郑和下西洋【英文】

Yongle emperor Zhu Di (r. 10421424)
What Chinese Mariners Did
Menzies claims that Chinese mariners:
– explored the islands of Cape Verde, the Azores, the Bahamas, and the Falklands – established colonies in Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia, California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island – introduced horses to the Americas, rice to California, chickens to South America, coffee to Puerto Rico, South American sloths to Australia, sea otters to New Zealand, and maize to the Philippines.
China’s Greatest Explorer?
The 15th century admiral,
Zheng He
Menzies Views
Zheng He’s voyages of exploration began in 1405 and culminated in early 1421 As Yongle emperor’s favorite eunuch, Zheng He was ordered to take Ming’s huge armadas to the unknown world beyond China On the sixth voyage (1421-22), Zheng He’s ships reached Antarctica, the Arctic, North and South America, Pacific, Australia
Zheng He and His Voyages (1405-1433)
ຫໍສະໝຸດ Baidu Two views:
• Manzies:
exploration
• Dreyer: ―power
projection‖
Why Zheng He?
• As a general observer: •Resurgent interest in Zheng He, his voyages, and maritime trade • China’s effort to rebuild its sphere of influence in SE Asia, Middle East, and Africa • China’s redefinition of its foreign policy in terms of peace •As an Asian scholar: • The magnitude of the impact of China’s tributary system

Zheng He Exhibition
• The myth of the great exploration symbolized by Zheng’s voyages
• The real purpose of Zheng He’s voyages: exploration or trade?
• Were they for ―power projection‖ only? • Why did these start and why did they end? • Are the traditional educated elite to be blamed for the termination? • How far did Zheng He’s fleets go? America? • What did Zheng He accomplish? • What was the larger meaning of his voyages?
another Mongolian campaign war with Vietanam The reconstruction of Beijing
Duyvendak’s argument
– The sixth voyage still took place, although Zheng He did not personally visit all places he indicated in his account – The main body reached Hormuz, the rest of the fleet sailed by squadrons to locations further west, all of which had been visited on the previous voyage – Zheng He returned home to Nanjing by September 1422, leaving his subordinates to sail on to thirty-six ports in Ceylon, India (both Bengal and the Malabar coast), the Persian Gulf, and East Africa. The last of the squadrons returned to China on 8 October 1423,having completed their journey of some 11,000 miles in the expected time, about one year and three months after departing Sumatra
Facts: 1st-6th voyages took place during Yongle emperor’s reign: Dreyer:
1st: 1045-07
2nd: 1047-09
3rd: 1049-11 4th: 1413-15 5th: 1417-19 6th: 1421-22 Yongle emperor’s death in 1424, the Ming put a halt to the expedition and Zheng He was pensioned off
– toured the temples and palaces of the Maya center of Palenque in Mexico – hunted walruses and smelted copper in Greenland
– mined for lead and saltpeter in northern Australia
– established trading posts for diamonds along the Amazon and its tributaries
Dreyer’s View
According to official historical account:
– The treasure boats going to foreign countries…were to be temporarily suspended – Reasons: