According to the "History of Ming", Zheng He was ordered by the Yongle Emperor to lead more than 200 large and small ships, more than 27,800 officers and men, of which 62 were large treasure ships, the largest of which was 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, with nine masts and twelve sails, and the farthest route reached more than 6,000 nautical miles to draw the earliest navigation chart with a shipping route. Zheng He's fleet, with its grand scale, large number of people and well-organized, was the largest fleet in the world in the 15th century.
Zheng He's voyage to the West was an unprecedented feat in China's ancient maritime history, demonstrating the national strength of the Ming Dynasty and promoting friendly exchanges between various countries. But for thousands of years, this matter has also been questioned, and the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty even bluntly commented: it is false! It was not until modern Nanjing dug up the mysterious drawings that this historical lie was punctured.
Ming Chengzu ordered Zheng He to go to the West seven times
After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his grandson Zhu Yunjiao took the throne. However, this second-generation emperor only served for four years, and after the Battle of Jingnan, his uncle Zhu Di ascended to the throne, and Zhu Yunjiao has disappeared since.
Since the throne was seized, the historical evaluation of Zhu Di is very controversial. However, although the ascension to the throne was by means, it has to be admitted that he did make a lot of achievements during his reign. Among them, sending Zheng He to the West is a classic example.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Maritime Wokou were also the target of the state's suppression, and the national strength at that time was not enough to make the Wokou submit. By the time of Ming Chengzu, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty had reached its peak. China and Japan resumed official tributary exchanges, and the plague had been greatly alleviated. Under such circumstances, the Ming Dynasty had conditions for maritime contacts with overseas countries.
Therefore, in the third year of Ming Yongle, Ming Chengzu ordered Zheng He to lead a huge fleet of more than 240 sea ships and 27,400 crew members to visit more than 30 countries and regions in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, deepening China's friendly relations with Southeast Asia and East Africa.
This was also a way for the Ming Dynasty to promote national prestige, and after seven trips to the West, the exchanges between countries were more friendly and close. This was also a glorious event in history, but the Qing Dynasty, which later dominated, was skeptical about it, and the most serious ones, such as the Qianlong Emperor, said that Zheng He's voyage to the West was just a legend.
The revision of the "History of Ming" lasted nearly a hundred years, and Qianlong denied that "Zheng He went to the West"
The incident of Zheng He's voyage to the West is clearly recorded in history. However, there are many theories in history about the true purpose of going to the West. Some people even think that it is simply to go to sea to find the unaccounted for Zhu Yunjiao, but in any case, at least it does not deny the authenticity of this matter.
When the Qing Dynasty was established, the Qianlong Emperor intended to "deify" this matter, that is, Zheng He's voyage to the West was nothing more than a legend. Treating a major event as a deified legend, why is Qianlong like this?
At the end of the day, it's also because of the stakes. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was established and became the second dynasty established by ethnic minorities. Due to the obvious difference between ethnic minorities and Han Chinese, the Qing emperor may not recognize the merits of the Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that it took a very long time to revise the History of ming during the Qing Dynasty, and it was nearly a hundred years when it was finally written.
It is not that the historical materials are insufficient and difficult to write, but that the Qing emperor disputed some of the facts that happened in the Ming Dynasty, which eventually led to the "History of Ming" being changed again and again. In the qianlong emperor's period, the "Zheng He's voyage to the West" incident was even deleted from the Ming history, and in Qianlong's words: "That is just a legend."
After all, it was a matter of the former dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty had no intention of praising the Ming Dynasty. What's more, the historical records of Zheng He's voyage to the West are often biased, and the Qing Dynasty seized on this loophole with the intention of blurring it. Moreover, because after Zheng He went to the West, the countries at sea praised the Ming Dynasty and were even more dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty in later dynasties, so there was such an oolong incident.
When evidence of going to sea was found in archaeology in modern times, the Qianlong Emperor's "legendary theory" was untenable.
Nanjing dug out the mysterious drawings and restored the truth of going to sea
At the end of the last century, there was a group of brick kilns in Sanshan, Banqiao, a southern suburb of Nanjing. In order to make bricks, people dug mountains in a big way, digging and digging to find ancient tombs in them, and the unexpected discoveries in them were even more amazing.
After archaeologists studied, it was finally determined that the owner of the tomb lived during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty. The tomb contains many nautical objects, including compasses and nautical charts. What is even more exciting is that the nautical chart is part of Zheng He's nautical chart of the Western Ocean, which is also the first time in history that evidence of Zheng He's drawings of the Western Ocean has been found.
With this unexpected discovery, although it is only part of the drawings, it can also prove that Zheng He's voyage to the West did indeed occur. It was a surprise for the world, but for the Qianlong Emperor it was a slap in the face. After all, Qianlong hyped up Zheng He's voyage to the West as a legend, and in the face of evidence, the "legend" was also realized.
No matter how deeply history is buried, it can never be erased. The Qianlong Emperor probably never imagined that the myths he firmly believed in would eventually be broken by evidence buried for thousands of years.
brief summary
Zheng He's voyage to the West was not only a simple voyage, but also an international exchange. It is only because of the peculiarities of the times that some of the records at that time have been omitted, but this cannot be a reason to erase the facts. It is believed that with the development of archaeology, more historical materials will be excavated in later generations.
Reference: History of the Ming Dynasty
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