During the period 1405 – 1433 under the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), the eunuch Zheng He (1371 – 1433) once ruled seven times on voyages as far as East Africa and the Middle East.
Chinese history books often call them treasure expeditions with the participation of hundreds of ships of enormous size, with a crew of up to 28,000 people and full of riches. But the main purpose was to flaunt the power and wealth of the emperor, as well as to establish China’s maritime commercial influence.
A model of Zheng He’s medium-sized treasure ship (63.25m long) at the shipyard in Nanjing, constructed from cement and wooden planks.
Zheng He spent the last 28 years of his life on such trips (he died in the process or shortly after completing the seventh trip – there is still controversy surrounding this). After Minh Thanh To (1360 – 1424) died, two new kings, Minh Nhan Tong (1378 – 1425) and Minh Tuyen Tong (1398 – 1435) decided to reduce the influence of the inner city (eunuch). The time was no longer interested in sponsoring naval adventures. The shipyard in Nanjing, where the giant ships of Zheng He’s fleet were built, was closed, abandoned, and gradually sunk into oblivion.
If what is recorded in the Chinese documents is true, Zheng He’s treasure ship is truly enormous in size – consisting of 9 sad columns and 4 decks, carrying 500 people and a huge amount of cargo. Some ships are said to be up to 137 meters long and 55 meters wide – at least double the largest European ships of the time. Some even believe they must be about 180 meters long. However, many modern scholars have countered that Zheng He’s ships could not be that large because they had reached the limit of wooden shipbuilding, not to mention being very difficult to use. Historical evidence can be relied on to support this argument, because some ships longer than 100 m in length, such as the battleship HMS Orlando or the corvette Wyoming (of Great Britain) had problems. about texture. When the sea is strong, the hull is very easily bent, causing the long boards to twist and warp, the wooden material will not be able to withstand it. It was not until the nineteenth century that people built iron-hulled ships with a length of 126m and powered by steam engines.
The route that the Zheng He fleet followed was recorded in the history books of China.
Even so, no one denied that the ships in Zheng He’s fleet were very large. According to estimates, the largest may be 119–124 m long, while more conservative estimates place them at 60–76 m. Unlike many ships built for other purposes, Zheng He’s treasure ships are usually of equal length and width, with a V-shaped hull, long keel, and heavy ballast for help them maintain balance. In addition, they are also fixed by multiple floating anchors tied to the side of the ship, and reinforced by sealed compartments filled with water. And yet, the ship also has a balanced rudder (can be raised and lowered), which acts as an auxiliary keel to enhance stability.
Inside a model ship on display at Nanjing Shipyard Park.
In 2005, the city government of Nanjing, China opened a shipyard park where a few miniature prototypes of the Zheng He treasure ship were unearthed in order to propagate and arouse pride. about the illustrious past and cheering the maritime aspirations of the Chinese people.