When zheng he is mentioned, many people will think of his many voyages.
But where did Zheng He's fleet sail? What did the people who traveled away see?
Exotic beasts: The Hump-hoofed Chicken and the Unicorn
Zheng He's voyage began in the third year of Yongle (1405 AD) and reached as far as the east coast of Africa.
In such a voyage, rare and exotic beasts can always attract the attention of the Ming Dynasty.
Fei Xin, who had accompanied Zheng He's fleet on four voyages, recorded the customs of the "Bamboo Walking Country" in the "Star Maple Victory": the people here are all curly hair, and the clothing and clothing are different from those of China, "men are clothed, and women are clothed, and do not show their faces."
Some scholars believe that the "Bamboo Step Country" recorded here was located on the east coast of Africa at that time.
Zhubu country produced lions, golden leopards, hump-hoofed chickens and other animals that were rarely seen in China at that time. Today, it seems that lions and golden leopards are easy to understand, but what is a hump-hoofed chicken?
According to historical records, this "chicken" was six or seven feet tall, and its feet were like camel's hooves. According to today's eyes, this should be an ostrich.
In addition to ostriches, the "qilin" seen by Zheng He's fleet is also frequently seen in historical records.
The "unicorn" here is not a legendary mythical beast, it is real.
Ma Huan, who followed Zheng He's voyage, described it this way in the "Yingya Victory": "The qilin is more than nine feet high in the front two feet, about six feet high in the back two feet, the head is raised and the neck is one foot long and six feet long, the head is low, the person cannot ride, there are two meat horns on the head, and in the ears, the oxtail deer body." ”
In fact, the unicorn mentioned here refers to the giraffe.
Due to geographical location, China had never seen this animal before, so when in the twelfth year of Yongle (1414 AD), "King Saifudin of Pangela sent an envoy to pay homage to the table and offer the unicorn", "the whole country rejoiced", which was considered to be a sign of good fortune.
After the giraffe came to China, it also caused people to watch it at that time, and even many "Qilin Praises" were passed down to future generations.
Trade: Spices and porcelain
In addition to overseas "sacred beasts", Zheng He's fleet allowed all places to see China's products and brought back rare treasures from all over the world to China.
Among them, the most typical is spices.
Ma Huan and others who followed Zheng He on their voyages recorded that many of the southeast Asian, Indian Ocean coasts, and East African countries reached by Zheng He's fleet were spice producing areas in history.
For example, the Champa kingdom produces garland incense (a kind of agarwood), the specialty of the old Port country is gold and silver incense, and the Kozhi country "has no other production, only pepper".
The "Biography of Ming Shi Kezhi" records that the local fields are barren and harvested, but they are rich in pepper. Most locals have pepper orchards, and growing pepper has become their way of making a living.
At the same time, pepper was also a bulk trade commodity at that time. The local rich people in Kochi were actually mostly merchants. They "specialize in buying pearls, precious stones, incense and the like, and are waiting for guests from Chinese treasure ships or ships elsewhere."
These local spices were exactly what China lacked at that time.
The "Yingya Victory" records that the Sumatran national pepper is worth 100 pounds per official scale 1 two, and the Kezhi country pepper scale is worth 400 pounds worth silver 5 two, but after being shipped to China, it is sold at a price of 10-20 two per kilogram.
Most of the places Wherever Zheng He went at that time, he admired China's strength and was willing to trade with China.
The king of Manrakka (present-day Malacca) even procured local specialties himself, and sailed to China with Zheng He's treasure ship; Java, Siam, and the old port also sent the spices to China.
China imports rare domestic spices, and exports porcelain, silk, tea and so on.
Taking porcelain as an example, people in Annam, Champa and Java are extremely fond of Chinese porcelain. The Yingya Shengguan once mentioned that the Javanese "like Chinese blue and white porcelain the most".
At that time, many Chinese merchant ships in Manchuria were berthed and resold. Zheng He also passed through this place during his voyages, and merchant ships of the two countries often traveled with envoys.
The MingHui Canon records that Manlaga exchanged luxury goods such as rhinoceros horn and ivory for a large number of porcelain and other commercial goods of the Ming Dynasty.
The "Three Treasures" of "Boundless Mana"
Today, Zheng He's fleet is huge, and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges are its main achievements.
As early as the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty had already declared to overseas and neighboring countries that Fuzhi Huayi should treat each other equally and treat each other equally. "Those who are suffering from China must not fail to ask for it; those who are not Chinese patients must not raise their own soldiers."
Therefore, whenever Zheng He's fleet went to a place, he issued an edict from the emperor, awarded silver seals, crowns, gifts, etc. to the kings of various countries, and encouraged them to send envoys to China.
In the eighth year of Xuande (1433 AD), Zheng He died on his return voyage at Guri (present-day Calicut, India) on the west coast of India. However, after Zheng He's death, the navigator known as the "Three Eunuchs" still had his influence.
Zheng He's fleet "showed China's wealth and strength", and its grandeur quickly ended disputes between Southeast Asian countries and pacified the bandit pirates who harassed maritime trade.
So much so that in the years after Zheng He went to the West, some of the places that the fleet visited, such as the Boni Kingdom, "saw the Tang people, and they were also quite in awe, calling them 'Buddha' clouds."
Zheng He's voyage not only promoted trade, but also promoted local development.
In today's Southeast Asia, there are still many buildings and temples related to Zheng He, and people add "Three Guarantees" or "Three Treasures" in front of these buildings and temples to record the footprints of Zheng He in that year.
For example, There are Semarang and Semarang in Malacca, Malaysia, and Semarang in Central Java, Indonesia...
Zheng He has also gradually become a "god" worshipped by overseas Chinese in many parts of Southeast Asia.
The scholar Xu Yunqiao once said in "The Legend of the Three Treasures in Nanyang" that the "Three Treasures" in the legend of the overseas Chinese in Nanyang "are boundless in mana and obey the orders of all things."
bibliography:
1 Zheng Hesheng and Zheng Yijun: A Compilation of Zheng He's Western Materials, Jinan: Qilu Book Society, 1980 edition.
2 Zhang Jian, "The Introduction of Animals in the Western Ocean and Africa", West Asia Africa, No. 2, 2005.
3 Zhao Kaili, "An Examination of the Export of Animals from Overseas Countries to China in the Early Ming Dynasty", Journal of Huizhou University, No. 4, 2018.
4 Chao Zhongchen, "Emperor Ming Yongle Sealed the Mountain for Ke Zhi: Centered on the > of the < Ming Shi Ke Zhi Chuan", Social Science Series, No. 3, 2016.
5 Yan Xiaoqing and Hui Fuping, "Zheng He's Tribute Trade in the West and spices in the Ming Dynasty", Jianghai Academic Journal, No. 1, 2008.
6 Ye Wencheng, "Zheng He's Export to the West and the Export of Chinese Ceramics in the Ming Dynasty", Southern Cultural Relics, No. 3, 2005.
7 Shi Xueqin, "The Worship of Zheng He in the Folk Beliefs of Southeast Asian Chinese", Bagui Overseas Chinese Journal, No. 1, 2006.
8 Zheng Yi Province: "Zheng He Relics in Indonesia and the "Zheng He Worship" of Indonesian Chinese", Southeast Asian Studies, No. 5, 2005.
(The source of the article is China News Network, the article only represents the author's own views, and I would like to thank the originals.) The copyright of the reproduced articles/pictures belongs to the original author, and this number has no commercial publicity purpose and is only for the reader's reference and exchange. If there is any infringement, please contact Xiaobian to delete! ）