What kind of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries did Zheng He's voyages to the West promote?

Compared with land transportation, the maritime transportation between the middle school and the west in the Ming Dynasty was once brilliant. This is 1405 to 1433 of Zheng He's voyages to the West.

Zheng Heyuan, surnamed Ma, was born in Kunyang, Yunnan (now Jinning, Yunnan). He was born in a family that has believed in Islam for generations. My grandfather and father have been to Mecca, the holy place of Islam, so they are called "Hazi". Zheng He listened to his father's story of pilgrimage to the sea since he was a child. The mysterious ocean has always been a place in his heart. Zheng He was only 12 years old when Yunnan was pacified in the Ming Dynasty. He was taken to the palace as a eunuch and assigned to Zhu Yuanzhang's fourth son, Judy, the prince of Yan, as a waiter. Later, Judy revolted in Beiping, launched the "Battle of Jingnan" and seized the throne of his nephew Wen Jian. Zheng He fought bloody battles in the war and made great contributions, which was especially appreciated by Judy. After he ascended the throne, he was promoted to be the eunuch in charge of internal officials and was given the surname Zheng.

Zheng He's first voyage was in June of the third year of Yongle (1405). He led an ocean-going fleet consisting of 62 large treasure ships and more than 27,000 crew members. This large treasure ship, each 44 feet long and 18 feet wide, was equipped with the most advanced navigation equipment in the world at that time, such as charts and compasses. The ship is full of silk, brocade, porcelain, gold and silver, copper coins, iron and other goods. In addition, there are more than 100 small ships. This unprecedented fleet set out from Liujiagang, Suzhou (now Dongliuhe Town, Taicang, Jiangsu Province), crossed the ocean to Changle, Fujian Province, and then set sail from Wuhumen, Minjiang Estuary with the help of the sea trade wind. First to Zhancheng (now southern Vietnam), then to Zhenghe Xiangwa, Jiugang (now a big port in Indonesia), Manzga (now Malacca in Malay Peninsula), Sumatra, then to sail westward to the Indian Ocean, to Mount Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Kezhi (now India's cross toe), and finally to Guri (now India's Kosek de). Guri was then an important port for maritime traffic between China and the West. Zheng He set up a navigation monument there. Then use the monsoon to return to China in the autumn of the fifth year of Yongle (1407).

Zheng He's second voyage was from 1407 to 1409. The route and location of the fleet are basically the same as the first time. 19 1 1 year, Zheng He's nautical monument was discovered in Galle, Sri Lanka. Written in Chinese, Tamil and Persian, the inscription clearly describes the activities of Zheng He's fleet in Sri Lanka.

The third voyage is from 1409 to 14 1 1 year. This time, Zheng He's fleet has 48 ships and 27,000 people. The sailing route and the place of arrival are still roughly the same as the previous two times. During this voyage, Zheng He built fences and warehouses in Malaga, which is located at the crossroads of maritime traffic, as an intermediate transit point for maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty.

The fourth voyage is only one year away from the last time I returned to China. The fleet set out in the winter of 14 13. After arriving in Zhancheng, sail to Kelantan (now Kelantan, Malaysia), Pahang, Java, Jiugang, Malaga, Sumatra, Ceylon Mountain, Slippery Mountain (now Maldives), Kezhi and Guri; Finally arrived in rushmore (now Hormuz). Hulumaus is the most important trading port at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which rose in the second half of the13rd century, and it is also the crossroads of east-west traffic. At the same time, in Sumatra, Zheng He sent a detachment fleet. The team sailed westward, visited the cities of Mugudushu (now Mogadishu, Somalia), Brava (now Brava, Somalia), Marin (now Malindi, Kenya) on the east coast of Africa, arrived in Adan (now Aden, south Yemen), Lhasa (now Sana 'a, north Yemen), Zufar (now Zufar, Oman) and other places on the Arabian Peninsula, and then returned to Hulumouth.

The fifth voyage of Zheng He's route map to the Western Ocean was at1417 ~1419. This time, Zheng He's main task is to escort envoys from various countries to return home safely. Therefore, the country we sailed through last time must be the place we went this time. In Arab historical materials, it is recorded that the detachment of Zheng He's fleet arrived in Aden during this voyage.

The sixth voyage to the West was from 142 1 to 1422. The voyage is shorter. The route and the country and region of arrival are basically the same as the last one. The detachment visited the East African coast again, and arrived in Mugudushu, Brava, Jubu (now Juba, Somalia), Malin and Mambasa (now Mombasa, Kenya).

Shortly after Zheng He returned from his sixth voyage, Emperor Yongle died on his way to Mongolia. Zheng He's sailing activities were temporarily suspended. It was not until 1430 that Emperor Xuande sent Zheng He to lead the fleet to sea. The voyage was of great scale, and the places visited were Zhancheng, Java, Jiugang, Malaga, Sumatra, Mount Ceylon, Xiaogulun (now Keelung, India), Kirgiz, Guri, Hulumusi, Tian Fang (now Mecca), nonstop (now Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Zufar, Adan, Mugudu Bund, Buchwa, Youshan and so on. On the way back, Zheng He died of illness in Guri.

Zheng He went to the Western Seas and served as a friendly envoy of China. The voyage fleet is full of silk, porcelain, iron, gold coins and other goods. Wherever they went, they gave silks and other things to monarchs or local leaders of various countries and invited them to China for trade activities. Wherever this fleet went, it was received in a friendly way. When I returned home, a large number of envoys accompanied me to China. Bring back local products, such as ivory, spices, precious stones and so on. Seven voyages and visits to more than 30 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and East Africa have built a bridge of trade and friendship. At the same time, it has accumulated rich navigation experience and communicated the maritime traffic between the east and the west. The world-famous "Zheng He's Nautical Chart" recorded Zheng He's route through the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and the East African coast in detail, which was a great contribution of China to the world marine geography at the beginning of15th century.

Zheng He's voyage to the West greatly promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. During the Yongle period, envoys and caravans from various countries came to China in an endless stream. In the 21st year of Yongle (1423), 1200 envoys from Khrushchev and other countries came to China. After Zheng He's voyage to the West, the number of immigrants going abroad in the Ming Dynasty began to increase greatly. They brought Chinese civilization to other countries and promoted their social development and progress. Through Zheng He's voyage to the West, China's world-famous silks and porcelains were widely spread to Asian and African countries, and became the daily necessities of Asian and African people. At that time, the goods shipped to China by Asian and African countries were also dazzling, reaching 180.

Ma Huan, who went to the Western Seas with Zheng He, wrote A Visit to Britain and Elegance, Fei Xin wrote A Visit to Cha Sheng and Gong Zhen wrote A History of the Western Regions. These three works are true records of Zheng He's historical deeds in his voyages to the West, which have been translated into many languages and spread overseas. Zheng He's great achievements are respected and commemorated by people in Asian and African countries. In Java, Indonesia, there are important commercial ports: Sambo Temple in Java, Indonesia; Sambo City and Lihang Baojing in Malacca, Malaysia; The Sambo Temple and the Three Pagodas in Thailand all expressed their eternal memory of this outstanding navigator.

Before and after Zheng He's large-scale navigation activities, the traffic and communication between the western Mediterranean world and eastern Europe once again encountered a complicated situation. At that time, there were three main commercial routes from the west to the east and China: one was from Asia Minor to Central Asia by land along the Black Sea and Caspian Sea; One is from the Syrian region on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf by land through the two river basins, and then to China, Guangzhou and Quanzhou by sea; The third way is through Egypt by land, to the coast of the Red Sea, and then to China by sea. At this time, east-west traffic and trade were mainly controlled by Arabs east of the Red Sea, while the Mediterranean region was monopolized by Italians. After the demise of Chincha khanate, the short rise of Timur Empire once blocked the traffic from land to China. After that, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey continued to expand in the15th century, and Byzantium perished in the1453rd century, occupying West Asia, annexing Egypt and North Africa, controlling the traffic lines from the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and extorting money from businessmen in transit countries. This situation has caused some obstacles to the communication between China and the West. Therefore, European countries at that time were eager to open up a new road to the East. Kyle. Poirot's works are full of oriental treasures, attracting western monarchs, nobles, businessmen and navigators to join the voyage, hoping to open up a new route from the sea to the East.

Half a century after Zheng He's voyage to the West, Portuguese Diaz went south along the west coast of Africa and reached the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. 1498, vasco? Da? A Portuguese fleet of four ships led by Gama set off from Lisbon, bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, went north along the east coast of Africa, crossed the western Indian Ocean eastward under the guidance of an Arab sailor, and arrived at the port of Kalikut in southern India, and finally successfully opened up a new route to the East. Not long ago, the Italian-born navigator Christopher? The Spanish fleet led by Columbus also set off from Barros port at the southern tip of Spain on 1492, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the west and discovered the new continent of America. 15 19, the Spanish fleet led by Portuguese aristocrat Magellan began its first round-the-world voyage for two years.

The opening of the new air route played a prelude to the capitalist era and opened a new chapter in the communication and cultural exchange between China and the West.