thumb|200px|鄭和

'''鄭 和'''（てい わ、Zhèng Hé, 1371年 - 1434年）は、中国明代の武将。永楽帝に宦官として仕えるも軍功をあげて重用され、南海への七度の大航海の指揮を委ねられた。本姓は'''馬'''、初名は'''三保'''で、宦官の最高位である太監だったことから、中国では'''三保太監'''あるいは'''三宝太監'''の通称で知られる。

鄭和の船団は東南アジア、インドからアラビア半島、アフリカにまで航海し、最も遠い地点ではアフリカ東海岸のマリンディ（現ケニアのマリンディ）まで到達した。彼の指揮した船団の中で、最大の船は宝船（ほうせん）と呼ばれその全長は120メートルを超えるような大型船だったとされる。

==略歴==
===出発前===
馬三保、すなわち後の鄭和は、馬哈只の子として雲南で預言者ムハンマドの子孫であることを示し、父の名は元の世祖クビライのとき雲南の開発に尽力した色目人政治家サイイド・アジャッル（賽典赤）である。彼がイスラム教徒の出身だったことは、のちに永楽帝をして鄭和を航海の長として使おうと考えた理由の一つだと考えられる。

朱元璋が明を建てると、元の影響下にあったこの地は討伐を受け、まだ少年だった鄭和は捕らえられて去勢され、宦官として当時燕王だった朱棣（のちの永楽帝）に献上された。

朱元璋の死後、永楽帝が帝位を奪取する靖難の変において馬三保は功績を挙げ、永楽帝より鄭の姓を下賜され、宦官の最高職である太監とされた。

===大航海===
コロンブスの船団は250t級が3隻、総乗組員は88名である。</ref>宝船の大きさに付いては、南京にある宝船廠跡から長さ11mの舵軸が発見され、中国の学者がこれを元に現代の河船との比較から船の大きさを計算したところ記録とほとんど同じくらいになると発表した。これに対して海船であると舵軸が大きくなり、11mの舵軸は長さ50mほどの中国で普通に見られる海船と同サイズであると考える学者もいる。

蘇州から出発した船団はセイロンと言う航路をたどり、1407年初めにカリカットへと到達した。

この船団の主な目的は途中の国々に対して明へ朝貢を求める事と南方の様々な産物を持ち帰る事である。マラッカ海峡では海賊を行っていた陳祖義という華人を捕らえて一旦本国へ帰国している。この航海によりそれまで明と交流が無かった東南アジアの諸国が続々と明へと朝貢へやってくるようになった。
right|thumb|鄭和のホルムズ海峡からカリカットへの航海誌（1430年）
タイ・ジャワなどを経由してカリカットへ至った。帰路の途中でセイロン島に中国語・タミル語・ペルシア語の3ヶ国語で書かれた石碑を建てている。

1409年の夏に帰って来た鄭和は再び再出発を命じられて年末に出発した。今度もほぼ同じ航路でカリカットに到達したが、帰路のセイロンで現地の王が鄭和の船に積んである宝を強奪しようと攻撃してきたので鄭和は反撃して王とその家族を虜にして本国へと連れ帰り、1411年7月に帰国した。

right|thumb|[[キリンは甲板に穴を開けてそこに首を通して輸送した]]

===アラビア海へ===
これまでの3回はいずれもほぼ同じ航路を取り、しかも立て続けの航海だったが、4回目は少し間を置いて1413年の冬に出発した。これまでとは違い更に西へと行くので、準備が必要だったと推測される。

カリカットへ至るまではこれまでとほぼ同じ航路を取り、そこから更に西へ航海してペルシャ湾のホルムズやアラビア半島南のアデンなどに到達した。帰路の途中、スマトラで現地の王の要請で兵を使って反逆者を討ち、1415年7月に帰国した。

5回目は1417年の冬に出発し、本隊は前回と同じくアデンまで到達したが、途中で分かれた分隊はアフリカ大陸東岸のマリンディにまで到達したという。1419年8月に帰国、ライオン・ヒョウ・ダチョウ・シマウマ・サイなどの珍しい動物を連れ帰っている。特に永楽帝を喜ばせたのはキリンであり、これは王が仁のある政治を行うときに現れる神聖な生き物「麒麟」として紹介されたからである。現地のソマリ語で「首の長い草食動物」を意味する「ゲリ」が、伝説上の動物「麒麟」の音に似ていたことから、"実在の麒麟"として珍重された。現在の日本語でキリンをこの名で呼ぶのは、この故事によるものである。ちなみに現在の中国語ではキリンは「長頸鹿」という。

6回目は間があいて1421年2月になる。それまでとは異なり、朝貢にやってきていた各国の使節を送るためのものである。今度もほぼ同じ航路を取って、帰国は1422年8月だった。

7回目は永楽帝の死後に彼の孫のメッカに至ったという。帰国は1433年7月。帰国後にほどなくして死去した。

===鄭和死後===
鄭和死後の明は再び鎖国的になり、航海は行われなくなった。成化帝の時代に「再び大航海を」という声が上がったが、航海にかかる莫大な費用と儒教的モラルから官僚の反対にあい沙汰止みとなった。

この大航海の記録は第4次航海と第7次航海に同行した馬歓の『瀛涯勝覧（えいがいしょうらん）』や費信『星槎勝覧』・鞏珍『西洋番国志』などによって現在に残され、この時代の東南アジアの非常に貴重な資料となっている。しかしこれらは民選の物で、鄭和の公式記録は再び大航海を起こされる事を危惧した官僚により秘匿され、それ以後は行方不明となっている。一説にはその官僚が焼いたという。

===大航海の理由===
なぜ永楽帝がこの大航海を企図したかには様々な説が流れている。
#靖難の変の際に南京から脱出した建文帝が南海に逃げたかもしれないのでそれを捜索するためとする説
#西のティムール朝の伸長を恐れた永楽帝がティムールの後ろの勢力と結んで挟撃するためという説
#朱元璋が明建設の際に滅ぼした陳友諒の配下だった水軍勢力が反抗することを恐れて、これをまとめて南海に派遣したと言う説
上記のほかにも諸説ある。

1番目の説はあり得ない話ではないが、主目的だったかには疑問がある。2番目の説はティムールは第1次航海の年に死んでいるのであり得ない。3番目の説は朱元璋が陳友諒を破ってから長い時が流れすぎており、これも考えにくい。

他に考えられる理由としては簒奪という手段で帝位についた永楽帝は国内の白眼を払拭するために他国の朝貢を多く受け入れる儒教的な聖王を演出する事によって自らの継承を正当化しようとしたという事である。

しかし政治的な理由よりも、中国艦隊が南シナ海やインド洋における海上覇権を樹立することによって諸国の朝貢を促し、宮廷で使用される海外の奢侈品を入手するのが主目的だったと考えられる。費信などの記録も見ても諸国の物産や通商事情に関心が寄せられているのは経済的な動機を立証するものである。

thumb|250px|A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist.
'''Zheng He''' (; Birth name: 馬三寶 / 马三宝; ; Arabic/Persian name: حجّي محمود شمس ''Hajji Mahmud Shams'') (1371&ndash;1433), was a Hui Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of "''Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean''" (Chinese: [http://www.qsn365.com/qsn365/articles/11260 三保太監下西洋]) or "''Zheng He to the Western Ocean''", from 1405 to 1433. 

==Life==
Zheng He was born in 1371 in modern-day Yunnan Province, which was at that time the last stronghold of the Yuan Dynasty in its struggle with the victorious Ming Dynasty. Like most Hui people, Zheng He was a Muslim.<ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/data/minorities/Hui.html The Hui ethnic minority] - People's Daily. "During the Ming Dynasty, the ''Hui navigator Zheng He'' led massive fleets in making as many as seven visits to more than 30 Asian and African countries in 29 years."</ref><ref>[http://exhibitions.nlb.gov.sg/zhenghe/activities.html National Library of Singapore] - "''Zheng He himself was a Muslim'' who made a great contribution to the spread of Hung Fung Chung 600 years ago"</ref> 

According to the ''Khwarezmian Yuan governor of Yunnan Province, originally from pilgrimage to Mecca, and their travels contributed to the young boy's education.

In 1381, following the defeat of the Northern Yuan, a Ming army was dispatched to Mongol rebel Basalawarmi. Ma Sanbao, then only eleven years old, was captured and made a eunuch. He was sent to the Imperial court, where he eventually became a trusted adviser of the Yongle Emperor, assisting him in deposing his predecessor, the Jianwen Emperor. In return for meritorious service, the eunuch received the name Zheng He from the Yongle Emperor. He studied at Nanjing Taixue (the Imperial Central College) and travelled to Mecca. 

===Religious views===
Although his precise religious views were not recorded, Zheng He has been portrayed by subsequent generations as either an orthodox Muslim who helped spread his faith into southeast Asia, or as a possible syncretist. The Buddhist mountain temple.<ref>[http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/zhenhe/134661.htm A Peaceful Mariner and Diplomat]; Association for Asian Studies  (1976). ''Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644: Volume I [1], A-L (Hardcover)''. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03833-1</ref> In around 1431, he set up a commemorative pillar at the temple of the Taoist buried at sea, a monument was built to him on land, and this monument was later renovated in an Islamic style. In the modern world Zheng He has been used as a symbol of religious tolerance. The government of the People's Republic of China uses him as a model to integrate the Muslim minority into the Chinese nation.

==Expeditions==
Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions. Emperor Yongle designed them to establish a Chinese presence, impose imperial control over trade, and impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin. He also might have wanted to extend the tributary system, by which Chinese dynasties traditionally recognized foreign peoples.

Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control of the huge fleet and armed forces that undertook these expeditions. Zheng He's first voyage consisted of a fleet of perhaps 300 ships<ref>[http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/news/article.asp?parentid=10387 Zheng He's Voyages of Discovery, UCLA Asia Institute<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> (other sources say 200)<ref>[http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/marine/ZhengHe.htm The Archaeological Researches into Zheng He's Treasure Ships<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> holding almost 28,000 crewmen. These were probably mainly large six-masted ships - it is now thought that the large and flat nine-masted "treasure ships" were probably river ships used by the Emperor.<ref>[http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/marine/ZhengHe.htm The Archaeological Researches into Zheng He's Treasure Ships<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

thumb|One of a set of maps of Zheng He's missions (郑和航海图), also known as the Mao Kun maps, 1628.
On the first three voyages, Zheng He visited southeast Asia, Buddha, Allah, and Vishnu.

Zheng He generally sought to attain his goals through diplomacy, and his large army awed most would-be enemies into submission. But a contemporary reported that Zheng He "walked like a tiger", and did not shrink from violence when he considered it necessary to impress foreign peoples with China's military might. He ruthlessly suppressed pirates who had long plagued Chinese and southeast Asian waters. He also intervened in a civil disturbance in order to establish his authority in Ceylon, and he made displays of military force when local officials threatened his fleet in Arabia and East Africa. From his fourth voyage, he brought envoys from thirty states who traveled to China and paid their respects at the Ming court.

In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Xuande Emperor (reigned 1426–1435), but after that Chinese treasure ship fleets ended. Zheng He died during the treasure fleet's last voyage. Although he has a tomb in China, it is empty: he was, like many great admirals, buried at sea. <ref>[http://www.mariner.org/exploration/index.php?type=explorersection&id=57 The Seventh and Final Grand Voyage of the Treasure Fleet]</ref>

Zheng He, on his seven voyages, successfully relocated large numbers of Chinese Muslims to Malacca, Palembang, Surabaya and other places and Malacca became the center of Islamic learning and also a large international Islamic trade center of the southern seas.

His missions showed impressive demonstrations of organizational capability and technological might, but did not lead to significant trade, since Zheng He was an admiral and an official, not a merchant. Chinese merchants continued to trade in Japan and southeast Asia, but Imperial officials gave up any plans to maintain a Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean and even destroyed most of the nautical charts that Zheng He had carefully prepared.  The decommissioned treasure ships sat in harbors until they rotted away, and Chinese craftsmen forgot the technology of building such large vessels.
-

==Voyages==
thumb|300px|The [[Kangnido map (1402) predates Zheng's voyages and suggests that he had quite detailed geographical information on much of the Old World.]]
{|class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Order
! width=20% | Time
! width=40% | Regions along the way<ref>Maritime Silk Road 五洲传播出版社. ISBN 7508509323</ref>
|-
| 1st Voyage || 1405-1407 || Aru, Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut
|-
| 2nd Voyage || 1407-1409 || Champa, Java, Siam, Cochin, Ceylon
|-
| 3rd Voyage || 1409-1411 || Champa, Java, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, Siam, Lambri, Kaya, Coimbatore, Puttanpur
|-
| 4th Voyage || 1413-1415 || Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut, Kayal, Hormuz, Muscat, Dhufar
|-
| 5th Voyage || 1416-1419 || Champa, Pahang, Java, Malacca, Sumatra, Lambri, Ceylon, Sharwayn, Cochin, Calicut, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Brawa, Malindi, Aden
|-
| 6th Voyage || 1421-1422 || Hormuz, East Africa, countries of the Arabian Peninsula
|-
| 7th Voyage || 1430-1433 || Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Calicut, Hormuz... (17 politics in total)
|-
</table>
Zheng He led seven expeditions to what the Chinese called "the Western Ocean" (Indian Ocean). He brought back to China many trophies and envoys from more than thirty kingdoms — including King Alagonakkara of Ceylon, who came to China to apologize to the Emperor.

The records of Zheng's last two voyages, which are believed to be his farthest, were unfortunately destroyed by the Ming emperor.  Therefore it is never certain where Zheng has sailed in these two expeditions.  The traditional view is that he went as far as to Iran.  

thumb|Detail of the [[Fra Mauro map relating the travels of a junk into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. The ship also is illustrated above the text.]] 

There are speculations that some of Zheng's ships may have traveled beyond the Venetian monk and cartographer junk from India" 2,000 miles into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. What Fra Mauro meant by 'India' is not known and some scholars believe he meant an Arab ship.<ref>[http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/LMwebpages/249mono.html Slide #249 Monograph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Interestingly, Professor Su Ming-Yang thinks "the ship is European, as it is fitted with a crow’s nest, or lookout post, at the masthead, and has sails fitted to the yards, unlike the batten sails of Chinese ships."<ref>[http://www.1421exposed.com/html/heresy.html Heresy<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Zheng himself wrote of his travels:

<blockquote>We have traversed more than 100,000 li (50,000 kilometers) of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course [as rapidly] as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare…
— Tablet erected by Zheng He, Changle, Fujian, 1432. Louise Levathes</blockquote>

Former submarine commander Gavin Menzies in his book ''1421: The Year China Discovered the World'' claims that several parts of Zheng's fleet explored virtually the entire globe, discovering West Africa, North and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Antarctica and Australia (except visiting Europe). Menzies also claimed that Zheng's wooden fleet passed the Arctic Ocean. However none of the citations in ''1421'' are from Chinese sources and scholars in China do not accept Menzies' assertions. Menzies' statements are controversial and outside the mainstream historical conclusions.

===Zheng He's sailing charts===
thumb|right|300px|Part of the chart showing India at top, Ceylon upper right and Africa along the bottom
These were published in a book entitled Wu Bei Zhi (Treatise on Armament Technology) written in 1621 and published in 1628 but traced back to Zheng He's and earlier voyages.<ref></ref> It was originally a strip map 20.5cm by 560cm that could be rolled up, but was divided into 40 pages which vary in scale from 7  miles/inch in the Nanjing area to 215 miles/inch in parts of the African coast.<ref></ref>

There is little attempt to provide an accurate 2-D representation; instead the sailing instructions are given using a 24 point compass system with a Chinese symbol for each point, together with a sailing time/distance, which takes account of the local currents and winds. Sometimes depth soundings are also provided. It also shows bays, estuaries, capes and islands, ports and mountains along the coast, important landmarks (pagodas, temples) and shoal rocks. Of 300 named places outside China, more than 80% can be confidently located. There are also fifty observations of stellar altitude.

== Size of the ships ==
Traditional and popular accounts of Zheng He's voyages have described a great fleet of gigantic ships, far larger than any other wooden ships in history. Most modern scholars consider these descriptions to be exaggerated. 

=== Past chronicles ===
'''Treasure ship''' is the name of a type of vessel that the Chinese junks, with some said to have reached 600 feet (146 m) long. The fleet was manned by over 27,000 crew members, including doctors, workers, and soldiers. 

Chinese records assert that Zheng He's fleet sailed as far as East Africa. However, the amateur historian Gavin Menzies has controversially argued that the fleet went on to reach the New World, landing on islands off the Florida coast more than half a century before Christopher Columbus.

According to ancient Chinese sources, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions.  The 1405  expedition consisted of 27,800 men and a fleet of 62 treasure ships supported by approximately 190 smaller ships.<ref>Dreyer (2006): 122–124</ref><ref>[http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_focus/2005-07/05/content_70352.htm Briton charts Zheng He's course across globe]</ref> The fleet included:

* '''Treasure ships''', used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies (nine-masted, about 126.73 metres (416 ft) long and 51.84 metres (170 ft) wide), according to later writers. Such dimension is more or less the shape of a football field.  The treasure ships purportedly can carry as much as 1,500 tons. 1<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737, “四十四丈一十八丈”</ref><ref>"Eunuch Sanbao's Journey to the Western Seas" «三宝太监西洋通俗演义记»,Luo Maodeng, published 1597, “宝船长四十四丈四，阔一十八丈，每只船上有九道桅。”</ref> By way of comparison, a modern ship of about 1,200 tons is 60 meters (200 ft) long [http://www.fcca.demon.co.uk/Flowernum.htm], and the ships Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492 were about 70-100 tons and 17 meter (55 ft) long.<ref>[http://www.columbusnavigation.com/ships.shtml Columbus's Ships<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

thumb|250px|Comparison of Zheng He's larger ship to [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus' displayed in the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.]]

* '''Horse ships''', carrying tribute goods and repair material for the fleet (eight-masted, about 103 m (339 ft) long and 42 m (138 ft) wide).<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>
* '''Supply ships''', containing staple for the crew (seven-masted, about 78 m (257 ft) long and 35 m (115 ft) wide).<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>
* '''Troop transports''', six-masted, about 67 m (220 ft) long and 25 m (83 ft) wide.<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>
* '''Fuchuan warships''', five-masted, about 50 m (165 ft) long.<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>
* '''Patrol boats''', eight-oared, about 37 m (120 ft) long.<ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>
* '''Water tankers''', with 1 month supply of fresh water. <ref name="ming">"History of the Ming dynasty" «明史», Zhang Tingyu chief editor, published 1737</ref>

Six more expeditions took place, from 1407  to 1433, with fleets of comparable size.<ref>Dreyer (2006)</ref>

If the accounts can be taken as factual, Zheng He's treasure ships were mammoth ships with nine masts, four decks, and were capable of accommodating more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount of cargo. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta both described multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers in their translated accounts.<ref>''Science and Civilization in China'', Joseph Needham,  Volume 4, Section 3, pp.460-470</ref>. Niccolò Da Conti, a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen 5 masted junks weighing about 2000 tons<ref>''Science and Civilization in China'',  Joseph Needham, Volume 4, Section 3, p.452</ref> Zheng He's fleet included 300 ships, including 62 treasure ships, with some which were said to have been 137 m (450 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide.<ref>''Science and Civilization in China'',  Joseph Needham, Volume 4, Section 3, p.480</ref><ref>[http://www.chinapage.com/zhenghe.html ''The Great Chinese Mariner Zheng He [Cheng Ho]''], China the Beautiful webpage with Zheng He links.</ref><ref>''Zheng He: China and the oceans in the early Ming dynasty 1404–1433'', Edward L. Dreyer, Longman, ISBN 0321084438, reviewed in [http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25340-2563759,00.html ''China at sea''], Jonathan Mirsky, The Times Literary Supplement, Times Online, January 24, 2007</ref> There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as 600 feet.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=CqzDSC9VzFEC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=treasure+ships+600+feet&source=web&ots=QWkaHQ2UH6&sig=c9pQhl9MS8iZdGe3u5PSlkwIM14  ''Taiwan: A New History''], Murray A. Rubinstein, page 49, M. E. Sharp, 1999, ISBN 1563248158</ref><ref>[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=588&art_id=vn20021111065452169C237696&set_id=1 ''Chinese discoverers dwarfed European travels''], 
Tony Weaver, IOL, November 11 2002.</ref> On the ships, there were over 28,000 people, including doctors, workers, and soldiers.

=== Modern study of ship dimensions  ===
According to recent research by professor of marine engineering Xin Yuanou, the actual length of the ships has been estimated at 59 m,<ref>Xin Yuanou: ''Guanyu Zheng He baochuan chidu de jishu fenxi (A Technical Analysis of the Size of Zheng He's Ships).'' Shanghai 2002, p.8</ref> which has been accepted by modern scholarship as more realistic.<ref name="Sally Church">Sally K.Church: The Colossal Ships of Zheng He - Image or Reality? in: Claudine Salmon (eds.): Zheng He - Images & Perceptions. South China and Maritime Asia. Vol. 15. Roderich Ptak, Thomas Höllmann. O. Harrasowitz (eds.), Wiesbaden 15.2005, pp.155-176. ISBN 3-447-05114-0 ISSN 0945-9286</ref>

The treasure ships described in Chinese chronicles would have been several times larger than any wooden ship ever recorded since, including the largest, ''l'Orient'' (65 m long) in the late 18th century. The first ships to attain 126 m long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Some scholars argues that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 feet in length, some estimating that they were 390-408 feet long and 160-166 feet wide instead <ref>''When China Ruled the Seas'', Louise Levathes, p.80</ref> while others put them as 200-250 feet in length .<ref>"Zheng He : An investigation into the plausibility of 450-ft treasure ships ", Sally K. Church</ref>

One explanation for the seemingly inefficient size of these colossal ships was that the largest 44 Zhang Treasure Ships were merely used by the Emperor and imperial bureaucrats to travel along the Yangtze for court business, including reviewing Zheng He's expedition fleet. The Yangtze river, with its calmer waters, may have been navigable by these Treasure Ships. Zheng He, a court eunuch, would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships, seaworthy or not. The  main ships of Zheng He's fleet were instead 6 masted 2000-liao ships. <ref>[http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/marine/ZhengHe.html ''The Archeological Researches into Zheng He's Treasure Ships''], SilkRoad webpage. </ref<>
ref>Xin Yuanou: ''Guanyu Zheng He baochuan chidu de jishu fenxi (A Technical Analysis of the Size of Zheng He's Ships).'' Shanghai 2002, p.8</ref>

=== Accounts of medieval travellers ===
thumb|250px|Early 17th century Chinese [[woodcut|woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships.]]
The characteristics of the Chinese ships of the period are described by Western travelers to the East, such as Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo. According to Ibn Battuta, who visited China in 1347:

<blockquote>…We stopped in the port of junks), middle sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams.  The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats.  They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind.
Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel.  These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan.  The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.
This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length.  When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished."'' (Ibn Battuta).</blockquote>

==Zheng He and Islam in Southeast Asia==

Malaya is intimately related to a Chinese Muslim, Admiral Zheng He."''<ref>[http://210.0.141.99/eng/malaysia/ChineseMuslim_in_Malaysia.asp Chinese Muslims in Malaysia, History and Development] by Rosey Wang Ma</ref> In Malacca he built granaries, warehouses and a stockade, and most probably he left behind many of his Muslim crews. Much of the information on Zheng He's voyages was compiled by Ma Huan, also Muslim, who accompanied Zheng He on several of his inspection tours and served as his chronicler / interpreter. In his book 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores' (Chinese: 瀛涯勝覽) written in 1416, Ma Huan gave very detailed accounts of his observations of the peoples' customs and lives in ports they visited. Zheng He had many Muslim Eunuchs as his companions. At the time when his fleet first arrived in Malacca, there were already Chinese of the 'Muslim' faith living there. Ma Huan talks about them as ''tangren'' (Chinese: 唐人) who were Muslim. At places they went, they frequented mosques, actively propagated the Islamic faith, established Chinese Muslim communities and built mosques.

Indonesian scholar Slamet Muljana writes: "Zheng He built Chinese Muslim communities first in Palembang, then in San Fa (West Kalimantan), subsequently he founded similar communities along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. They propagated the Islamic faith according to the Hanafi school of thought and in Chinese language." 