When China Ruled the Seas

Eunuchs also served the imperial court since the Han dynasty, performing administrative tasks and guiding members of the emperor’s family in matters of protocol and etiquette. They were specially chosen to oversee the emperor’s harem in order to ensure its members’ purity because they could not father children of their own. When he became emperor, Zhu Di elevated their status, so they had more power than Confucian officials, causing friction between the two groups. They also tended to favor overseas trade missions, another point of contention. 

These were ships developed in Fujian Province for sailing in the open ocean. They had a V-shaped hull to cut through the waves, along with a keel running the length of the hull for stability. They were large, with four decks and multiple masts. A combination of these and shachuan comprised the new ships of the treasure fleet. 

This is a translation of the name for China in the Chinese language, zhongguo. It reflects how the Chinese viewed themselves and their place in the world. Being in the middle or “central” under heaven meant that it was the indispensable or favored nation of all of the known world. This implied that beyond its borders were barbaric peoples and nothing much of importance. Levathes explains that this philosophy may have played a role in why the Ming rulers did not travel farther than they did or attempt to colonize other countries when they clearly had the means. Given that they already considered China the best empire. there was no need to pursue inferior lands and people. 

Founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming dynasty was the ruling Chinese dynasty from 1368 to 1644, following the Yuan dynasty. It was during this period that the voyages of the treasure fleet took place. The Ming period, however, is also famous for being a time when China was quite isolated from the world. This took place fairly rapidly after the seafaring expeditions ceased, as the rulers looked inward and drastically limited foreign interactions. The dynasty enacted laws that kept the size of ships rather small and thus unable to sail on the high seas. Eventually, its leaders prohibited private foreign trade altogether. During the Ming dynasty, the capital of the empire moved from Nanjing to Beijing, where it would remain until the end of dynastic rule in 1911. 

The Chinese word qilin refers to a giraffe given to the emperor by one of the African countries the treasure fleet visited. It was seen by some as the mythical beast qilin, which in Chinese folklore was a good omen as it “was believed to make its appearance only in times of great peace and prosperity” (140). This was at the peak of the voyages’ success, when Zhu Di decided to move the capital to Beijing because everything seemed auspicious.

This was a type of boat used for travel in shallow seas, like those between China and Korea. It had a flat bottom to avoid getting caught on sandbars, a square prow, and a high stern. They were unstable, however, in stormy, deep seas, so their design was combined with elements of fuchuan to create the new ships that made up the treasure fleet. 

Tianfei was the goddess of sailors. According to legend, she was the daughter of a Fujianese fisherman born in 960 A.D. She supposedly had the power to see the future, and once was said to communicate with her brother out at sea to save him from an impending storm. After she died, she floated about the sea in a red dress, guiding sailors out of trouble. She was greatly revered by the crew of the treasure fleet, who prayed to her and made offerings to her. On the return home from the first voyage, the ships faced a sudden storm in the South China Sea. They called out to Tianfei and saw a light in the sky—actually the weather phenomenon known in the west as St. Elmo’s fire—after which the seas calmed and they sailed on without harm. Zheng He was personally involved in expanding the temple to Tianfei in her hometown in Fujian.

This was the name of the reign of Zhu Di. Chinese emperors often chose a name by which their rule was known, which was also used to refer to them. Zhu Di chose yongle, which means “lasting joy.”