Think Columbus was the ultimate explorer? Well, a Chinese admiral beat him to the high seas by nearly a century – and he did it with a fleet so massive it would make any European navy look like a bathtub toy collection. Get ready to meet Zheng He and his legendary treasure ships that sailed from Southeast Asia all the way to Africa.
郑和下西洋是中国明朝时期的一件大事。从1405年到1433年,郑和带领很大的船队,一共去了七次”西洋”。”西洋”是当时中国人对东南亚和印度洋地区的叫法。
郑和是明朝的一个太监,也是一位有名的航海家。明朝的皇帝叫他带船队出海,去访问别的国家,做生意,也让外国人知道明朝很强大。
郑和的船队非常大。最多的时候有两百多条船,船上有两万七千多人。其中最大的船叫”宝船”,非常长,也非常宽。在那个时代,这样的船在世界上是最大的。
七次航行中,郑和到过很多地方,比如越南、泰国、印度、阿拉伯,最远去过非洲东边。他带去了中国的丝绸、茶叶和瓷器,也带回来了很多外国的东西,比如香料和动物。有一次,他还从非洲带回来一只长颈鹿。
郑和下西洋比欧洲人开始航海早了几十年。它让中国和很多国家有了交流,也是世界航海历史上很重要的一部分。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 航海家 | hánghǎijiā | navigator/seafarer |
| 船队 | chuánduì | fleet (of ships) |
| 太监 | tàijiàn | eunuch |
| 皇帝 | huángdì | emperor |
| 丝绸 | sīchóu | silk |
| 瓷器 | cíqì | porcelain/ceramics |
| 香料 | xiāngliào | spices |
| 交流 | jiāoliú | exchange/communication |
| 航行 | hángxíng | voyage/navigation |
| 强大 | qiángdà | powerful/strong |
| 郑 | zhěng | surname Zheng; (hist.) the Zheng state (a Zhou-dynasty vassal state) |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 下西洋 | xià Xī yáng | to sail west (from China) (used in reference to the 15th century voyages of Zheng He 鄭和|郑和[Zheng4 He2] to regions bordering the Indian Ocean) |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 明朝 | Míng cháo | Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) |
| 时期 | shí qī | period; phase; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 大事 | dà shì | major event; major political event (war or change of regime); major social event (wedding or funeral); (do sth) in a big way; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 带领 | dài lǐng | to guide; to lead |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 一共 | yī gòng | in total; altogether |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 七 | qī | seven; 7 |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 西洋 | Xī yáng | the West (Europe and North America); countries of the Indian Ocean (traditional) |
| 当时 | dāng shí | then; at that time |
| 中国人 | Zhōng guó rén | Chinese person |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 南 | Nán | surname Nan |
| 亚 | Yà | Asia; Asian; Taiwan pr. [Ya3] |
| 印 | Yìn | surname Yin; abbr. for 印度[Yin4 du4], India |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 洋 | yáng | ocean; vast; foreign; silver dollar or coin |
| 地区 | dì qū | region; area (informal or geographical term); prefecture (in China's administrative system) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 位 | wèi | position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous; well-known |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 出海 | chū hǎi | to go out to sea; (neologism) to expand into overseas markets |
| 访问 | fǎng wèn | to visit; to call on (a person or place); (computing) to visit (a website); to access (a network resource etc); (Tw) to interview (e.g. for a report or feature story); CL:次[ci4] |
| 别的 | bié de | else; other |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 生意 | shēng yì | life force; vitality |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 外国人 | wài guó rén | foreigner |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 最多 | zuì duō | at most; maximum; greatest (amount); maximal |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 百 | Bǎi | surname Bai |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 船 | chuán | variant of 船[chuan2]; boat; vessel; ship; CL:條|条[tiao2],艘[sou1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 万 | mò | used in 万俟[Mo4 qi2]; surname Wan |
| 千 | qiān | thousand; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among; in; included among these |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 宝船 | bǎo chuán | Chinese treasure ship, a type of large sailing ship in the fleet of Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He 鄭和|郑和[Zheng4 He2] |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 宽 | Kuān | surname Kuan |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 时代 | Shí dài | Time, US weekly news magazine |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 地方 | dì fāng | region; regional (away from the central administration); local |
| 比如 | Bǐ rú | see 比如縣|比如县[Bi3 ru2 Xian4] |
| 越南 | Yuè nán | Vietnam |
| 泰 | tǎi | Mt Tai 泰山[Tai4 Shan1] in Shandong |
| 国 | Guó | surname Guo |
| 阿 | ā | prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity; used in transliteration; (bound form) Afghanistan (abbr. for 阿富汗[A1 fu4 han4]); (bound form) Alban… |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 伯 | bō | uncle; the eldest among brothers; (honorific) count |
| 最远 | zuì yuǎn | furthest; most distant; at maximum distance |
| 非 | Fēi | abbr. for 非洲[Fei1 zhou1], Africa |
| 洲 | zhou | continent |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 带去 | dài qu | to take along with one |
| 茶叶 | chá yè | tea; tea leaves; CL:盒[he2],罐[guan4],包[bao1],片[pian4] |
| 带回 | dài huí | to bring back; to take back with one |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 外国 | wài guó | foreign country |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 动物 | dòng wù | animal |
| 有一次 | yǒu yī cì | once; once upon a time |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 颈 | jíng | used in 脖頸|脖颈[bo2 geng3] |
| 鹿 | lù | deer |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 欧 | Oū | Europe (abbr. for 歐洲|欧洲[Ou1 zhou1]); European Union (abbr. for 歐盟|欧盟[Ou1 meng2]); surname Ou |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 航海 | háng hǎi | to sail the seas; maritime navigation; voyage |
| 早 | zǎo | early; morning; Good morning!; long ago; prematurely |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 多国 | duō guó | multinational |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 有了 | yǒu le | I've got a solution!; to have a bun in the oven (abbr. for 有了胎[you3 le5 tai1]) |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 一部分 | yī bù fen | portion; part of; subset |
Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas were a major event during China’s Ming Dynasty. From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He led a massive fleet on seven voyages to the “Western Seas.” The “Western Seas” was what Chinese people at that time called the Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean regions.
Zheng He was a eunuch of the Ming Dynasty and also a famous navigator. The Ming Dynasty emperor ordered him to lead a fleet overseas to visit other countries, conduct trade, and let foreigners know that the Ming Dynasty was very powerful.
Zheng He’s fleet was enormous. At its largest, there were over two hundred ships with more than twenty-seven thousand people on board. The largest ships were called “treasure ships,” which were very long and very wide. In that era, these were the largest ships in the world.
During the seven voyages, Zheng He visited many places, such as Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Arabia, and traveled as far as the eastern coast of Africa. He brought Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain, and also brought back many foreign goods, such as spices and animals. Once, he even brought back a giraffe from Africa.
Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas occurred several decades before Europeans began their maritime exploration. These voyages enabled China to establish exchanges with many countries and remain an important part of world maritime history.