Timeline of the Ming treasure voyages
This is a timeline of the Ming dynasty treasure voyages from 1405 to 1433.
Voyages of Zheng He (1405 - 1433).
1370s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1371 | Ma He, son of Hajji, son of Hajji, son of Bayan, son of Ajall Shams al-Din Omar, is born in Kunyang Subdistrict, Yunnan, near Kunming[1] |
1380s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1381 | Ming conquest of Yunnan: Ming dynasty invades Yunnan and Ma He is captured; his father Hajji is killed at the age of 39[2] | |
| 1385 | Ma He is castrated and enters the service of Zhu Di[3] |
1390s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1399 | December | Jingnan Campaign: Ma He successfully defends Beiping's reservoirs[4] |
1400s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1402 | 17 July | Zhu Di becomes the Yongle Emperor and promotes Ma He to the Grand Director (Taijian) of the Directorate of Palace Servants[4] |
| 1403 | 4 September | Orders are issued for the construction of 200 "seagoing transport ships"[5] |
| 1404 | 11 February | Yongle Emperor confers the surname Zheng on Ma He[6] |
| 1 March | Orders are issued for the construction of 50 "seagoing ships"[7] | |
| 1405 | 11 July | Zheng He and 27,800 men depart from Nanjing on 255 ships, of which 62 are treasure ships, "bearing imperial letters to the countries of the Western Ocean and with gifts to their kings of gold brocade, patterned silks, and colored silk gauze, according to their status." The fleet proceeds to Liujiagang where it is separated into squadrons and the crews pray to Mazu, goddess of sailors.[8] |
| August | Treasure fleet reaches the mouth of the Min River and assembles at Taiping Anchorage in Changle District[9] | |
| December | Treasure fleet departs for Champa and after 15 days arrives at Qui Nhơn, where "most of the men take up fishing for a livelihood"[10] | |
| 1406 | Treasure fleet visits Malacca and Java before heading up the Straits of Malacca to Aru, Samudera Pasai Sultanate, and Lambri, where the people are described as "very honest and genuine," and from there 3 days to the Andaman Islands, and then 8 more days to the west coast of Ceylon where the king reacts with hostility. The fleet departs for Calicut, which is described as "the Great country of the Western Ocean"[11] | |
| 1407 | Treasure fleet makes the return voyage and stops at Malacca to pick up Parameswara and envoys[12] | |
| Treasure fleet defeats Chen Zuyi's pirate fleet at Palembang and installs Shi Jinqing as "grand chieftain ruling over the native people of that place"[13] | ||
| 2 October | Treasure fleet arrives at Nanjing[12] | |
| 5 October | Wang Hao is ordered to refit 249 "sea transport ships" in "preparation for embassies to the countries of the Western Ocean"[14] | |
| 23 October | Yongle Emperor issues orders for the second voyage and to confer formal investiture on the king of Calicut[15] | |
| Yongle Emperor summons Javanese envoys to demand restitution for killing 710 Chinese and settles for 10,000 ounces of gold[16] | ||
| 29 October | Yongle Emperor bestows merit upon the officers and men of the treasure fleet[17] | |
| 30 October | A eunuch Grand Director departs with an imperial letter for the king of Champa[15] | |
| Zheng He departs with a fleet of 249 ships and takes a route similar to the first voyage with the addition of stops at Jiayile, Abobadan, Ganbali, Quilon, and Cochin[18] | ||
| 1408 | 14 February | Orders for the construction of 48 treasure ships are issued from the Ministry of Works in Nanjing[19] |
| 1409 | January | Orders are issued for the third voyage[20] |
| 15 February | The Galle Trilingual Inscription is produced[21] | |
| Treasure fleet makes the return voyage and stops at the Similan Islands to cut logs for incense[20] | ||
| summer | Treasure fleet returns to China[18] | |
| October | Zheng He departs with 27,000 men, taking the usual route[21] |
1410s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1410 | Ming–Kotte War: Treasure fleet lands at Galle in Ceylon and captures King Vijayabahu VI of the Kingdom of Gampola[21] | |
| 1411 | 6 July | Treasure fleet returns to Nanjing[22] |
| 1412 | 18 December | Yongle Emperor issues orders for the fourth voyage[23] |
| 1413 | autumn | Zheng He departs from Nanjing and takes the usual route with the addition of 4 new destinations: the Maldives, Bitra, Chetlat Island, and Hormuz, which is given the following description: "Foreign ships from every place, together with foreign merchants traveling by land, all come to this territory in order to gather together and buy and sell, and therefore the people of this country are all rich"[24] |
| 1415 | Treasure fleet captures Sekandar, a rebel against Zain al-'Abidin, king of the Samudera Pasai Sultanate[25] | |
| 12 August | Treasure fleet arrives back in Nanjing[26] | |
| 13 August | Zheng He's colleague is sent on a mission bearing gifts to Bengal[26] | |
| 1416 | 19 November | Yongle Emperor bestows gifts upon ambassadors from 18 countries[27] |
| 19 December | Yongle Emperor issues orders for the fifth voyage[28] | |
| 1417 | autumn | Zheng He departs China taking the previous route to Hormuz, and then Aden, Mogadishu, Barawa, Zhubu, and Malindi[29] |
| 1419 | 8 August | Treasure fleet returns to China |
| 20 September | Ambassadors present exotic animals to the Ming court including a giraffe imported from Somalia by Bengalis[30] | |
| 2 October | Orders are issued for the construction of 41 treasure ships[19] |
1420s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1421 | 3 March | Orders are issued for the sixth voyage and envoys from 16 countries including Hormuz are given gifts of paper and coin money, and ceremonial robes and linings[31] |
| 14 May | Yongle Emperor orders the suspension of the treasure voyages[32] | |
| 10 November | Orders are issued to Zheng He to provide Hong Bao and envoys from 16 countries passage back to their countries; the treasure fleet takes its usual route to Ceylon where it splits up and heads for the Maldives, Hormuz, and the Arabian states of Djofar, Lasa, and Aden, and the two African states of Mogadishu and Barawa; Zheng He visits Ganbali[33] | |
| 1422 | Treasure fleet regroups at Samudera Pasai Sultanate and visit Siam before heading back to China[33] | |
| 3 September | Treasure fleet returns to China bringing envoys from Siam, Samudera Pasai Sultanate, and Aden[34] | |
| 1424 | 27 February | Zheng He is sent on a diplomatic mission to Palembang to confer "a gauze cap, a ceremonial robe with floral gold woven into gold patterns in the silk, and a silver seal" on Shi Jinqing's son Shi Jisun[35] |
| 12 August | Yongle Emperor dies[36] | |
| 7 September | Zhu Gaozhi becomes Hongxi Emperor and terminates the treasure voyages[36] | |
| 1425 | 29 May | Hongxi Emperor dies[37] |
| 27 June | Zhu Zhanji becomes Xuande Emperor[38] | |
| 1428 | 25 March | Xuande Emperor orders Zheng He to supervise the reconstruction of the Great Baoen Temple[39] |
1430s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1430 | 25 May | Arrangements are made for the provisions of another voyage[40] |
| 29 June | Xuande Emperor issues orders for the seventh voyage[41] | |
| 1431 | 19 January | Treasure fleet departs from Nanjing[42] |
| 23 January | The fleet stops at an island on the Yangtze to hunt animals[42] | |
| 3 February | Treasure fleet arrives at Liujiagang[42] | |
| 14 March | Liujiagang Inscription is erected[43] | |
| 8 April | Treasure fleet arrives at Changle[42] | |
| December | The Changle Inscription is erected and the fleet departs from Changle[43] | |
| 16 December | Treasure fleet arrives near Fuzhou[44] | |
| 1432 | 27 January | Treasure fleet arrives at Vijaya[42] |
| 12 February | Treasure fleet departs from Vijaya[42] | |
| 7 March | Treasure fleet arrives at Surabaya[45] | |
| 13 July | Treasure fleet departs from Surabaya[45] | |
| 24 July | Treasure fleet arrives at Palembang[45] | |
| 27 July | Treasure fleet departs from Palembang[45] | |
| 3 August | Treasure fleet arrives at Malacca[46] | |
| 2 September | Treasure fleet departs from Malacca[46] | |
| 12 September | Treasure fleet arrives at Samudera Pasai Sultanate and Hong Bao and Ma Huan detach from the fleet to visit Bengal[46][47] | |
| 2 November | Treasure fleet departs from Samudera Pasai Sultanate[46] | |
| 14 November | Treasure fleet anchors at Great Nicobar Island for three days; the natives there trade coconuts in log boats[48] | |
| 28 November | Treasure fleet arrives at Beruwala[46] | |
| 2 December | Treasure fleet departs from Beruwala[46] | |
| 10 December | Treasure fleet arrives at Calicut[48] | |
| 14 December | Treasure fleet departs from Calicut[48] | |
| 1433 | Zheng He dies[49] | |
| Hong Bao and Ma Huan arrive in Calicut and send seven men to Mecca while Hong Bao visits Djofar, Lasa, Aden, Mogadishu, and Barawa before heading back to China[50] | ||
| 17 January | Treasure fleet arrives at Hormuz[48] | |
| 9 March | Treasure fleet departs from Hormuz and heads back to China[51] | |
| 31 March | Treasure fleet arrives at Calicut[51] | |
| 9 April | Treasure fleet departs from Calicut[51] | |
| 25 April | Treasure fleet arrives at Samudera Pasai Sultanate[51] | |
| 1 May | Treasure fleet departs from Samudera Pasai Sultanate[51] | |
| 9 May | Treasure fleet arrives at Malacca[51] | |
| 13 June | Treasure fleet arrives at Vijaya[51] | |
| 17 June | Treasure fleet departs from Vijaya[51] | |
| 7 July | Treasure fleet arrives in China[52] | |
| 14 September | Envoys from Samudera Pasai Sultanate, Calicut, Cochin, Ceylon, Djofar, Aden, Coimbatore, Hormuz, Kayal, and Mecca present tribute[53] | |
| Ma Huan publishes his Yingya Shenglan[54] | ||
| 1434 | Gong Zhen publishes his Xiyang Fanguo Zhi[54] | |
| 1436 | Ming dynasty bans building seagoing ships[55] | |
| Fei Xin publishes his Xingcha Shenglan[55] |
1460s
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1464 | Documents of the treasure voyages are removed from the archives of the Ministry of War and destroyed by Liu Daxia on the basis that they were "deceitful exaggerations of bizarre things far removed from the testimony of people's ears and eyes," and that "the expeditions of Sanbao to the Western Ocean wasted tens of myriads of money and grain, and moreover the people who met their deaths [on these expeditions] may be counted in the myriads. Although he returned with wonderful precious things, what benefit was it to the state? This was merely an action of bad government of which ministers should severely disapprove. Even if the old archives were still preserved they should be destroyed in order to suppress [a repetition of these things] at the root."[56] |
References
- Dreyer 2007, p. 11.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 12.
- Levathes 1996, p. 58.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 22.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 104-105.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 23.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 105.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 51-52.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 52.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 52-53.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 53.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 55.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 57.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 62-63.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 59.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 63.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 58.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 64.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 104.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 65.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 66.
- Duyvendak 1938, p. 361.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 75.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 77-78.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 79.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 81.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 82.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 76.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 83.
- Duyvendak 1938, p. 402.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 91.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 138.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 93.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 94.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 57-58.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 137.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 140.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 135.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 142.
- Mills 1970, p. 57.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 144.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 151.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 145.
- Mills 1970, p. 15.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 152.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 153.
- Mills 1970, p. 35.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 154.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 165.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 158.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 160.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 161.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 162-163.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 219.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 171.
- Dreyer 2007, p. 173.
Bibliography
- Church, Sally K. (2005), Zheng He: An Investigation into the Plausibility of 450-ft Treasure Ships, Monumenta Serica Institute
- Dreyer, Edward L. (2007), Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433, Pearson Longman
- Duyvendak, J.J.L. (1938), "The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century", T'oung Pao, 34 (5): 341–413, doi:10.1163/156853238X00171
- Levathes, Louise (1996), When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-1433, Simon & Schuster
- Mills, J.V.G. (1970), Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' [1433], Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- Needham, Joseph (1971), Science and Civilization in China Volume 4 Part 3, Cambridge At The University Press
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