Why Is Zheng He Be Celebrated

Ma Ha was a young man when he quickly rose through the military rank and became the advisor of the Chinese Emperor Yongle. The Emperor gave him wealth, power, and even a new name. Formerly known as Ma Ha, Zheng He led a total of seven voyages through the South China Sea, the Indian ocean and the Arabian sea from 1405 to 1433. His mission was to establish new trade relationships, find new land and show off the power and wealth of China. He traveled to many countries and gave many gifts in the name of China, yet he is not celebrated as other sea travelers like Christopher Columbus are. Zheng He’s voyages should not be celebrated because he did not discover any new lands, his voyages created less biodiversity, and he promoted violence against foreign people.

Zheng He should not be celebrated because he traveled to ports already know to China. Other explorers like Columbus discovered new lands or like Magellan, found new, shorter routes to existing countries. Zheng He was not prepared to do either of these things. Zheng He took with him large, wide treasure ships to carry his precious good. These ships were not built for
Evidence of Zheng He’s violence can be found in the Changle Inscription. The Changle Inscription is a record of Zheng He’s voyages, carved into a stone pillar right before He departed on his last voyage in 1431. The Changle Inscription described the enslavement of the people of the countries he visited. The Changle Inscription directly states that “...there are none who have not become subjects and slaves…” (Doc. E). Zheng He and his men also captured any kings who did not want the chinese in their country. The Changle Inscription also showed that if any commoners or “barbarians” as Zheng He called them resisted, Zheng He had them killed. Zheng He should not be celebrated because he killed and enslaved anyone who did not what to bow down to