Sea Sorrow: A Memorial for Zheng He's Six Hundred Years of Navigation

Author: Liu Dengge
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: On world maps from the early 15th century, only China could capture people's attention. China held the reins of the world, as it was the most powerful empire in the world, with no nation or force capable of challenging it. The number and scale of Zheng He's fleet were not surpassed by Western fleets until 500 years later, during World War I. Openness leads to prosperity, while closure leads to decline: embracing the sea leads to survival, while turning away from it leads to destruction! Why did Zheng He's maritime expeditions last only 28 years? Why did the maritime explorations of the Four Seas people continue endlessly? Why did Zheng He's grand voyages yield little fruit? Why did Columbus's small-scale voyages have a huge impact? Six hundred years ago, Zheng He led the largest fleet in the world at that time, making seven voyages to the Western Ocean. He began maritime exploration 87 years earlier than Columbus; sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa 92 years before Vasco da Gama; and circumnavigated the globe 116 years before Ferdinand Magellan. Why, after China had an absolute advantage at sea, did it abandon it? Why did the 1,000-year maritime tradition of the East suddenly reach its peak and then abruptly end? Why did Zheng He's maritime activities not have a more positive impact on Chinese or world civilization and historical progress? Why did ancient Chinese science and technology once lead the world for over a thousand years but fail to produce modern natural science? History is a mirror; by reflecting on it, one can understand rise and fall. In the mirror of Zheng He, there is regret and disappointment, but also pride and glory; there is lament and despair, but also passion and brilliance.
Six hundred years ago, people in distant East Africa described Zheng He's voyages like this: The Ming fleet drifted over like a cloud and vanished like a cloud. For the people of East Africa at that time, Zheng He's voyages were as mysterious and extraordinary as visitors from outer space, far beyond their imagination. Six hundred years of time passing, the stars and constellations shifting, countless ordinary and extraordinary days slipping through the gaps in our fingers. Today, China has become the fastest-developing country in the world. From the Great Wall to the Yangtze River, from land to sea, the ancient land of China has never been as vibrant as it is today.