When China Ruled the Seas

This chapter details the seventh and last voyage of the treasure fleet and explains the reasons for the decline of the great navy—and, more generally, Ming power in the 15th century. Zhu Gaozhi’s 26-year-old son, Zhu Zhanji, succeeded him as emperor. He ruled with a prudent balance between the competing interests of the Confucian scholars and eunuchs. On one hand, he was a proponent of good government and financial stability; on the other hand, he appointed eunuchs to military posts and revived the voyages of the treasure ships.

In 1430, after several years in power, Zhu Zhanji worried about China’s declining influence in the world and lack of tribute trade. He informed Zheng He of a new expedition, which took several years’ preparation given the passage of so much time since the previous one. Intuiting that this might be the final voyage, Zheng erected two stone tablets, one each at the mouths of the Yangzi and Min Rivers. While their purpose was to pay homage to Tianfei, they also listed all his accomplishments in detail.

The voyage set sail in January 1432. Over the next year, they visited Vietnam, the islands of Indonesia, Malacca, Ceylon, and Calicut. It’s likely that an ailing Zheng stayed in Calicut, while smaller groups of ships continued on to Hormuz, Aden, and Malindi. On the way home to China from “the last great expedition of the treasure fleet,” Zheng He died at age 62 and was buried at sea (173).

At first, the emperor’s move paid off, as countries resumed sending emissaries to the Chinese court to pay tribute. However, Zhu Zhanji died young like his father, succumbing to a brief illness in 1435, at age 36. His seven-year-old son, too young to govern, succeeded him as emperor under the tutelage of the powerful eunuch Wang Zhen. Thus, the conflict between the eunuchs and Confucians, which Zhu Zhanji ably managed, raged anew. In addition, economic factors like a shrinking tax base put a squeeze on the court’s finances. On top of all this, clashes flared with the Mongols to the northwest, straining the military. Men and other resources arrived there from all over China, as the empire emphasized land forces over the navy. As a result, the Ming dynasty in the late 15th century saw a drastic loss of naval power and seafaring ability.