Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2019 | Page 5

The Adventure of Zheng He's Voyage
Shanghai United International School WanYuan Campus, Guo, Gary - 9
Zheng He was a famous Chinese explorer and diplomat in the early Ming Dynasty. When he was young, his
father always told him about adventures on the sea. He was very interested in sailing from his young age,
and decided to have adventures, like his father. From 1405 to 1433, he successfully led a large fleet to sail
across the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean for seven times. It was recognized as the biggest voyage before
the Age of Discovery in Europe.
When he was nine, Zheng He was captured by the Ming army and was sent to serve Zhu Di, Prince of
Yan. Throughout the years, Zheng He gradually gained the trust of Zhu Di who later became the Emperor
of Ming.
Soon after Zhu Di took the seat of Emperor, he wanted to send a big fleet overseas to show friendliness to
people in Southeast Asia and East Africa. The fleet could also help promote trade. Zheng He was selected as
the leader of this fleet.
After several years of preparation, Zheng He’s fleet left Nanjing and started the first voyage. He felt exited
and a bit nervous. In the fleet, there were around 200 ships and over 20,000 soldiers and sailors. The biggest
ship was over 150 meters in length and could contain 1,000 people. Zheng He also prepared goods to trade.
They used body language and flags to communicate on foggy days.
Zheng He’s fleet visited Vietnam and Java Island. During the visit, Zheng He sent diplomatic documents to
local governors and traded with them. Zheng He’s fleet was welcomed locally, however, sometimes it was
also dangerous. During the trip, Zheng He had a big fight with pirates and made a big victory. The fleet
came back to China in 1407.
Soon after, he started the second voyage, but the fleet only spent less than 2 years at sea. During his second
expedition, he was not nervous, but excited. He always looked forward to going to different countries.
Between 1409 and 1411, Zheng He made the third voyage.
The fourth voyage was an important landmark in the whole voyage series as it was the first time that the
fleet visited East Africa. Afterwards, the fleet sailed toward the Arabian Peninsula. After passing the
Peninsula, it finally came to East Africa. In the fifth voyage between 1417 and 1419, the fleet came again to
the same area.
The last two voyages were short and neither of them lasted more than one year. But in the last voyage, the
fleet arrived at the south part of Africa which was also the farthest place in Zheng He’s exploration. As
Zheng He put all of his energy and efforts into the voyage, it was said he died in the last trip in 1433.
Zheng He’s seven voyages were an amazing achievement. It strengthened the relationship between China
and other countries in Asia and Africa. In addition, trade was also on the rise as the impact of Zheng He’s
exploration. You can still find artifacts in some Southeast Asian countries left in Zheng He’s trip, which
reminds us again of this great man.