Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
direction given is incorrect, and Cheng Ho's chart should be regarded as the fi nal
authority. The opening up of the sea route was the joint work of the Asian and
African peoples who inhabited those districts. As has been pointed out before, it
was by following this route, and by enlisting the guidance of the expert Arabian
sailor, Ibn Madjid, that da Gama successfully accomplished his voyage at the end of
the fi fteenth century.
Cheng Ho's voyages must not be looked on as a fortuitous incident. They were
an important extension of the oversea communications and friendly trade rela-
tions that had long existed between the Asian and African peoples. Offi cial orga-
nization enabled these voyages to be carried out on an unprecedented scale, but
it did nothing to change their nature, since there is ample evidence to show that
these voyages aimed primarily at enlarging oversea trade. That the Ming court
was also eager to hunt down foreign treasures and fancy products need not be
denied, but the means adopted remained as always one of peaceful exchange and
free bartering. Trade relations built on such a basis naturally fostered diplomatic
relations. What is more important, following these voyages, private trade also
had considerable development. The immense amount of gold, silver, coins, silken
fabrics, chinaware and copper ware with which Cheng Ho's fl eet was loaded, was
a means to promote private trade, in return for such exotic goods as spiceries,
dyes, pearls, precious stones and rare birds and animals (lions, zebras, ostriches,
leopards, giraffes, etc.).
27
The fl eet also carried foreign messengers and mer-
chants back and forth. All in all, China's private oversea trade greatly expanded
during this period.
To sum up, Cheng Ho's voyages were a powerful stimulant to the oversea trade
and cultural interfl ow between China on the one hand and South Asia and East
Africa on the other. The direct route connecting China with East Africa marks, in
particular, a new stage in oversea communications.
But ever since da Gama “discovered” this route to the Orient, more and more
Westerners followed in his wake. Not satisfi ed with merely reaching India, they
kept pushing farther eastward, and it did not take them long to sail through the
Strait of Malacca and enter the South China Sea, arriving eventually in 1516 at
Canton, which formed the southern entrance to China on the seaboard. In the van
were the Portuguese, while many other nations of Western Europe, such as Spain,
Holland, Great Britain and France, showed an equally ardent desire not to be left
behind.
Since then a totally different chapter in the history of oversea communications
between the East and the West has to be written and here is the proper place for the
present study to stop.
27
Details concerning these transactions, please see
Ying Ya Lan Sheng
(
Wonders Overseas
), Xing
Cha Sheng Lan (
Description of the Starry Raft
), and
Xi Yang Fan Guo Zhi
(
Foreign States in the
West Sea
). Upon arrival, Chinese vessels would give presents to the local authorities in the name
of Ming Dynasty. Then the local authorities or executives would command the people to start com-
mercial activities.
