Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 196

The Fleet of Ming Dynasty Kingston International School, Ho, Shu Lin - 10 Saturday 4:45 pm, 19th January 2019 I’m now getting ready for my grandma’s 91st birthday. Oh! I have a history project due on Monday! I still haven’t thought of which Chinese dynasty I’m going to work on. Saturday 9:00 pm, 19th January 2019 I will do my research tomorrow, I bet I have enough time! I’m going to sleep. “Hi, I’m here to help you. I’m your spirit. What projects have you worked on before?” The spirit asks. “Oh…… The Qin dynasty. The first emperor Qin Shi Huang had made a huge project to connect the different parts of the barriers on the North, which became The Great Wall. I also made research about the Tang dynasty. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang wanted to know more about the deep meaning of Buddhism. He walked a long way to India to learn from other Buddhists. Many merchants and officials then followed Xuanzang’s steps to the west, to exchange culture and goods, and building good relationships with other countries,” I explain. “Both of these happened on land, is there any adventure on the sea?” I ask. “I see your curiosity about sea adventures, so let me tell you about the Treasure Voyages of the Ming Dynasty.” “Zheng He (1371-1433) was a Chinese explorer in the Ming dynasty. He was famous for traveling on the seas for 28 years and made 7 voyages in total,” explains the spirit. “His real name is Ma Wen He, and he lived in a village in the Yunnan Province. One day, his grandfather and father went to an adventure and brought back a blue and white porcelain to give to Wen He. The blue color in the porcelain is really attractive. Wen He’s grandfather told him that he didn’t know where the special blue color could be found. Wen He admired the color, and really wanted to find the color and material. Finding the color and material was his dream. He decided to explore countries for the special material and color by sailing. So he started his training, and the emperor saw his bravery and assigned him as captain in the voyages.” “The Ming emperor wanted to build good relationships with the neighboring countries. Then they could trade their goods with other countries’ goods! The Emperor noticed the bravery in Wen He and how he served the country, so he gave Wen He a new name: Zheng He, and also assigned him as the captain in the few voyages. There were 5 different kinds of ships used in the voyages of Zheng He. He went on: the Command Ship, Horse Ship, Troop Transport, Supply Ship and Patrol Boat.”