16 January,2018 08:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Benita Fernando
A statue of the famed Chinese navigator Zheng He in Nanjing, China. Pic/AFP
One of the most influential admirals and diplomats of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He, and the legend he left behind, have the capacity to stir the imagination of many. Born in Yunan in 1371 and castrated to become a eunuch in the royal court, Zheng He came to lead one of the largest marine fleets - 300 ships of all kinds and sizes - that the world had seen until then. He is also credited with bringing the technique of Chinese fishing nets to the Malabar Coast.
This historic figure, of whom little was known until recently, will be the subject of the 20th Vasant J Sheth Memorial Lecture, to be delivered by Vijay M Crishna, executive director of Lawkim Motors Group, Godrej and Boyce Mfg Co Ltd. The annual memorial lecture focuses on maritime themes, and Crishna, who is also known for his intrepid expeditions (such as to the Antarctica) and his environmental concerns, says the journeys of Zheng He are extraordinary, with several dimensions to them. His lecture, titled 'The Lone Mariner and his Ghost Fleet' will be hosted this evening at 7 pm at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Fort. Edited excerpts from the interview:
Vijay Crishna will deliver the lecture on Zheng He. PIC/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
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What do you think makes Zheng He an interesting persona even today?
Zheng He made seven voyages almost a century before the Portuguese reached India. He went with a fleet, the kind of numbers that would not be seen again until the 1800s - that's almost 500 years after he set sail. His expeditions were also the way through which the Mings could proclaim to the world that the Chinese were powerful. They succeeded the earlier Yuans - who were essentially Mongols - and this was a show of power. But, Zheng He was no warmonger. He was given a carte blanche by the Emperor Zhu Di to set sail, but there were only three clashes Zheng He faced. He first set sail in 1405, with 62 ships and 27,800 men, reaching Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Subsequent journeys took him further, to Oman, Yemen, Mecca and Egypt. He was not on a colonising mission. And, of all the places he travelled to, Calicut was apparently his most favourite.
There seems to be an interesting turn of fortune in the story of Zheng He, chosen to become a eunuch in the princely court and then an admiral of the largest fleet.
Born in Yunan as Ma He, he was of Mongol descent and Muslim parentage, and the army had him castrated while he was still a boy. They used brutal instruments and no Mongol boy was spared. It was common practice back then to have eunuchs in the household, especially for the noblewomen. Eunuchs had access to the private quarters of these noblewomen, as they didn't seem to pose a threat to the ladies. Zheng He went into the service of Zhu Di, who, though a prince, wasn't heir to the throne. Zhu Di had a liking for the boy, and could see that there was something to him that could be built on. Zheng He was put through schooling in Beijing, [and] basically looked after. Zhu Di eventually went on to become the Emperor and made Zheng He his commander.
It sounds like you have found a personal hero in Zheng He. Is that the case?
As executive director of this company, I have started looking at this admiral from a management point of view. How did he carry out these vast expeditions? How did he manage them so well? He was an unusually great man. I am now reading a book titled Zheng He's Art of Collaboration by Sin Hoon Hum, which is along these lines.
Why have you referred to Zheng He as a lone mariner with his ghost fleet?
Once Zheng He completed his seven expeditions, the Confucian bureaucrats destroyed all official accounts of them, citing that these voyages were too expensive and should never be repeated. Hence, there is little trace of Zheng He or his voyages now. However, the places he visited still remember folklore about him. Interestingly, the Chinese evoked Zheng He through a large tableau during the 2008 Olympics' opening ceremony.
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