Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 153

The Chinese Boomerang: The Untold Story of Zheng He’s 8th
Voyage
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Kuaila, Annabella - 8
“All right!” I yelled. I was playing my new video game, ‘The Seven Voyages of Zheng He’, fighting
pirates with Zheng He’s fleet. Just as I reached level 5, WHOOSH! I got sucked into the game!
I found myself on an ancient wooden ship, and there stood Zheng He. I knew an adventure was lying
before me. “How...where...what's the purpose for me being here?” I asked. “Hello! You came to help me
with my mission,” he replied. “If I am here to help with the mission,” I said, “it might help if I know where
the fleet is going, where it has been, and what your mission is.” “Certainly,” Zheng He answered, “My
mission is to bring foreign goods to sell in China, and to bring foreign people back to buy Chinese goods so
the world will see that China is a great and powerful country.”
One morning, as I slept on the ship – BAM – I heard a loud noise and was thrown out of bed. “Ow!”
I yelped, sitting up from the floor. Unhappy, I walked outside my cabin to see what was happening. “The
Sea-Monster has returned!” screamed one of Zheng He’s men. “Take cover indoors!” boomed Zheng He.
A giant sperm whale had rammed the ship. “Sea-monster!” called another of Zheng He’s men. I
realized what was happening. There was not much science in those days, I thought, so…Zheng He and his
men figured this giant sperm whale was a sea-monster! I was so amused that I began grinning like a
Cheshire cat. “Don't just stand there smiling”, said Zheng He, “take cover!” “Chill, dude,” I replied, “I
know this is a sperm whale, not a sea-monster.” In fact, I spilled all the information I knew about sperm
whales. “So, you see,” I finished, “he is probably just trying to swim with his pod to migrate,” I said.
“We’re in his way, so the rest of his pod is in front of us. So, now, he is trying to ram past us. Also, he is a
calf, you know, so, without his mom around him, without her milk, he could die. Calves are weak. Perhaps
we had better move out of its way.” I suggested. There were hundreds of mouths curling into perfect letter
‘O’s. “Reverse the sails!” called Zheng He, and we were off again!
Zheng He couldn't recognize a whale, but he was rather an excellent sailor. How could he be famous
if he wasn't at all good at sailing, right!? History is proof of his greatness. He commanded seven expeditions
that expanded trade to 37 countries and carried books to show China’s intellectual accomplishments. It was
the porcelain, brocade and silks that had foreign countries wanted most. He also captured evil pirate
scoundrels that sailed Chinese waters. He even captured the most feared Chinese pirate ever - Chen Zuyi
himself. Unfortunately, no one is perfect, and he had troubles too. Some of his ships leaked, many of his
sailors got scurvy, and it was difficult to plan the movements of a large fleet like his. Still, there was no
greater sea explorer than Zheng He.
During the seventh voyage Zheng He really suffered and became very sick. Just when he was about to
die, he told me he had a ‘secret’ map to an unknown country. We call it Australia today. He said his mission
would be completed if I would bring back a sample boomerang for the emperor to reproduce as weapons
for China’s army, and for goods to sell to tourists. I accepted the task.
The next morning, I set off …and met a tsunami. Oh, come on! Having just died, Zheng He missed
out on the action and I was alone! Typical, I thought, just when I needed an ace sailor it was up to me. I
was a complete duffer at sailing, so I just dropped the anchor and waited for my doom. Just then, when it
was curtains for me, I took a moment to think. What could I do? The idea literally took me three minutes,
then…TA-DA! What if I took our sails down and wrapped them around the ship to make it float like a
ball? With air trapped inside them, it might float! Balls float, don't they?! I wrapped all our sails around the
ship, and it worked! I floated away.
When I was out of dangerous waters, I put the sails back where they belonged, and finally reached
Australia in 30 hours’ time in calm waters. I was an absolute mess when I arrived, so I made a bed onshore
from hundreds of cut leaves. I slept there for a night and felt right as rain in the morning.
When I awoke, I went to find some Aboriginal Australian people, as I knew they used boomerangs to
knock birds out of the sky for food. When I found some, I asked them if I might have a boomerang.
“Alright”, said the chief of the tribe, “we have more than enough, anyway.” Mission accomplished!
I left Australia feeling very happy. I sailed back to Nanjing, and then…yet again – WHOOSH – I was
back home. I wondered if I had dreamed it all. It seemed real, but it couldn’t have been.