Zheng He’s Voyages to Africa in the 15th Century

The maritime silk and porcelain road From the perspective of the connections between this history and current conditions, Chinese naval voyages to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia today are a continuation and development of Zheng He’s voyages to Africa, highlighting China’s status in solving contemporary international issues and safeguarding global maritime security. For this reason, in this diachronic study, careful examination of Zheng He’s visits to Africa and his relationship with the people there helps us understand the connections between those voyages and the current situation, spanning a space of six centuries, allowing us a clearer view of why Chinese naval escorts in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia are of such importance – even necessity – today.

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Photo Gallery

Prologue

Chapter 1:

An Analysis of the Background of Zheng He’s Four Voyages to Africa

Chapter 2:

Analysis of Zheng He’s Voyages to Africa

Chapter 3:

The Far-reaching Significance of Zheng He’s Voyages

Chapter 4:

Advanced Shipbuilding Technology Employed in the Building of China’s Treasure Ships

Chapter 5:

The Makeup of Zheng He’s Divisions and Features of His Ships

Chapter 6:

Building a Replica of Zheng He’s Ship and Travelling Zheng He’s Path

Chapter 7:

Visiting the ‘Chinese Village’ on Pate Island in Kenya

Chapter 8:

Double Dragon Jar Affirms China Connection

Chapter 9:

Influences of Zheng He’s Fleet in Africa

Chapter 10:

The First Arrival of the Chinese Migrants to Africa in the Early Ming Dynasty

Concluding Remarks:

Zheng He’s Voyages and Contemporary China’s Africa Policy

Author bio

Index

Li Xinfeng, PhD is a writer, photographer, and research director of West Asia and Africa Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is a researcher and professor in the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; doctoral supervisor; deputy secretary general of the China Prose Society; deputy secretary general of the China Reportage Society; standing director of the China African Research Society; and director of the China Middle East Research Society.

Li graduated from the English Language Department of Xi’an International Studies University in 1981 and started teaching at the same university. He was twice admitted into the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and was awarded a masters degree in law and a doctoral degree in management. He was later awarded a masters degree in arts by Wales University in Great Britain at the completion of his government-funded studies. In 2006, Li, as a member of a “Servicing Doctor Team,” worked as an assistant to the Western Hunan Autonomous Prefecture governor. He was a member of the 8^th China Youth Federation, and became a member of the China Writers’ Association in 2007 and a member of the China Photographers’ Association in 2008.

Li has been a senior reporter, South Africa division director, and chief reporter of the People’s Daily, and a special reporter for People’s Daily Online and The Global Times. His has traveled more than half the African continent. He was the first Chinese reporter who visited descendants of the Zheng He fleet on Pate Island in Kenya, who discovered Mwamaka Sharif, the “Chinese Student,” and the only Asian reporter who visited and reported on the inland areas of Somalia 22 years after civil war broke out there.