For decades in the early 1400s a seven-foot tall, Muslim eunuch was the greatest naval commander of the Chinese Ming emperor, forging expeditions and trade routes across the globe, commanding enormous fleets and hardy vessels. And yet, for the most part, Zheng Ye, was until recently, lost in the mists of history.
Ten years ago Vijay Crishna chanced upon Ye, this towering, yet forgotten figure, an encounter that has since led him to further reading and research. Crishna, an executive director with the Godrej family-run businesses, theatreperson and environmentalist, spoke about Ye at the 20th Vasant J. Sheth Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, introducing audiences to the life and voyages of one of China’s and perhaps the world’s greatest naval explorers. This was a man who traversed the globe before Christopher Columbus or Vasco De Gama. “What a journey, what a story,” said Crishna, on Monday, during a meeting before his lecture. “And you got to keep pinching yourself, what’s this? Is it just a story?”
Ye was born in the early 1370s to a Muslim family in Yunnan province, which was taken over by the Chinese Ming dynasty from the Mongols. He was castrated as a child and sent off to work for Zhu Di, the fourth son of the then emperor. Ye became a trusted right-hand man of the young prince over time, and his role amplified once Di took over the throne. As the emperor sought to impress his might upon kingdoms in the region, Ye became the man to do that. “He led these several voyages with the most extraordinary success that anybody has ever had, growing his own reputation also in the process,” said Crishna. “His own emperor who had in any case given him charge of the fleet was eating out of his hands because he made such a huge success.”
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Ye undertook seven major expeditions, forging routes across the Indian Ocean, establishing trade and collecting tribute across South East Asia, where he is still revered, eastern Africa and west Asia. He also stopped in India, on the Calicut (Kozhikode) coast on at least five occasions. Some speculate that he died here during his last voyage, though that has never been proven.
By all accounts the Mings were at the height of their political power and technological prowess during Ye’s lifetime. “These were the last words in technology as far it related to the sea, ship building, how to look after ships, the whole works,” said Crishna. “It was terrific stuff… It is likely that they had damn good technology… The shipyards were certainly streets ahead of anything in the West.”
The written records are scant, since the suspicion is most were destroyed by court officials shortly after his death, owing to political power plays and “court intrigue”. In the past two decades the modern Chinese state has increasingly embraced He’s legacy after centuries of neglect. At the 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing there was a dramatisation of Ye’s story. “Now they take a lot of pride that this non-Chinese guy and a slave at that, or close to it, was an incredible Chinese hero,” he said.
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