2. 郑和下西洋
In the early 15th century, a huge fleet of ships set sail from
Nanjing. It was the first of a series of voyages that would, for a
brief period, establish China as the leading power of the age. The
voyage was led by Zheng He, the most important Chinese
adventurer of all time and one of the greatest sailors the world has
ever known.

3. 郑和前介
• Zheng He (formally known as Ma Sanpao),
was born in what is now Yunnan province
to Muslim parents. When he was 11, he
was captured by Ming armies and served
the prince who later became the Yong Le
Emperor.
• Brave, strong, intelligent and totally loyal,
Ma won the trust of the prince who, after
ascending the throne, gave him a new
name and made him Grand Imperial
Eunuch.

4. 永乐大帝
• Emperor Yong Le wanted to create a
maritime empire in China.
• He believe that through trades and
influence, rather than open conflict and
direct colonization, only he could truly
create an empire that greatly surpasses
his ancestors.
• In 1405, he ordered Chinese ships to sail
to the Indian Ocean, and put Zheng He in
charge of the voyage. Zheng went on to
lead seven expeditions in 28 years,
visiting more than 40 countries.

5. 下西洋的意义
• The initial objective of these voyages is to seek out Zhu
Yunwen (previous Emperor of China).
• One of the many objectives of the great voyages is also to
stabilize the emperor’s status as well as show off China’s
richness and military strength.
• Besides that, it was to enroll far flung states into the Ming
tributary system.
• On top of that, the Chinese was also keen on charting the world
map to show that they are more superior than the other
countries.

6. 公元1405－1407年
• Zheng He was on his way for the first expedition with a fleet of
200 ships and a crew of 28,000 men, these historic voyages are
considered to be the largest maritime expeditions in world
history.
• The purpose of Zheng’s voyages was to spread peace and good
will; colonization was never the objective.
• During his expedition, he visited places such as Champa, Java,
Palembang, Malacca, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
Kollam, Cochin, Calicut.

7. 公元1407－1419年
• In Zheng He’s second to fifth expedition, he set foot on more
places such as Siam (Thailand), Pahang, Kelantan and went as
far as the Straits of Hormuz and Mogadishu, Somalia.
• During these expeditions, Zheng He has traded gold, silk and
porcelain. He also brought back spices and many exotic animals
to be added to the king’s zoo.
• In his fifth expedition, the Chinese escorted ambassadors to
China to attend the inauguration of the Forbidden City.

8. 公元1421－1424年
• During Zheng He’s sixth expedition, their objective was to escort
the ambassadors back to their homeland after spending 2 years
in China. He returned in the year 1422.
• Not long after Zheng He returned from his sixth expedition,
Emperor Yong Le died (1424 AD) and his son (Emperor Hong Xi)
became the next Emperor of China.
• According to Gavin Menzies, author of 1421,
the Chinese may have even traveled round
the Cape of Good Hope to The New World
(North and South America) seventy years
before Christopher Columbus and discovered
Australia, Artic, and Antarctic before any
European explorers.

9. 公元1431－1433年
• Now 60 years old, Zheng would visit the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea
and Africa on his seventh and final voyage. He died on the way
back from sea in 1433, and was buried in the Indian Ocean as per
Muslim custom.
• Though Zheng He died in 1433 and was probably buried at sea, a
grave and small monument to him still exist in Jiangsu Province.
• Three years after Zheng He's death, a new emperor (Emperor
Xuan De) banned the construction of oceangoing ships, and
China's brief era of naval expansion was over. Chinese policy
turned inward, leaving the seas clear for the rising nations of
Europe.
• Records of Zheng He's incredible voyages were burned.

10. 用具
• Compass was the main means used by Zheng He in his epic
ocean voyages. The compass was used to fix the direction and
to measure distance. A needle was placed on floating water
contained in a wooden box. On the compass there are 24 scales.
Each scale, marked by different Chinese characters, represents
a direction.
• Stars were used to determine latitude. The most important star of
all was the Pole Star, which the chinese used to determine
latitude.

11. 资料来源
• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature2/map.html
• http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/chengho.htm
• http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/7622696
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He
• http://mycoordinates.org/zheng-he%E2%80%99s-sailing-to-west-
ocean/all/1/
• 1421: The Year China Discovered The World, Gavin Menzies
• Zheng He's Voyages Down The Western Seas, China
Intercontinental Press