Zheng He's voyage to the West during the Ming Dynasty should be a milestone in the history of navigation around the world. Perhaps many friends feel that the "Three Treasures Eunuch" is the first person in China to go south to the West, but this is not the case. More than 600 years before Zheng He, during the reign of Emperor Suzong of Tang, there was a eunuch named Yang Liangyao, who in 785 AD was ordered to send an envoy to the black-clothed dashi (Arabia). This Yang Liangyao, he was the first person to sail the West from China.
Through many historical references, the author unexpectedly found that this life experience is legendary. Yang Liangyao was born in 736 AD, a native of Jingyang, Shaanxi. Yang Liangyao was influenced by the family style since childhood, and has been literate and hyphenated since childhood, and is also a well-known prodigy. Moreover, Yang Liangyao has dreamed of becoming a navigator since he was a child, and this idea may be quite advanced. However, during the tang suzong period, it was very difficult for people like Yang Liangyao, who had some knowledge, but did not have a prominent family lineage, and who had no doorway, wanted to enter the palace and sail from afar. However, when Yang Liangyao was 21 years old, he chose a more cruel way to enter the palace. He chose to be a eunuch and began his legendary experience (in the last years of the Tang Dynasty, eunuchs were in charge).
In 765, Yang Liangyao, who had been suffering in the imperial palace for nearly 10 years, went to Wolf Mountain to suppress the rebellion on the orders of Emperor Tang of Tang. After another 6 years, Yang Liangyao helped the Tang Dynasty to recover Annam and Guangfu. In 784, Yang Liangyaoxi went back to Qiu to seek success, and helped the Tang Dynasty make great achievements. Finally, in April 785, Yang Liangyao finally fulfilled his lifelong dream, and he was ordered by the emperor to send an envoy to the West and go to the black-clad feast. HelpEd Datang to conclude diplomatic relations with the Great Eater Kingdom. This time, Yang Liangyao, not dishonoring his mission, came to the black-clad food and stated to the local king the intention of the Tang Emperor to send him. Since then, the black-clad dashi and the Tang Dynasty have officially concluded friendly diplomatic relations. Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, the relationship between the two sides was very friendly, which was also a good start for Yang Liangyao.
In the new Book of Tang, Yang Liangyao's navigation route is clearly recorded. In April 785, Yang Liangyao led nine large ships from Fujian to the Western Ocean. The route is probably through the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia, making landfall from the Two Rivers Valley and eventually reaching the West Asian region. Yang Liangyao actually had a short stay on the way, and also visited some Southeast Asian countries, such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia (today's parlance). Therefore, Yang Liangyao's southward journey to the West this time was not only to help Datang, but also to meet reliable allies. Along the way, Yang Liangyao drew a very detailed navigation chart. Because the Malacca he passes through, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Two Rivers Valley, are extremely important sea routes near our country.
Yang Liangyao was not afraid of hardships, on the one hand, he completed the mission given by the Tang Emperor, and at the same time, he fulfilled his dream of navigation. Along the way, he ordered his painters and technicians to draw extremely detailed nautical charts according to different weather conditions. Unfortunately, this nautical chart has only been recorded in some historical materials so far, and the whole book has long been scattered and lost. Therefore, Yang Liangyao is not only the first person in China to go south to the West, he is also an extremely successful politician and diplomat. It is difficult to say whether Yang Liangyao chose to become a eunuch at the age of 21, abandoned his two children and wife, and came to Chang'an to serve the emperor. From the perspective of modern people, it is difficult to understand things, after all, "the golden nest and the silver nest are not as good as their own kennels".
Before Yang Liangyao entered the palace, he lived a happy and happy life, had a wife and children, and did not worry about eating and wearing. But in order to realize the dream in his heart, Yang Liangyao made a feat that is difficult for men all over the world to do. The author said that these are by no means deliberately demeaning Yang Liangyao's behavior, but on the contrary, I sincerely admire him. After all, Yang Liangyao was not like the eunuchs who only gained power and dictatorship in the late Tang Dynasty. Yang Liangyao, like Zheng He, is concerned about his homeland and always puts the interests of Jiangshan Sheji in the first place in his heart. Therefore, Yang Liangyao's life is legendary, and he is richer and fuller than Zheng He. As the first navigator and diplomat in China's history to go to Nanyang, Yang Liangyao must have suffered a lot on the way. At that time, he was already more than half a hundred years old, and he could still cross the ocean and help Datang contact the black-clad food that was not very familiar, which in itself required great courage.
After Yang Liangyao returned to Chang'an from the black-clad feast, he was greatly praised by Tang Suzong, and it was needless to say that he was knighted, but Yang Liangyao deserved all this. And the deeds of this eunuch are enough to be remembered by the world. Therefore, when you think about it in the future, when China was the first person to go south to the West, don't take it for granted that it was just Zheng He, in fact, Yang Liangyao was more than 600 years earlier than him.
References: Old and New Book of Tang