#218 - Ming 11: Soon May the Treasure Fleet Come
Zheng He & Co. have left the station and are sailing out! They leave the safety of the Yangtze River and set their compasses southbound and down, first to Fujian, then to Vietnam, Java, Sri Lanka, and finally all the way to India, all in the name of trade and riches. But the return journey will turn out to be anything but a pleasure-cruise. Between pirate raiders adn deadly storms, they might need a miracle to pull this off...
Time Period Covered:
1405-1407 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433/5]
Chen Zuyi, Pirate Lord Extraordinaire [d. 1407]
Ma Huan, Chinese Muslim translator & chronicler [1380-1460]
Major Sources Cited:
Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.
Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.
Pregadio, Fabrizio (2004). The Encyclopedia of Taoism.