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In 2004, a black African girl suddenly contacted the Chinese embassy to say that she was a descendant of Zheng He and wanted to return to China to recognize her ancestors.
As soon as this incident came out, it immediately aroused widespread discussion in the society, and most people laughed that this girl "touched porcelain" indiscriminately.
Because it is absolutely impossible for Zheng He to have descendants, after all, everyone knows that although Zheng He has brilliant achievements, he is a eunuch, how can he have descendants.
People think this African girl is crazy to be famous.
But what everyone didn't expect was that the mainland embassy actually recognized the girl's statement and provided the girl with the opportunity to study abroad at public expense.
What is going on here, and why are there Chinese descendants in Africa across the ocean? What kind of connection does Zheng He have with the girl?
First, the shocking truth
"Six hundred years later, we have finally seen our relatives in China again!"
In the village of Xiyou on Patai Island, Mombasa Province, Kenya, an old woman with tears in her eyes looked excitedly at a group of yellow-skinned, black-eyed and dark-haired Chinese "relatives" in front of her.
In September 2004, as soon as Ambassador Guo Chongli of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya received a letter from Sharif, he transmitted back to Chinese mainland the news that "Zheng He's fleet has traveled seven times to the West and is suspected to have left descendants in Kenya."
When this news came, domestic scholars and the masses were greatly shocked.
Scholars have consulted history to verify whether Zheng He's fleet has been to Kenya, and the melon-eating masses have speculated about the news after tea.
But most expressed disbelief in the news.
On this issue, a newspaper reporter randomly interviewed passers-by on the street and asked passers-by for their opinions. The passers-by interviewed were directly suspicious: "There are Chinese descendants in Kenya?" How can it be! Is it that they can't get by, see how well China is developing, and want to come to China to fight the autumn breeze? ”
The people on this side are discussing enthusiastically, and the experts and scholars on the other side have finally reached a conclusion.
"Zheng He's fleet did visit Kenya, and it is likely that the sailors on the fleet at that time left descendants in Kenya." A historian said.
According to historical records, more than 600 years ago, in the thirteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1415 AD), the huge fleet led by Zheng He arrived at Malindi, Mombasa and other places in Kenya on the Indian Ocean coast of today's East Africa.
American writer Revassy also mentioned her experience in Kenya in her 1994 book When China Dominates the Seas, which she described as meeting black people who claimed to be descendants of Chinese.
The black man told Rewasi that he was bleeding Chinese and was a descendant of Chinese, a descendant of survivors of a Chinese shipwreck on Patai Island, Kenya, hundreds of years ago.
Because Patai Island in Kenya is one of the Lamu Islands, Zheng He's fleet wants to reach Malindi, and the Lamu Islands are the necessary place for the fleet.
In this way, the possibility that the Sharif who wrote the letter was the descendants of Chinese sailors increased.
In early November 2014, Ambassador Guo Chongli of the Embassy in Kenya, accompanied by experts from the National Museum of Kenya, came to Sharif's home.
The first time Guo Chongli saw the Sharif family, he decided in his heart that there must be some Asian blood in this family.
Because the appearance of the Sharif family is very different from that of black people in Kenya, their skin is brownish-yellow, their hair is not unique to black curls, their facial features are softer and more Asian face, and their bodies are not as tall as black people.
After Guo Chongli identified himself to the Sharif family, the opening scene appeared.
The old woman was Sharif's grandmother, and Sharif knew the story of the Chinese sailor, which her grandmother told her.
After Guo Chongli exchanged pleasantries with the Sharif family, he asked them that, apart from the oral stories of Chinese sailors, the Chinese who came to the island at that time did not leave any items that could identify them.
Hearing this, Sharif's grandmother became excited again, and quickly asked Sharif to take out the ancestral porcelain bowl at home.
This palm-sized porcelain bowl has been preserved for generations, and although it is missing a hole, you can still see the strong Chinese elements on it.
At the bottom of the porcelain bowl, the four clear characters of "Daming Xuande" announce the origin and time of this porcelain bowl that has been passed down for more than 600 years.
However, based on only a word-of-mouth story and ancestral porcelain bowls, Guo Chongli still did not dare to rashly judge that they were the descendants of Chinese.
Later, Sharif's mother, Baraka Badi, took Guo Chongli and his party to visit Xiyou Village and introduce the history of their village.
As she walked, Guo Chongli and his party followed Buddy to the graves of her ancestors.
Seeing this tombstone, Guo Chongli was stunned, and at the same time immediately determined in his heart that the Chinese sailors 600 years ago did indeed live on Patai Island and left a bloodline, and the Sharif family was the descendants of those sailors.
Only before we met, the tomb was shaped in the shape of a stone cone, and there was a stone tablet in front of the tomb, the writing on the stele was blurred by the erosion of 600 years of wind and rain, but the outline of Chinese characters can still be seen.
Seeing this, Guo Chongli, who had not returned to China for a long time, seemed to empathize with these crew members, and suddenly felt a sense of urgency to go home.
Later, Guo Chongli and his entourage paid homage with a heavy heart to these Chinese compatriots who died in foreign countries more than 600 years ago.
After visiting the Sharif family, Guo Chongli immediately transmitted the news that the Sharif family was the descendant of Chinese sailors 600 years ago.
In order to establish contacts between the residents of Chupattai Island and China, groups of expert expeditions traveled thousands of miles to the village of Xiyou on Phatei Island.
2. An accident 600 years ago
Six hundred years ago, Zheng He led a huge fleet to the West seven times to promote national prestige, visiting more than 30 countries and regions in Asia and Africa, as far as Malindi and the port of Mombasa in present-day Kenya, south of the equator on the east coast of Africa.
It was when this mighty fleet was heading for Malindi that an accident appeared.
At that time, the calm sea suddenly had a fierce wind, black clouds spread, electric light flashed in the thick clouds, muffled thunder roared, and a sea storm was about to strike.
Sharif's ancestors' ship lost its way during the storm, and eventually the ship ran aground and crashed to the bottom of the sea.
In order to survive, the sailors on board threw things such as wooden boxes that could be used for floating into the sea, and then jumped into the sea to escape by abandoning the ship.
In this marine accident, the lucky ones were carried to shore by the waves, and the unfortunate people remained in the sea forever.
These more than 20 sailors, who survived the shipwreck, tried their best to land on a strange island nearby and worked together to survive here.
But living on this strange island is not an easy task, because there are also a group of indigenous people on this island.
At first, the aborigines were hostile to the sailors, but after the sailors helped the aborigines solve the problem of python attacks, the aborigines who felt the goodwill of the sailors gradually accepted the sailors.
Out of nostalgia for their homeland, the sailors called the village they formed "Shangjia Village", because the departure place of the fleet to the West was in Shanghai County.
Here, while waiting for the fleet to return and take them away, they helped the local indigenous people build houses and pass on the advanced manufacturing techniques they mastered to these indigenous people.
It is a pity that the sailors never waited for Zheng He's return fleet, and were forced to stay on this backward island thousands of miles away from home.
But they never gave up hope, taking turns stationed on the seashore every day, hoping to see the mighty Daming fleet again.
It's just that what they don't know is that after Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty gradually weakened, and it was no longer able to support Zheng He to sail.
In 1433, after Zheng He's illness, Zheng He's glorious history of going to the West also came to an end.
These sailors, stranded on another continent far away, never had a chance to return home.
Unable to hear from the fleet, the sailors decided to breed with the natives on the island.
And let their descendants marry each other, in order to preserve the Chinese bloodline to the greatest extent, waiting for the opportunity to return to China to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors in the future.
And the first 20 sailors spent the rest of their lives with regret in the longing for their homeland.
Chinese pays attention to the return of fallen leaves, but it is a pity that these sailors are in exile and cannot return to the embrace of their homeland for the rest of their lives.
Their graves were on the seashore, facing in the direction of China, probably because they wanted to be the first to welcome the arrival of the fleet and the people who brought them home.
In the mid-15th century, due to the invasion of Portuguese colonists and the lack of fresh water resources, the village of Shangjia, which carried the homesickness of Chinese sailors, was destroyed, and the physical evidence of their settlement here was destroyed.
Later, the descendants of Chinese sailors moved to Xiyou village, 10 kilometers away from Shangjia village, in search of survival in search of survival from the war.
And Sharif's family is the descendants of the Chinese descendants who went to Xiyou village.
In addition to finding a large number of pottery full of Chinese elements in Xiyou Village, the research team who came to Patai Island also went to the site of Shangjia Village to find some porcelain fragments from the Ming Dynasty.
Later, in the sea not far from Shangjia Village, the investigation team also salvaged a companion ship and found a broken Chinese clay pot carved with double dragon play pearls.
While history destroys much of the evidence, the fragmented fragments of history still claim the existence of Chinese sailors 600 years ago.
As descendants of Chinese sailors, the Sharif family has always told the story of Chinese sailors and is proud to be the descendants of Chinese.
Third, a Kenyan girl who wants to return to her native China
"We are the descendants of Chinese, and we are also Chinese." Sharif said firmly.
Sharif, who grew up listening to the stories of Chinese sailors, has always believed that she is a Chinese, and since she was a child, she has had a desire to visit China, not only for herself, but also for her ancestors who longed to return home.
After graduating from primary school in 1999, Sharif did not choose to drop out of school and return home like other girls, but went on to continue his studies at a vocational school.
She knew that only by studying well would she have the opportunity to go to China in the future.
At school, Sharif spends his days in the library, hungry for all the books he has to say about China.
As he learned more and more about China, Sharif had a strong desire to learn Chinese.
But where is Chinese so studious, there is neither a teacher who teaches Chinese nor a Chinese in the school.
If she relied on herself, I am afraid that she would not be able to learn Chinese in her lifetime.
So Sharif decided to try her luck in Mombasa, the provincial capital, where she heard that there were many Chinese doing business.
In 2001, Sharif came to Mombasa with all her savings from frugality, and at a Chinese restaurant, Sharif met a Chinese "nobleman" in her life.
When Sharif told Zhao Hanqing, a Chinese restaurant owner, about her desire to learn Chinese and go to China to find roots, Zhao Hanqing was moved by this persistent little girl.
So it was decided to teach Sharif Chinese for free and to sponsor Sharif to go to high school free of charge.
Sharif felt the selfless help of his Chinese boss, so he studied harder and went to work to earn money in his spare time.
In 2004, Sharif finally finished high school, but just when Sharif wanted to go further on the road of learning and continue to work hard for the "Chinese dream" in his heart, he encountered obstacles.
The 18-year-old Sharif has become an "old girl" in the eyes of his family and neighbors, and his mother, Badi, who originally supported Sharif's education, also began to urge her to get married, and his mother Buddy believes that Sharif should follow tradition, marry and start a family.
In the eyes of his mother Badi, Sharif's "Chinese dream" is unattainable, a dream that they have waited for for more than 600 years, believing that Sharif cannot take his life for the sake of dreams.
In order to continue his studies, Sharif was forced to send a letter of help to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.
It is also this letter of help that unveils the history of this dusty 600 years, and makes the Chinese sailors who unfortunately and accidentally fled to a foreign country reappear in front of everyone's eyes.
At the same time, it also makes the story of this Kenyan girl with the "Chinese dream" known to everyone.
In July 2005, Sharif, sponsored by the Chinese government, went to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine for further study.
Since then, this girl, who grew up listening to the stories of Chinese sailors, has finally fulfilled her wish for her and her ancestors to return to China.
After hard study, Sharif obtained a bachelor's degree in clinical medicine in traditional Chinese medicine and a master's degree in pediatrics in integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. After that, he went to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan to study for a doctorate degree in obstetrics and gynecology.
In the end, Sharif, who had achieved his academic success, did not stay in China as everyone expected, but chose to return to Kenya to become an obstetrician and gynecologist.
For Sharif's choice, some people questioned Sharif's pretending to love China only because he wanted to spend less money to steal Chinese technology.
Sharif responded: "I have Chinese blood flowing in my body, I love China deeply, and I am grateful to the Chinese government and people for helping me, but my compatriots need me more." ”
Although Sharif is reluctant to China, there are many excellent doctors in China, and in contrast, she is needed more in backward Kenya, where she can help more people.
600 years ago, Chinese sailors in exile brought advanced technology to Kenya's indigenous people, leading them step by step to prosperity;
600 years later, "China's daughter" Sharif brought advanced medical technology back to Kenya, becoming a symbol of friendship between China and Kenya.