Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2019 | Page 33

Chinese jade have also been excavated from the sea floor in the Florida Keys and off the coast of California.
However, the dates of these artefacts have not been ascertained so that they could have been from a later
period while those that were found underwater could have been carried by currents from elsewhere.
Importantly, if Zheng He did reach America, it seems incomprehensible that they did not leave any indelible
marks anywhere in America. In contrast, the Vikings’ stone outposts built by them during their brief
settlement some 500 years before Columbus’ discovery can still be seen today.
Apart from the lack of written and physical evidence, there was also no evidence of any exchange of gifts
which would have been a customary gesture to build diplomacy whenever Zheng landed on foreign soil.
The Chinese would offer their products such as silk and porcelains in exchange for local treasures such as
spices, gems, medicinal herbs and even exotic animals. As such, it appears inconsistent that Zheng never
brought back any exotic treasures from America such as corn from the Aztecs or gold from the Incas. Even
the Europeans took back treasures such as maize, tomatoes and gold from America.
While evidence in support of “1421” theory seems to be somewhat lacking, we should consider what it
would imply if Zheng He had really discovered America. Of course, history books would have to be
rewritten; people would have to be re-educated and Zheng He would rise to universal fame.
However, history should not be just about labelling who discovered what in which year. Instead, history
should help us understand the causes and effects of one's actions as well as learn from people’s failures and
accomplishments. In this case, the Europeans did not stop at “discovering” America but they also went on to
exploit and develop the land so that America could become a superpower of the world. After all, America
was not named after Columbus but rather, Amerigo Vespucci, the man who recognised the Americas as
being two separate continents, later leading to exploitations of the land. Even if Zheng He had discovered
America, the Chinese did not exploit the land commercially or politically. The overall course of history
would therefore not have been much different.
Yet, for us to discuss the exploitation of America as if it was some great achievement just seems wrong to
start with. It was the Native Americans who had been living there for thousands of years before the
Europeans’ “discovery”. Many of the natives were wiped out by new diseases introduced by the Europeans
or forced to surrender their lands after losing battles to the new settlers, while survivors were involuntarily
moved to areas called reservations. The new European immigrants did not accord the respect the indigenous
people deserved both in terms of their rights and their cultures until recent years. In contrast, if Zheng He
had indeed “discovered” America, we would expect him to have extended diplomacy by an exchange of
gifts with the natives instead of “conquering” a foreign people. In this scenario, America might still have
retained its original name in the indigenous language rather than be named after Zheng.
Indeed, this sums up what made the Ming Treasure Voyages truly revolutionary and magnificent even if
Zheng He was not the one who “discovered” America. The voyages started a new era of peaceful exchanges
between nations and gave China and other places of the world a new perspective of different global cultures.
They expanded the horizons for many without having one nation exploiting another for their own gains.
Zheng He and his crew also conquered notorious pirates and helped sailors who had gone astray. Therefore,
we should uphold the Ming Treasure Voyages as an inspiration for us to step out of our comfort zone and
explore the world outside with a sense of adventure and curiosity, embracing others’ ideas without imposing
our own on others. After all, you will never know what you might discover!