Probably most of us are hearing this name for the first time: You cannot understand China without knowing Zheng He

Who is Zheng He?

Born in Yunnan Province in 1371, the real name of Hui-born Zheng He is Ma Sanbao. He is a Muslim Chinese. He is the sixth generation grandson of the famous governor of Yunnan. There is no doubt that he often listened to the travel memories of his grandfather and father, who went on pilgrimage, in his childhood.

At the age of 11, Yunnan, which was ruled by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, was occupied by the Ming Dynasty. As with any prisoner at that time, Ma Sanbao was castrated and given to the imperial palace as a servant. He was trained while in the service of Prince Zhu Di. When he achieved great success in the uprising against the emperor in his youth, the prince named him Zheng He. Successes come one after another and are promoted to the rank of admiral.

His first distant voyage was to Malacca, one of the cities of today's Malaysia. Later, a Chinese princess is married to the Sultan of Malacca. Still today in Malaysia these descendants are called Peranakan.

It is known that Zheng He later made 7 or 8 more world expeditions. It is said to have reached Sumatra, Java, Ceylon, India, Iran, the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, the Red Sea, Egypt, the Mozambique Channel in Africa, Taiwan, and the Americas, though unproven. Zheng He also commanded 7 fleets consisting of 30 thousand sailors and more than 300 ships.

Zheng He made his seventh and final voyage in 1431-33 at the age of 60. He fell ill while returning from the expedition and died in the 4th month of 1433 off the coast of South India. Although he was buried in the sea according to Islamic methods, he has a tomb in China as a maqam. At the head of his grave, "God is great" is written in Chinese and Arabic. While making these travels, Zheng He never forgot that he was a Muslim and aimed to spread Islam.

Chinese ships

More attention needs to be paid to Chinese ships. Travelers such as Ibn Batuta and Marco Polo also mentioned about the Chinese ships of the period. We're talking about huge ships. Zheng He's command ship, called the treasure ship, has 9 masts, about 120 meters long and 50 meters wide.

Let's remember that the Santa Maria ship of Cryptof Columbus, which sailed to America 87 years after this date, was 20 meters long and 7 meters wide. The largest of the Roman ships is 30 meters.

So you can load 50 Columbus ships on a ship of He. In addition to carrying soldiers to wars, the Chinese also exported and shipped goods.

Zheng He added two features to the Ming Dynasty and China: He showed his opening to the world and integrated it with the world economy with the Silk Road and Spice Road, and enabled the world wealth to flow to China.

Zheng He's childhood name is Ma Sanbao. The name Sanbao may refer to you from another place: Sinbad. It is estimated that the source of inspiration for the adventures of the sailor Sinbad is Zheng He.

It is known that Niccolo de Conti, a Venetian merchant who lived between 1395 and 1469, visited every country in Asia as a Muslim and traveled in China with the ships of the famous Admiral Zheng He. It is claimed that he was the one who provided the link in bringing the Chinese cartography and world discoveries to Europe.

His book on his travels, published in 1444, is considered one of the best travelogues of the period.