Zheng's Contribution to World Regional Geography - Research Paper Example

?Zheng He's Contribution to World Regional Geography This essay is concerned with the exploratory voyages of Chinese Muslim Zheng He, and why this did not lead to Chinese hegemony. It considers the differences between these expeditions and those of other medieval explorers such as Vasco de Gama, and how Zheng He’s achievements are now being interpreted. Introduction Zheng He (1371-1435) may not be as well-known, at least in the west, as other explorers of medieval times such as Magellan and Columbus, even though he was earlier and covered a larger area. According to Bishop et al (2004, page 21) he was castrated while very young and taken from his home to the Beijing palace. However according to Israeli ( 2001) the admiral had already decided as a child, after hearing tales from his father, that he would travel across the seas and reach Mecca, the religious center of Islam. In order to do this however he lost home, family, his ethnicity and even his inherited religion of Islam. They cite the legend that even his name was invented. Background Working during what Iwabuchi et al refer ( 2004, page 129) to ‘ the expansive period of the Ming dynasty’ although not widely known, Zheng He is still remembered. In 2004 there were celebrations to mark the 6ooth year since his first voyage, although Jin Wu, a distinguished oceanic scientist, admits that the literature on his discoveries is thin on the ground. According to Gunde ( 2004), following orders given by the then emperor Yongle, and later by his successor, Xuande. Bloom ( 2010) claims that the emperor was aware that:- The influx of foreign goods and currency would help swell his war chest, and, by enhancing his esteem abroad would help buttress his claim to the throne.’. Zheng He, a eunuch in the imperial service, led seven exploratory expeditions, beginning in 1405 and the last setting out in 1430. The emperor ordered the first voyage when he acceded to the throne and they ceased when he died. Rather strangely perhaps Finlay says that there is no way in which Zheng He could be regarded as an explorer, but purely as a military man acting on behalf of a very militaristic emperor. ( Finlay 2000, page 295) Finlay goes on to describe the controversy as to the long term value of the voyages ( Finlay 2000, page 296) describing how Needham had seen Zheng He as scholar leading a scholarly enterprise, in contrast to the aggressively colonizing men who followed him out into unknown seas over the next two centuries. He also cites Janet Abu-Lughod who declared that historians believe it is impossible to solve the riddle of why Zheng He’s voyages failed to lead on to world dominance for China. Also quoted is William McNeill who in 1998 said that “Chinese navigators might well have rounded Africa and discovered Europe before Prince Henry the Navigator died (in 1460)." Yet, just like Columbus who came later Zheng He :- often did not really even know where he was, believed that India was centered in the Middle East and that Christianity and Islam as well as Buddhism originated there. ( Bloom 2010) His purposes and achievements. When the Han Chinese people overthrew the Mongol invaders and created the Ming Dynasty late in the14th Century, as described by Bloom ( 2010) they inherited the already established fleet of ships, as well as a wide spread network of trade routes. The voyages of Zheng He built on these. The expeditions set out west from China, the first voyage reaching Sri Lanka, ( Maritime Lanka, undated) and later his ships went as far as the Cape of Good Hope on the southernmost tip of South Africa, building , at least for a time, a trading empire without imperialism, although Finlay ( 2000, page 294) , says that merchants were less important to the expeditions than the astronomers and geomancers i.e. those who measured the earth, as well as doctors and naturalists searching for new pharmacological useful materials. The mariners had two purposes – to let the world see the glories of the Ming dynasty, and also to enable the emperor to collect tributes from the ‘barbarians from beyond the seas’. Before this time the Chinese did not even have a word to describe the whole of the South China Seas which were relatively close to their land. (Shottenhammer , 2001 page 407) Merchants accompanied the explorers with goods such as silks and fine china, hoping to exchange these for such things as exotic timbers and spices. Despite what Finlay says , as quoted above, it wasn’t all peaceful trade fairs as Bloom explains (2010) when he describes sieges and the capture of prisoners. Also it seems, despite the emphasis on other things in many descriptions, that military men were by far the biggest group on these trip - Bloom ( 2010) claims that they made up 26,000 out of 28,000 men on board the many ships i.e. more than 92 % of voyagers. Richard van Glahn, an expert on China is quoted in the same report ( 2004) as describing how too often the events are seen as a missed opportunity on the part of China, presumably because there was for instance no settlement made in Africa. Van Glahn feels this is an incorrect estimation. He points to Malacca, on the Malayan peninsula, which as a result of Zheng He’s voyage, became an important port and the center of a great trading network all across southeast Asia. Finlay cites Needham (2000, page 292) as having described the voyages of Zheng He and comparing them with those of Vasco de Gama, the one offering peaceful trade and the exchange of knowledge and ideas and the other ‘threatening the world with terrible consequences’ - a clash of opposing values. The Chinese are said to have been lacking in both resolution and resources, and so being willing to give up exploration and resultant expansion in order to conserve the status quo in their internal social order. Mills (1970) has translated early accounts by an eyewitness , including precise details of routes taken (1970 page 23). He details surveys of many places and countries from Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and Bengal ( Bangladesh) and Vietnam and Java. There are descriptions of languages used, local customs, and what the goods were that were available to trade. He describes such things as local drinks, foods, domestic and other animals etc. Taken together these show the vast extent of the achievements of Zheng He and his fellow explorers. Elsewhere Kuo Pao Kun describes the arrival at a new port (quoted by Iwabuchi et al , 2004, page 132). Early in the morning before sunrise, the emissaries from Zheng He’s armada are getting ready to bring their goods ashore for the great trading festival – silk , brocade, china of many varieties such as vases , plates, bowls. The grand eunuchs, the junior eunuchs, the generals, the officials and officers and errand boys and soldiers…a flotilla of people and goods began their joyous journey to the marketplace. Comparisons with Other Explorers of the Period. Zheng He’s voyages were on a much larger scale than other medieval explorers. Jin Wu lists up to 317 ships, as compared with Columbus who had 3 ships, Vasco de Gama who had 4 and Ferdinand Magellan, who set out a hundred years later with 5 ships. His ships were also much bigger - he was able to bring back giraffes from Africa in 400 foot long ships, whereas the Santa Maria, Columbus’s flag ship was only 85 feet long. Zheng He had a variety of different types of ships – treasure ships, water tankers, equine ships, war ships and supply ships. Also he made not one major voyage, but many. Why is Zheng He not better known? Professor Wu puts the blame of Confucians who he says, after the end of the last voyage, ‘systematically destroy all official records of the voyages.’ The reason given is a political one – the Confucians wanted to regain power at court from the eunuchs who were in a dominant position. Even if many records are missing or incomplete, it is possible to see that such expeditions required many skills - of organization , of planning, of ship building skills, training staff, and man management , diplomacy and navigation, to name only a few of the more important points. Professor Wu compares what was achieved to man landing on the moon. The admiral carried with him a number of experts, including translators and served not only as explorer, but as admiral of the fleet and also as diplomat, as is clear from the trilingual inscription found in Sri Lanka. ( Maritime Lanka, undated). Iwabuchi et al ( 2004 , pages 131, 132) describes a play by Kuo Pao Kun which celebrates his achievements as an emasculated, Muslim, not quite Chinese person, which is seen as providing inspiration to Muslim Singaporeans of the modern day. Bishop et al ( 2004) quote from the same work in which the admiral is seen as being in limbo - always between arrival and departure and also being both a man and yet not a man:- Nameless, sexless, rootless, homeless Everyone's a parent to the orphan Every god's a protector to the wanderer Every land and sky and water is home It's forever Zaijian, Selamat, Vanakkam, Farewell. Summary Zheng He was obviously a very special person, or he would not have been chosen for this massive task. However he was very much under the orders of others. As ideas changed his work has been all but forgotten and it is right that his achievements be celebrated, even if they weren’t perfect, as they are in Singapore where he is seen as a positive role model. However why the Chinese emperors did not build upon his work is hard to discover. Annotated Bibliography Bishop, R., Phillips, J. and Wei-Wei Ho, ( 2004) Beyond Description, New York, Routledge, This work centers upon Singapore and what is described as ‘ Singapore Space Historicity’. Zheng He is seen as part of that history, representing the country’s orphans. Bloom, J., ( 2010) , Curious Rise of the Sea Dragon, Sea Classics, Volume 43, Issue 4, page 4 ff. This article tells a wider story - Zheng He was not the only admiral sent out on such expeditions. Bloom does not take facts as proven, but investigated such things as the supposed size of the ships used, which he believes have been exaggerated. Trips to various places are described, such as Burma and Java. He also describes military actions, often ignored by other writers who concentrate on trade and navigational skills. Finlay, R., ( 2000) China and the West and World History in Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilization in China, Journal of World History, Volume 2, Issue 2, This is mainly a negative criticism of earlier writing, but is valuable in that has excellent references and quotes from many experts on the topic. Gunde, R., ( 2004) Zheng He's Voyages of Discovery UCLA International Institute, retrieved 9th November 2011 from http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=10387 This is a report of a talk by Taiwanese expert, Jin Wu, celebrating the voyages of Zheng he. He gives historical background including statistics and compares Zheng He favorably with other perhaps better known explorers such as Columbus. Also mentioned is the possibly false impression sometimes given in various texts. Israeli, R., ( 2001) Myth as Memory: Muslims in China between Myth and History, The Muslim World, Volume 91, Issue1/2, page 185 ff. This short article is concerned with Islam and China and how the differences between these two have affected historical memories, perhaps distorting or obliterating historical facts. . Iwabuchi, K., Muecke,S. and Thomas ,S.,( 2004) Rogue Flows, Trans –Asian Cultural Traffic, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, This book covers many aspects of Asian culture, and this includes mention of Zheng He, but only briefly, despite the many Asian countries this Chinese Admiral visited and interacted with. It includes descriptions of a play by Kuo Pao Kun about the positive influence of Zheng He upon Singaporeans in modern times. It includes a beautiful description of a morning scene as the voyagers prepare. Maritime Lanka ( undated) The Trilingual Inscription of Admiral Zheng He, retrieved 9th November 2011 from http://cf.hum.uva.nl/galle/galle/trilingual.html This is a detailed report of historical proof of Zheng He’s voyage to Sri Lanka in the form of a trilingual carved commemorative stone Mills, J. ( translator and editor) ( 1970) Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng –lan, the overall survey of the ocean’s shores ( 1433), London, Cambridge University Press, retrieved 9th November 2011 from http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=DjQ9AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&sourc e=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false An extremely detailed eye witness report to the voyages, written very closely to the events, including such things as navigational details and such things as details of local customs and goods traded. Shottenhammer, A.,( 2001) The Emporium of the World, Maritime Quanzhou 1000-1400, Boston, Brill, This book is concerned with the international trading of China in early medieval times, and only briefly mentions Zheng He. Read More