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