Zheng He

Zheng He
鄭和
Statue from a modern monument to Zheng He at the Stadthuys Museum in Malacca City, Malaysia
Born	Ma He 1371[1] Kunming, Yunnan, Principality of Liang, Yuan China
Died	1433 (aged 61–62) or 1435 (aged 63–64)
Other names	Ma He Ma Sanbao Cheng Ho Mahmud Shams
Occupations	Admiral, diplomat, explorer, and palace eunuch
Era	Ming dynasty

Zheng He
Zheng's name in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	鄭和
Simplified Chinese	郑和
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Hé Wade–Giles Cheng4 Ho2 Yale Romanization Jèng Hé IPA [ʈʂə̂ŋ xɤ̌] Wu Romanization Zen Wu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jehng Wòh Jyutping Zeng6 Wo4 IPA [tsɛːŋ˨ wɔː˩] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tēⁿ Hô Tâi-lô Tēnn Hô

Zheng He (simplified Chinese: 郑和; traditional Chinese: 鄭和; pinyin: Zhènghé; Wade–Giles: Chêng-ho; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during the early Ming dynasty often regarded as the greatest admiral in Chinese history. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred by the Yongle Emperor.^[2] Commissioned by the Yongle Emperor and later the Xuande Emperor, Zheng commanded seven expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. According to legend, his larger ships carried hundreds of sailors on four decks and were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded.

As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whom Zheng assisted in the overthrow of the Jianwen Emperor, Zheng He rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing.