Zheng He
Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433)
The early years
Zheng He also known as Cheng ho was born in Kunming city of Yunnan province in 1371 during the ming dynasty. His original surname was Ma, but was later changed to Zheng as an imperial honor.
He was raised as a Muslim and studied the teachings of Islam at an early age. Both his father and grandfather made the pilgrimage to Mecca and were familiar with far off lands. This is where his curiosity for the outside world began.
Zheng He was captured by the Ming dynasty forces during a military cleansing at the age of 10 where he was taken to Beijing and castrated, becoming a eunuch for the emperor, and lived within the imperial palace grounds. His main task was to serve Zhu Di, the prince of Yan and future emperor of China.
Young adulthood
Zheng He was extremely loyal and quite brilliant, which won the trust and friendship of the young prince Zhu Di. Zheng He served as the princes personal bodyguard and faught along side the prince in many battles, often influencing the victory and outcome of each battle with his miltary prowess. He also help the prince secure his position as the Emperor of China. Once the prince gained the imperial throne, he promoted Zheng He to the position of Grand Eunuch, leaving him in charge of the thousands of Eunuchs at the imperial palace.
His career
Zheng Hes career, gaining the trust of the emperor at a young age, allowed him to lead the path in exploration and was sent off with a crew of over 23,000 to explore the outside world. He was left to do much maritime exploration, foreign diplomacy, and military affairs. He did many voyages, reaching as far as East Africa, among much researching into astrology, geography, marine sciences, and shipbuilding and repair. He visited over 30 Asian and African countries and regions and led seven voyages. He was ultimately called back due to the mongols attack on the north of China and the lack of extra resources to fund the exhibitions. This could have proved a bad mistake, since he wasnt far off from reaching the Americas and claiming the territory under the name of China.
Navigator (Zheng He in Comparison to Columbus)
Zheng He (1405 - 1433) - 48 to 317 Ships and 28,000 Crew members
Columbus (1492) - 3 Ships and 90 Crew members
REFERENCES
1. http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/zhenhe/131897.htm (Chinaculture.org June 14, 2005)
2. http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=10387 (Zheng He's Voyages of Discovery)