During Yongle period, due to his strong national power, Ming Chengzu showed China's prosperity to foreign countries, and he was deeply dissatisfied with the passive overseas policy in the early Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the foreign policy of the imperial court changed. After he ascended the throne, he sent eunuchs abroad and called on all countries to move closer to North Korea, which undoubtedly enhanced the prestige of Ming Chengzu. Zheng He's voyage to the West enabled him to show off his troops overseas, brag about the prosperity of China, and publicize Wade of the Ming Dynasty to overseas countries. At the same time, he also wants to use Yang Wei overseas to alleviate the dissatisfaction of some people who seized the throne by force at home and abroad. In some books, it is said that Cheng Zu of Ming Dynasty sent Zheng He to the Western Ocean to find the whereabouts of his emperor Zhu Yunwen. It is said that after the war in Jingnan, Zhu Yunwen escaped, and I don't know where he went. Ming Chengzu's throne was won from his nephew Wen Jian after the Jingnan Rebellion. In the view of very suspicious Ming, this is naturally the most worrying thing. Ming Chengzu suspected that he had fled overseas to take refuge, fearing that he would pose a threat to himself in the future, so he sent Zheng He to the Western Seas to spy on Wen Jian in order to prevent future troubles.
The huge fleet led by Zheng He is neither an ordinary merchant fleet nor an ordinary diplomatic mission, but a fleet organized by feudal rulers with dual tasks of diplomacy and trade.
One of his missions is to attract foreign countries to pay tribute and establish relations with them. In order to accomplish this task, the first thing Zheng He did after his voyage to the West was to publicize the imperial edict of Ming Chengzu. Declare to all countries: the Ming emperor was the king of a great country according to the destiny of heaven, and he ruled the world according to the will of the "king of heaven". Governors from all walks of life and foreigners from all walks of life should do as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty said. Countries should not bully the weak and enjoy peace in the world. If I ask you to join me, you will get a generous return.
The second thing is to give gifts. Give imperial edicts and silver seals to kings of various countries, give crowns to kings and officials at all levels, and express their willingness to establish and develop friendly relations with those countries. The third thing is to establish friendly relations with countries in the South China Sea (now the Straits of Malacca).
1. Propagandize the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty (for political purposes); 4. Expanding tribute trade (economic purpose); 3. Looking for the missing Emperor Wen Jian. The purpose of going out to sea is to meet the Buddha's teeth and strengthen ties with other countries.
The significance of Zheng He's voyage to the West;
GavinMenzies, a former British naval officer and marine historian, published "China Discovers the World" in 142 1, arguing that Zheng He's fleet was ahead of Columbus and discovered America and Oceania. The evidence comes from the General Map of the World in the 16th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (14 18), which reflects the scene that people all over the world pay tribute to Judy, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty. In the upper left corner of the map, there is a note that says, "Anyone who has not added a red circle will not be named in the original map", that is, those who have a red circle on the map will be marked with "all the tributes in the world" on the original map. In the 28 years after 1405, Zheng He led his fleet to the Western Ocean for seven times, and the route crossed the Indian Ocean from the Western Pacific to the east coast of west asia and africa, passing through more than 30 countries and regions. His voyage was 87 years earlier than Columbus' discovery of America, 92 years earlier than Bibida Gama and 1 14 years earlier than Magellan. Because the fire in the Forbidden City in the 19th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty burned up most of Zheng He's information on his voyages to the West, China people can't see it today. In the history of world navigation, he opened a direct route across the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. 600 years ago, from 65438 to 0405, in 28 years, Zheng He led more than 200 ships of the Ming Dynasty in China to sail in the world waters and visit various countries. According to the estimation of Dr. Joseph Needham of Harvard University, a famous British historian, during the period of 1420, there should be no less than 3,800 ships in China in the Ming Dynasty, exceeding the sum of European ships at that time. Today's western scholars and experts also admit that for all countries in the world at that time, the size and strength of the fleet led by Zheng He were unparalleled.
It is said that at the beginning of Ming Dynasty, China's national strength was strong, and China's navy crossed the ocean, realizing the tribute of various countries, and tracing the Han and Tang Dynasties in the prosperous times; It strengthened the ties between the Ming government of China and overseas countries, spread advanced Chinese civilization to overseas countries, and strengthened the exchanges between eastern and western civilizations. This was the last world event in the ancient history of China, and there was no such feat since then. It changed the sea ban policy since Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, and opened up overseas trade.
Zheng He has been to more than 30 countries, including Java, Sumatra, Sulu, Xiang Peng, Zhenwax, Guri, Siam, Adan, Tian Fang, Zoufal, Hume, Mugushu, as far away as the east coast of Africa, the Red Sea, Mecca and possibly Australia. These records all represent the pinnacle of China's maritime exploration, more than 80 years earlier than the western explorer Da Gama Columbus and others. At that time, the Ming dynasty was ahead of the west in navigation technology, fleet size, sailing distance, duration and related fields.
In the historical significance of Zheng He's voyage to the Western Seas, there are many overseas interpretations. "In the era of Zheng He, China really assumed the responsibility of a civilized country: strong but not hegemonic, spreading goodwill to friendly countries, publicizing rewards, and accumulating wealth."
In the long-term influence of Zheng He's overseas political intervention in the Western Seas, the most important thing is to manipulate the Straits of Malacca (the main road of China's trade with the ocean) and choose to support the bandit leader, Thyme Misura, who was awarded the national seal and imperial robe by Zheng He in 1409. Thyme Misura personally paid tribute to China, making her stronghold in Malacca swamp an increasingly prosperous commercial center.