Zheng He's Voyages of Discovery

by Richard Gunde

On April 12 Jin Wu, distinguished oceanic scientist and former Minister of Education of the Republic of China (on Taiwan), discussed Zheng He's voyages of discovery and the upcoming celebrations of the 600th anniversary of his first voyage.

In his talk, Professor Wu emphasized that, especially since the documentary record surrounding Zheng He (sometimes written Cheng Ho; 1371–1435) and his voyages is so thin, oceanic scientists and engineers and other physical scientists can provide important insights to supplement the work of historians.

Historical Background

Professor Wu began by briefly retracing the history of Zheng He's voyages. Upon the orders of the emperor Yongle and his successor, Xuande, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions, the first in the year 1405 and the last in 1430, which sailed from China to the west, reaching as far as the Cape of Good Hope. The object of the voyages was to display the glory and might of the Chinese Ming dynasty and to collect tribute from the "barbarians from beyond the seas." Merchants also accompanied Zheng's voyages, Wu explained, bringing with them silks and porcelain to trade for foreign luxuries such as spices and jewels and tropical woods.

These voyages, Professor Wu noted, came a few decades before most of the famous European voyages of discovery known to all Western school children: Christopher Columbus, in 1492; Vasco da Gama, in 1498; and Ferdinand Magellan, in 1521. However, Zheng He's fleets were incomparable larger. According to figures presented by Professor Wu:

Moreover, Zheng He's ships, Professor Wu explained, were impressive examples of naval engineering. His so-called treasure ships (which brought back to China such things a giraffes from Africa) were 400 feet long. Columbus's flagship the St. Maria, in contrast, was but 85 feet in length. Zheng He's treasure ships, Professor Wu mentioned, displaced no less than 10,000 tons and had an aspect ratio (width:length) of 0.254; in other words, they were wide and bulky – "the supertankers of their day." Aside from the treasure ships, Zheng He's fleet also contained a variety of other, specialized vessels: "equine ships" (for carrying horses), warships, supply ships, and water tankers.

Professor Wu invited the audience to imagine the scene of Zheng He's 300-vessel fleet on the sea, spread out over many square miles. ("Sailing ships," Wu pointed out, "require room to maneuver" and thus the fleet would have blanketed a wide swath of the ocean.) If an object of the voyages was to display the glory and might of China, then there can be no question but that this magnificent fleet would have awed all who witnessed it. It is ironic, then, that today little is known of Zheng He's voyages. This is, Wu pointed out, mainly the doing of the Confucianists in the imperial court, who saw to it that Zheng's ships were burned after his last voyage and who made every effort to "systematically destroy all official records of the voyages." Their motives were purely political. During much of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the eunuchs exercised great power in the imperial court, at the expense of the Confucian civil bureaucracy. The expeditions of Zheng He, who was himself a eunuch, were strongly supported by eunuchs in the court and bitterly opposed by the Confucian scholar bureaucrats.

The Research Agenda

Although the Chinese documentary record of Zheng He's voyages is thus woefully incomplete, Professor Wu hopes that relevant documents may exist in the places Zheng He visited. He encourages historians in these places to comb through archives and other sources in search of such records.

Archaeology also, Professor Wu stated, is likely to uncover valuable evidence. For instance, the shipyard in Nanjing where Zheng He's vessels were constructed still exists; or rather, the channels in which the ships were built still exist. The shipyard evidently had five channels during Zheng He's time, but two of the five have been filled in. When Wu visited the disused shipyard in 2002, he was told the remaining three channels were to be filled in. He quickly lobbied the relevant government officials and had the channels saved. Indeed, the channels will now become part of a naval museum. It is likely, Wu pointed out, that important artifacts are preserved the oxygen-starved mud of the channels.

Wu stated that "many scientific and technological aspects of the expeditions are worthy of multidisciplinary studies, which may in turn stimulate further historical studies." In other words, "engineers and scientists should work together with historians."

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November 7, 2009

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