When it comes to the southernmost part of modern China, everyone may say that it is Zengmu Dark Sand. So in the long history of 5,000 years, is Zengmu Dark Sand the southernmost point of China? The answer is no, as early as the Ming Dynasty, the Indonesian island of Sumatra belonged to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and this island near the equator is also the southernmost territory in Chinese history.
▲Coastal scenery of Sumatra
At that time, the vast areas of the Indochina Peninsula, including present-day Burma, Laos and northern Thailand, were the territory of the Ming Dynasty, where the famous "Three Xuan and Six Comforts" were established, and the region was ruled for more than two hundred years, until the end of the Jiajing decade. As for Southeast Asia, Sumatra's ability to become Daming territory has a lot to do with Zheng He's fleet. During the Yongle years, the Three Treasure Eunuch Zheng He led a fleet to the sea many times, turning Southeast Asia into daming's backyard and the Indian Ocean into an "inland sea" for the Ming navy to ride.
▲Zheng He treasure ship model
In order to eliminate the pirate Chen Zuyi, who was active in Southeast Asia, Zheng He's fleet established the "Old Port Propaganda and Consolation Division" in the territory directly under the jurisdiction of daming, recruiting local armed overseas Chinese on Sumatra island to fight against pirate forces. It was from this period that Sumatra officially became the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and it was not until the fifth year of orthodoxy (1440 AD), when the Ming Dynasty no longer carried out activities in the Western Ocean, that the Old Port Xuanwei Division was destroyed due to isolation and joint attacks by local indigenous peoples.
▲ Zheng He Temple, Semarang, Indonesia
During that period, the Strait of Malacca was long under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, and the surrounding archipelagos were subject to tribute, regardless of size. Even if there were occasional disobediences, the Ming Dynasty had means - for example, the kings of Sumatra and Sri Lanka were dissatisfied with the Ming rule, and as a result, Zheng He's fleet directly sent people to land, capture the king alive, and destroy the entire country. Since then, there has been no one in Southeast Asia who dares to say no to the Ming Dynasty.
▲Old photos of Mr. Tan Qijun in his later years
Looking back on the past, the history of the Ming Navy sweeping through Southeast Asia and dominating the Indian Ocean cannot be described as glorious or powerful. It is deeply regrettable, however, that Chinese historians have yet to recognize the Ming Dynasty's rule over these territories, mainly because they have adopted an atlas by Mr. Tan Qijun in the last century. Limited by historical limitations, it was necessary to consider factors such as diplomatic harmony at that time, so double standards were finally adopted, and these areas that were actually ruled by the Ming Dynasty were not included in the territory of ancient China.
In fact, Tan Qihua's map of the Ming Dynasty removed many lands that were once under Chinese jurisdiction but are no longer Chinese territory, and in turn included in the historical map many areas that were not under China's jurisdiction at the time but now belong to China's territory.
▲Portrait of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di (partial)
Don't think about it, this map is bound to cause many misunderstandings for future generations - many people mistakenly regard this map as the national territory of the Ming Dynasty at its peak, and even after comparing the Qing Dynasty map, they have come to the wrong conclusion that the ming dynasty's land area is not as large as the Qing dynasty. Others mistakenly believe that the map of modern China was laid down during the Qing Dynasty. As everyone knows, China's ability to have today's territory depends to a large extent on the heroic Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, a monarch who had a long sense of sea power, who opened up sea frontiers during his reign and pushed the territory near the equator. Such great achievements will be difficult for future generations to hope for their betrayal.