Historical Context: Zheng He

Once choosing a Chinese Junk Ship as our environment project we were all compelled to find out more about their history. When did they come about and why? What purpose did they serve? How long did they thrive for? These were the types of questions that would give a reason for our ship to be a certain way. We could then perhaps think of interesting ways of presenting our final piece. We could even think about having a small narrative running through our empty boat. The story could be then told by the objects in the boat.

Having researched many resources including the web, books and even a television documentary my group ascertained a great deal of information about the rise of the junk ship and thereby, the rise of the east during the late 1300's. The man behind it was Admiral Zheng He: a Muslim eunuch said to have been seven feet tall.

The story was so interesting that I must attempt to explain my own interpretation of it.

The young muslim boy was a normal child from a province in China in a time where the emperors' word was held as divine. By order of the emperor of the time, his village was torn apart by imperial soldiers and he himself was made a eunuch by force to then serve in the royal court. Yet it was this very cruel set of circumstances that led to his latter fortune. He became friends with the prince who was very fond of Zheng He. When the prince was crowned the emperor of China, he shared a vision with Zheng He to set sail and discover the rest of the world. The Chinese Armada had thousands of ships ready for trade, social interaction and even war. Zhang He was entrusted as the Admiral of this grand fleet.  The ships of Zheng He sailed through Asia to as far as the African continent.

The voyages of this massive fleet created the biggest social interaction in history and Zheng He grew popular and powerful as China's ambassador.

Meanwhile back in the royal courts of China a conflict grew between the open minded, experimental Eunuchs and the more traditional, conservative Confucian followers. The Confucian followers felt threatened by the Eunuchs and once Zheng He's friend and emperor passed away, the end had come to  Zheng He's exploration. His armada was disassembled and the Confucian way of life became dominant once again. So much so, that although Zhang He discovered places up to 8 decades before Colombus and Vasco da Gama, his name was erased from history by his own people.

Probably the most interesting of all was the impact this may have had on the world. At this stage, the world was heavily influenced by the east and some experts believe that if China continued trade then the east would have maintained this until today. Some people believe that the discontinuation of Chinas' trade was what led to the west having the greatest influence of today. This is all speculation, however this story encapsulates a mans legacy, his rise and fall, and how this one person may have changed the course of history with his vision to explore the world.