page_title: Ming treasure voyages
section_title: Faith and ceremony
hierarchical_section_title: Ming treasure voyages / Impact / Faith and ceremony
caption_attribution_description: English: On 20 September 1414, Bengali envoys presented a tribute giraffe in the name of King Saif Al-Din Hamzah Shah of Bengal (r. 1410–12) to the Yongle Emperor of Ming China (r. 1402–24). The Yongle Emperor commissioned Shen Du to paint this giraffe. This file depicts the original painting by Shen Du. Čeština: 20. září 1414 vyslanci z Bengálska předvedli Jung-lemu, císaři čínské říše Ming, tribut, jehož součástí byla i žirafa. Císař Jung-le přikázal umělci jménem Šen Tu žirafu namalovat. Tento soubor zobrazuje originál Šen Tuovy malby.
context_page_description: The Ming treasure voyages were the seven maritime expeditions undertaken by Ming China's treasure fleet between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor started building the treasure fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching ocean voyages to the coastal territories and islands in and around the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and beyond. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the treasure fleet for the expeditions. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle reign, while the seventh voyage occurred under the Xuande reign. The first three voyages reached up to Calicut on India's Malabar Coast, while the fourth voyage went as far as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Afterwards, the fleet made voyages to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.
  The Chinese expeditionary fleet was heavily militarized and carried great amounts of treasures, which served to project Chinese power and wealth to the known world. They brought back many foreign ambassadors whose kings and rulers were willing to declare themselves tributaries of China.
context_section_description: The faith of the treasure fleet's crew centered around Tianfei, the "Heavenly Princess" who was the goddess of sailors and seafarers. The Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions suggest that Zheng's life was mostly defined by the treasure voyages and that his devotion to Tianfei was the dominant faith that he adhered to. The two inscriptions honored and commemorated the goddess Tianfei. Zheng and his associates established these inscriptions at the temples of Tianfei at Liujiagang on 14 March 1431 and Changle between 5 December 1431 and 3 January 1432. These inscriptions make reference to the crew witnessing St. Elmo's fire during dangerous storms and interpreting it as a sign of divine protection by Tianfei. The Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions are considered the epitaphs of the Ming treasure voyages.
  In Galle, Ceylon, Zheng set up a trilingual inscription dated 15 February 1409. The inscription is in three languages, in which the Chinese section praised the Buddha, the Tamil section praised the local god Tenavarai Nayanar (an incarnation of Vishnu), and the Persian section praised Allah. Each section contains a similar list of offerings, such as 1000 pieces of gold, 5000 pieces of silver, 100 rolls of silk, 2500 catties of perfumed oil, and a variety of bronze ornaments. As shown by this inscription, the Chinese paid their respect to the three dominant religions in Ceylon.
  On 20 September 1414, Bengali envoys presented a giraffe as tribute in the name of King Saif Al-Din Hamzah Shah of Bengal (r. 1410–1412) to the Yongle Emperor of Ming China. The giraffe was presented as the qilin, but the Yongle Emperor dismissed this association and did not want his officials to send laudatory memorials on behalf of its auspicious appearance during his reign.
caption: Tribute Giraffe with Attendant, depicting a giraffe presented by Bengali envoys to the Ming court (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
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