How Did Zheng He Voyages

Zheng He was Chinese admiral who sailed across the western seas from China to the east coast of Africa and other points in the Indian Ocean. He was captured as a prisoner at the age of ten, after watching his father die at the hands of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China for nearly 300 years, from the middle of the fourteenth century to the middle of the sixteenth century. As a prisoner, Zheng He, whose former name was Ma He was forced to join the thousands of eunuchs. While he was still a young man, his rank in the military rose, and became a trusted advisor of the emperor. Emperor Yongle gave Zheng He an order to lead a group of ships through the Coast of China and across the Indian Ocean; this was the first voyage of seven. Zheng He received thousands of soldiers, bundles of Chinese silk, and an enormous ship. The emperor gave him those …show more content…
The high amount of people on the ship made a large amount of resources needed. Grand amounts of money were spent on these resources, which was used unnecessarily because there were people who were not needed on the ship. The chart titled Zheng He’s Fleet by the Numbers showed the different crew members and the amount of them on each voyage. There were about 27,000 people on the ship for the first voyage. Of these people, there were 5 fortune tellers, and 2 ceremonial officers.(Document C). These people easily could have been removed from the voyage, and the result of the voyage would have been better or the same. A fortune teller was not needed in order for Zheng He to sail across the western seas of China, nor was a ceremonial officer. Adding these people in the ship made a need for more resources, which wasted money that could have been saved or used. Zheng He should not be celebrated for bringing an unnecessary amount of people on the ship that did not contribute to the