These Ming voyages have attracted considerable scholarly
interest, as much for their unexploited potential as for their impor-
tance for the history of Chinese foreign relations and diplomacy.
Nowhere in the Ming records is the purpose of these great expeditions
explicitly stated. Scholars have debated the reasons why they were
dispatched, why they were on such a vast scale, why they ended so
abruptly, and why they were all but forgotten subsequently. That these
expeditions—or at least the first one or two—were dispatched to seek
out Yongle’s young nephew (and pretender to the throne) can proba-
bly be dismissed. Personal aggrandisement and Yongle’s need to bolster
his political legitimacy by ensuring that a steady stream of foreign
ambassadors came to pay him homage in his new capital at Beijing
almost certainly played a part. Another possible reason may have been
that closure of overland trade routes convinced Yongle of the need to
compensate by controlling maritime routes. There is evidence that
imports of goods from both Southeast and South Asia fell short of
demand during the Hongwu period, and Yongle required a steady
supply of luxuries. Moreover, as the emperor was personally interested
in fostering diplomatic relations with Southeast Asia and the Western
Ocean, he may have wanted more information about them.
These reasons, even combined, are still not entirely convincing.
Even though Chinese demand for overseas products had grown sub-
stantially since the days of the Tang and Song, this could presumably
have been met by encouraging more private traders to come to
Chinese ports. For the Ming, however, maritime trade had to accom-
pany tribute, not just to ensure official control over greedy merchants,
but to enforce acceptance of the Chinese world order.
The size of the Ming fleets was designed to overawe and bring
submission through recognition of the superiority of Chinese civili-
sation and power. Ideally, power was not to be used in an aggressive
way. Ritualised submission was sufficient to satisfy the Ming court that
surrounding kingdoms accepted the Chinese world order and its status
hierarchy. To explain how this worked, Zheng He carried with him
A Short History of China and Southeast Asia