Zheng He
Zheng He (c. 1371-1433), Ming admiral and court eunuch who led the treasure voyages across the Indian Ocean.
Category: Figures
- 1371Birth of Zheng He (Ma He) in Yunnan
Zheng He is born as Ma He in 1371 in Yunnan, in southwest China, to a Muslim family. He later becomes a Ming court eunuch and the admiral of the treasure fleet.
- c. 1381Ma He (Zheng He) is captured in the Ming conquest of Yunnan
As a boy of about 10, Ma He is taken prisoner when Ming armies conquer Yunnan in 1381 or 1382. He is made a eunuch and placed in the household of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan and future Yongle Emperor.
- 1402Zhu Di takes Nanjing and becomes the Yongle Emperor
After the Jingnan Campaign (1399-1402) against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, Zhu Di captures the capital Nanjing in 1402 and takes the throne as the Yongle Emperor. His supporter Zheng He is made an admiral.
- September 4, 1403The Yongle Emperor orders 200 ocean-going ships built
On 4 September 1403 the Yongle Emperor orders 200 seagoing transport ships, the start of the Ming treasure fleet. The fleet is built at Nanjing's Longjiang shipyard and others on the Yangtze.
- July 11, 1405 – October 2, 1407Zheng He's first treasure voyage to Southeast Asia, Ceylon and India
Zheng He sails from Nanjing on 11 July 1405 with about 255 ships and 27,800 men, calling at Champa, Java, Malacca, Ceylon and Calicut. The fleet returns on 2 October 1407.
- 1407Zheng He's fleet defeats Chen Zuyi's fleet at Palembang
On the first voyage Zheng He defeats the Chinese-led fleet of Chen Zuyi at Palembang in Sumatra in 1407. Chen is sent to China and executed on 2 October 1407. Whether he was a pirate or a local ruler is debated.
- c. 1409Zheng He erects a Chinese, Persian and Tamil stele at Galle, Ceylon
A trilingual stele in Chinese, Persian and Tamil is set up at Galle in Sri Lanka, dated 15 February 1409 in most sources (one says 1411). It records offerings to Buddha, Allah and the Hindu god Tenavarai Nayanar.
- 1413 – August 12, 1415Zheng He's fourth treasure voyage reaches Hormuz and the Persian Gulf
The fourth voyage leaves Nanjing in autumn 1413, extends the usual route to Hormuz and the Maldives, and returns on 12 August 1415. Detachments visit Bengal and the Arabian coast.
- 1414A giraffe from Malindi in East Africa is presented to the Yongle Emperor
An envoy from Malindi, on the East African coast, brings a giraffe to Bengal, from where the Chinese fleet takes it to the Yongle Emperor in 1414. The court treats it as a qilin, a sign of imperial virtue.
- 1417 – August 8, 1419Zheng He's fifth treasure voyage reaches Aden and the East African coast
The fifth voyage leaves in autumn 1417 and visits Hormuz, Aden, Mogadishu, Barawa and Malindi, the farthest the Ming fleets sail, and returns on 8 August 1419.
- 1421 – September 3, 1422Zheng He's sixth treasure voyage sails to the Indian Ocean and East Africa
The sixth voyage, ordered in March 1421, takes the fleet to Ceylon, Hormuz, Aden and East Africa and returns to Nanjing on 3 September 1422. On 14 May 1421 the Yongle Emperor suspended further voyages.
- 1424The Hongxi Emperor halts the Ming treasure voyages
When Zhu Gaozhi becomes the Hongxi Emperor in 1424, he ends the treasure voyages after the Yongle Emperor's death, citing costs. Some sources say 1426. Zheng He is posted to Nanjing.
- January 19, 1431 – July 7, 1433Zheng He's seventh and last treasure voyage
Zheng He sails from Nanjing on 19 January 1431 under the Xuande Emperor and visits Southeast Asia, India, Hormuz and East Africa. The fleet returns to China on 7 July 1433, and no more are sent.
- c. 1433Death of Zheng He on the return from the seventh voyage
Zheng He dies in 1433, probably near Calicut on the way home from his seventh voyage; a few sources give 1435. A tomb in Nanjing is said to hold only his clothes, as he was reportedly buried at sea.