The Ming Voyages -- Themes

There are many important themes that emerge from the Ming Voyages, for instance diplomacy, trade practices and exchange, political interference, conquest, balance of power, the spread of technology, the spread of religions and customs, the perceptions and misperceptions of different religions, the Chinese diaspora, and many more.

See J. V. G. Mills, Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng-lan, "The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores," [1433], Hakluyt Society (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1970).