Following Zheng He

The name Zheng He does not come to mind when we think of the world's first navigators though he traveled and explored many years before his counterparts in Europe.

Legacy of Zheng He

• He made 7 voyages in 28 years.

• In his initial expedition, which began in 1405, he set out to find the deposed Emperor, Yongle's nephew, who was thought to have taken refuge somewhere in Southeast Asia. The voyage was also a chance for the young dynasty to show the world the power and capability of the Ming ruler.

• The 7th treasure ship expedition was in 1430, for increased prestige and restoration of the tribute trade. According to some sources, this was the largest expedition, incorporating 300 ships and up to 30,000 men.

• The ships that Zheng would sail throughout the Indian Ocean retraced some of the routes taken by Ibn Battuta. He navigated to East Africa, Makkah, the Persian Gulf, East Africa, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Arabia and throughout the Indian Ocean decades before Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama.

• Zheng He ranks as perhaps Chinaâ's foremost adventurer. A Muslim and a warrior, he helped transform China into the region's, and perhaps the world's, superpower of his time.

• Gavin Menzies, author of 1421 (a book about Zheng Heâ's voyages), controversially theorizes that Zheng He arrived in America more than 70 years before Columbus. His evidence is from maps dating before Columbus' trip that show America, and astronomical maps traced back to Zheng He's time.

Source : http://www.1001inventions.com