A simulated picture of the formation of Zheng He's Fleet in voyage

　　The autumn of 1405 A.D. witnessed a spectacular sight in the Liujiagang Harbor in Taicang of Jiangsu Province with a massive convoy of ships linking stem to stern and a forest of full sails towering high in the air. Zheng He (who is also known as Eunuch Sanbao) of the Ming Dynasty was ready to marshal the largest fleet in the world then to set off its first voyage to the west.

　　By the end of that year, Zheng He's fleet arrived at its first stop Champa (now part of Vietnam). Then, it proceeded further west to Sumatra from Palembang of Indonesia via Malacca Strait, which was followed by its sailing into the India Ocean and its visits to the rim lands such as the Nicobar Island and the Ceylon Mountain (now Sri Lanka). From there, it pressed onward to the northwest, stopping at Gray, Cochin, and Calicut of India (now Kozhikode) and then returned back. On its returning trip, the fleet also sent out sub-fleets to visit the surrounding areas. It eventually returned back to China in September 1407.

　　Zheng He's second voyage sailed off at the end of 1407, and basically followed the same course as the first one. The third mission was put into effect quite in a hurry. When the imperial edict to this end was issued, Zheng He was still at sea. In less than four months after his return, his fleet was on the sea again. This oceangoing voyage was of a grand scale. Although the sailing routes had few changes, the fleet visited more regions and countries on its way, and reached Hormuz (now Bandar 'Abbas) in the Persian Gulf. In addition, the fleet also made better political and diplomatic achievements: the fleet of the great Ming Dynasty was like a "peacekeeping force" regularly seen on the sea. "The sea routes become peaceful and safe because of it, and foreign tribes live and work in peace and contentment depending on it".

　　With the successful completion of the three voyages, Emperor Yong Le of the Ming Dynasty became more and more interested in the west. Zheng He's fourth mission overseas was to visit countries to the west rim of the India Ocean. At the end of 1413, the monsoon came as expected. The main force of the fleet steered across the Arabian Sea to reach Hormuz after visiting Calicut by following the previous course, while the sub-fleet sailed westward from Sumatra to cross the India Ocean, and then veered toward north to cross the Arabian Sea. The voyage lasted for two years.

　　One of the most important tasks for Zheng He's fifth voyage was to escort those envoys who came to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute to the court back to their countries. Ten years flew by quickly, and those envoys who were young men when they came to the Ming Dynasty had become old. The fleet stopped at those countries located on the west rim of the Indian Ocean first to send the envoys of more than 20 countries back to their motherlands and then steered to those countries in the southeast of Asia to promote diplomatic relations.

　　Zheng He's sixth voyage fell on January 1421. By then, the national power of the Ming Dynasty had soared up to its climax. The previous voyages had helped to firmly establish its position as a big power in the region stretching from the South China Sea to the India Ocean. In addition, the Ming Dynasty had set up permanent institutions, such as "warehouses" and "diplomatic institutions" in Malacca, Sumatera, Calicut, where fleets could get replenished with provisions and sailed to farther places in sub-fleets. The sub-fleet that headed toward west reached the coast of South Africa, having every requisite to round the Cape of Good Hope, sail to the Atlantic Ocean and set their feet on the west coast of southwest Africa; while the sub-fleet steering southward reached New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and even the coastal islands of Australia, extending their voyages to the farthest areas ever.

　　However, the dawning of the climax was more like a solemn closing ceremony: Emperor Yong Le died and Emperor Ren Zong ascended the throne, who had little interest in continuing the oceangoing voyage, and wasted no time to issue an edict to stop oceangoing voyages. It was only after eight years when Emperor Xuan Zong ascended the throne and started to cherish the memory of the glorious time featuring "keeping on pouring in are the jade wares and silk fabrics from every corner of the world, brighter are the sun and moon over the united country" when his grandfather reigned over the country.

　　As a result, the suspended oceangoing voyage was resumed in December 1431, which became the seventh time. This time the course they followed was almost a repetition of the third and the fourth voyages, but it was cursed with a big misfortune: Zheng He broke down from constant overwork during the voyage and died of illness in Calicut. Deputy-captain Wang Jinghong brought the grand fleet and Zheng He's hair, hat and boots back to China. At a nightfall of the midsummer of 1433, the fleet pulled in the Liujiagang Harbor in Taicang of Jiangsu Province for the last time, and the proud and huge sails were lowered and furled, and never had the chance of being hoisted again after that. "The fleet of the Ming Dynasty floats in like a piece of cloud, and then disappears as a piece of could as well."

　　Twenty-eight years are only a short span in the 1,000-year-long Oriental navigation history, yet it pushed the Oriental navigation industry to an instantaneous pinnacle. During the seven oceangoing voyages, Zheng He's Fleet sailed across the boundless sea with endless surging waves and white breakers leaping skyward, and paid friendly visits to more than 30 countries in the Southeast Asia, the India Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the eastern bank of Africa, completing a great and heroic feat that stunned the world and raising the curtain of the world's great navigation times.

　　By Qian Xiaohu

　　(July 11, PLA Daily)