Nature and Impact of Zheng - Essay Example

Lecturer’s Nature and Impact of Zheng Zheng He, who lived between the years 1371-1433, was known to be a Hui-Chinese explorer, mariner, fleet admiral and diplomat. He is believed to have several voyages to South Asia, Middle East, and Southeast Asia and Eastern side of Africa; moreover, all these voyages have been collectively known as the Voyages of Zheng He. During the seven voyages, that Zheng had there was no land that he decided to occupy, clutch any wealth that was from any other countries or even try to launch any fortress. Zheng was best known for a character of giving to other people other than receiving from them. This made it possible for him to be highly welcomed, and be given respect whenever he visited any people within any locality. The aspect of giving also enabled him to be able to trace the different areas, under which he was to cover since he gained confidence in the people he was relating with and they gave him the right directions. As Zheng covered the several places as he journeyed, it is clearly stated that he acted as an individual who promoted friendship and peace among several communities. During the voyages covered, he also led a number of people to other distant lands that can be approximated as being 30, within the lands of Africa and Asia. The first voyage comprised of 317 ships, which comprised of approximately 28,000 men and vast Treasure ships, which added up to sixty. There were also soldiers, astronomers, diplomatic specialists, scholars, medical personnel and builders among thousands of sailors, most of which were Islam; furthermore, this voyage was carried out between the years 1405 and 1407 and was destined to end at the Southwestern coast of India (Wade 2). The second voyage took place between the years 1407and 1409, and this trip involved attending the new king’s inauguration. Therefore, Zheng had to organize for some ships and finally had 68 ships to be taken to the court of Calicut to attend the appointment. Though Zheng took his time to make sure that everything was available, he did not lead the whole event by himself (Wade 2). Zheng commanded the third voyage, and this was between the years 1409 to 1411, this journey consisted of 30,000 troops and approximately 48 large ships. This trip was primarily made up of visiting the same places as in the first voyage inclusive of other new places, which included Ceylon, Malay Peninsula and Malacca. During this voyage, Zheng played a significant role in putting down fights whenever there was fighting between his own forces and those of the kingdoms that were considerably small (Wade 3). The fourth voyage, which was between the years 1413 to 1415, led to an extension of the journey by a greater deal, as Zheng visited most of the places that he had visited before, he also commandeered over 28,000 men and 63 ships to Persian Gulf, which is located in Hormuz. During this trip, a Muslim known as Ma Huan who was twenty-five years old and was commonly known to be a Muslim translator joined him. Moreover, he also stopped in Sumatra where he fought on the side of a sultan who was deposed and helped to return the usurper for execution in Nanjing (Wade 3). In the year 1417 to 1419, there was the fifth voyage by Zheng, which comprised of the heads of South Asia return who were seventeen in number; moreover, they had visited China after the visit of Zheng to their various lands. The primary reason for visiting China was to pay their tribute at the court of Ming, during this trip; Zheng got a chance to visit new places such as Aden, which is located at the mouth of the Red Sea. He also stopped at Malindi, Brawa and Mogadishu as he visited the East Coast of Africa, since most of the people liked Zheng's mission, most of the ambassadors followed him back to China, and this act showed how grateful they were, for what Zheng had done to them and their nations relative to improving their lifestyles and their economies. Though he was met with many challenges along the way during this trip, he ensured that all were subdued more easily (Wade 3). The sixth voyage was between the years 1421 to 1422; this trip was meant to return the nineteen ambassadors back to their homelands; moreover, he had 41 ships sailed to the various places that he had visited previously. These places included Indian Courts and Southeast of Asia, as well as the other places where he had stopped inclusive of the Coast of Africa, after some time, which was considerably less than a year; he went back to China (Wade 4). The last journey was the seventh voyage between the years 1431 to 1433; this trip had been ordered by the Yongle emperor’s successor, his grandson who was also the Xuande emperor. This trip comprised of 27,000 men and large ships that were more than a hundred, it was meant to be a visit to the Indian Ocean, Hormuz, South China and Aden. During his return trip in the year 1433, Zheng He died and he was buried in the sea; however, his grave stands in Nanjing China (Yamashita 50). The Impact of Zheng’s voyages was significantly experienced in China; moreover, Statistics clearly indicate that the number of envoys that could be considered as being foreign, which visited China increased, and amounted to approximately 318, and this was mainly from the nations of Asia and Africa. The Kings who also visited China during the time of Zheng were nine, furthermore, some of the kings who died were given respect and their bodies buried in the mainland of the Chinese. Research clearly indicates that Zheng assisted people in the lands he visited to improve their lifestyle; this was primarily through well digging, road building and religion. Along the East Coast of Africa and the Southeast Asian, he also affected a cultural influence to the people living in the area. The expeditions carried out by Zheng helped to improve trade, which existed in the land; moreover, he inspired and stimulated the growth as well as trade development that existed overseas. In addition, during his time there were more than 100,000 people visited and traded with different lands across the oceans (Sen 44). His mission was abandoned because it was not considered as a profit to the development of his nation. Although Zheng had a significant influence to the people who lived in areas where he visited; however, those who lived in China remained with the same lifestyles. In addition, another reason why the voyages of Zheng He were abandoned is that China was not developed economically primarily because of these voyages. The fact that Zheng visited many nations and created a positive impact to people and to the same nations did not bring a change to China. This made his voyages be abandoned, as most of the Chinese people did not experience the importance of these voyages as others did (Yamashita 56). Zheng He visited several places, and whenever there was a problem, he solved people’s issues and even had the courage to stop fights at other instances. This did not necessarily mean that the people of China were living in peace or they had no problems suing among themselves; moreover, this also became among the main reasons why the voyages of Zheng He were not recognized in his homeland. However, the same voyages were relevant to those people who lived in the land that he visited as well as the people whom he had influenced through his missions (Sen 44). In addition, his missions proved to have a negative influence to the political agenda that was being carried out by Ming Emperor. This added to the fact that later on, Zheng's voyages were not considered beneficial to the people, and the whole nation of China, though Emperor Cheng Zu was the one who had sent Zheng He. His mission though, was to find the prince who had disappeared (Yamashita 56). Although the mission of Zheng He did not dwell on benefiting the people of his nation, it had an extensive and positive influence to people of the other lands in which he had visited. This is mainly because he helped to enhance friendship and peace to the people who lived in various places. Moreover, his voyages played a vital role in ensuring that all people in the various places he visited were living in harmony and helped to stop chaos in cases where he found people having trouble among themselves; thus, this helped to influence people’s living standards and their lifestyles. Zheng's voyages, being significant to many people and improving the trade that existed between various regions, should be remembered for instance, South Asia, Africa, and China among several other nations where he visited. His expeditions also ensured that many people were brought together despite the fact that he was not from the same region. Works Cited Sen, Tan Ta. “Did Zheng He set out to Colonize Southeast Asia?” Institute of South East Asian studies. 29 (2005): 43-55. Print. Wade, Geoff. “The Zheng He Voyages: A Reassessment.” Asia Research Institute 3(2004): 1-9. Print. Yamashita, Michael S. Zheng He: tracing the epic voyages of China’s greatest explorer. Kuwait City: White Star Publishers, 2006. Print. Read More