Bedtime Facts (11/365) - Chinese Maritime Discoveries and Explorations Predated Those of Europeans

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The maritime discoveries and explorations of the Ming Empire predated those of the Portugues - just barely. The Portuguese started their Atlantic explorations in 1415 and the Chinese started their Southeast Asian voyages led by Admiral Zhen He in 1405.

The Chinese period of maritime explorations was intense but brief. It lasted only for 28 years. The Ming Empire was capable of sending incredibly powerful fleets to explore. Zhen He's first exploratory voyage consisted of 317 ships and had 28,000 crewmen. The were up to 120 metres long. Zheng He's fleet or parts of it explored Southeast Asia, India, the Horn of Africa and Arabia.

China was never a maritime power and the maritime explorations of Zheng He are exceptional. There was a power struggle between the scholar gentry who ran the day-to-day administration and policymaking in the Empire and the court eunuchs who were a powerful group. The former were in favor of a territorial orientation against the threat of Mongols in the north and the east. Piracy had started to become a problem on Chinese coastal water. This prompted a response on part of the Empire. But as the explorations violated the long-standing Chinese principle of non-involvement with the outside world, they were eventually stopped.