(female narrator)
Nearly 100 years before
European sailors
crossed the Atlantic,
the Chinese servant,
Zheng He,
assembled the largest fleet
of ships ever seen
and set out
to explore the world.
So given the scale
of is historic achievement,
why is so little known
about Zheng He today?
(Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: Zheng He.
A map zooms in on China.
Zheng He was born
with the name Ma He,
in the Yunnan Province
of China, in 1371.
He was Muslim,
and his father and grandfather
were important leaders
of the Mongol Yuan dynasty,
but shortly after his birth,
power shifted in China
and was taken over
by a new dynasty--the Ming.
Ming soldiers
captured the young Ma He
and handed him as a servant
to the emperor's son.
(Describer) Zhu Di.
Court life during
the Ming dynasty was filled
with music, poetry, painting,
and calligraphy.
Ma He helped organize
elaborate events,
such as hunts
and military displays,
serving the prince well
and becoming
one of his closest advisors.
The prince,
about to become emperor,
gave his servant a new name--
Zheng He.
The new emperor wanted
to establish
far-reaching trade routes,
collect taxes
from distant territories
that none had visited before,
and demonstrate the power
of the Chinese empire
to all the world.
He instructed Zheng He
to build a fleet
unlike any seen before
and to venture out
as his envoy.
Zheng He oversaw the assembly
of a massive fleet of 317 ships,
including
62 enormous treasure ships
measuring more
than 400 feet long.
Some ships
carried horses and troops,
others carried fresh water
and supplies.
Twenty-eight thousand soldiers,
scholars, diplomats,
and builders were involved.
Zheng He's first voyage
lasted from 1405 to 1407.
He traveled west to
many towns and ports in India,
trading and establishing
diplomatic relations.
He and his crew even captured
a notorious criminal, Chen Zuyi,
one of the most feared pirates
of Southeast Asia,
and brought him to China
for trial.
Word of the fleet
and Zheng He's heroism spread
as he sailed
on six more voyages.
In 1413, he traveled
to the Arabian Peninsula
and around the Horn of Africa.
Along the way, he visited
more than 25 countries
and returned to China
with exotic creatures,
like giraffes and camels,
that few in China had seen.
His voyages solidified
Chinese trade
and political dominance,
from Northeastern China
to Southeastern Africa,
even bringing
foreign diplomats
to meet with
the Chinese emperor.
But, by the mid-1400s,
China had spent an enormous sum
on military battles
and massive building projects,
like the Great Wall of China
and the Forbidden City.
Zheng He's expeditions
were viewed
as extravagant and wasteful,
especially by elite scholars
of the philosopher Confucius,
who felt China
should isolate itself
from outside influence.
By imperial decree,
the great navy was dismantled
and the construction
of new ships was forbidden.
This doctrine was so forceful
that the details
of Zheng He's expeditions
were removed from
the official imperial record.
Even his death, on his seventh
and final mission,
was largely missing
from accounts of the time.
Over 28 years,
Zheng He had traveled
more than 31,000 miles
and visited over 30 countries
in South Asia and Africa.
His fleets were larger
and grander than any other
in the history
of sea exploration.
Not until Britain's
Grand Fleet of World War I
would such an impressive fleet
again be assembled.
Yet, to this day,
Zheng He remains
an elusive figure in history.
His accomplishments
and contributions
were nearly forgotten in China
for hundreds of years.
He was barely known
to the Western world.
His explorations may have been
powered by an emperor's vanity,
but they resulted
in the spread of Islam
and Chinese colonization
throughout vast areas
of Southeast Asia.
Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
(Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: Zheng He.
Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.
Great video that goes along with my unit!