Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2019 | Page 13

The Ming Dynasty Treasure Fleet- Know More About Zhang
He
Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated School Wong Kam Fai Secondary & Primary School,
Lai, Suet Ching – 10
If you love Chinese history, you should definitely know about this mighty fleet admiral. Yes, it is
Zhang He. He is famous for his amazing voyages, for showing how rich and grand is China, but surely some
people hate him a lot.
So let’s start with who is Zhang He. He was actually a mariner, explorer and diplomat. Which was
quite a lot of job for one person! He was born in Yunnan, in a Muslim family was named “Ma He”, later
adopted by the conferred surname of Zhang from empire Yongle.
As was one of Yongle empire’s favorite, Zhang He rose up to the top of imperial hierarchy and
served as a commander of the southern capital. He then thought of a fabulous plan of showing how grand
and rich China is, so he took a lot of valuable treasures from China, built a massive royal boat and loaded
those jewelries and presents on to that boat. As Zhang He was Yongle empire’s favorite and Zhang He’s
plan was good for China’s sake, so Yongle empire agreed.
Zhang He’s first fantastic voyage was held at 11th July ,1405, from Suzhou. Which was an
enormous fleet containing 317 gigantic ships and held about 28,000 crew men. Hang He's fleets visited
Brunei, Java, Thailand and Southeast Asia India, the horn of Africa, and Arabia, dispensing and receiving
goods along the way. Zhang He presented gifts of gold, silver, and silk; in return, China received such
novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, and ivory from the Swahili. The giraffe he brought back from Malinda
was named to be a quilin and taken as proof of the favor of heavens upon the administration. They loved the
giraffe as it was their first time seeing this kind of creature, which had such a long neck
As others always boast about how spectacular and large Zhang He’s ships were, I will now tell
you how astounding the size could actually be. The largest ships in the fleet, the Chinese treasure ships
described in Chinese chronicles, would have been many times larger than any other wooden ship. ever
recorded in history, surpassing Lorient. 65 meters long, which was actually built in the late 18th century.
The first ships to attain 126 m long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Some scholars argue that it is
highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 feet (137.2 m) in length, some estimating that they were 390–
408 feet (118.9–124.4 m) long and 160–166 feet (48.8–50.6 m) wide instead while others put them as
minute as 200–250 feet (61.0–76.2 m) in length, which would make them smaller than the equine, supply,
and troop ships in the fleet. His ship was really worth talking about.
Zhang He generally sought to attain his goals through diplomacy, and his large army awed most
would-be enemies into submission. But a contemporary claimed that Zhang He "walked like a tiger" and
did not shrink from horrid violence when he considered it very necessary to impress foreign peoples with
China's military might. He suppressed pirates who had long plagued Chinese and southeast Asian oceans that
made t When Zhang He had his 7th voyage, he successfully visited the foreign countries, but we do wish
we could say the same about his return to Beijing.
There were a lot of theories of Admiral Zhang He’s death. Some said the admiral died in 1433 (at age
61-62), which may have happened during or after the voyage. Another theory is that Zhang He continued
to serve as the defender of Nanjing, dying in 1435. But we believe that he died in the return of their last
voyage, which was a sad memory.
Zhang He died on the trip back to Beijing. He was wrapped with a few layers of white rags and was
thrown in the Like most people known, he had defeated, one of the most water. A tomb was built for
Zhang He at the southern slope hem horrid and foul. feared and strong respected pirate captains, in
information the pirate captain was excellent on fighting. , won, and returned him back to China for
execution. The pirate attack was quite sudden and horrifying. It all started when they were sailing, the
pirates ship came and wanted to rob the jewelry and the gifts other foreign countries gave them. But of
course, hang He this mighty, brave admirer won.
He also waged a land war against the Kingdom of Kotte on Ceylon, and he made displays of
military force when local officials threatened his fleet in Arabia and East Africa. From his fourth voyage, he
brought envoys from thirty states who traveled to China and paid their loyal, respects at the Ming court.
Admiral Zhang He is amazing, he is powerful and wealthy. The ideal life! Share this story and sob,
giggle, and wow at Zhang He! He is a mighty historical admiral that we should all learn, admire from him.
He should be highly respected by us, as he made other countries picture our beloved China grand and rich.
Even though it was kind of a massive waste of money, but it’s totally worth it.