Seven Voyages Across the Silk Waves
In the thousand-year history of the Silk Road, the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD) was a highly representative period. Inheriting the navigation technologies of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the development of the Maritime Silk Road became increasingly prosperous. Among them, one of the most representative events was "Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Seas".
Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Seas were a series of maritime expeditions carried out during the Yongle and Xuande reigns of the Ming Dynasty. Led by Zheng He as the chief envoy, the first voyage began in the third year of Yongle (1405 AD) and the last one ended in the eighth year of Xuande (1433 AD), totaling seven voyages, visiting more than 30 countries and regions.
It was the largest-scale maritime navigation in ancient China, with the most ships and sailors and the longest duration. Before the European Age of Discovery at the end of the 15th century, it was the largest series of maritime ex…