Zheng He’s Voyages 郑和下西洋

The Age of Discovery in European history was a glorious period of exploration and discovery between the 15th and 17th century. Many famous explorers like Magellan, Da Gamas, Columbus and others came from this period. Among those European explorers, there’s one odd man out to make this an European monopoly – Zheng He 郑和 from China.

The Man Behind the Voyages – Zheng He 郑和生平

Admiral Zheng He (c. 1371-1433), and in Arabic Hajji Mahmoud Shams¹, was a Chinese Muslim eunuch explorer who was sent by the Ming dynasty Emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424) on seven diplomatic missions to increase trade and secure tribute from foreign powers.

Wood-carved Zheng He Statue 木雕郑和像

Zheng He was not just a seafarer but also a devout Muslim. It is claimed that China’s most famous mosque, the Great Mosque in Xi’an 化觉巷清真大寺, was refurbished to the current scale with his support.²

It is popularly believed that Zheng He died at sea during the last voyage. Buried at sea in accordance with Islamic tradition, an empty tomb containing the admiral’s caps and clothes 衣冠冢 honours him near Nanjing. With both the admiral and his patron gone, the Ming voyages came to an end.

Zheng He’s Seven Voyages 郑和七下西洋

Between 1405 and 1433 Zheng He commanded huge fleets loaded with trade goods and high-value gifts to such far-flung places as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and Mogadishu in East Africa. Historical records show that he explored Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, using navigational techniques and ships that were far ahead of their time.

Zheng He’s nine-masted flagship measured about 400 feet long; for comparison, Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria measured just 85 feet. On the first voyage, from 1405 to 1407, 62 nine-masted “treasure ships” led the way, followed by almost 200 other ships of various sizes, carrying personnel, horses, grain, and 28,000 armed troops.

Display Model of Treasure Ship 鄭和寶船模型

The dimensions of the main vessels of the voyages, called the Treasure Ships 寶船, are controversial. They unquestionably were some of the largest wooden ships of the era and possibly of any age. Quite how large and quite how many it is now impossible to say for sure.

Wooden rudder 大舵杆

A startling new development occurred in 1957 when an actual rudder-post of one of the Treasure ships was discovered at the site of one of the Ming shipyards near Nanjing. The discovery of the rudder-post shows that the Ming texts are not ‘spinning a yarn’ when they give dimensions at first sight hard to believe for the flagships of Zheng He’s fleets.³

The Epic Voyage on 11 Jul 1405

The first voyage set off on 11 July 1405, with over 27,000 people (mostly soldiers) in its fleet of 255 vessels, returned in October 1407 after visiting today’s Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India. Six voyages followed from 1407 to 1433. The day is now designated as China Maritime Day 中国航海日 since 2005.

“Offering to Buddhist Temples in Ceylon” Stele from the Third Voyage《布施锡兰山佛寺碑》

Stone stele | Ming Yongle 7th year (1409) | Dimensions – H: 144.5 cm, W: 76.5 cm, Thick: 12.5 cm | (stele) Colombo National Museum collection, (rubbings) China Maritime Museum collection, discovered in 1911 by British engineer H.F.Tomalin in the southern port of Galle, Sri Lanka. 石碑｜明永乐七年（公元1409年）｜碑高144.5厘米，宽76.5厘米，厚12.5厘米｜（碑）斯里兰卡科伦坡国家博物馆藏、（拓片）中国航海博物馆藏，1911年英国工程师托马林在斯南部港口高尔市发现。

The stele, aka Galle Trilingual Inscription⁴, is a stone tablet with an inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, discovered in 1911 in Galle, Sri Lanka. Dated 15 February 1409, which is the 7th year of Emperor Yongle, it was installed by Zheng He in Galle during his second voyage to the West. This is the only remaining written record of his voyages anywhere in the world. 

Gold Tael from the Fourth Voyage 金锭

The 4th- 7th voyages ranged as far west as Jeddah in the Red Sea (from which Zheng He went for a haj to Mecca) and Malindi in East Africa. Their squadrons visited at least 30 contemporary kingdoms. They formalised the vast extent of Chinese geographical understanding that had been building since Song dynasty traders first ventured on major overseas voyages. They perfected what were by contemporary standards advanced navigational practices.

The Crew of Zheng He

And these voyages cannot be successful without a dedicated and loyal crew.

Hong Bao’s Epitaph Rubbings 洪保寿藏铭拓片

Paper | Ming Dynasty  (1368-1644) | Rubbing from Epitaph in Nanjing Zhonghuamen Hong Bao’s Tomb, Nanjing Museum Collection. 纸｜明（1368年-1644年）｜原件出自江苏南京中华门外祖堂山洪保墓 南京市博物总馆藏

Hong Bao 洪保 was the Deputy Envoy 副使太监 of Zheng He’s mission and participated in Zheng He’s sixth and seventh voyages to the West. Hong Bao’s “Shouzang Inscription” clearly stated that the treasure ship 宝船 that Hong Bao commanded was 5,000 Liao (料) ships, which added to the reliability of the scale of the treasure ship contained in the “Annals of the Ming Dynasty”《明史》.

Following established sea routes but often finding himself the first ever Chinese person to land at many of his destinations, Zheng He is widely regarded as the greatest ever Chinese explorer.

The Seventh and Final Voyage (1431-1433)

Zheng He and his crew stayed in Changle City near Fuzhou waiting for the northeast monsoon to arrive. And during this time, they renovated the Mazu Goddess temples around Fujian Province, repaired the Shengshou Pagoda (which doubled as their beacon on their return trip), and carved a stele to commemorate this seventh voyage. They would never expose this to be there.

These voyages did not result in permanent links to overseas territories, because of isolationist policy changes, ending the voyages and knowledge of them.

Stele of the “Divination of the Heavenly Princess”《天妃灵应之记》碑

Stone stele | Ming dynasty 6th year of Emperor Xuande (1431) | Dimensions – H: 1.62m, W: 0.78m, Thickness: 0.16m | Zhenghe Memorial Exhibition Hall Collection, collected from the original site of Nanshan Mazu Temple. 石碑｜明宣德六年（公元1431年）｜高1.62米，宽0.78米，厚0.16米｜鄭和史跡陳列館藏，福建长乐南山天妃宫采集

The stele, aka Zheng He’s Stele 郑和碑, is the only remaining artefact that recorded the details of the seven voyages of Zheng He⁶ and is an invaluable evidence of the dates/period in which these voyages were embarked. The stele not only records in detail the time, place and history of seven voyages to the West, but also praised the divine power of Tianfei 天妃 (Heavenly Princess aka The Goddess Mazu 妈祖), the patron goddess of the seafarers. It recorded a natural phenomenon that they believed to divination, of which we refer to today as St Elmo’s Fire⁷.

Bronze Bell of Zheng He 郑和铸铜钟

Bronze ware | Ming 6th year of Xuande (1431) | National Museum of China Collection, Discovered at Nanping, Fujian Province, 1981. 铜器｜明宣德六年（公元1431年）｜中国国家博物馆藏，1981年福建南平采集

This bronze bell⁸ was cast in 1431 by Zheng He, together with his right-hand man Wang Jinghong 王景弘, just before the seventh (and final) voyage. Zheng He obtained the emperor’s permission and renovated the Nanshan Pagoda Temple 南山塔寺, as well as the Nanshan Mazu Temple 天妃宫, in which the Heavenly Princess Stele《天妃灵应之记》碑 was also placed. The bell was then placed in the temple to pray for good luck. This temple is now converted to Zhenghe Memorial Exhibition Hall. While the stele is back in its original place, the bell is now exhibited at the National Museum of China.

Niche of God of Sea-Patrol (Zheng He) 巡海大神（郑和）神龛

During a construction dig at Xianying temple in 1992, the underground chamber was discovered. 44 clay figures were discovered, including a set of seven figurines that was believed to the oldest image of Zheng He to be discovered. It was placed in an altar niche with six other figures of Ming officials and a foreigner believed to be Hassan, the Mullah of Xi’an Qingjing mosque 清净寺.⁹ It is also the first time an image of Zheng He has been placed together with the Goddess Mazu in the same temple.

Maritime Technology of Ming Dynasty

Ming dynasty inherited ten centuries of seafaring experience and shipbuilding that went all the way back to Tang dynasty (618–907), when maritime trading was frequent between ancient China, Japan and Korea.

Zheng He’s Sailing Charts Replicated from Mao Kun Map 郑和航海图《茅坤图》摹绘

Mao Kun map《茅坤图》, usually referred to in modern Chinese sources as Zheng He’s Navigation Map 鄭和航海圖, is a set of navigation charts published in the Ming dynasty military treatise Wubei Zhi 《武备志》¹⁰. The book was compiled by Mao Yuanyi 茅元仪 in 1621 and published in 1628; the name of the map refers to his grandfather Mao Kun 茅坤 from whose library the map is likely to have originated.

The map is regarded as one of the surviving documents from the expeditions of Zheng He in addition to accounts written by Zheng’s officers, such as “The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores” 瀛涯勝覽¹¹ by Ma Huan 馬歡 and “The Overall Survey of the Star Raft” 星槎勝覽¹² by Fei Xin 費信. It is the earliest known Chinese map to give an adequate representation of Southern Asia, Persia, Arabia and East Africa.

Mao Kun map showing the southern shores of South China, including groups of islands south of the map. Identification of these islands as the Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank or Spratly Islands – the names Shitang (石塘), Wansheng Shitangyu (萬生石塘嶼), and Shixing Shitang (石星石塘) – varies with different authors.

漳州窑红绿彩罗经文盘 Zhangzhou Kiln Red And Green Colour Compass Plate

Porcelain | Ming dynasty (1368-1644) | China South China Sea Museum collection. 瓷器｜明（1368-1644年）｜中国（海南）南海博物馆藏

The Chinese invented the compass back in the Song dynasty (960-1279) and used it for navigation purpose, making them one of the earliest civilisation to sail across the oceans. The rim is painted with black and green decorative patterns, and the inner wall is painted with five groups of fish patterns in red and green. The middle of the plate is divided into two circles, with 19 characters representing the directions and the three Chinese words meaning “One World” (“天下一”) in the middle of the circle.

Metal Tools, Warrant Pass 铁质工具、腰牌

The long-term smooth development of trade exchanges on the Maritime Silk Road is inseparable from the ports, wharves, beacons, bridges, canals and other infrastructure provided along the route. When the tides come in and the monsoon winds blow, domestic silk, tea, porcelain and other goods set off to sea from the wharf port, and overseas treasures and specialties flooded into the white port with merchant ships, realising the exchange of resources and creating a symbiotic and prosperous maritime trade system.

The Impact of the Voyages

Why did the voyages set out? We do not know for sure because all records were subsequently destroyed. The most likely explanation is an affirmation of China’s dominant geopolitical standing in the China Seas and Indian Ocean. For this was a period of instability in an important sea trade choke point, the area between Melaka and Java, and it was in China’s strategic interest to re-establish peace and order.

Origins of the Peranakans

Composed between the 15th or 16th century, the literary work, Sulalatus Salatin (Genealogy of Kings), more commonly known as Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, is a fine record of the origin of Malays, though some scholars now claim that this work is more fables than history. Whether mere myth or history, the origins of Peranakans was supposed to have come from one of the stories in the Malay Annals.

Zheng He made six trips to Malacca. On one of these trips, he took princess Hang Li Po 漢麗寶, supposedly the daughter of Emperor Yongle, to marry Sultan Mansur Shah who ruled Malacca from 1459 to 1477. Since then, more and more immigrants began to marry the local Malays. Thus, the Peranakan heritage was born.

Ming Armada as Peacekeepers

The voyagers did not intend to conquer or colonise, but they were prepared to use military force against those who refused to respect them. Near the end of the first voyage Zheng He’s ships encountered pirates in the Sumatran port of Palembang. The pirate leader pretended to submit, with the intention of escaping. However, Zheng He started a battle, easily defeating the pirates — his forces killing more than 5,000 people and taking the leader back to China to be beheaded.

Iron Spearhead 三宝公铁矛

Because of these military actions that brought peace among the neighbours and regional seas, many rulers and locals paid respect by setting up temples and memorials in honour of Zheng He. This spearhead made by the Indonesians to commemorate Zheng He features his honorary names (“三保公”,“三宝大人”) inscribed in relief cast on both sides of the blade.

“Ma Sampo” Temple Incense Burner “三保老爷” 香炉

Zheng He was also known by his childhood name “Sampo” 三保. Because of the deletion of his voyages from the official annals of Ming dynasty, the unofficial annals refer to his as the Sampo eunuch 三保太监, Sampogong 三保公 and other monikers. Villagers worshipped Zheng in many coastal towns that the armada anchored as their protector, and in Shantou, Guangdong Province is one of those towns. And these temples, known as Sanbaogong temples 三保公庙, can be found in Malacca, Palembang, Singapore (even though he himself did not set foot here) and other places as far as Colombo.

Contraversies

The voyages, as great as they seemed, have generated several controversies over the purpose and unwanted consequences over time.

The Search for Emperor Jianwen

Remember the coup d’état led by Prince of Yan? Referred to history as Jingnan Campaign 靖难之役 (1399–1402), Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen 朱允炆 (1377-?, r.  1398-1402) disappeared and Zhu Di ascended to the throne as the third emperor of Ming dynasty. According to unofficial historical annals, Emperor Yongle was afraid that his nephew would reappeared suddenly during his reign. He gave the secret mission to his confidant, Zheng He, to look for him in the voyages as Zhu Yunwen was purported hiding in Southeast Asia. Of course, the lack of evidence makes this secret mission nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

The Discovery of America

A small group of scholars and hobbyists, led by Gavin Menzies, a former British Navy submarine commander, argue that Zheng He traveled much farther than most Chinese and Western scholars say. Notably, Mr. Menzies claims that Zheng He visited America in 1421, 71 years before Columbus arrived there.

His 2003 book, entitled “1421: The Year China Discovered America” (William Morrow/HarperCollins), laid out extensive but widely disputed evidence that Zheng He sailed to the east coast of today’s United States in 1421 and may have left settlements in South America. But the “evidences” that he presented were too flimsy and the historians basically termed it as “bad history”.

Territory Disputes on the South China Sea

The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, and other features of the region, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and various boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin (see the Maokun Maps above). The waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands, which some regard as geographically part of the South China Sea, are disputed as well. The primary countries affected by the Chinese territorial claims are Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, but many stakeholders from outside the region, most notably the United States, have become involved in the disputes and have aimed to check Chinese ambition.

Zheng He’s voyages are used as evidence of territory claims on these inhabited islands. Beijing insists that its historical records show the then-powerful Chinese dynasties enjoyed near total control over the waters for centuries. However, the arrival of Western explorers and the rise of the Vietnamese Nguyen dynasty in the 19th century challenged China’s claims over maritime Southeast Asia.

“One Belt, One Road”

The Belt and Road Initiative, known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organisations. “Belt” refers to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; “Road” is short for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which refers to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

This initiative is wrought with accusations of territorial expansionism, corruptions and debt traps, although LSE Professor Keyu Jin¹³ writes that the claim that China leads borrowers into a debt trap is misleading.  Jin observes that the majority of BRI countries’ debt is owed to international organisations or private institutions like hedge funds, rather than to China.  Jin also writes that China has written off many of its loans and also provided debt relief to borrowers.

Footnotes

1. Ali Bin Ghanem Al-Ha, Ali Bin Ghanem Al-Ha (2020). Zheng-He: The Chinese Emperor and Sailor. Qatar; Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press. ISBN 9789927141577 ↩︎
2. Dr. Nancy Steinhardt, “The Great Mosque of Xi’an,” in Smarthistory, May 21, 2024, accessed August 3, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/great-mosque-xian/. ↩︎
3. As described by Chou Shih- Tê (2) this great timber, 36-2 ft. long and of r25 ft. diameter, shows a rudder attach- ment length of 19’7 ft. Assuming the usual Chinese 7/6 length-breadth proportions for the rudder blade, this means an area of no less than 452 sq.ft. Chou could therefore calculate, using accepted formulae, the approximate length of the vessel on which it had been used, and obtained lengths of 480 ft. and 536 ft.a depending on different assumptions about draught. ‘Misunderstood Junks: Western View of Chinese Maritime Technology’ by Hans K. Van Tilburg ↩︎
4. 《布施锡兰山佛寺碑》原件藏于斯里兰卡科伦坡国家博物馆 拓片中国航海博物馆藏 1911年发现石碑于斯里兰卡南部港口城市加勒。该碑立于永乐七年（1409年），正面从右至左、从上至下分别有中文、泰米尔文、波斯文三种阴刻文字，记载了郑和赴锡兰(今斯里兰卡)向岛上寺庙布施财物供奉佛祖之事。这是海外仅存的记载郑和下西洋事件的石碑。 ↩︎
5. 铭文分别为“随驾银作局销镕捌成色金伍拾两重作头季鼎等匠人黄关弟永乐拾肆年捌月日”与“永乐十七年四月日西洋等处买到八成色金壹锭伍拾两重”。所载时间与郑和第五次下西洋的时间完全吻合，应系从西洋各国买回后重新熔铸而成。 ↩︎
6. 《天妃靈應之記》全文
   皇明混一海宇，超三代而軼漢唐，際天極地，罔不臣妾。其西域之西，迤北之北，固遠矣，而程途可計。若海外諸番，實為遐壤，皆捧琛執贄，重譯來朝。皇上嘉其忠誠，命和等統率官校、旗軍數萬人，乘巨舶百餘艘，齎幣往賚之，所以宣德化而柔遠人也。自永樂三年奉使西洋，迨今七次，所歷番國，由占城國、爪哇國、三佛齊國、暹羅國，直逾南天竺、錫蘭山國、古里國、柯枝國，抵於西域忽魯謨斯國、阿丹國、木骨都束國，大小凡三十餘國，涉滄溟十萬餘里。
   觀夫海洋，洪濤接天，巨浪如山，視諸夷域，迥隔於煙霞縹緲之間。而我之雲帆高張，晝夜星馳，涉彼狂瀾，若履通衢者，誠荷朝廷威福之致，尤賴天妃之神護佑之德也。神之靈固嘗著於昔時，而盛顯於當代。溟渤之間，或遇風濤，即有神燈燭於帆檣，靈光一臨，則變險為夷，雖在顛連，亦保無虞。及臨外邦，番王之不恭者，生擒之；蠻寇之侵掠者，剿滅之。由是海道清寧、番人仰賴者，皆神之賜也。神之感應，未易殫舉。昔嘗奏請於朝，紀德太常，建宮於南京龍江之上，永傳祀典。欽蒙御製紀文，以彰靈貺，褒美至矣。然神之靈無往不在，若長樂南山之行宮，余由舟師累駐於斯，伺風開洋，乃於永樂十年奏建，以為官軍祈報之所。既嚴且整，右有南山塔寺，歷歲久深，荒涼頹圮，每就修葺，數載之間，殿堂禪室，弘勝舊規。今年春，仍往諸番，蟻舟茲港，復修佛宇神宮，益加華美。而又發心施財，鼎建三清寶殿一所於宮之左，雕妝聖像，粲然一新，鐘鼓供儀，靡不具備，僉謂如是庶足以盡恭事天地神明之心。眾願如斯，咸樂趨事，殿廡宏麗，不日成之。畫棟連雲，如翬如翼，且有青松翠竹掩映左右，神安人悅，誠勝境也。斯土斯民，豈不咸臻福利哉？
   人能竭忠以事君，則事無不立；盡誠以事神，則禱無不應。和等上荷聖君寵命之隆，下致遠夷敬信之厚，統舟師之眾，掌錢帛之多，夙夜拳拳，惟恐弗逮，無不竭忠於國事，盡誠於神明乎？師旅之安寧，往回之康濟者，烏可不知所自乎？是用著神之德於石，並記諸番往回之歲月，以貽永久焉。
   一．永樂三年，統領舟師，至古里等國。時海寇陳祖義，聚眾三佛齊國，劫掠番商，亦來犯我舟師，即有神兵陰助，一鼓而殄滅之，至五年回。
   一．永樂五年，統領舟師，往爪哇、古里、柯枝、暹羅等國，王各以珍寶、珍禽、異獸貢獻，至七年回還。
   一．永樂七年，統領舟師，往前各國，道經錫蘭山國，其主亞烈苦奈兒負固不恭，謀害舟師，賴神顯應知覺，遂生擒其王，至九年歸獻，尋蒙恩宥，俾歸本國。
   一．永樂十一年，統領舟師，往忽魯謨斯等國，其蘇門答臘國有偽王蘇斡剌，寇侵本國，其王宰奴里阿比丁，遣使赴闕陳訴，就率官兵剿捕。賴神默助，生擒偽王，至十三年歸獻。是年，滿剌加國王親率妻子朝貢。
   一．永樂十五年，統領舟師往西域，其忽魯謨斯國進獅子、金錢豹、大西馬；阿丹國進麒麟，番名祖剌法，並長角馬哈獸；木骨都束國進花福綠並獅子；卜剌哇國進千里駱駝並駝雞；爪哇、古里國進麋里羔獸。若乃藏山隱海之靈物，沉沙棲陸之偉寶，莫不爭先呈獻，或遣王男，或遣王叔、王弟，齎捧金葉表文朝貢。
   一．永樂十九年，統領舟師，遣忽魯謨斯等國，使臣久侍京都者，悉還本國。其各國王益修職貢，視前有加。
   一．宣德六年，仍統舟師，往諸番國，開讀賞賜，駐泊茲港，等候朔風開洋。思昔數次皆仗神明助佑之功如是，勒記於石。
   宣德六年歲次辛亥仲冬吉日，正使太監鄭和、王景弘，副使太監李興、朱良、周滿、洪保、楊真、張達、吳忠，都指揮朱真、王衡等立。正一住持楊一初稽首請立石。 ↩︎
7. 神燈燭於帆檣，靈光一臨，則變險為夷 – this text in the stele refers to a natural phenomenon referred to as St Elmo’s Fire. St. Elmo’s fire (also called witch fire or witch’s fire) is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn in an atmospheric electric field. St. Elmo’s fire is named after St. Erasmus of Formia (also known as St. Elmo), the patron saint of sailors. The phenomenon, which can warn of an imminent lightning strike, was regarded by sailors with awe and sometimes considered to be a good omen. ↩︎
8. 此钟是宣德六年（公元1431年）郑和第七次下西洋前为祈求出海航行平安而铸。
   郑和每次下西洋前，他率领的庞大舰队一般都要在福建长乐五虎门一带集结，做好各种准备工作，等候东北季风来临再扬帆出海。在等候季风期间，郑和在副手福建人王景弘的陪同下到福建各地的寺庙行香布施。永乐十年（1412年）第四次下西洋之前，曾奏准在长乐南山建天妃宫，并修葺天妃宫旁的南山塔寺。宣德六年（1431年）最后一次下西洋前，郑和重修了天妃宫和南山塔寺，并在天妃宫立《天妃灵应之记》碑。据碑文可知，郑和在建三清宝殿时，曾铸钟设鼓供于殿内，以保佑航行的平安。 ↩︎
9. 《重修清净寺碑记》碑文中记载：“及我国朝永乐十一年四月太监郑和奉敕差往西域天方国，道出陕西，求所以通译国语可佐信使者，乃得本寺掌教哈三焉，乃于是奏之，朝同往，卒之。揄扬威德，西夷震砻，及回航，海中风涛横作，几至危险，乃哈三吁天恳恳默祷于教宗马圣人者。已而，风恬波寂，安妥得济，遂发宏誓重修所谓清净寺者。” ↩︎
10. 《武备志》，又称《武备全书》，明代茅元仪（1594年—1640年）辑，240卷，10405页。于明天启元年（1621年）编成，集历代有关军事书籍2000余种，并多付插图。明代兵书中以《武备志》篇幅最大，图像、辑录远超过宋代的《武经总要》，然而有些火器绘图并不确切，只能做为参考。 ↩︎
11. The Yingya Shenglan 瀛涯勝覽, written by Ma Huan and published in 1451, is a book about the countries visited by the Chinese over the course of the Ming treasure voyages led by Zheng He. Ma Huan was a translator and interpreter on Zheng He’s fourth, sixth, and seventh treasure voyage. ↩︎
12. The Xingcha Shenglan 星槎勝覽 (‘The Overall Survey of the Star Raft’) is a Chinese historical work written by Fei Xin. Fei Xin served as a soldier in the third, fifth, and seventh Ming treasure voyages under the command of Admiral Zheng He. The book contains descriptions of foreign places that the Chinese mariners had seen. The literary term “star raft” refers to an ambassador’s flagship. ↩︎
13. Jin, Keyu (2023). The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-1-9848-7828-1. ↩︎

Artefacts shown in this post are from the National Museum of China in Beijing, photos taken during visits in Sep 2023 and May 2022.