Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 223

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Shanghai Singapore International School, Ng, Hui Lim - 15
This is the diary of a translator who once worked on the Treasure Fleet with Zheng He.
I had always wondered, that our great admiral with such reputation and might, he had such a heartbreaking
family background. However, the world that Zheng He our great admiral was heading into was dark and
unsettled. The admiral of the Treasure fleet was the child of a royal family and faced tragedy between the
Ming soldier. A single knife stroke will agonize his fate. He lived as eunuch. Back when our admiral wasn’t
under the Yongle emperor’s control, he used to spend his first ten years back at Yunnan. Before we set off
for our first voyage, the fleet crew were well trained and educated of the cultures and life aspects of different
countries. Throughout the seven voyages we’ve made, the fleet traveled across the South China Sea, Indian
Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast if Africa.
On 1405, we set off on our first voyage to the sea. There were a total of 27,800 men and 62 ships. The
waves were hitting as if the ocean was trying to stop us on our new adventure to the world. Zheng He held
the title as the “Face of China” to the world. I remembered, that his voice below dozen as thunder and
bells, his eyes glared from his 7 foot frame. When we first arrived at the country of Champa (which is the
current southern Vietnam), our great admiral spoken fluent Vietnamese to the locals. He was also generous
while he talked with the leader of Champa. I remembered, that the gestures and the laughter he made was
as proper as the emperor will do. In the following days, we’ve also visited Thailand, Melacca and the island
of Java. Thailand was one of the most memorable ones because of the warm weather and the swiftly wind
that lead the fleet to a total new world. We arrived in a palace filled with gold sculptures and tiled floor. The
king welcomed our arrival and settled us down in a majesty looking room.
Few months after the first voyage, I over heard more about our admiral. The admiral was a Muslim and his
real name was Ma He. His Father was Haji Ma and his mother’s maiden name was “Wen”. He used to live
in a village where agriculture and fishing was the key to support the locals. Since after the transition to the
palace, Zheng He was well educated and without the help of the Yongle emperor, our great admiral
wouldn’t be able to guide us. Our great admiral also read books about Confucius and Mucous. On the eve
before our second voyage, Zheng He has a simple tribute to his father in grave. On the next morning, we
set off at the LiuJiagan Port in Tiancang.
Few years later, a Sumatran pirates challenged against our great admiral. He confronted at Pelambang (the
city in South Sumatra, Indonesia) in 1407. The pirate, Chen Zu Yi quikly surrendered under the agreement
made by our admiral while he prepared a preemptive surprise. Fortunetly, the plans of the pirates were soon
known by Zheng He and the Ming Soldiers killed 5,000 of Zu Yi’s man. The defeat on Chen Zu Yi was
also our glorious victory in our military achievements. The pirate was then publicly executed at Nanjing in
1407. After the seven voyages we’ve made, the emperor stops the production of making boats. Slowly, we
continued the