This was the scale and magnitude of the expeditions of Ming dynasty Admiral Zheng He’s treasure fleet from the Middle Kingdom to the Asian, Arab and African worlds of antiquity.
This truly Renaissance explorer championed new cartography and new shipbuilding technology, founded colonies and outposts, transplanted flora and fauna and religious and cultural artifacts, and transformed the face of the world.
From China to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, the treasure fleet explored and documented an ancient world. Their exploits are only recently being discovered and researched by present-day historians, generating worldwide interest and controversy.
Retrace the admiral’s voyages and revisit his ports of call.
Growing up in Singapore, I remember reading about Zheng He (pronounced Jung Her)in our beautifully illustrated history textbook. But his story hardly stretched over a few columns, and he appeared decidedly in a lesser league to Columbus and Magellan. Today, we all know better. Navigators like Columbus and Magellan not only had Chinese science and shipbuilding knowhow to thank for their successes, but also - some believe - the very maps they used to "discover" the New World, maps drawn up by navigators that had commandeered the Chinese treasure fleet.
In Southeast Asia, Zheng He has literally become a god, worshipped for centuries in temples dedicated to him from Malaysia to Indonesia. Many Chinese settlements in Indonesia can trace their founding to the time of the expeditions, and even the spread of Islam in places like Java may have been aided by the men of the treasure fleet, many of whom would have been Chinese Muslims. Zheng He’s influence has never been stronger and the legacy of his voyages continues to play a role in the region...
Chronology
Introduction
FART ONE:fOUNDATIONS
1.The Middle Kingdom
Open to the World
Open to Science and the Stars
Open to the Seas
2.Zheng He and China’s Islamic Tradition
Islam in China
Ming Period Muslims
Zheng He’s China Today
Yunnan
Quanzhou
The Silk Road and Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter
3. The Journeys Begin
What to see and do in Taicang
PART TWO: THE VOYAGE5
4.To Melaka, Indonesia and Longyamen
The Nanyang
Melaka - Emporium of Asia
Melaka’s Chinese Heritage
What to see and do in Melaka
The Treasure Fleet in Indonesia
What to see and do in indonesia
Longyamen and Singapore
What to see and do in Sinqapore
5.To Sri Lanka and India’s Spice Coast
intrigue and the Sacred Tooth
What to see and do in Sri Lanka
The Malabar Coast
"In such and such a moon
What to see and do in Kerala
6.To the Persian Gulf and Arabia Felix
The Island of Hormuz
Exotic Aden
What to see and do in Yemen
The Treasure Fleet in Dhofar and Jeddah
7.To Africa’s Swahili Coast
African "Qilin"
Early Contact with Africa
The Treasure Fleet on the Swahili Coast
What to see and do in East Africa
8. The End of an Age
Epilogue
Six Hundred Years On
Notes
index
MAPS
China
Yongle’s Empire, 1403-24
The Silk Road
Maritime Spice Route
Expeditions of Zheng He 1405-1433
