Zheng Pe Mlng Chlnas CreaL Admlral

8y kallle Szczepanskl AbouLcom Culde

Scholars of Zheng Pes llfe always wonder how hlsLory would be dlfferenL lf Lhe flrsL orLuguese
explorers Lo round Lhe Llp of Afrlca and move lnLo Lhe lndlan Ccean ln Lhe 13Lh cenLury had meL up
wlLh Lhe admlrals huge Chlnese fleeL Would Lurope have gone on Lo domlnaLe much of Lhe world ln
Lhe 18Lh and 19Lh cenLurles?
Zheng Pe ls surrounded by such whaL lf quesLlons Powever lLs lmporLanL noL Lo lose slghL of hls
amazlng accompllshmenLs as Lhey acLually happened among all Lhe counLerfacLual speculaLlon
AL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe 1400s Zheng Pe and hls sallors seL ouL Lo show off Chlnas mlghL across Lhe
world Where dld Lhls remarkable admlral geL hls sLarL?
2heng nes Lar|y L|fe
Zheng Pe was born ln 1371 ln Lhe clLy now called !lnnlng ln ?unnan rovlnce Pls glven name was
Ma Pe lndlcaLlve of hls famllys Pul Musllm orlglns slnce Mo ls Lhe Chlnese verslon of
Mohammad Zheng Pes greaLgreaLgreaLgrandfaLher Sayyld A[[al Shams aluln Cmar had been a
erslan governor of Lhe provlnce under Lhe Mongollan Lmperor kublal khan founder of Lhe ?uan
uynasLy whlch ruled Chlna from 1279 Lo 1368
Ma Pes faLher and grandfaLher were boLh known as Pa[[l Lhe honorlflc LlLle besLowed upon
Musllm men who make Lhe bojj (pllgrlmage) Lo Mecca Ma Pes faLher remalned loyal Lo Lhe ?uan
uynasLy even as Lhe rebel forces of whaL would become Lhe Mlng uynasLy conquered larger and
larger swaLhes of Chlna
ln 1381 Lhe Mlng army kllled Ma Pes faLher and capLured Lhe boy !usL 10 years old he was made
lnLo a eunuch and senL Lo 8elplng (now 8el[lng) Lo serve ln Lhe household of 21yearold Zhu ul Lhe
rlnce of ?an who laLer became Lhe ?ongle Lmperor
Ma Pe grew Lo be 7 Chlnese feeL Lall (probably around 6 6) wlLh a volce as loud as a huge bell Pe
excelled aL flghLlng and mlllLary LacLlcs sLudled Lhe works of Confuclus and Menclus and soon
became one of Lhe prlnces closesL confldanLs
ln Lhe 1390s Lhe rlnce of ?an launched a serles of aLLacks agalnsL Lhe resurgenL Mongols who were
based [usL norLh of hls flefdom Ma Pe foughL slde by slde wlLh hlm on all Lhe prlnces campalgns
2heng nes atron 1akes the 1hrone
1he flrsL emperor of Lhe Mlng uynasLy rlnce Zhu uls eldesL broLher dled ln 1398 afLer namlng hls
grandson Zhu ?unwen as hls successor Zhu ul dld noL Lake klndly Lo hls nephews elevaLlon Lo Lhe
Lhrone and lead an army agalnsL hlm ln 1399 Ma Pe was one of hls commandlng offlcers
8y 1402 Zhu ul had capLured Lhe Mlng caplLal aL nan[lng and defeaLed hls nephews forces Pe had
hlmself crowned as Lhe ?ongle Lmperor Zhu ?unwen probably dled ln hls burnlng palace alLhough
rumors perslsLed LhaL he had escaped and become a 8uddhlsL monk uue Lo Ma Pes key role ln Lhe
coup Lhe new emperor awarded hlm a manslon ln nan[lng as well as Lhe honorlflc name Zheng Pe
1he new ?ong Le Lmperor faced serlous leglLlmacy problems due Lo hls selzure of Lhe Lhrone and
posslble murder of hls nephew Accordlng Lo Confuclan LradlLlon Lhe flrsL son and hls descendanLs
should always lnherlL buL Lhe ?ongle Lmperor was Lhe fourLh son 1herefore Lhe courLs Confuclan
scholars refused Lo supporL hlm and he came Lo rely almosL enLlrely upon hls corps of eunuchs
Zheng Pe mosL of all
ln order Lo secure hls place on Lhe Lhrone and convlnce hls sub[ecLs of hls leglLlmacy Lhe ?ongle
Lmperor began masslve pro[ecLs such as repalrlng Lhe Crand Canal beLween Lhe ?ellow and ?angLze
8lvers Pe had plans of a more lnLernaLlonal klnd as well
1he 1reasure I|eet Sets Sa||
Zheng Pes mosL lmporLanL role ln hls masLers servlce and Lhe reason he ls remembered Loday was
as Lhe commander ln chlef of Lhe new Lreasure fleeL and as Lhe emperors prlnclpal envoy Lo Lhe
peoples of Lhe lndlan Ccean basln 1he ?ongle Lmperor appolnLed hlm Lo head Lhe masslve fleeL of
317 [unks crewed by over 27000 men LhaL seL ouL from nan[lng ln Lhe fall of 1403 AL Lhe age of 33
Zheng Pe had achleved Lhe hlghesL rank ever for a eunuch ln Chlnese hlsLory
WlLh a mandaLe Lo collecL LrlbuLe and esLabllsh Lles wlLh rulers all around Lhe lndlan Ccean shores
Zheng Pe and hls armada seL forLh for CallcuL on lndlas wesLern coasL lL would be Lhe flrsL of seven
LoLal voyages of Lhe 1reasure lleeL all commanded by Zheng Pe beLween 1403 and 1432
uurlng hls career as a naval commander Zheng Pe negoLlaLed Lrade pacLs foughL plraLes lnsLalled
puppeL klngs and broughL back LrlbuLe for Lhe ?ongle Lmperor ln Lhe form of [ewels medlclnes and
exoLlc anlmals among oLher Lhlngs Pe and hls crew Lravelled and Lraded wlLh noL only wlLh Lhe clLy
sLaLes of whaL ls now lndonesla and Malaysla wlLh Slam and lndla buL even wlLh Lhe Arablan porLs
of modernday ?emen and Saudl Arabla and as far as Somalla and kenya
AlLhough Zheng Pe was ralsed Musllm and vlslLed Lhe shrlnes of lslamlc holy men ln lu[lan rovlnce
and elsewhere he also veneraLed 1lanfel Lhe CelesLlal ConsorL and proLecLor of sallors 1lanfel had
been a morLal woman llvlng ln Lhe 900s who achleved enllghLenmenL as a Leenager ClfLed wlLh
foreslghL she was able Lo warn her broLher of an approachlng sLorm aL sea savlng hls llfe
Zheng Pe and hls crew belleved LhaL 1lanfel saved Lhem from a masslve sLorm durlng Lhelr flrsL
voyage CraLeful for her help Zheng Pe was lnsLrumenLal ln Lhe 140708 remodellng of a Lemple
dedlcaLed Lo her ln Melzhou Lhe clLy of her blrLh
eath of the ong|e Lmperor
ln 1424 Lhe ?ongle Lmperor passed away Zheng Pe had made slx voyages ln hls name and broughL
back counLless emlssarles from forelgn lands Lo bow before hlm buL Lhe cosL of Lhese excurslons
welghed heavlly on Lhe Chlnese Lreasury ln addlLlon Lhe Mongols and oLher nomadlc peoples were
a consLanL mlllLary LhreaL along Chlnas norLhern and wesLern borders
1he ?ongle Lmperors cauLlous and scholarly elder son Zhu Caozhl became Lhe Pongxl Lmperor
uurlng hls nlnemonLh rule Zhu Caozhl ordered an end Lo all Lreasure fleeL consLrucLlon and repalrs
A ConfuclanlsL he belleved LhaL Lhe voyages dralned Loo much money from Lhe counLry Pe
preferred Lo spend on fendlng off Lhe Mongols and feedlng people ln famlneravaged provlnces
lnsLead
2heng nes I|na| Voyage
When Lhe Pongxl Lmperor dled less Lhan a year lnLo hls relgn ln 1426 hls 26yearold son became
Lhe xuande Lmperor A happy medlum beLween hls proud mercurlal grandfaLher and hls cauLlous
scholarly faLher Lhe xuande Lmperor declded Lo send Zheng Pe and Lhe Lreasure fleeL ouL agaln
1he Lreasure [unks had been laylng neglecLed aL anchor or ln drydock for slx years so Lhey needed
exLenslve repalrs before Lhey were ready Lo make anoLher voyage ln 1432 Lhe 61yearold Zheng Pe
seL ouL wlLh hls largesL fleeL ever for one flnal Lrlp around Lhe lndlan Ccean 1hey salled all Lhe way Lo
Mallndl on kenyas easL coasL sLopplng aL Lradlng porLs all along Lhe way Cn Lhe reLurn voyage as
Lhe fleeL salled easL from CallcuL Zheng Pe dled Pe was burled aL sea alLhough legend says LhaL Lhe
crew reLurned a brald of hls halr and hls shoes Lo nan[lng for burlal
2heng nes Legacy
AlLhough Zheng Pe looms as a largerLhanllfe flgure ln modern eyes boLh ln Chlna and abroad
Confuclan scholars made serlous aLLempLs Lo expunge Lhe memory of Lhe greaL eunuch admlral and
hls voyages from hlsLory ln Lhe decades followlng hls deaLh 1hey feared a reLurn Lo Lhe wasLeful
spendlng on such expedlLlons for small reLurn ln 1477 for example a courL eunuch requesLed Lhe
records of Zheng Pes voyages wlLh Lhe lnLenLlon of resLarLlng Lhe program 1he scholar ln charge of
Lhe records Lold hlm LhaL Lhe documenLs were losL
Zheng Pes sLory survlved however ln Lhe accounLs of crew members lncludlng lel xln Cong Zhen
and Ma Puan who wenL on several of Lhe laLer voyages 1he Lreasure fleeL also lefL sLone markers aL
Lhe places Lhey vlslLed As sallors wlll Lhey lefL behlnd people wlLh dlsLlncLly Chlnese feaLures ln
some porLs as well
1oday wheLher people vlew Zheng Pe as an emblem of Chlnese dlplomacy and sofL power or as a
symbol of Lhe counLrys aggresslve overseas expanslon all musL agree LhaL Lhe admlral and hls fleeL
were among Lhe wonders of Lhe world


Sources
ureyer Ldward L beoq ne cbloo ooJ tbe Oceoos lo tbe otly Mloq uyoosty 140514JJ(new ?ork
earson 2007)
Shlpplng news Zheng Pes SexcenLenary cbloo netltoqe Newslettet cbloo netltoqe ltoject no 2
(!une 2003) AusLrallan naLlonal unlverslLy
LevaLhes Loulse Jbeo cbloo koleJ tbe 5eos 1be 1teosote lleet of tbe utoqoo 1btooe 1405
JJ (new ?ork Slmon SchusLer 1994)
SurydlnaLa Leo ed AJmltol beoq ne ooJ 5ootbeost Aslo (Slngapore lnsLlLuLe of SouLheasL Aslan
SLudles 2003)













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