What tradition did Zheng He's voyage to the West embody in China's ancient diplomacy?

Zheng He's voyage to the West embodies the tradition of mutual respect, peace, equality and mutual benefit, and serving others with virtue.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, due to the efforts of Zhu Yuanzhang for thirty-one years, the agricultural economy recovered. Handicraft industry has also developed greatly: mining and metallurgy, textiles, ceramics, paper making and printing have all been improved to varying degrees than before. China's silk, porcelain and even some European countries have won a high reputation. In particular, the development of shipbuilding industry, the progress of navigation technology (including the use of compass, the accumulation of navigation experience and the improvement of navigation knowledge), the training of a large number of sailors, the recovery and development of industry and commerce in the early Ming Dynasty, the development of China's overseas trade since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the increase of foreign immigrants all prepared a solid economic foundation for Zheng He's voyage to the West and provided relatively strong material conditions. The strong national conditions and developed trade in the early Ming Dynasty itself required strengthening ties with overseas countries and expanding overseas trade and exchanges. Ming Taizu's "Da Ming Zahua" compiled in 1389 is an example. The Ming emperor Judy further expanded overseas trade and decided to organize a powerful fleet to go to "western" countries.

Development of shipbuilding technology in China since Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties;

The continuous development of compass and artillery technology in ancient China provided a guarantee for large-scale ocean navigation.

Ming Chengzu Chengzu preached great power and national prestige for political purposes.

China's maritime trade tradition In the Yuan Dynasty, when China's maritime trade was very developed [15], it had several ports with the largest trade volume in the world at that time, the most powerful navy in the world and a large number of civilian and merchant ships, which laid the foundation for the navigation of the Ming Dynasty.

Local support: Jiangsu, Fujian and other support.

The feudal centralization of power in the Ming Dynasty can mobilize forces to do great things and provide economic support and military power guarantee.

Sailors on Zheng He's fleet, Ming soldiers, translators and others worked together.

Fleet establishment

Zheng He's fleet of voyages to the West is a huge fleet, which is completely compiled according to maritime navigation and military organization. At that time, it was a powerful maritime mobile formation in the world. Many foreign scholars call Zheng He's fleet a task force, and Zheng He is the commander-in-chief of the navy. After a comprehensive analysis of the world history of this period, Dr. Needham, an internationally renowned scholar and British, came to the conclusion that "the navy of the Ming Dynasty may be stronger than any Asian country in history, or even any European country in the same period, so that all European countries together are inferior to the navy of the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng He's fleet to the Western Seas is a military organization based on maritime navigation and the tasks undertaken.

First of all, there are many people.

The number of Zheng He's voyages to the West is clearly recorded as four times in historical materials.

Zheng He made more than 27,000 voyages to the West. There are about 5 guards in the Ming army, each with 5,000-5,500 people; Judging from Wu Zhishu, it mainly comes from coastal hospitals. At that time, the number of people sailing in the west through Columbus, Da Gama and Magellan was 90-150 respectively; /kloc-above 0/70; 265 people. Here, we are not simply talking about quantity, but explaining a scientific truth. The number of sailors reflects a kind of strength, especially in ancient society, which needs material support from all sides and is not easy.

Second, the fleet establishment.

According to years of research by China naval professionals, Zheng He's fleet consists of three sequences: captain, amphibious unit and honor guard. Naval divisions are the basic units of naval forces and warships. They are organized into formations, which are called forward battalion, rear battalion, middle battalion, left battalion and right battalion. Amphibious troops are used for landing operations; The guard of honor is solemn and powerful when serving as a guard and communicating with foreign countries.

According to the mission of going to the West, Zheng He's crew mainly consists of five parts: command part, navigation part, foreign trade part, logistics support part and military escort part. Command part: the center of the whole fleet, which commands and makes decisions on navigation, diplomacy, trade and operations. Zheng He's post is an imperial eunuch. Navigation part: navigation business, ship repair, weather forecast, etc. Foreign trade: diplomatic etiquette, trade, liaison translation; Logistics support part: managing finance, logistics supply, drafting documents, medical personnel, etc. Military escort part: responsible for navigation safety and military operations. According to the research on the composition of Zheng He's fleet, the compilation was perfect and rigorous, which condensed the rich navigation experience of ancient China people and ensured the realization of Zheng He's voyage to the West.

The purpose of Zheng He's voyage to the West:

Zheng He's motivation and purpose of going to the West are also the motivation and purpose of Ming Chengzu's voyage to the West. The early years of the Ming Dynasty were a period of upward development of the national situation. At this time, in the north, Mongolian forces have been expelled from the Great Wall, and the feudal rule of the Ming Dynasty has been very consolidated. Moreover, with the recovery and development of social economy, the country is becoming stronger and stronger, and it is possible to develop overseas. Ming Chengzu regarded himself as a "benefactor" of "Heaven governs the world" and asked overseas countries to pay tribute. Like the utilitarian feudal emperors of past dynasties, Ming Chengzu also wanted to publicize his national prestige and show his wealth to the outside world.

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 acceded to the throne, he sent eunuchs abroad and called all countries to the DPRK, which undoubtedly improved 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;

5. Strengthen ties with other countries.