Zheng He, a famous Chinese navigator, adhered to the will of Zhu Di, the ancestor of Ming Cheng, and led a huge fleet to the West seven times, writing a wonderful chapter for China's friendly exchanges with foreign countries.
Zheng He, whose real name was Ma Sanbao, was born in the Hui people, and his ancestors served under King Liang of Mengyuan and lived in Yunnan for generations. In 1387, when the Ming dynasty generals Fu Youde and Mu Ying pacified Yunnan, Ma Sanbao, who was still a child, was unfortunately captured and castrated into the palace, serving Zhu Di, the King of Yan, from an early age.
In the palace of the Yan King, Ma Sanbao was clever and studious, and was appreciated by Zhu Di. During the Jing Dynasty, Ma Sanbao was brave and good at fighting, and repeatedly made military achievements, so he was given the surname "Zheng" by Zhu Yuanzhang, named Zheng He.
As we all know, as a eunuch, it is impossible to have descendants. But in the 1990s, a Nanjing citizen named Zheng Mianzhi approached the scholar Wu Yuenong, claiming to be Zheng He's 19th grandson. Listening to Zheng Mianzhi's words, Wu Yuenong was very surprised and felt very counterintuitive. However, after reading the genealogy provided by Zheng Mianzhi, Wu Yuenong thought: "Zheng Mianzhi may indeed be a descendant of Zheng He."
Wu Yuenong first examined Zheng He's ancestors. According to legend, Zheng He's ancestors were the Western Regions armies that entered the Central Plains with the Mongol army. Zheng He's original surname, "Ma", is actually a common surname for Muslims - Muhammad. So, why did Ma Sanbao change his name to Zheng He? There are two reasons for this:
First, according to the taboo of the imperial court at that time, horses could not ascend to the temple; Second, Zheng He made great contributions to the Battle of Zhengcunba on the outskirts of Beijing, and Zhu Di commemorated the surname "Zheng".
In the second year after Zheng He was given the surname, Zhu Di sent him seven trips to the West, creating a great cause in the world. While sailing to sea, Zheng He did not forget his family. Zheng He's official residence was in Nanjing, known as the "Ma Mansion". After the war in Mafu was burned down, the street where it was located was still called "Mafu Street".
On the eve of his fourth voyage to the West, Zheng He returned to his hometown of Yunnan to worship his ancestors. In order to keep a queen for himself, he passed on the son of his brother Ma Wenming as his son, surnamed Zheng Zhizi Enlai. And Zheng Enlai became the ancestor of all Zheng He's descendants.
Soon after, Zheng Enlai bid farewell to Zheng He and returned to Yunnan to live. Before returning to his hometown, Zheng Enlai left Zheng He a grandson named Zheng Haozhao. Since the eunuch's descendants could not inherit the official titles of their ancestors, Zheng He specially asked the emperor for 4 acres of land for his grandson's future life. In this way, the Zheng Haozhao family has lived and multiplied in Mafu Street in Nanjing, and has been passed down to 21 generations today. Zheng Mianzhi, the president of the Islamic Association of Nanjing, is the 19th grandson of Zheng He.
The descendants of Zheng Enlai live in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, and have now reached the 17th generation. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Chonglin of the Zheng clan of Yuxi went to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to do business and has been settling there, forming the Chiang Mai Cheng clan. Ms. Fan Chunge, a senior reporter of Wuhan Evening News, once visited Chiang Mai City, Thailand, along the route of Zheng He's voyage to the West, visited the home of Zheng Chonglin, a descendant of Zheng He, and took many photos and videos. At the beginning of this century, there were more than 400 descendants of Zheng He in the three places combined. Today, I don't know how many people there are.
According to Zheng Mianzhi's account, after Zheng He's death, the life of Zheng Haozhao's family fell into trouble, so he sold all the land given to him by the emperor. Later, the emperor checked the accounts of the Zheng family and discovered that Zheng Hao had sold the land privately, and thus cured the Zheng family of their sins. Therefore, the Zheng clan has never produced any famous figures.
Nowadays, zheng he's descendants have inherited the custom of "tea cultivation" for generations, and every year in the first month, the family gathers for tea once, and each door will report the names and generations of babies born in the previous year, and record them one by one. Every year during Eid al-Fitr, Zheng Mianzhi would also take his clan to Niushou Mountain to sweep the graves of Zheng He's local crown tomb.