Some of the voyages included a crew of as many as 28,000 men. Although Cheng Ho was nominally in charge of all seven expeditions, he did not personally participate in all of them.
Historians suggest a number of reasons for the voyages. Part of the immediate impetus for the expeditions ordered by the Yongle emperor is said to have been the search for his nephew and predecessor, the Jianwen emperor, Zhu Yunwen (1377-?), whose throne Zhu Di had seized in 1402. There were rumors that Zhu Yunwen was still alive and living abroad, so, according to an unofficial history of the time, the emperor ordered Cheng Ho to search for him across the seas.
The purpose of the expeditions is best described as diplomatic. The size and grandeur of the expeditions, designed to inspire awe, expressed the majesty and power of Zhu Di and the dragon throne to distant lands. Although their mission was primarily peaceful, most members of the crew were troops who were well equipped to defend the fleet and its interests. The most dramatic example of this was the Chinese military victory in Sri Lanka on the third voyage (1409-1411) after a refusal to pay tribute.
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