Why did Zheng He’s Sea Voyage Fail to Lead the Chinese to Make the ‘Great Geographic Discovery’?

Geographic discovery should be understood as the first arrival of an individual from a civilized nation to an area which that nation or other nations know nothing about or the first determination of the spatial relationships among known areas. Chinese and Europeans had already travelled to America before Columbus, and much of Magellan’s and particularly Vasco da Gama’s sea routes were returning voyage lines. Therefore, strictly speaking, the phrase ‘the great geographic discovery’ and statements like “Columbus discovered the New World” and “da Gama opened a new route to India”, are unscientific. The present article does not attempt to discuss the problem of discovery and rediscovery. Such phrases have been commonly used by historians, so this article continues to use them.Google Scholar

Selected Works of Marx and Engels (Ma Ke Si En Ge Si Xuan Ji), Vol. 1, p. 252.Google Scholar

Zheng He’s seventh voyage: 62 ships, more than 27,800 people Columbus’ first fleet: 3 ships, 88 people da Gama’s fleet: 4 ships, 170 people Magellan’s fleet: 5 ships, 265 people.Google Scholar

The second year after Zheng He returned from his seventh voyage (1434), the Ming government organized the eight voyage, a mission to Sumatra led by Wang Jinghong, Zheng He’s former deputy. This voyage, however, did not go beyond the area covered by former voyages.Google Scholar

Quoted from Zhou Yiliang and Wu Yuqin, ed. Selected Reference Materials on the Comprehensive History of the World (the Medieval Period) (Shi Jie Tong Shi Zi Liao Xuan Ji (Zhong Gu Bu Fen)), Commercial Press, 1964, p. 304.Google Scholar

Another important motivation for the great geographic discoveries was the search for Prester John, the mysterious Christian Asian or African priest-king, and the attempt to form an alliance with him to resist the Muslims. Again, the basic goal was to break the Muslin’s political encirclement and economic blockade.Google Scholar

Although Magellan served the Spanish, he was Portuguese. Columbus was an Italian who served the Spanish, but he studied the technology of seafaring in Portugal.Google Scholar

C. E. Noel, A History of Portugal. Chinese transl. Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1974, Vol. 1, p. 72.Google Scholar

Chronicle of the Emperor Xuan Zong Period of the Ming Dynasty (Ming Zuan Zong Shi Lu), Vol. 67, notes, “On the 15th of June in the fifth year of the Xuan De period, the eunuch Zheng He was sent to deliver an imperial edict to foreign nations which said “Obeying the mandate of heaven, I inherited the imperial throne from the Emperors Tai Zhu, Tai Zong, and Ren Zong. In dealing with foreign nations, I will continue the benevolence of my ancestors, granting peace to my people. I have already granted a general pardon and changed the era to Xuan De. You foreign nations, far away across the seas, might not learn this. I therefore send the eunuch Zheng He, Wang Jinghong and others to deliver this edict. I hope you will respect and obey the heavenly order and be kind to your people so we may together enjoy the happiness of peace.” Zheng He’s genealogy contains a similar statement.Google Scholar

Each time Zheng He returned from a voyage, he invited foreign envoys to visit China. The fifth time he returned, envoys from as many as 17 countries came to China with his fleet. In 1413, the envoy from Guli (the present Calcutta) and his entourage numbered more than 1200 people. 11 Chao Wanru,’ science and Technology in Feudal Society (part 2)’, in “Internal Lecture Notes” in Lecture Notes on the History of Science (Zi Ran Ke Xue Shi Jiang Gao), Institute of History of Natural Sciences, 1980.Google Scholar

After the Tang dynasty, ‘The celestial sphere theory (hun tian shuo) entirely replaced the hemispherical dome theory (gai tian shuo) and remained the authoritative theory on the structure of the cosmos until the Copernican theory was introduced into China.” (Research Group on the History of Chinese Astronomy, History of Chinese Astronomy (Zhong Guo Tian Wen Xue Shi), Science Press, 1981, p. 164.).Google Scholar

Whether the celestial sphere theory claimed that the earth is spherical or flat (or arched) was a controversial issue in ancient China and remains so today. In 1955 Chen Zhungui asserted that it referred to a spherical shape. In 1962, Tang Ruchuan believed it referred to a flat shape. In 1975, Zheng Wenguang and Xi Zezong again argued for the spherical shape. In 1978, Chen Jiujin also believed it to be spherical, but thought that the ‘Pictorial Commentary on the Armillary Sphere’ was written by someone else. A Brief History of Chinese Astronomy (Zhong Guo Tian Wen Jian Shi) in 1979 and A History of Chinese Astronomy (Zhong Guo Tian Wen Shi) in 1981 again adhered to the spherical view. We are inclined toward the flat shape. However, for the sake of argument, in this paper we temporarily assume that the celestial sphere theory supported the spherical view.Google Scholar

‘Pictorial Commentary on the Armillary Sphere’ (‘Hun tian Yi Tu Zhu’) comments, “There is water on the surface of heaven.... Heaven and earth both stand on air and float on water.”.Google Scholar

‘Annals of Astronomy’ (‘Tian Wen Zhi’) in The History of the Sui (Sui Shu).Google Scholar

According to A History of Chinese Astronomy, op. cit., note 12.Google Scholar

China had developed advanced measurement of latitude and seemed to have a concept of longitude, but these were basically unrelated to cartography.Google Scholar

In the Mawangdui topographic map, the positions of the Shenshui river (the present Xiaoshui River) and its tributaries “almost all approximate those of modern maps.” The positions of “county seats” are also relatively precise. “The physical features of Jinyi mountain, Dupang mountain, and the whole river valley” are all excellently represented. Chao Wanru, “Map Excavated from Mawangdui and Pei Xiu’s Six Principles of Map Charting,” in the Institute of History of Natural Sciences, Scientific and Technological Achievements in Ancient China (Zhong Guo Gu Dai Kei Ji Cheng Jiu), Chinese Youth Press, 1978.Google Scholar

No world map earlier than the Song dynasty has yet been found. On the Map of China and the Barbarian Countries (Hua Yi Tu) from the Song dynasty (1137) only those parts of Korea and Vietnam which border China are represented. The names of other countries were placed around the map to indicate their existence. Such a map is actually a national map. We assume that this pattern was followed before the Song dynasty.Google Scholar