilai Khan : Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. Yale University Press. p. 176. ISBN 978 - 0 - 300 - 16656 - 9. Jump up ^ Tsai, Shih - Shan Henry ( 2002 ). Perpetual Happiness : The Ming Emperor Yongle. University of Washington Press. p. 38. ISBN 978 - 0 - 295 - 98124 - 6. ( restricted online copy, p. 38, at Google Books ) Jump up ^ Fu, Chunjiang ; Foo, Choo Yen ; Siew, Yaw Hoong ( 2005 ). The great explorer Cheng Ho. Ambassador of peace. Asiapac Books Pte Ltd. pp. 7 -- 8. ISBN 978 - 981 - 229 - 410 - 4. ( restricted online copy, p. 8, at Google Books ) ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1996, 61 -- 62. Jump up ^ Peterson, Barbara Bennett ( 1994 ). `` The Ming Voyages of Cheng Ho ( Zheng He ), 1371 -- 1433 ''. The Great Circle. Australian Association for Maritime History. 16 ( 1 ) : 43. JSTOR 41562881. His original family name was Ma, but the first name `` Hajji '' of both his father and grandfather indicate the possibility of Mongol - Arab ancestry, early Islamic faith, and the possibility that he knew Arabic and held an understanding of the Islamic regions which lay further West. ( subscription required ) ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 12 Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 62 -- 63. ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1996, 58. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 12 & 16. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 18. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 16. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 64. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 64 -- 66. ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1996, 63. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 12. Jump up ^ Historical documents have both spelling. See e.g. Xiang Da ( 向 达 ), 《 关于 三宝 太监 下 西洋 的 几 种 资料 》 ( `` Regarding several kinds of historical materials on the expeditions of Eunuch Grand Director Sanbao to the Western Ocean '' ), in 《 郑 和 研究 百年 论文 选 》 ( 100 Years of Zheng He Studies : Selected Writings, ISBN 7 - 301 - 07154 - X, p. 10 ). ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 19. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 18 -- 19. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 20 Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 67. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 21. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 72 -- 73. ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1996, 70. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 21 -- 22. ^ Jump up to : Levathes 1997, 72 -- 73. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996, 72. Jump up ^ Levathes 1996. 61 -- 63. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 95 & 136. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 95. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 136 -- 37. Jump up ^ Duyvendak 1938, 388. Jump up ^ Dreyer 2007, 95, 136 -- 37. Jump up ^ Duyvendak 1938, 387. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 141 -- 142. Jump up ^ Mills 1970, 6. Jump up ^ Mills 1970, 7. ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 165. Jump up ^ Mills 1970, 6. ^ Jump up to : Lin ( Chief Editor ). Compiled by the Information Office of the People 's Government of Fujian Province, ed. ( 2005 ). Zheng He 's Voyages Down the Western Seas. China Intercontinental Press. p. 45. ^ Jump up to : Chang, Kuei - Sheng. `` The Maritime Scene in China at the Dawn of Great European Discoveries ''. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 94, No. 3 ( July -- Sept. 1974 ), pp. 347 -- 59. Retrieved 8 October 2012. ^ Jump up to : Hui Chun Hing ( 2010 ). `` Huangming zuxun and Zheng He 's Voyages to the Western Oceans ( A Summary ) ''. Journal of Chinese Studies. Institute of Chinese Studies. 51 : 85. Retrieved 11 May 2011. Jump up ^ Deng 2005, p. 13. ^ Jump up to : Shih - Shan Henry Tsai ( 2002 ). Perpetual Happiness : The Ming Emperor Yongle. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 295 - 98124 - 6. ^ Jump up to : `` The Archaeological Researches into Zheng He 's Treasure Ships ''. Travel-silkroad.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008. Jump up ^ Richard Gunde. `` Zheng He 's Voyages of Discovery ''. UCLA Asia Institute. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008. ^ Jump up to : Tamura, Eileen H. ; Linda K. Mention ; Noren W. Lush ; Francis K.C. Tsui ; Warren Cohen ( 1997 ). China : Understanding Its Past. University of Hawaii Press. p. 70. ISBN 0 - 8248 - 1923 - 3. Jump up ^ East Africa and its Invaders p. 37 Jump up ^ Cromer, Alan ( 1995 ). Uncommon Sense : The Heretical Nature of Science. Oxford University Press US. p. 117. ISBN 0 - 19 - 509636 - 3. Jump up ^ Evan Hadingham is NOVA 's Senior Science Editor. ( 6 June 1999 ). `` NOVA Ancient Chinese Explorers ''. Pbs.org. Retrieved 17 August 2012. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Duyvendak, J.J.L. ( 1939 ), `` The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century '', T'oung Pao, Second Series, 34 ( 5 ) : 402, JSTOR 4527170 Jump up ^ Graffe, David A. `` Book Review of Zheng He : China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405 -- 1433 ''. Journal of Military History. Retrieved 14 November 2012. Jump up ^ Deng, Gang ( 1997 ). Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, C. 2100 BC -- 1900 AD. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 12. ISBN 9780313292125. Jump up ^ Deng 2005 Jump up ^ Ma Huan. Ying - yai Sheng - lan : The Overall Survey of the Ocean 's Shores. Jump up ^ Bentley, Jerry H. ; Ziegler, Herbert ( 2007 ). Traditions and Encounters : A Global Perspective on the Past. McGraw - Hill. p. 586. ISBN 0 - 07 - 340693 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Shipping News : Zheng He 's Sexcentary ''. China Heritage Newsletter. Archived from the original on 2011 - 11 - 28. Retrieved 4 December 2011. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12, Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. p. 265. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ Yen Ch'ung - chien. Ch'u - yü chou - chih lu, Vol. III, ch. 8, 25. National Palace Museum ( Peiping ), 1930. Op. cit. in Chang, 1974. Jump up ^ `` The Seventh and Final Grand Voyage of the Treasure Fleet ''. Mariner.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2009. ^ Jump up to : Chan 1998, 233 -- 236. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12, by Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. pp. 265 -- 66. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12 by Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. p. 272. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China By Joseph Needham, Colin A. Ronan. Google Books. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12 by Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. pp. 267 -- 69. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12 by Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. pp. 264 -- 65. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ Imam, Abu ; Ray, Haraprasad ( 2012 ). `` Chinese Accounts ''. In Islam, Sirajul ; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia : National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh ( Second ed. ). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Jump up ^ History of Sino - Bengal contacts ^ Jump up to : Dreyer 2007, 150 -- 63. Jump up ^ Tablet erected by Zheng He in Changle, Fujian, in 1432. Louise Levathes. Jump up ^ Mei - Ling Hsu ( 1988 ). Chinese Marine Cartography : Sea Charts of Pre-Modern China. 40 ( Imago Mundi ed. ). pp. 96 -- 112. Jump up ^ Mills, J.V. ( 1970 ). Ma Huan Ying Yai Sheng Lan : The overall survey of the ocean shores. Cambridge University Press. Jump up ^ Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` Chapter 12 by Clifford J Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Perbadanan Muzium Melaka. pp. 273 -- 77. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Jump up ^ Dreyer ( 2007 ) : 82 -- 95 Jump up ^ Dreyer ( 2007 ) : 122 -- 24 Jump up ^ `` Briton charts Zheng He 's course across globe ''. Chinaculture.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2009. Jump up ^ Dreyer ( 2007 ) Jump up ^ Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham, Volume 4, Section 3, pp. 460 -- 70 Jump up ^ Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham, Volume 4, Section 3, p. 452 Jump up ^ Taiwan : A New History, Murray A. Rubinstein, p. 49, M.E. Sharp, 1999, ISBN 1 - 56324 - 815 - 8 Jump up ^ Chinese discoverers dwarfed European travels, Tony Weaver, IOL, 11 November 2002. Jump up ^ When China Ruled the Seas, Louise Levathes, p. 80 Jump up ^ Church, Sally K. ( 2005 ). `` Zheng He : An investigation into the plausibility of 450 - ft treasure ships '' ( PDF ). Monumenta Serica. LIII : 1 -- 43. Jump up ^ Xin Yuanou : Guanyu Zheng He baochuan chidu de jishu fenxi ( A Technical Analysis of the Size of Zheng He 's Ships ). Shanghai 2002, p. 8 Jump up ^ The Archeological Researches into Zheng He 's Treasure Ships, SilkRoad webpage. Jump up ^ Wilson, Samuel M. `` The Emperor 's Giraffe '', Natural History Vol. 101, No. 12, December 1992 `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2012. Jump up ^ Rice, Xan ( 25 July 2010 ). `` Chinese archaeologists ' African quest for sunken ship of Ming admiral ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` Could a rusty coin re-write Chinese - African history ? ''. BBC News. 18 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` Zheng He 'S Voyages to the Western Oceans 郑 和 下 西洋 ''. People.chinese.cn. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012. ^ Jump up to : Blacks in Pre-Modern China, pp. 121 -- 32. ^ Jump up to : Tan Ta Sen & al. Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009. ISBN 9812308377, ISBN 9789812308375. Jump up ^ Geoffery Wade lecture Nov, 2012 Jump up ^ Jin, Shaoqing ( 2005 ). Office of the People 's Goverernment of Fujian Province, ed. Zheng He 's Voyages down the Western Seas. Fujian, China : China Intercontinental Press. p. 58. ISBN 978 - 7 - 5085 - 0708 - 8. Retrieved 2 August 2009. Jump up ^ Wang, Rosey Ma. `` Chinese Muslims in Malaysia, History and Development ''. Jump up ^ AQSHA, DARUL ( 13 July 2010 ). `` Zheng He and Islam in Southeast Asia ''. The Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2012. Jump up ^ Li Tong Cai. Indonesia -- Legends and Facts. Op. Cit. `` Wali Songo : The Nine Walis ''. Jump up ^ Suryadinata Leo ( 2005 ). Admiral Zheng He & Southeast Asia. Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981 - 230 - 329 - 4. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Jump up ^ Goldstone, Jack. `` The Rise of the West -- or Not ? A Revision to Socio - economic History ''. Jump up ^ Yuan - Kang Wang ( 20 August 2013 ). Harmony and War : Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics. Columbia University Press. p. 286. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 52240 - 3. Jump up ^ Jakub J. Grygiel ( 20 December 2006 ). Great Powers and Geopolitical Change. JHU Press. p. 153. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8018 - 8480 - 1. Jump up ^ `` Zheng He 's Voyages of Discovery -- UCLA center for Chinese Study ''. International.ucla.edu. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 23 July 2009. Jump up ^ Tan Ta Sen ( 2009 ). Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 171. ISBN 978 - 9812308375. Jump up ^ Gunn, Geoffrey C. ( 2011 ). History Without Borders : The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000 -- 1800. Hong Kong University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978 - 9888083343. Jump up ^ Fish, Robert J. `` Primary Source : Zheng He Inscription ''. Univ. of Minnesota. Retrieved 23 July 2009. Jump up ^ Xinhua News Agency. `` A Peaceful Mariner and Diplomat ''. 12 July 2005. Jump up ^ Association for Asian Studies. Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368 -- 1644, Vol. I. Columbia Univ. Press ( New York ), 1976. Jump up ^ http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/china_sri_lanka_trade_and_diplomatic_relations_including_the_voyages_of_cheng_ho.pdf Jump up ^ Levathes, Louise ( 1996 ). When China Ruled The Seas : The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405 -- 1433. New York : Oxford Univ. Press. p. 172. ISBN 0 - 19 - 511207 - 5. Jump up ^ http://www.blooloop.com/news/emotion-media-factory-multimedia-romon-u-park/29189#.VjdwG3rhDIU Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ https://www.eap-magazin.de/48-News/4150,China%3A-Two-New-Multimedia-Shows-at-Romon-U-Park.html Bibliography Library resources about Zheng He Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Chan, Hok - lam ( 1998 ). `` The Chien - wen, Yung - lo, Hung - hsi, and Hsüan - te reigns, 1399 -- 1435 ''. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7 : The Ming Dynasty, 1368 -- 1644, Part 1. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521243322. Deng, Gang ( 2005 ). Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, c. 2100 BC -- 1900 AD. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0 - 313 - 29212 - 4. Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` 1 A Naval Architectural Analysis of the Plausibility of 450 - ft Treasure Ships by Sally K. Church, John C. Gebhardt & Terry H. Little ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Melaka : Perbadanan Muzium. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` 2 A Nautical Perspective on Cheng Ho, Admiral of the Western Oceans Concerning the Ming Voyages by P.J. Rivers ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Melaka : Perbadanan Muzium. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Sien, Chia Lin ; Church, Sally K. ( 2012 ). `` 12 Zheng He and the African Horizon : An Investigative Study into the Chinese Geography of Early Fifteenth - Century Eastern Africa by Clifford J. Pereira ''. Zheng He and the Afro - Asian World. Melaka : Perbadanan Muzium. ISBN 978 - 967 - 11386 - 0 - 1. Dreyer, Edward L. ( 2007 ). Zheng He : China and the Oceans in the Early Ming, 1405 -- 1433. Library of World Biography. Longman. ISBN 0 - 321 - 08443 - 8. Duyvendak, J.J.L. ( 1938 ). `` The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century ''. T'oung Pao. 34 ( 5 ) : 341 -- 413. doi : 10.1163 / 156853238X00171. JSTOR 4527170. Levathes, Louise ( 1996 ). When China Ruled the Seas : The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405 -- 1433. Oxford University Press ISBN 0 - 19 - 511207 - 5. Mills, J.V.G. ( 1970 ). Ying - yai Sheng - lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean 's Shores ( 1433 ). translated from the Chinese text edited by Feng Ch'eng Chun with introduction, notes and appendices by J.V.G. Mills. White Lotus Press. ISBN 974 - 8496 - 78 - 3. Ming - Yang, Dr Su. 2004 Seven Epic Voyages of Zheng He in Ming China ( 1405 -- 1433 ) Ray, Haraprasad ( 1987 ). `` An Analysis of the Chinese Maritime Voyages into the Indian Ocean During Early Ming Dynasty and Their Raison d'Etre ''. China Report. 23 ( 1 ) : 65 -- 87. doi : 10.1177 / 000944558702300107. Viviano, Frank ( 2005 ). `` China 's Great Armada. '' National Geographic, 208 ( 1 ) : 28 -- 53, July. Shipping News : Zheng He 's Sexcentenary -- China Heritage Newsletter, June 2005, ISSN 1833 - 8461. Published by the China Heritage Project of The Australian National University. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zheng He. Zheng He -- The Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He 600th Anniversary BBC radio programme `` Swimming Dragons ''. TIME magazine special feature on Zheng He ( August 2001 ) Virtual exhibition from elibraryhub.com Ship imitates ancient vessel navigated by Zheng He at peopledaily.com ( 25 September 2006 ) Kahn, Joseph ( 2005 ). `` China Has an Ancient Mariner to Tell You About ''. The New York Times. Newsletter, in Chinese, on academic research on the Zheng He voyages Geography and cartography in medieval Islam Geographers 9th century Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al - Khwārizmī Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī Ya'qubi Sulaiman al - Tajir 10th century Ibn Khordadbeh Ahmad ibn Rustah Ahmad ibn Fadlan Abu Zayd al - Balkhi Abū Muhammad al - Hasan al - Hamdānī Al - Masudi Istakhri Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad Ibn Hawqal Ibn al - Faqih Al - Muqaddasi Al - Ramhormuzi 11th century Abū Rayḥān al - Bīrūnī Abu Saʿīd Gardēzī Al - Bakri Mahmud al - Kashgari Domiyat 12th century Al - Zuhri Muhammad al - Idrisi Abu'l Abbas al - Hijazi 13th century Ibn Jubayr Saadi Shirazi Yaqut al - Hamawi Ibn Said al - Maghribi Ibn al - Nafis 14th century Al - Dimashqi Abu'l - Fida Ibn al - Wardi Hamdollah Mostowfi Ibn Battuta Lin Nu 15th century Abd - al - Razzāq Samarqandī Ghiyāth al - dīn Naqqāsh Ahmad ibn Mājid Zheng He Ma Huan Fei Xin 16th century Sulaiman Al Mahri Piri Reis Mir Ahmed Nasrallah Thattvi Amīn Rāzī 17th century Evliya Çelebi Works Book of Roads and Kingdoms ( al - Bakrī ) Book of Roads and Kingdoms ( ibn Khordadbeh ) Tabula Rogeriana Kitab al - Rawd al - Mitar Mu'jam Al - Buldan Rihla The Meadows of Gold Piri Reis map Influences Geography ( Ptolemy ) BNF : cb120817039 ( data ) GND : 119209365 ISNI : 0000 0001 1670 1918 LCCN : n81035680 NDL : 00625620 NKC : js20050815004 SELIBR : 327350 SNAC : w6090fnt SUDOC : 029126029 VIAF : 72199054 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zheng_He&oldid=850558423 '' Categories : 1371 births 1433 deaths 14th - century Chinese people 15th - century Chinese people 15th - century explorers Burials at sea Chinese admirals Ming dynasty diplomats Chinese explorers Chinese Muslims Explorers of China Explorers of Asia Explorers of Africa History of Kerala Hui people Medieval Chinese geographers Medieval Islamic travel writers Ming dynasty eunuchs Naval history of China People from Kunming Scientists from Yunnan Treasure voyages Ming Chengzu 15th - century diplomats Hidden categories : Articles with Chinese - language external links Pages containing links to subscription - only content Articles containing Chinese - language text CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from July 2016 Articles with permanently dead external links All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from October 2012 All pages needing factual verification Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from October 2012 Webarchive template wayback links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018 Articles with hCards Articles containing traditional Chinese - language text Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from April 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Use dmy dates from July 2017 Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Aragonés Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Basa Banyumasan Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Boarisch Bosanski Brezhoneg Буряад Català Чӑвашла Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Français Frysk Gaeilge Galego 贛 語 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî Хальмг 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Ido Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Ирон Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Kapampangan ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Kurdî Ladino Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Ligure Limburgs Magyar Македонски Malagasy മലയാളം მარგალური مصرى Bahasa Melayu Baso Minangkabau Mìng - dĕ̤ng - ngṳ̄ Mirandés Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands नेपाल भाषा 日本 語 Нохчийн Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Patois Piemontèis Polski Português Română Runa Simi Русиньскый Русский Scots Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Tarandíne Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Vepsän kel ' Tiếng Việt Volapük 文言 Winaray 吴语 ייִדיש Yorùbá 粵語 Žemaitėška 中文 111 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 July 2018, at 16 : 03 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who led chinas naval exploration during the age of exploration
Answer: Zheng He