Clifford Coonan: Admiral to Retrace Voyages that Put China on the Map

Clifford Coonan, in the London Times (2-28-05):

SIX HUNDRED years after Admiral Zheng He, the intrepid naval explorer, took to the high seas, a modern-day Admiral Zheng has embarked on a mission to retrace seven voyages that reached as far as the east coast of Africa.

The original Zheng He, who was known as the "Three Jewelled Eunuch", sailed to South East Asia, India, the Gulf and the Red Sea. Some historians claim that he even made it to America.

Now Rear-Admiral Zheng Ming, retired, of the People's Liberation Army navy, is building a replica of one of Zheng He's "treasure ships" and plans to follow his routes across the world.

"Zheng He's route is the Silk Road of the sea," said the admiral, who is a member of a group devoted to studying Zheng He's achievements.

In 1405 Emperor Yongle, the first ruler of the Ming Dynasty, wanted to show China's naval power and commissioned Admiral Zheng, a Muslim eunuch from Yunnan province, to go on a daring mission to the seas known to the Chinese as the "Western Oceans".

A bestselling book by the British author Gavin Menzies claims that Zheng reached the Americas in 1421. Other historians dispute this, but his achievement was certainly considerable, taking him to 37 countries over 28 years.

The replica being built by Admiral Zheng will be 61m (200ft) long, but lack of information about the original flagship, which was double the length, means making a bigger ship is technically too difficult.

Zheng He has become a focal point for Chinese nationalism. In the days when the intrepid admiral roamed the high seas, China was far more technologically advanced than any other culture on Earth. It had no equal on the high seas.

His fleet was the mightiest that had ever sailed, with 300 ships and 37,000 sailors. The pride of the fleet were the treasure ships and it is a replica of one of these that Admiral Zheng's group wants to build. Once the ship is built, the first step will be to take it up and down the Chinese coast, which will hopefully happen this year. The second step is to travel around South-East Asia, before taking the ship further by the end of the decade.

China has been keen to push the Zheng He story as a symbol of Chinese ingenuity, but also of its benign foreign policy. Admiral Zheng points out that Zheng was not a colonising conquistador. He never built a fort and was more interested in trade than theft, although the fleet was also supposed to spread the word -with the peoples of southern Asia in particular -that China was a mighty power.

Born Ma He in 1371 to poor parents, as a boy he was captured by Ming soldiers and castrated. He was forced into the army, where he excelled, and also studied languages and philosophy. He died aged 62 in 1433.

He sailed for nearly 30 years, but after the emperor died in 1424 China began a policy of isolationism.

"The Ming Dynasty was the peak of China's power and we want to awaken Chinese pride and show the importance of openness," said Admiral Zheng. "After the Ming Dynasty, China turned its back on foreign countries. In the 15th and 16th centuries, some small European countries like Spain and Portugal developed a lot, while China went backwards. It is worth thinking about."

Events to commemorate the 600th anniversary in July include conferences, special TV programmes and fairs, in China and elsewhere, including Britain. Admiral Zheng added: "We're not related but we do share a lot of experiences -he spent 28 years on the sea, I spent 50 years at sea. We both have a very great feeling for the sea."