Zheng He
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Zheng He was a Chinese admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty. His extensive explorations along the Indian Ocean led to a major increase in China's political and commercial influence. A eunu
Statue from a modern monument to Zheng He at the Stadthuys museum in Malacca City, Malaysia
Sculpture in Zheng He Park, Kunyang, featuring a young Zheng He with his father Ma Hajji
Artist's illustration of Zheng He's fleet
Galle Trilingual Inscription, left by Zheng He in Sri Lanka in 1409
Ming treasure voyages
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Ming China's treasure fleet undertook maritime expeditions between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching oce
Zheng He
…Po, which in names of Southeast Asian temples can refer either to him or to the Three Jewels of Buddhism. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng commanded seven treasure voyages across Asia under the commission of the Yongle Emperor and the succeeding Xuande Emperor (r. 1425–1435). According to legend, Zheng's largest ships…
Painting of the Yongle Emperor, dated to the Ming dynasty (National Palace Museum)
Wax statue of Admiral Zheng He (Quanzhou Maritime Museum)
A gold ingot excavated from the tomb of Prince Zhuang of Liang, a son of the Hongxi Emperor, with an inscription stating that the ingot was made from gold purchased at the Western Ocean in the 17th year of the Yongle reign (1419), indicating that the gold was purchased in the fifth voyage (Hubei Provincial Museum)