1

Was Zheng He a Colonialist?

Tan Ta Sen

In recent years, some historians began to re-examine the nature and impact of
the Admiral Zheng Hes expeditions. Lectures, books and articles have been
published by scholars in China and outside China including Dr. Geoff Wade. These
publications have enriched our understanding of the subject under study. While most
writers argue the positive aspects of the Zheng He voyages, Dr. Wade chose to be
highly critical and is of the opinion that voyages were aggressive and colonialist in
nature in fact, they constituted acts of aggression and invasion.
This essay examines some of the arguments presented by Dr. Wade in his
article published in the journal entitled The Zheng He Voyages: A Reassessment 1
and he reiterated his similar accusations in many seminars held at the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and elsewhere in Malaysia. Wade accused
Zheng He and Emperor Yongle of systematically pursuing a so-called southern
expansion programme in a three-pronged strategy:
1. Zheng Hes voyages and Ming maritime proto-colonialism,
2. Ming invasion of Dai Viet (Annam),
3. Mings invasion and occupation of Yunnan. 2

Geoff Wade, The Zheng He Voyages: A Reassessment in JMBRAS, Vol. LXXV!!! Pt. 1,
2005, 37-58
2
Ibid., 55.

I. Were Zheng He and Emperor Yongle proto-colonialists?

The following section examines the records of Mings intentions and actions taken in
connection with the diplomatic relations between the Ming Court and surrounding
small states.
Ming Foreign Relations and Tributary Exhanges
Wade began his first argument that Zheng Hes missions were
intended to create legitimacy for the usurping emperor, display the might of
Ming, bring the known polities to demonstrate submission to the Ming, and
thereby achieve a pax Ming throughout the known world and collect treasures
for the Court.3
Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) was indeed an usurper and he made great efforts to
legitimize his throne, but he was by no means an expansionist and colonialist. He
ascended to the throne by a revolt against his nephew, Emperor Jianwen, who was the
second Emporer of the Ming Dynasty. He was very conscious of the fact that he had
usurped the throne and was concerned with how history would view him and judge
his position in history. He would not want to be remembered as a usurper in history.
His thrones legitimacy was of the utmost importance to him. When he captured
Nanjing in 1402, he promptly issued an imperial decree to declare himself as

Ibid., 45.

Emperor Hongwus oldest son of the legal wife. He proceeded to make himself a
great Ming emperor so that he would leave a good legacy behind him. He chose
foreign lands as the stage to achieve his goal. Zheng Hes historic voyages were
aimed at expanding Ming Chinas sphere of political influence as wide as possible in
the western ocean and into new frontiers from Southeast Asia to Africa. Ming China
under his reign had become the sole superpower in the world and the guardian of
world peace. Emperor Yongle through Zheng He had achieved his goal and he was
remembered favourably in history for being the only Chinese emperor who had made
China a global maritime super power in history. His towering historical image had
overshadowed his usurpation of the throne. He had created another Golden Age in the
history of China. However, his overseas glory was not achieved by invasion and
territorial conquest as claimed by Wade.
Right from the outset, Yongle had no ambition to colonize native states.
Colonialism is defined by Heywood as a theory or practice of establishing control
over a foreign territory and turning into a colony. Colonialism is thus a particular
form of imperialism. Colonialism is usually distinguished by settlement and by
economic domination. As typically practiced in Africa and Southeast Asia, colonial
government was exercised by a settlement community from a mother country who
were ethnically distinct from the native population.4 Foreign relations of the Ming
court, especially during the Zheng He period, cannot be fitted into such a concept.

Heywood, Andrew, Politics. London: McMillan, 1997. 116.

Imperial China since the Qin dynasty had developed a Sino-centric world
view and world order. China was perceived as the centre of the universe, the Middle
Kingdom, and the emperor the Son of Heaven who presided over all-under-Heaven
(tianxia ) (Fairbank 1968b: 2). Under such a framework, Chinas foreign
relations were hierarchical. The graded and concentric hierarchy of Chinas foreign
relations with peoples and states were grouped by Fairbank under the following three
zones 5:
A. Sinic zone consisting of the most nearby states and culturally similar
tributaries such as Korea and Annam parts of which had anciently been ruled
within the Chinese empire in the past, and Ryukyu (now Okinawa).
B. Inner Asia zone consisting of tributary tribes and states of non-Chinese
nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples of Central Asia.
C. The outer zone consisting of the outer barbarians (waiyi ) further away
including states of Southeast Asia, South Asia, Japan and Europe that were
supposed to send tribute when trading.

According to Fairbank, China pursued a proactive interventionist approach in dealing

with states in zones A and B, respectively, by using military or administrative
control, and cultural or religious influence. However, towards the states in zone C,

Fairbank, John King 1968, A Preliminary Framework, in John King Fairbank, eds.,
The Chinese World Order Traditional Chinas Foreign Relations. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2.
Ibid.

China used a non-interventionist approach through material interest such as trade and
imperial gifts, and diplomacy.
The early Ming emperors Hongwu and Yongle adopted this traditional
Chinese world order and Chinas foreign relations framework especially in dealing
with Southeast Asian states. After ascending to the throne, Emperor Hongwu
implemented a diplomacy of peace and fraternity with all foreign states. This policy
was against the deployment of force when dealing with foreign states. He issued
decrees to his ministers prohibiting them from launching military action against
foreign native states.
The Veritable Records of the reign of Emperor Hongwu records, The
Emperor held an audience at Feng-tian Gate (Nanjing Palace) and instructed the
Secretariat, Military Commission and Censorate officials saying: "Of the man and the
yi countries abroad, there are some which are dangerous to China. They must be
subject to suppression. However, we should not quickly raise troops against those
which are not dangerous to China. The ancients had a saying: `Expanding territory is
not the way to lasting peace. Troubling the people is the road to disorder.' For
example, Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty raised troops and subjugated Ryukyu,
killing the yi people, burning their palaces and houses and taking several thousand
persons prisoner. He obtained the territory, but it could not provide even its own
needs. He obtained the people, but they could not be employed. He merely longed for
a name. Thereby, he brought disorder to China and was derided in the various
subsequent history books. I feel that as the various small man and yi countries are

obstructed by mountains, are across the seas or are secluded in some corner, they do
not pose a danger to China. I will certainly not attack them. It is only the hu and the
rong of the Northwest who have for generations posed danger to China.We must
carefully guard against them. Ministers, you must bear my words in mind, so that you
will know my will. 7
He further ordered his descendants not to invade neighbouring states in an
imperial ancestral edict which states,
Foreign states are sited in remote corners. To acquire their lands is
unable to meet our needs. To acquire their peoples is unable to achieve
our mission. If they are not aware of their limitations and attack our
borders, they will be courting disaster. If they are harmless to China and
we mount military action against them, it will also be inauspicious. I am
afraid that my descendants might take advantage of Chinas might to
invade others and harm peoples without cause and reason. So always
remember [this ancestral edict]. 8
In his imperial ancestral edict, Zhu Yuanzhang [Emporer Hung Wu, the
first Ming Emperor], warned his descendants that there would be no tangible
benefits from acquiring those remote undeveloped states. Wars that did break
out were caused either by ignorant states attacking Chinas borders or by
Chinese invasion without any cause and would inevitably lead to great
7

Ming Taizu shilu: ch. 68. Geoff Wade tran.

Huangming Zuxun: Ming Huidian, opening chapter.

damage. He wanted his descendants not to launch military campaigns against

neigbouring states. He went one step further to list 15 native states including
Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, Annam, Champa, Zhenla, Siam, Srivijaya, Java,
Pahang, Samudra and Brunei as countries not to be invaded. 9 (Melaka was
not in existence then).
Emperor Yongle continued to implement the diplomacy of peace after
ascending to the throne. He dispatched Zheng He on voyages to the Western Ocean
on a mission of peace and good will. In 1409, he issued a decree to Zheng He which
clearly spelt out his good neighbourliness foreign policy. He stated in the decree,
I now send Zheng He on a mission with this imperial decree. You all
should follow the heavenly path, obey the imperial order, restrain
yourselves and well-disciplined; you should neither break rules nor bully
the minority and the weak. Let everyone enjoy the happiness of peace. If
they come to the court to make tribute sincerely, reward them with gifts. It
is hereby proclaimed for everyone to note. 10
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He was conducting his mission according to the
Emperors directive on fostering good relationships with foreign states. As a supreme
maritime power, Ming China sent out powerful fleets but it harboured no ambition to
occupy native states visited by the fleet. In addition, under the tributary system, Ming
China and vassal states would exchange visits by envoys. Vassal states regularly paid
9
10

Huangming Zuxun: opening chapter; Ming Huidian, Chapter 105.

Family geneological record of Zheng He.

tribute with foreign envoys commissioned by their kings or the kings themselves
making trips to China bringing with them gifts such as local produce, precious
products and exotic animals as a symbol of submission in return for Chinas
recognition of sovereignty and protection. In return, the Ming court granted the
tribute missions rich imperial gifts. Zheng Hes missions brought along the imperial
decrees with valuable gifts such as mandarin hats, robes, gold and silver, porcelain
and silk for the native rulers. Whenever Zheng He visited a native state, he would call
on the ruler first and present him with valuable gifts and perhaps a Mandarin royal
hat, seal and robe to acknowledge and respect his high position. Ming Chinas foreign
relations with Afro-Asian states were based on non-intervention and aimed to
establish a harmonious world.
In for e i gn t ra de , Yongle forbade private foreign trade but he enforced a
state foreign trade policy. He reinstated the offices of the Commissioners for Foreign
Trade at Quanzhou, Guangzhou and Mingzhou (Ningpo) soon after his coronation in
1403. He also allowed foreign tribute missions to bring in private goods for tax-free
trading to be conducted within the official guest house, Hui Tong Guan, for three
days. In bu si n es s t r a ns ac t i on s, Zhe n g H e a pp l i ed C on fuc i an e t hi cs
s uc h as t ru st , i nt e gri t y, a mi ab i l it y a nd c o-o pe ra t i on . H i s b us i ne ss
de a l s we r e ba se d o n a w i n-w i n for mu l a w hi c h re fl e c t ed bestowing
valuable gifts worth more than what is received and valuing righteousness above
material gain. In carrying out diplomatic activities and foreign trade within the
tributary system, the Ming court was altruistic. It was obligatory on vassal states to
make regular tribute of local produce to the Ming court. Likewise, Ming emperors

would return them with valuable gifts. When Ming envoys on mission abroad, they
would bring with them imperial decree and mandarin robes as well as valuable
presents such as silver, gold, porcelain and silk for the native rulers. Foreign envoys
or rulers making their tributary trips to the Ming court with such local produce and
rare and exotic animals like peacock and crane from Brunei, elephant and ivory from
Champa, elephant, coral and pepper from Siam, and giraffe, lion and pearls from
Hormuz. In return, the Ming court granted them gifts including tens of bales of silk,
thousands of porcelain pieces, and silver and gold. Hence, the foreign trade was not
in favour of the Ming court as Wade asserted but much in favour of the native states.
Noted historians shared the above observations on tributary relations and
tributary trade. Wang Gungwu observed,
Obviously, from the emperors point of view, tributary relations were not to
be conducted for profits. What does need to be emphazised is the emperors
explicit policy of refraining from aggression against overseas countries. This
striking new feature of an entire defensive policy towards countries to the
south and east cannot be overemphasized. It not only confirmed the past
practices of the Han, Tang and Song empires and rejected those of the
Mongolian emperor Khubilai, but also established an important doctrine of
Ming foreign policy.11

11

Wang Gungwu, China and the Chinese Overseas. Singapore:: Eastern Universities Press,
1991, p. 56.

10

Martin Stuart-Fox observed Southeast Asian states viewed tribute

differently from the official and orthodox Chinese concept of tribute. For the
Chinese tribute denoted not the transfer of economic resources, but symbolic
submission. However, for Southeast Asian rulers, tribute paid to China did not
carry the same connotation as tribute demanded from their own vassals, just because
more valuable gifts were given in exchange. What was tribute for the Chinese was for
Southeast Asian rulers the polite exchange of gifts as a formality that went with
mutually beneficial trade. The accompanying ceremonial established status of
hierarchy, but not vassalage in the Southeast Asian sense. It was acceptable for
envoys to show proper respect to the Chinese emperor, just as Chinese envoys, for
example, Zheng He, paid proper respect to Southeast Asian kings. 12
II. Guanchang Supply and Trading Bases not Colonies
Wade also argued that guanchang (government depots) set up by Zheng Hes fleet
in strategic port cities such as Melaka were military bases or colonies. He wrote, To
enable these great fleets to maintain the pax Ming in the immediate region and sail
through the Indian Ocean to Africa, it was necessary to create staging posts in what is
today Southeast Asia.13
Along this wide and long maritime trade routes spreading from the Malay
Archipelago to East Africa, Zheng Hes fleets and sub-fleets called at major ports to

12

Martin, Stuart-Fox, A Short History of China and Southeast Asia: Tribute, Trade and
Influence. NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2003. 53-54.
13

Wade, op. cit., 47.

11

trade Chinese silk, tea and porcelain for local produce such as spices, medicinal
herbs, etc. with traders from all over the world. As each overseas operation was a
major one involving more than 200 ships and over 25,000 men and with large stocks
of provisions, water, imperial gifts, tributes, arms and weapons, gold and silver, silk,
tea and porcelain for trade, Zheng He had to set up strategic bases along the long
journey ranging from months and even years to serve as mid-way houses while
awaiting fair monsoon winds for home-bound voyages. Apparently, he divided his
overseas operation into four zones: Malay Peninsula, Indonesia Archipelago, South
Asia, and Arabia. He also identified four key ports of call within each zone as his
administrative centres: Melaka, Samudra, Calicut (also known as Guli in Chinese
sources) and Hormuz. These administrative centres were selected for their being
regional commercial hubs which could facilitate carrying out his two vital
diplomatic and foreign trade missions. Melaka being situated at the southern
entrance of the Strait of Melaka, Zheng He had long realized that Melaka would
become an important regional sea power in Southeast Asia. Samudra, also situated at
the northern entrance of the Strait of Melaka, was a busy port in the Indonesia
Archipelago in the Zheng He era. Ma Huan wrote, At this place, there are foreign
ships going and coming in large numbers, hence all kinds of foreign goods are sold
in great quantities in the country.14 Arab and Indian Muslim and Chinese traders
assembled here to conduct trade. Being close to the Strait of Melaka, Java and Spice
Islands, it was made the headquarter of Zheng Hes operation in the spice trade in
14

Ma Huan, Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan The Overall Survey of the Oceans Shores. J.V.G. Mills tr. Bangkok:
White Lotus Press. 120.

12

the Indonesia Archipelago zone covering Java, Spice Islands, Sumatra and Borneo.
Calicut in the western coast of India was Zheng Hes third trading base in South
Asia. Ma Huan wrote, foreign ships from every place come here; and the king of
the country also sends a chief and a writer and others to watch the sales; thereupon
they collect the duty and pay it in to the authorities 15 Ma Huan also told us that the
chief, the traders and the Eunach would engage in the negotiation of transactions in
the selling and buying of silk and local products16 . Arab Muslim traders
monopolized the trade between India and Europe. They provided the crucial links
between high-valued Asian products such as silk, porcelain and spices, and
European markets in the East-West international trade. Hormuz at the mouth of the
Persian Gulf was a flourishing commercial hub in Arabia. Zheng He set up his
fourth base there. Ma Huan witnessed in Hormuz foreign ships from every place
and foreign merchants traveling by land all come to this country to attend the market
and trade; hence the people of the country are all rich. 17 So Zheng He broke the
monopoly of the Arab and Indian Muslim traders by forming a regional trading base
in Hormuz to oversee the trade in Arabia and East Africa. 18 Meanwhile, his staff
also collected in these market places useful political and economic information like
trade methods, local products, local currency, political systems and market demand
for Chinese goods and the like.

15
16
17
18

Ibid., 143.
Ibid., 141.
Ibid. 165.
,.17
(03.2004),27-31.

13

Zheng He set up these official warehouses (guanchang) in these trading bases

for the storage of goods and provisions. Ma Huan described the guanchang in Melaka
as follows :
Whenever the treasure-ships of the Middle Kingdom arrived there, they at
once erected a line of stockading, like a city-wall, and set up towers for the
bell and drums at four gates. At night they had patrols of police carrying
bells. Inside they erected a second stockade, like a small city-wall, [within
which] they constructed warehouses and granaries [and] all the money and
provisions were stored in them. The ships which had gone to various
countries returned to this place, and loaded foreign goods and loaded them
in the ships, [then] waited till the south wind was perfectly favorable. In the
middle of the fifth moon they put to sea and returned home.19
According to the description by Gong Zhen and Ma Huan, the guanchang was
obviously a warehouse. It has been a normal practice to guard warehouses with some
security measures, for example, deploying security guards.
III. Grand Fleet
Generally, each time when he set sail, his fleet consisted of more than two
hundred ships of which more than 60 were large and medium treasure ships, and
more than 28,000 crew members. The first expedition in 1405 was the grandest.
Zheng He mobilized more than 200 ships and 28,700 crew members. Wade is of the
19

Ma Huan, Mills tr., Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan The Overall Survey of the Oceans Shores. J.V.G.
Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 1997: 113-114.

14

opinion that, the majority of the ships were warships, and, the majority of the crew
were military men. He believed it is likely that all of the missions carried something
in excess of 20,000 military men20. He added, with perhaps 26,000 out of 28,000
members of some missions being military men.21 He has not disclosed his source of
information about the so-called majority claims. However, many historical sources
show that Zheng Hes fleets consisted of a variety of ships, for example, treasure
ships, supply ships, horse ships, water ships, troops ships and battleships but Wade
has suggested that the majority were warships and military men. In fact, there was
no strong maritime power within the trading zones of East Asia and Southeast Asia in
the 15th century that warranted Zheng He s bringing along a great number of
warships. At that time, the formerly great empires such as Majapahit of Java and
Srivijaya of Sumatra had already declined and even disintegrated into small states.
Meanwhile, in the vast ocean, piracy was rampant. If not supported by some troops,
Zheng He during his first voyage would have been defeated by the pirate chief Chen
Zuyi of Palembang. So, those military forces were meant for self-defence and to
protect the valuable gifts and commodities on board and not for invasion. They were
there simply to safeguard the safe journey of the fleet and safe passage of the trade
routes as well as to ensure efficiency in performing duties of the mission.
Wade strongly felt that Zheng He made effective use of such a large fleet to
carry out his missions through coercion in several ways. Wade singles out three key
coercion scenarios. Firstly, they were engaged to control ports and shipping lanes and

20
21

Wade, op.cit., 45.

Ibid., 51.

15

hence controlled trade, an essential element for the missions treasure-collecting

tasks. The colonial armies manning these ships were the tool necessary to ensure that
the control was maintained. Thus, Wade claims the Ming, through these maritime
missions, was engaged in what might be called maritime proto-colonialism.22
Secondly, such a force would have played a major threatening role in coercing
foreign rulers to come to the Ming court.23 Thirdly, the armies were used to attack
native states.24 Unfortunately, these allegations were not substantiated by historical
facts.
On the so-called Mings maritime proto-colonialism, Wade said it had its
equivalent in the later maritime colonialism of the fifteenth and seventeenth-century
Portuguese voyages .25 This is a serious fallacy. The nature of Mings state foreign
trade and Portuguese (and also Spanish) Crown or royal trade were entirely different.
We have discussed earlier the need for Zheng He to set up strategic bases
along the long journey to serve as mid-way houses for storage of cargo and
provisions supply while awaiting fair monsoon winds for home-bound voyages. This
was an essential logistical move. More importantly, Zheng He did not monopolize
these markets but applied the Art of Collaboration to partner respective native rulers
and international traders on mutual-beneficial win-win formula to develop the
markets. Under his open and free market strategy, the key ports along the East-West

22
23
24
25

Ibid., 51.
Ibid., 47.
Ibid.
Ibid., 51.

16

maritime highway like Melaka, Samudra, Calicut and Hormuz had become regional
and international commercial hubs. The rise of Melaka as a regional commercial hub
is a good example. Under Mings patronage, Melaka managed to free itself from
constant threat of invasions by Majapahit and Siam. Zheng He made Melaka his
regional headquarter to conduct regional diplomatic and entrepot trade activities in
Southeast Asia. It greatly enhanced Melakas position as the most important regional
entrepot trading centre in Southeast Asia. It attracted traders of all nationalities to
trade in Melaka. The Southeast Asian traders brought their spices and other local
produce to Melaka for re-export to other parts of the world. Indian and Arab traders
brought in European, Persian and Indian goods and commodities, and Zheng Hes
fleets came with Chinese tea, silks and porcelain. From 1434 to 1511, Melaka had
become the largest international collection and distribution hub of commodities and
entrepot trade centre in Southeast Asia.
In contrast, the Portuguese Crown also realized the importance to capture key
ports and shipping lines along the main East-West maritime highway in the 16th
century. However, it adopted a high-handed approach by showing its hard power to
force open the markets and eventually colonized Goa, Melaka and Macau by superior
warships and colonial armies. The Crown of Portugal claimed a tight monopoly on
the provision of ships for the Carreira, or passage to India, and on the trade in
precious metals from Portugal and imports of pepper and spices.26 M.N. Pearson

26

M.N. Pearson, Merchants and States, The Political Economy of Merchant Empires:
StatePower and World Trade, 1350-1750 edited by James D. Tracey. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1991. 77.

17

elaborated how the Portuguese Crown enforced its trade monopoly policy. No trade
in any product was to take place except in ships that had taken a pass from the
Portuguese, which in turn obliged these ships to call at Portuguese ports and pay
customs duties. This policy in Asia was backed up by extensive naval patrolling and a
string of ports around the littoral of the Indian Ocean, among them several of the
great port cities which included Melaka, Diu and Hormuz. 27 Pearson labelled this as
a protection racket. He described, Basically a tribute was demanded from Asian
trade; the Portuguese created de novo a threat of violence to Asian shipping, and then
sold protection from this threat, as seen in the requirement to take passes and pay
custom duties. No service was provided in return, in modern terms this was precisely
a protection racket.28 Under this monopoly policy, Melaka under the Portuguese
declined rapidly. Portuguese monopolistic economic policies chased away foreign
traders to trade in other rising commercial centres in Java and Sumatra. Zhang Xie
(1574-1640) had witnessed Melakas economic crisis and reluctance of Chinese junks
calling at Melaka in the late 16th century and early 17th century. He wrote that
Melakas commercial activity under Portuguese occupation was declining and
Chinese junks seldom called at Melaka because Chinese traders were always cheated
by the Portuguese. Hence, the Portuguese resorted to robbing Chinese junks by
intercepting them in the Strait of Melaka29. To sum up, Zheng He had not used
coercion as accused by Wade in opening up the key port cities. Instead, it was the

27
28

29

Ibid., 78.
Ibid., 79.
Zhang Xie (), Dongxiyang Kao (). : , 1981. 66-70.

18

Portuguese who used coercion that led to the decline of these port cities. In 1511 the
population in Melaka was about 15,000 of them and after the war, 10,000 of them
were killed by the Portugese. However, in 1407 Zheng He fleet arrived with 28,700
people but none of the 3,000 population in Melaka were killed.
As regards Wades second allegation that foreign rulers were coerced to pay
tribute to the Ming court, it is equally unfounded. In fact, foreign rulers were attracted
by the favourable tributary trade to send tribute missions to the Ming court. Under
this imperial system, China and vassal states would exchange visits by missions. The
vassal states would pay tributes to China with their local produces regularly and in
return the Ming court would bestow handsome imperial gifts to vassal states. The
Ming missions would bring along the imperial decrees with valuable gifts such as
hats, robes, gold and silver, porcelains and silks. When the rulers of the vassal states
or their tribute missions came to the court, they would bring along local produces,
animals and rare curios, treasures or luxury goods to present to the Ming emperors.
These tributes included peacocks from Brunei, elephants, ivory and pepper from
Siam, and lions, pearls and Zebras from Hormuz. To show off Chinas wealth and
greatness, the Ming emperors would return them with tens of silks and thousands of
porcelains. In terms of value, the exchange of gifts was absolutely unbalanced and
lopsided, very much in favour of the vassal states.
Besides tributes, foreign missions also benefitted tremendously from the
ensuing private trade following ceremonial diplomatic functions. After having made
tribute to the emperor, the Ming court allowed the tribute missions and its individual

19

members to engage in trading activities within the compound of the official guest
house, Hui Tong Guan, for three days under the supervision of the Ming officials.
According to the tributary regulations as laid down by Emperor Hongwu, tribute
missions could bring in private goods for trading. The Ming government would
acquire 60 per cent of these goods at a price much higher than the market price. The
balance would then be traded in the market place, tax free.
Over the years, in order to increase foreign trade with the Ming Empire so as
to satisfy their demand for Chinese products, a few vassal states were found to have
abused their tributary privileges by sending tribute missions more frequently and with
larger entourages. The goods they purchased also exceeded their specified quota.
Consequently, the Emperor had to impose regulatory measures to curb such abuse by
regulating the frequency and duration of the tribute mission each vassal state could
send. Some would make tributes every three years and some every five years. It was
also stipulated that the tribute missions would proceed to the capital Nanjing via
Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and they could only stay at three cities,
Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Mingzhou. The number of ships, number of entourages
and the type of tributary items were also specified. To prevent fake or illegitimate
tribute missions from entering China for trading, all tribute missions were issued with
official identity documents. If foreign states had to be coerced as Wade claimed to
send tributary missions to the Ming court, it is extremely illogical for the Ming court
to impose regulatory measures on frequency, duration and size of tributary mission to
curb abuse. It is clear that it was the pull factor (substantial material gains made from

20

the tributary trade) that was responsible for native states sending tributary missions to
the Ming court.
The third charge against Zheng Hes military actions taken in Java,
Palembang, Samudra and Sri Lanka was not justifiable. A Ming source, Shuyu
Zhoushilu by Yan Congjian, gives an account on Zheng Hes military action in Java
as follows:
In the 4th year (1406) for the reign of Emperor Yongle, the Ruler of the
West sent tributes like pearls and coral while the East Ruler sent horses.
However, the two were at war, and the Ruler of the East was killed. At
that moment, our mission was passing through the city of the East Ruler,
the West Ruler killed 170 of our men. The West Ruler sent a messenger
to say that the East Ruler should not have been installed and had
therefore been killed. The West Ruler was severely reprimanded with a
decree. In the 5th year (1407) , the West Ruler Dumaban asked for
forgiveness and was prepared to compensate 60 thousand taels of gold.
He also consented to accession of the son of the East Ruler. It was
consented. In the 6th year (1408), the West Ruler Dumaban paid tribute of
10 thousand taels of gold as a token of apology for his wrongdoing. The
Minister of Rituals said that he had owed us 50 thousand taels of gold
and asked an official to deal with him in accordance with the law. The
Emperor noted, it was sufficient if people in far lands feared punishment

21

for their crimes. We were not interested in his gold! As long as he was
remorse for his crime, paying gold as compensation was not required.30
The narration above reveals that Zheng Hes men were not willfully killed
and Zheng He had not sent troops to take revenge. He had just submitted the case to
seek the emperors decision. There was no military action, and certainly no
invasion.
On Zheng Hes capture of the notorious pirate, Chen Zuyi, in Palembang,
Ma Huan who accompanied him on the trip wrote,
During the 5th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle (1407), the emperor sent
Eunuch Zheng He to lead a fleet of treasure ships and arrived at this place. A
certain Shi Jinqin, originally from Guangdong, reported the atrocities
committed by Chen Zuyi. He was arrested by Eunuch Zheng He and together
with others was brought back to imperial court for execution.31
Similarly, the Ming Shi (The Official History the Ming Dynasty) records,
During the 5th year (1407), Zheng He returned drom the West Ocean. The
emperor sent for himZuyi plotted to rob Zheng He by pretending to surrender. A

Yan Congjian ()Suyu Zhouzilu ().., 2000. 294-5.

Ming Shih has similar narration.

30

31

Ma Huan (), Yingya Shenglan (). ,1955. 17.

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certain Shi Jinqin informed Zheng He of the conspiracy. Zuyi was captured when
he mounted an attack. He was presented to the emperor, and was executed.32
At that point in time, Palembang was in name a vassal state of Majapahit
but, in fact, the port of Palembang was governed by several Chinese. Chen
Daoming and Chen Zuyi were the pirate chief and kangzu (port master)
respectively. After Zuyi was defeated, Emperor Yongle established a separate
mission in Palembang and appointed Shi Jinqin to be the commissioner there.
Nevertheless, Palembang remained as a vassal state of Majapahit; there was no
change of suzerainty. This helped to clamp down on piracy and thus was good for
maritime trade. Zheng He did not send troops to occupy or invade Palembang.
As regards the incident in Samudra, a small native state on the island of
Sumatra, the Ming Shi states: The ruler of Samudra was killed by a certain Batak
king in a battle. As his son was too young to revengea fishermanthus led
troops to defeat the Batak kingAs agreed the wife of the Samudra ruler married
the fisherman and made him the kingIn the 10th year during the reign of Emperor
Yongle (1412)the grown-up son of the former ruler conspired with troop leaders
to murder the stepfather, the fisherman, usurped the throne and ruled the native
state. The fisherman had a son called Sekander who escaped with his men and
formed a settlement on a hill. In revenge he launched attack frequently. In the 13th
year during Emperor Yongles reign (1415), Admiral Zheng He with his fleet of

32

Ming Shi :, 1974. Vol 323-332. 408.

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treasure ships arrived and captured Sekander33 At the request of the ruler, Zheng
He quelled the rebellion. Once the rebellion was over he left the native state. It
would be most unreasonable to call him an invader and a colonialist.
Wade also mentioned Zheng Hes military action in Sri Lanka. The military
action in Sri Lanka is interesting but it is far from a planned deliberate invasion. The
Ming Shi again threw light on the incident: In the 9th month of the 6th year (1408)
when Zheng He was passing by Ceylon (Sri Lanka) again, the king Alakeswara lured
Zheng He into the country and demanded gold and silk while he sent troops to rob
Zheng Hes ships. Realizing that most of the kings troops were out. Zheng He led
2000-odd men and took the town by surprise. The king and his family members were
captured. The ship robbers, on hearing of the attack, rushed back to town but they
were badly defeated by the imperial troops. In the 6th month of the 9th year (1411),
captives were presented to the imperial court. The emperor granted them amnesty and
spared their lives. They were released and sent back to their native state.34 Based on
the above records, it appears that Zheng He mounted the military attacks in selfdefence. It should also be pointed out that Emperor Yongle did not execute the
captives as he had done in the case of the pirate chief, Chen Zuyi. Instead, he sent
them home and installed another individual to be the king. In addition, there was no
occupation of the native state. The episode though a military action but should
therefore not be regarded as an act of invasion.
33

Ibid. Similar story was carried by Ma Huan, 27-28, Gong Zhen ()Xiyang Fanguozhi
(),1961. 18; and Fei Xin (), Xingcha Shenglan
(),1954. 27.
34
Ibid., vol. 304.

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In the above cases, Zheng He acted as a peace-keeper and guardian of native

states to maintain law and order of the region and safety of trade routes. Throughout
his seven voyages, Zheng He did not occupy or colonize an inch of foreign land.
Wades expansionist theory is not supported by valid evidence and therefore not
plausible at all.
III.

Invasion and Occupation of Yunnan

Located at the southwest corner of China, Yunnan has been part of the

Chinese empire since the Han Dynasty. In 109 BC Emperor Wu ordered General
Guo Chang to go to the south to establish Yizhou province and 24 regions. The
capital should be in the Dianci region, todays Jinning, another region was called
Yunnan. In 109 AD, the Han court established the county of Yunnan as
commandant. 35 Yunnan was called Kunzhou in the Sui Dynasty and Nanzhao in
the Tang Dynasty. Nanzhou was overthrown in 902 and in 937. Duan Siping
established the Kingdom of Dali with Dali as its capital. It was ruled by a
succession of 22 kings until the year 1253, when it was conquered by an invasion
of the Mongol Empire. The Yuan Dynasty was the first regime in China to govern
Yunnan under a strict administrative control. In 1253, Kublai Khans Mongol
forces advanced to Yunnan and many other native regimes, including the
controlling Dali Kingdom, who had to abdicate from their thrones. Thus, Yunnan
became a province of Kublai Khan Empire. Zheng Hes 6th generation ancestor,

35

Ming Shi, vol. 201.

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Sayid Ajall ShamsuddinYunnan was posted by him to Yunnan as its governor.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Yunnan province was thrown into chaos and
anarchy. Remnants of the Mongol forces continued to rule Yunnan. It was 13 years
later that Zhu Yuanzhang, sent his troops to crush the remnants of the Mongol
forces in Yunnan in 1381. He sent 300 thousand-strong imperial troops led by one
of his capable generals, Fu Youde to attack the last Mongol fortress in Yunnan.
Yunnan was captured and China was unified. When Yunnan fell, a good number of
young boys, including the 10-year old Ma He, were taken, castrated and brought
back to the capital. Hence, the invasion and occupation of Yunnan was more a
dynastic civil war between the Ming government armies and remnants of Mongol
forces.

IV. The Invasion of Annan, 1406

Annan (Vietnam today) formed part of the Chinese empire before the Tang
Dynasty as a province called Jiaozhi. The collapse of the Tang Dynasty provided
an opportunity for Annan to break free of Chinese imperial control. In 966 AD, six
years after the founding of the Song Dynasty, Dinh Bo Linh proclaimed Annans
independence.36 However, Annan continued to maintain vassal relations with
China. Historians give a variety of causes which led to the Ming invasion on
Annan in July 1406, ranging from Annans attack on Guangxi and Yunnan due to

36

Martin Stuart-Fox, 45.

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border disputes to Champas complaint to the Ming court about Annans invasion.
37

The direct cause seems to be the usurpation that took place in Annan in 1400. In

that year a powerful Vietnamese mandarin, Hu Quy Ly, took advantage of the
political turmoil in China to replace the emperor of Annan (last of the Tran
Dynasty), with his own son and proclaimed a new dynasty. When Yongle ascended
the throne, the new king sent tribute to him and was acknowledged as Annans new
king. However, Yongle was annoyed when he discovered a few months later the
man was a usurper. The sole remaining descendant of the Tran line was found and
returned to Annan to be installed as the new king, but he was murdered on his
arrival. Yongle gave his support to the Tran family and escalated the conflict with
Annans usurped throne. An imminent war with Annan was looming large. Despite
Annans non-invading status as laid down in his fathers Ancestral Injunctions,
Yongle believed that there was sufficient provocation in this instance according to
the Ancestral Injunction38 to punish the usurper in a large-scale war. Twenty main
crimes held against the usurper were listed as reasons for the military campaign.
Prof. Wang Gungwu listed and analysed these crimes as follows:

For the murder of the Tran King who was properly recognized by China;

For the massacre of the Tran royal family;

37

,
2006131139
38

Wang Gungwu, Chinese and the Chinese Overseas. 61.

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For not using the Chinese calendar and for using his own reign-period;

For ill-treating the Annamese people;

For changing his own surname from Li to Hu;

For deceiving the Ming emperor about his usurpation;

For blushing the Ming emperor and resisting Ming missions;

For murdering the legitimate Tran heir;

For taking Chinese tribal territory at Ning-yuan Chou;

For killing the tribal chiefs son-in-law and related crimes;

For disturbing the peace among other border tribes;

For taking Ssu-ming Fu territory and only returning parts of it;

For inciting the tribes of His-ping Chou against the emperor;

For invading Champa territory during the kings mourning period;

For taking four chou from Champa and sacking them;

For taking over one hundred elephants from Champa and some territory;

For forcing Champa, a vassal of China, to use Annan seals and ceremonial
dress instead of Chinese ones;

For invading Champa because it acknowledged China as suzerain and not

Annan;

For capturing Chinese and Cham envoys at one of the Cham ports; and

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For insulting China by sending a criminal as envoy.39

Prof. Wang pointed out that one of the key words in the declaration of war
appears to be that Annan was very closely related to China and it is in this context
that the crimes can be seen as heinous. 40 He added, I have listed them fully to
show what vassalage to China meant at the time. The first eight may be described
as moral and idealogical issues, the next five as security matters, the five after that
as Annanese aggression against another vassal, and the final two as personal insults
to the emperor.41 Prof. Wang very correctly and aptly concluded, There are thus
four groups of issues which purported to have aroused Yongle to take strong
action. From his point of view, it may be argued that there was extreme
provocation. From the point of view of the country (Cham) attacked, the list
reveals the extent to which Chinese claims to suzerainty denied freedom and
independence of action to the vassal state.42

Concluding Remarks
Dr. Wade attempted to interpret the role of the Ming Dynasty in general and
Zheng Hes expeditions in particular, based on Chinese historical records but using a
Western perspective. He was imaginative and very selective in arguing his cases but
it was not adequately or correctly supported by historical records. In addition, he

39

Ming Tai-zong Shilu: juan 60.1a-4a.

Wang Gungwu, China and Southeast Asia 1402-1424 in Jerome Chen & Nicholas Tarling
eds., Studies in Social History of China and Southeast Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1970. 382.
41
Ibid.
42
Ibid., 382-383.
40

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purposely ignores the decrees issued by many Ming Emperors not to invade the
foreign countries and concluded that Yongle's seven voyages was to launch invasions
for the purpose of China southern expansion and for colonization.
Zheng He was an admiral in the Ming Dynasty. He was instructed by the
Ming emperor to project the power of Ming China (xuanyang guowei ), and
to implement the tributary system to States around the Western Ocean. He conducted
his diplomacy in the context of the Chinese concept of world order and tributary
system. His expeditions should be seen in that context rather than that of Western
colonialism. There is always a danger to see history from a non-historical point of
view; forcing a Western model and interpreting Chinese history pose pitfalls and will
only distort our understanding of history.

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