Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | страница 45

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Regents Primary School of Shenzhen, Xu, Zi Yun Cloudy - 8
In China’s Ming Dynasty, there lived a great explorer named Zheng He. He led the largest fleet and crew in
the ancient world history and made seven voyages which lasted for 28 years at the sea.
After years of preparations, Zheng He’s first voyage departed in 1405. At the beginning of the voyage, they
loaded the ships full of fine Chinese silk, porcelain, and goods and gifts and trading with the locals. On the
eve of his departure, Zheng He thought pensively about his upcoming journey and remembered the blue
and white porcelain pot that his father brought back from Mecca. Comparing with the other blue and white
porcelains at home, the pot looked special because its blue colour was vibrant and rich. His father explained
that the secret of its vivid colours came from a special kind of blue pigment. However, he didn’t know
where he could find it as it was a long lost secret. With the location of its origin in his mind, the stunning
blue and white porcelain appeared in Zheng He’s dream that night. He decided to go abroad and find this
special material. He wanted to produce the beautiful porcelain with the stunning blue colour in China, too.
The second morning, the fleet set sail. On that day, the sea was calm, and many sea birds flew in the sky.
Everyone was busy doing their own things, some people were watching the weather, some were studying
the route, and some were writing their diaries. Staying on the sea for days and nights, the sea changed
drastically in an instant, at times it was calm and at times it was suddenly stormy. Once the terrible weather
struck, Zheng He and his crew weren’t afraid. All of the ships kept in touch during their voyages. The sea
howled like a wild horse, and the waves rushed madly at the fleet, as if to tear it apart. Faced with such a
dangerous situation, Zheng He remained calm and commanded the fleet to sail forward bravely in the
billow.
The fleet passed through many islands and Zhang presented the gifts to the local kings for every visit as well
as told stories about the Chinese culture. They also exchanged goods with the local residents, from whom
they bought many special local products. When the people heard of his dream, they all helped Zheng He by
bringing him many types of materials from their hometowns.
The fleet returned to China. Zheng He gave different types of materials that he collected from his trip to the
porcelain artists to try, but none of them could make the special blue colour. Later, Zheng He and his fleet
made several other voyages. Zheng He never forgot about his dream. Many new samples of materials were
brought back to China for testing.
Finally, Zheng He heard the good news. The materials he brought back from Persia were what he had been
looking for years. Since then, lots of materials were shipped back to China. They were used to manufacture
the famous blue and white porcelain of the Ming Dynasty. Zheng’s dream became true.
After all, Zheng He’s voyages have been circulating all over the world.