The greatest voyage in China's history was Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean, which was the greatest voyage in15th century. It was 80 years before Columbus discovered the new continent of America and 70 years before Bidias discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, Zheng He's voyage to the West was considered as the largest navigation project in the world at that time, with a total voyage of over 70,000 nautical miles. Zheng He's nautical chart is also the earliest existing nautical chart in the world.
Then why didn't Zheng He take girls with him in his seven voyages to the West? In fact, this is Zheng He's true wisdom.
Navigator Zheng He
Zheng He was born in a wealthy family in Yunnan. Influenced by the family environment, Zheng He's cultivation is very good. Zheng He's real surname is not Zheng, but Ma. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He was unfortunately castrated because he was captured by the war. Then he returned to Nanjing, served in the Ming army, and was soon transferred to Beiping to continue serving in Judy's mansion. It was at this time that Zheng He met Judy, the prince of Yan.
After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Yun, the great grandson of the Ming Dynasty, succeeded to the throne, with the aim of becoming emperor of Wen Jian. However, Emperor Wen Jian, who had just ascended the throne, wanted to take away the princes of the whole country, and he had no strong power. Among the princes of the whole country, Judy, the prince stationed in Beiping, was the most powerful, so Emperor Wen Jian did not dare to make a move against Judy, the prince.
However, with the passage of time, some prisoners from all over the country were demoted to civilians by Wen Jian, and some of them took their own lives. Therefore, Judy knew that Wen Jian would take the initiative to attack herself sooner or later.
In A.D. 1399, Judy, the prince of Yan, marched into Nanjing under the slogan of "Jun Qing side", and Zheng He, who had been following Judy, also made great contributions to the battle of Jingnan. Finally, Judy, the prince of Yan, occupied Nanjing and Wen Jian disappeared. As the saying goes, a country can't live without a monarch for a day. Judy, the prince of Yan, became emperor for the sake of Ming Chengzu, with the title Yongle.
Zheng He also became the founding general of Yongle, so he not only gave him Zheng's surname, but also became an official and became the head of the eunuch in the palace. However, Zheng He has outstanding military talents, so most of the time Judy let Zheng He lead the army to fight, which was deeply trusted by Judy.
When Judy decided to go to the West, Zheng He was in the prime of life and had excellent physical fitness. Judy once asked Yuan Zhongche whether it was appropriate for Zheng He to lead the fleet to the Western Ocean, and Yuan Zhongche also thought that Zheng He was very suitable.
Zheng he's voyages
Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, went to the West because of various historical backgrounds. At first, he actively developed diplomatic relations with neighboring countries during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu, and adopted a non-occupation attitude towards neighboring countries. Not only that, he also listed 15 countries that did not levy, indicating that Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, wanted to establish an ideal world order with hierarchical order.
Then, after the war of Jingnan in the Ming Dynasty, Judy ascended the throne to strengthen the communication between the Ming Dynasty and the outside world. Before Zheng He's voyage to the West, Judy had sent Yin Qingyu to some countries. Not only that, he also brought Annan and other places into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, which provided endurance for Zheng He's subsequent voyage to the West.
Secondly, in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, under the governance of Zhu Yuanzhang, the prosperity of Hongwu appeared, and the Ming Dynasty came out from the trauma of the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In these thirty-one years, agriculture and handicrafts in the Ming Dynasty have made great progress.
Not only that, the shipbuilding industry in Jiangnan is also quite large, and it is also a government-run shipbuilding industry, with shipyards in Nanjing, Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhenjiang. Similarly, the use of the compass ensures the correct direction of the fleet and provides a stable guarantee for Zheng He's team building in the Western Seas.
Finally, China's developed overseas trade since the Song and Yuan Dynasties made silk, tea, porcelain and other products deeply loved by foreigners, and China also had a great demand for spices. The Maritime Silk Road also laid a solid foundation for Zheng He's voyage to the West.
Moreover, according to the Ming History, in order to find the unknown emperor Wen Jian, publicize the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and prevent the Timur Empire from obtaining tribute trade, Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, finally ordered Zheng He to lead his fleet to the Western Ocean 1405, which was the beginning of Zheng He's seven voyages to the Western Ocean.
Zheng He passed through Brazil on his first voyage to the West, and the sailors of Zheng He's fleet were killed by mistake because of the struggle in this country. Later, the country sent messengers to ask Zheng He's forgiveness. When Zheng He, who continued to sail, passed through the ship port of Sanfo Qi, the local pirate Chen Zuyi swindled Zheng He, was defeated by Zheng He, and captured seven warships. Two years later, Zheng He's fleet returned to the Ming Dynasty and told Judy about some important events of this voyage.
Zheng He's second voyage to the West was in the park 1407. The purpose of the second voyage was to send envoys from various countries back to China, which showed the great power style of the Ming Dynasty. Two years later, Zheng He successfully completed this voyage and went to Java, Sumatra and other countries.
Zheng He sent more countries to the West for the third time, which enhanced the prestige of the Ming Dynasty in Southeast Asia. It also took him two years to return to the Ming Dynasty. Zheng He went to the Western Ocean for the fourth time and continued to explore further. He once bypassed Alabama and sailed to Kenya today. The voyage still took two years.
The starting time of Zheng He's fifth voyage to the West was 14 16. With the steady development of the tribute system in the Ming Dynasty, many countries also paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the purpose of Zheng He's voyage to the West is to escort envoys from various countries back to their respective countries. During this period, the sacrifices received by the Ming Dynasty included lions, leopards and giraffes, which were regarded as unicorns.
The sixth voyage to the West was in A.D. 142 1 year, which was the last time that the Ming Emperor Judy sent Zheng He to the West. The purpose of this voyage is still to send envoys home. After returning home, Zheng He was appointed by Judy to replace his father. However, the Ming emperor Judy died in July.
Ming Taizu Judy's eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, succeeded Injong to the throne. Zhu Gaochi's idea of governing the country in Ming Dynasty was completely different from that in Ming Dynasty. Because of the fifth expedition of the Ming Dynasty to Judy in Mobei area, he quickly consumed the manpower, material resources and financial resources of the Ming Dynasty, and the pressure on the people also increased. Therefore, Emperor Renzong of Ming Dynasty in Zhu Gaochi took measures of light relief and thin taxes, and even adopted a austerity strategy overseas, so Zheng He's voyage to the West stopped.
Zheng He, who could not go to the Western Seas, was appointed as the garrison in Nanjing, and all the crew members who followed him to the Western Seas were stationed in Nanjing. However, Renzong was in office for less than a year and eventually died of illness. His son Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne for the sake of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
In A.D. 1430, Zhu Zhanji, Ming Taizu, re-appointed Zheng He to go to the Western Ocean, which reopened the strategy of going to the Western Ocean. This year1February, Zheng He officially set sail for the sea, which was the last time in his life.
During this voyage, Zheng He visited more than 20 countries including Zhancheng, Java and Sumatra. However, on the way back, Zheng He led the fleet to fall on the ship because of fatigue, and finally died in 1433. The fleet led by Wang Jinghong returned to Nanjing on July 6.
These projects are due to the great financial pressure of the state and court ministers.
The opposition was finally stopped. Compared with the voyages of Columbus, Diaz, Dakar and Magellan in the west, Zheng He's voyages to the West, with political goals as the core, are difficult to maintain without the financial support of the state, while the purpose of western countries' voyages to the West is to carry out the primitive accumulation of capital, thus obtaining a large amount of funds.
Crew selection
First of all, most of the crew members selected by Zheng He's voyages to the West were young and strong men. Once Zheng He chose the girls on the boat, it was difficult to ensure the personal safety of these girls. In order to prevent tragedy, Zheng He chose not to take girls aboard.
Secondly, young women have little experience and weak constitution, so sailing is a particularly hard thing. Once you take some young women with you, it is very likely that these girls will have some discomfort. In order to take care of them, they will delay the sailing time or encounter some dangerous things, and they can't cope.
On the contrary, it would be better for Zheng He to choose some old women to board the ship. These old women were also carefully selected by Zheng He, and all of them were skilled. Those who have sailing experience will respond tactfully with their rich inspection and experience. These old women are responsible for all kinds of things on the ship, taking care of the daily life of the crew, cooking, embroidery and even delivering babies.
Therefore, Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean brought an old woman instead of a young girl, which was the greatest sailing feat of15th century. Zheng He's voyages to the West not only brought advanced technology and culture to some countries, but also further promoted their development.
It can be said that Zheng He's voyages to the West had no less positive impact on the world than Columbus's discovery of the new American continent, not only on the world at that time, but also on modern society. The Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China in 20 13 is based on Zheng He's voyage to the West, and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be realized in the near future.