A Short History of China and Southeast Asia

and Nicobar Islands and Bengal. The furthest of these subsidiary
voyages was to Mecca, the most distant place to send an envoy to the
Ming court.
The sixth expedition was the last despatched by the Yongle
emperor. After it came a break of ten years, during which there was
steady retraction of Chinese sea power and presence overseas. Laden
with honours, Admiral Zheng He was named ‘Defender’ of Nanjing
and given responsibilities ashore. Then, in 1430, the Xuande
emperor, perhaps in emulation of Yongle, ordered Zheng He, at the
age of fifty-nine, to undertake one last voyage. This lasted from 1431
to 1433. More than 100 large ships transported 27 550 men to twenty
destinations, though not all were visited by the main fleet. Zheng He
died in 1435 at Nanjing, where his tomb can still be seen. In the
course of his seven voyages he had personally visited thirty-seven
countries as the foremost ambassador of his age.

Sea power, tribute and trade

Reconstruction of Ming ‘treasure ship’ compared to Columbus’s St Maria, fifteenth

century. (Jan Adkins from Louise E. Levathes,When China Ruled the Seas,

Simon and Schuster, New York, 1994.)

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