Zheng He 鄭和

by Sally K. Church

Originally named Ma He 馬和, Zheng He was a Chinese Muslim from Yunnan who was captured by the Ming army when he was a boy. He was made a eunuch and taken to Beijing to serve in the principality of Zhu Di, one of the sons of Emperor Hongwu (r. 1368-1398). Ma He was rewarded with the Chinese surname Zheng for his loyal support for Zhu Di in the latter's rebellion and usurpation of the throne in 1399-1402.

Zheng He was subsequently made commander of the Ming fleet that sailed on seven major maritime expeditions, which for 28 years plied the waters of the Indian Ocean, reaching Southeast Asia, India, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa between 1405 and 1433.

These maritime expeditions are given extensive coverage in the Ming Voyages module and in the module on Ma Huan, who sailed on some of the voyages serving as a translator, and wrote a detailed account of the voyages in his Yingya shenglan. Similar accounts were also written by Fei Xin and Gong Zhen, who also accompanied some of the expeditions.