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When Ma Sanbao is 10 years old, Yunnan province (which had been under Mongol rule) is reconquered by Chinese forces of the Ming dynasty. Along with many other boys, Ma Sanbao is captured, castrated, and taken into the army as an orderly. His name is later changed to Ma He. He begins to show his considerable talents and leadership abilities at an early age.
1390
Ma He makes influential friends in court, distinguishing himself as a military officer and diplomat in the service of the prince of Yan. During this time China continues to achieve significant advances in shipbuilding and seafaring arts.
The Yongle emperor raised China's Ming dynasty to its greatest power.
Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (Open Government Data License, version 1.0)The prince of Yan becomes the Yongle emperor and gives Ma He the surname Zheng. The new emperor appoints Zheng He to lead a series of voyages to the “Western Oceans” in order to display China’s power and culture.
1405–07: First Voyage
Zheng He’s first voyage establishes diplomatic relations with rulers in what is now southern Vietnam, Thailand, the Malaysian port city of Melaka, the Indonesian island of Java, modern-day Kozhikode on the Malabar Coast of India, and Sri Lanka. He also rids the Malacca Straits of a notorious Chinese pirate, Che’en Tsu-i.
1408–09: Second Voyage
Zheng He’s second voyage follows a similar route as his first. On Sri Lanka Zheng He battles King Alagonakkara and brings him back to China. The emperor extracts a promise from the king to pay tribute to China.
1409–11: Third Voyage
On his third voyage Zheng He makes stops at seaports in India. On the return trip he stops at Samudra on the northern tip of Sumatra.
A map shows the fourth voyage of Chinese explorer Zheng He.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Zheng He revisits the principal ports of Asia, stops at Hormuz, and then sends part of his fleet down the coast of Arabia and into the Red Sea. The fleet then continues down the eastern coast of Africa to modern-day Somalia and Kenya, almost to the Mozambique Channel. Zheng He returns to China with diplomatic envoys from 30 different states.
1417–19: Fifth Voyage
The fifth voyage was undertaken mainly to return foreign envoys to their homelands. Zheng He retraces his previous routes, including stops at Java, Sumatra, and eastern Africa.
A relief sculpture shows Chinese explorer Zheng He in front of one of his ships, greeting people at a port on one of his voyages. The sculpture is found at Zheng He Park near Kunming, Yunnan province, China.
The Yongle emperor dies in 1424. All voyages are suspended until 1431, when Zheng He embarks on a seventh voyage. The voyage extends to Arabia and eastern Africa.
Spring 1433
Zheng He dies in Calicut (now Kozhikode), India, while on the seventh voyage. The fleet returns to China and never sets sail again. His tomb is built in Nanjing, China, where it remains today.
Navy, a nation’s warships and craft of every kind maintained by armed forces for fighting on, under, or over the sea. A large modern navy includes aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, submarines, minesweepers and minelayers, gunboats, and various types of support, supply, and repair
China, country of East Asia. It is the largest of all Asian countries. Occupying nearly the entire East Asian landmass, it covers approximately one-fourteenth of the land area of Earth, and it is almost as large as the whole of Europe. China is also one of the most populous countries in the world,
