Zheng He

Modern-day analog: Northern military headquarters where Zheng He distinguished himself under Zhu Di, Beijing

Battlefield Heroics: Receiving the Imperial Surname 'Zheng'

In the Jingnan campaign, Ma Sanbao's command at Zhengcunba won Zhu Di's absolute trust. The new emperor bestowed the surname Zheng. The man who would carry Ming power 'to the ends of heaven and earth' had found his name.

Chengzu resolved to revive the maritime silk routes. Zheng He was ordered south to Nanjing to build the greatest wooden fleet on earth.

“The August Ming unifies the seas and realms, surpassing the Three Dynasties and outshining Han and Tang; to the ends of heaven and earth, none are not subjects.”

皇明混一海宇，超三代而轶汉唐，际天极地，罔不臣妾。(Huáng Míng hùn yī hǎi yǔ, chāo sān dài ér yì Hàn Táng, jì tiān jí dì, wǎng bù chén qiè.)

Modern-day analog: World's premier imperial shipyard on the Yangtze where treasure fleets were constructed, Nanjing

Building Floating Castles: The Legendary Treasure Fleet

At Nanjing's Longjiang shipyard, Zheng He oversaw hundreds of treasure ships with watertight bulkheads and nearly thirty thousand crew. He knew the oceans ahead rose like mountains, and distant realms lay ten thousand li beyond.

The completed armada sailed down the Yangtze to assemble at Liujiagang in Taicang for the ocean departure.

“Gazing at the ocean, boundless billows touch the sky, giant waves tower like mountains; looking upon the foreign lands, separated by ten thousand leagues.”

观夫海洋，洪涛接天，巨浪如山，视诸夷域，迥隔于万里之外。(Guān fū hǎi yáng, hóng tāo jiē tiān, jù làng rú shān, shì zhū yí yù, jiǒng gé yú wàn lǐ zhī wài.)

Modern-day analog: Main naval departure harbor on the Yangtze delta, Jiangsu

Setting Sail: 28,000 Men and Hundreds of Ships Facing the Abyss

In autumn 1405, more than two hundred great ships filled Liujiagang. After rites at the Tianfei temple, Zheng He weighed anchor under a sky of sails—bound to 'proclaim virtue and gently win distant peoples,' not to conquer.

Riding the northeast monsoon, the fleet crossed the South China Sea toward ancient Champa.

“Spreading virtue and benevolence to distant lands, extending harmony and mutual respect across all oceans.”

宣德化而柔远人，皇威遐畅，万国宾服。(Xuān dé huà ér róu yuǎn rén, huáng wēi xiá chàng, wàn guó bīn fú.)

Modern-day analog: Ancient maritime kingdom on the central coast of modern Vietnam

First Foreign Port: Elephants, Silk, and Imperial Diplomacy

At Champa's New Prefecture harbor, the king received them with war elephants. Zheng He delivered Yongle's peaceful edict and gifts of silk and porcelain—embodying 'treat with sincerity, harmonize the myriad states.'

With first diplomacy complete, the fleet sailed for the Strait of Malacca—the choke point of East–West trade.

“Treating each nation with sincere trust, harmonizing all countries under heaven.”

推诚相待，协和万邦。(Tuī chéng xiāng dài, xié hé wàn bāng.)

Modern-day analog: Strategic trading strait and fortified supply base of Zheng He's fleet, Malacca, Malaysia

Founding the Greatest Maritime Trading Hub in Asia

In Malacca, Zheng He founded an official depot and defenses against pirates. The port became a monsoon hub where 'guests from all quarters bring tribute, and overseas realms rejoice together.'

As the monsoon shifted, the spice-laden fleet left Malacca and steered by the stars toward Calicut on the Indian Ocean.

“Guests from the four quarters offer tribute, rejoicing in harmony across all seas.”

四方宾贡，海外同欢。(Sì fāng bīn gòng, hǎi wài tóng huān.)

Modern-day analog: Major international spice hub on the Malabar Coast, modern Kozhikode, India

Erecting the Peace Monument in the Pepper Capital of the World

In Calicut, spice capital of the world, Zheng He raised a stele: 'More than a hundred thousand li from China, yet people and goods thrive in shared peace—let this stone teach ten thousand generations.' Trade was sealed with a clap of hands.

On the fourth voyage, Zheng He pushed farther west across the Arabian Sea toward Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

“Separated from China by over a hundred thousand leagues, the people live in peace and joyful prosperity; we engrave this stone for all generations to come.”

去中国十万余里，民物咸若，熙皞同风，刻石于斯，永示万世。(Qù zhōng guó shí wàn yú lǐ, mín wù xián ruò, xī hào tóng fēng, kè shí yú sī, yǒng shì wàn shì.)

Modern-day analog: Strategic trading metropolis on the Persian Gulf, modern Hormuz, Iran

The Jewels of Persia: Diamonds, Rubies, and Arabian Steeds

At Hormuz, gems piled high and merchants thronged. Zheng He exchanged astronomy, calendars, and medicine with Persian scholars—letting 'rites, music, and culture shed light upon the Four Seas.'

Resolved to push the map farther, the fleet rode the monsoon toward East Africa's coast.

“All nations great and small embrace mutual respect; our culture and amity radiate across the four oceans.”

大小番邦，皆奉正朔，礼乐文物，光被四海。(Dà xiǎo fān bāng, jiē fèng zhèng shuò, lǐ yuè wén wù, guāng bèi sì hǎi.)

Modern-day analog: Vibrant East African coastal port kingdom where the fleet was gifted giraffes, Malindi, Kenya

Reaching the African Coast: Welcoming the 'Mythical Qilin' (Giraffe)

On the fifth voyage the fleet reached Malindi. African envoys sailed to China with giraffe—'qilin'—and zebra, a sensation in the capital, fulfilling the vision of distant realms crossing oceans in peaceful tribute.

In the Xuande reign, past sixty, Zheng He took a seventh voyage back to the ocean he loved.

“Distant nations cross deep oceans in friendship; the mythical Qilin appears, celebrating universal peace under heaven.”

海外诸番，涉重洋而朝贡；麟凤呈祥，庆天下之太平。(Hǎi wài zhū fān, shè chóng yáng ér cháo gòng; lín fèng chéng xiáng, qìng tiān xià zhī tài píng.)

Modern-day analog: Major international spice hub on the Malabar Coast, modern Kozhikode, India

The Final Horizon: A Life Dedicated to the Boundless Deep

In spring 1433, on the homeward leg of the seventh voyage, 62-year-old Zheng He died near Calicut. His life fulfilled the stele's vow: cloud-sails raised, racing by day and night across raging seas as if on level ground.

“Our cloud-like sails unfurled high, galloping day and night guided by stars, we traversed the raging billows as if treading on level ground.”

云帆高张，昼夜星驰，涉彼狂澜，若履平地。(Yún fān gāo zhāng, zhòu yè xīng chí, shè bǐ kuáng lán, ruò lǚ píng dì.)