超级军网ZT龙腾 中国水手先于哥伦布到达美洲
来源：百度文库 编辑：超级军网 时间：2024/05/06 09:05:33
正文翻译
Chinese sailor finds America before Columbus!
中国水手先于哥伦布到达美洲
Who was Zheng He?
Zheng He was born in the poor, mountainous Chinese province of Yunnan in 1371, just as Genghis Khan's Mongols were being overthrown by a new, home-grown dynasty, the Ming under Emperor Zhu. Zheng He's parents named him “Ma Ho” in honor of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His father and grandfather were both Muslims and had each visited Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage. Their tales of the long journey thrilled Ma Ho and he longed make a glorious journey himself one day. As his family were Muslim and had fought on the side of the Mongols, when the Ming armies came looking for rebels, they killed Ma Ho's dad and hey captured the 10-year-old boy and, as was the custom with young male prisoners, castrated him.
郑和是谁？
郑和于1371年出生在中国贫困多山的云南省，正值成吉思汗建立的蒙古王朝被推翻的之时，新建立的明朝在朱元璋的统治之下。郑和的父母给他起名叫“MA HO",以纪念伊斯兰教的创始人穆罕默德，他的父亲和祖父都是虔诚的MSL，并且都去过麦加朝圣，他们讲述过的在旅途中令人激动的经历使得郑和一直向往，希望自己有一天能够踏上如此光荣辉煌的朝圣之旅。由于他们的家族全是MSL，并且为蒙古人效力，所以当明朝军队剿灭叛军的时候，他们杀了郑和的父亲，俘虏了年仅10岁的郑和，作为当时处置年轻男性囚犯的惯例，阉割了他。
As his intelligence was observed in the jail, he was taken to Beijing to serve as a servant to Prince Zhu Di, Emperor Zhu's fourth son. The prince and Ma Ho became best friends and the prince changed Ma Ho's name to Zheng He, and made him Grand Imperial Eunuch.
他的才能在监狱中就被发现了，随后被带到了北京，作为朱元璋第四个皇子朱棣的仆人，朱棣和他成为了最好的朋友,并且把他的名字改为郑和,使他成为最有权势的宦官.
When Prince Zhu Di's father died, there was some dispute over who would be the new emperor, but with Zheng He at his side, Zhu Di eventually became the emperor in 1402 and changed his name to Yong'le. He was ruthless and ambitious but was one of the best Ming emperors, building the Forbidden City when the capital was moved to Beijing and restored the Great Wall.
当朱元璋驾崩后,宫中发生了皇位的争夺,由于郑和站在他这边,最终朱棣成为皇帝,并改名号为永乐皇帝.他是明朝最雄心勃勃和冷酷无情的皇帝，他建造了紫禁城，将首都迁到北京，并重新开始修建长城。
Emperor Yong'le wanted to expand Chinese influence to other lands and establish trade, so he appointed the close on 7 foot tall Zheng He as Admiral of his fleets. Emperor Yong'le was a little bit of a megalomaniac as were many emperors of that time and had a grand vision then already, that China would become a world leader and the foremost trading nation in the world at that time. China already had the technology, they had invented the sextant, the compass and gunpowder. In Zheng He, Emperor Yong'le felt that he had the right man to send out to help build China into the greatest trading power of all time. He rightly believed that it would have to be through a fleet of ships and not overland.
永乐皇帝希望扩大中国的影响力并且建立贸易，所以他指令郑和作为舰队的船长，永乐皇帝有一些宏伟的设想，中国将成为世界的领导并成为当时世界最大的贸易国家。他们具备这种能力，他们已经发明了六分仪、指南针和火药。对于郑和，永乐皇帝相信他完全有这种能力帮助中国实现这些目标，他相信通过水路而不是陆路是最好的方式。
Zheng He was commanded to built a treasure fleet to go out and explore the regions beyond China. The shipyard in Nanjing was chosen as the place where the treasure ships would be built. According to some of the few remaining Ming records, the flagships of the fleet were 400 feet long and 160 feet wide. The treasure ships had watertight bulkhead compartments of a kind the West would have to wait hundreds of years for. They even had their own on-board vegetable patches, so sailors never got scurvy. Columbus's Santa Maria, was only 75 feet long and 25 feet wide!
郑和负责督造一支巨大的舰队去探索中国以外的世界，船坞位于南京。根据明朝史料记载，舰队的旗舰4800英尺长，1920英尺宽，这支巨大的舰船有西方几百年后才做的到防水的舱壁分隔间，并在在船上有储藏蔬菜的地方，使得船员不会因缺乏维生素而得坏血病。相比之下，哥伦布的圣玛利亚号，只有900英尺长，300英尺宽。
In 1405, only three years after receiving his instructions, Zheng He's treasure fleet set sail, with each flagship supported by countless smaller vessels going off in a different direction. All in all there were over 300 ships in the whole fleet and 27800 men. Amazing that all this shipbuilding took place in a 3 year period! On the ships, were trading items like silk and pottery, as well as concubines which were to be given to other leaders they met as gifts.
在1405年，也就是郑和接到指令后的3年，庞大的舰队开始了它的远洋之旅，庞大的旗舰由无数的船只在不同的方向支持护卫，总计300多艘船及27800名船员，而这一切只在3年之内就完成了，在那个时代简直是个奇迹。在船上载有有丝绸及陶瓷等贸易物品，同时也有将赠送给当地首领做为礼物的美女。
What is the
evidence?
The Nanjing Shipyards where these ships were built still exists and has been turned into a special park with a museum. It was only when some ancient Ming documents were found that China suddenly realised that they had once been a formidable sea power and had ruled the waves. For centuries all evidence of their naval expertise and explorations had been buried in the mud at the old shipyard. The museum shows some of the items that have been excavated to date, nails, ship building tools, masts and a huge tiller that will easily take 20 men to manage. A huge anchor, biggest I've ever seen was also found. Plans of the treasure ships and other small ships in the fleet have also been found. A map made in the 1700's, but based on a map from 1418 has also been found and shows that China knew about Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
证据是什么？
建造这支巨大舰队的南京船坞至今还存在，并被改造成为主题公园，只有通过目前尚存的明朝史料的记载，中国才意识到他们曾经具有过不可战胜的海上力量并曾经统治过整个海洋。数个世纪以来，有关他们造船技术及探索海洋的书籍早就在船坞中被焚毁了。主题公园里的博物馆展示了挖掘出来的东西，船钉、造船工具、船桅以及巨大的需要20多个人才能操作的船柄，见到了我从来没有见过的那么大的锚，也见到了巨大旗舰及其他船只的平面图。一幅根据1418年的航海发现而于1700年制作的地图显示了当时中国已经知道了非洲、欧洲、澳大利亚和美洲。
In his bestselling book 1421, former British naval officer Gavin Menzies claimed Zheng He's ships ended up reaching America and circumnavigating the world. He claims to have found ruins of Zheng He's ships in the Caribbean. However, the strongest evidence that Zhenge's fleet reached the East Coast of America, is the 600 year old bronze Ming Dynasty medallion found buried in Cherokee land. And, the Cherokee call their white clay pottery a very similar to name to what the Chinese call theirs almost identical in fact.
在畅销书《1421-中国发现世界》中，前英国海军军官加文孟席斯称郑和的舰队环游了世界，并最终到达美洲，他声称在加勒比海发现了郑和舰队船只的残骸。然而，郑和舰队到达美国东海岸最有力的证据是在发掘出来的有600年历史的明代铜章，并且声称他们对白色粘土陶瓷的发音与与中文的发音完全一致。
And then of course, many Native Americans do have slightly Asian features. maybe some concubines were dropped off there. It is believed as more old documents come to light, the proof of Zheng He reaching America will be undisputed.
当然，许多土著美国人也有一点亚洲面孔，或许当时郑和将一些中国女人在这里卸下，有许多有依据的资料证明，郑和到达美洲是毫无疑问的。
There is strong evidence to show Zheng He reached Africa. In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are clearly Asian-looking. They also consider themselves as the descendants of Zheng He’s crew. Many Samoans have Chinese surnames and Asian features, so there's evidence the treasure fleet went there as well. Zheng He took an Imam on board, so it is believed that Islam in Indonesia was brought by Zheng He's treasure fleet.有很有力的证据证
明郑和曾经到达非洲，在今天的非洲肯尼亚，有许多部落具有亚洲面孔。他们也认为他们是郑和舰队船员的后裔，许多具有中国人的姓氏和亚洲面孔，这是郑和舰队曾经到过那里的证据。郑和的船上带着一名伊玛目（伊斯兰教领袖），所以可以认为如今印度尼西亚的伊斯兰教是郑和传播过去的。
Voyage DatesFirst Voyage (1405-1407)Second Voyage (1407-1409)Third Voyage (1409-1411)Fourth Voyage (1413-1415)Fifth Voyage (1417-1419)Sixth Voyage (1421-1422)Seventh Voyage (1431-1433)
航行日期
第一次航行(1405-1407)
第二次航行(1407-1409)
第三次航行(1409-1411)
第四次航行(1413-1415)
第五次航行(1417-1419)
第六次航行(1421-1422)
第七次航行(1431-1433)
Zheng He's voyages had a very large impact on the Ming Dynasty and the countries Zheng He visited. These seven voyages opened trade and diplomatic ties for the Ming Dynasty with many other countries. Frightened by Zheng He's fleet, many countries paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty hoping to buy peace with the Asian superpower. Can you imagine what you'd have thought, if you had spotted a whole fleet of ships surrounding a huge treasure ship with red silk sails and flags flying in the breeze, as it anchored in your bay. From these visits, the Ming Dynasty acquired much power and wealth. Crews also brought back many tales of exotic lands and cultures, enriching the Chinese culture, already full of tales and myths.
郑和的航行对明朝及他所到的国家都产生的巨大的影响。这7次航行开启了明朝与很多国家的贸易和外交联系。由于郑和的舰队，许多国家开始对明朝纳贡希望与这个亚洲强权国家保持和平。巨大的旗舰和环绕在它旁边无数的船只，红色的丝绸风帆随风飘扬，巨大的船锚落在你的港口里，你当然可以很明显的辨认出他们。从这些访问中，明朝获得了大量权势和财富。船员们也带回了大量异域风情的故事，丰富了中国的文化，同时也带回了大量的神话与传说。
The Chinese took crates of porcelain dishes, vases and cups, as well as chinese silk, gold and silver to trade. Zheng He traded these items mainly for dyes, herbs, spices, gems, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns and exotic animals. The giraffe they brought back was aparticular favourite as the emperor thought it was a unicorn.
中国人带了成箱的陶瓷盘子、花瓶和杯子以及中国丝绸、金子和银器用来交易，用这些来换取染料、草药、香料、宝石、珍珠、象牙、犀牛和具有异域风情的各种动物。他们带回去的长颈鹿特别受皇帝的喜欢，他认为那是独角兽。
Why were the treasure fleets destroyed?
为什么庞大的舰队消失了?
Life changed for Zheng He when Emperor Yong’le suddenly died in 1424. Zhu Gaozhi became the next emperor of China. Emperor Yong'le had met with a lot of resistance at the expense of keeping the treasure fleet going, and pressure was put on the new emperor. Emperor Gaozhi wanted nothing to do with navel exploring and scrapped all ideas of a seventh Treasure Fleet. For six long years, Zheng He, who had fought off pirates, waged war with those who didn’t want peace, established trade routes, weathered hurricanes and other violent storms, was stuck on land with not much to do. Luckily, Emperor Zhu Gaozhi’s reign was short and the next Emperor, Zhu Zhanji, had similar views of Yong’le. In 1430, Emperor Zhanji commanded Zheng He to lead another Treasure Fleet on it's seventh voyage. This was to be Zheng He's last voyage as he is reputed to have died near Calicut and buried at sea according to Muslim tradition. Usually, an eunuch's testicles were kept in a jar and buried with them so that they could be whole in the afterlife. Unfortunately for Zheng He, despite all his brave deeds and accomplishments, he died half a man without his testicles being buried with him.
当永乐皇帝于1424年突然驾崩后，郑和的生活彻底被改变了。明仁宗朱高炽成为了的中国皇帝，在永乐皇帝在世的时候，消耗大量的钱财支持庞大的舰队的做法就遭到朝臣们很强烈的反对，现在压力落到了新皇帝的身上，仁宗皇帝对第七次航行没有一点想法也没有一点兴趣，在长达6年的时间里，郑和不得不与海盗和那些不想臣服的人战斗，建立新的贸易航线，或者在遭遇飓风或其他恶劣天气而困在港口里什么都做不了。幸运的是，他的统治时间很短，而继任的皇帝宣宗朱瞻基与永乐皇帝则有着相同的想法。在1430年，宣宗皇帝命令郑和领导另一支舰队进行第七次航行，这是郑和的最后一次航行了，据说他死在印度，并按照MSL习俗实行了海葬。通常太监的睾丸会存放在一个坛子里，死后一起下葬，使得他们下辈子能做个完整的男人。不幸的是，郑和作为一个拥有无与伦比的勇敢壮举和取得非凡成就的人，在去世的时候仍然是个不完整的男人。
Now, the Ming Dynasty was on a roll here. They had countries constantly sending in tribute, had many trade relations to make profits from, and it was the superpower of the world at that point. Zheng He's treasure ships used technology that would not be used in Europe for hundreds of years, and were economically much better off than the Europeans. TThey had sophisticated weaponry and were almost invincible. The Ming Dynasty was an unrivaled naval power and was feared and respected throughout the areas the treasure fleet visited . The Chinese could have conquered the world… but they suddenly stopped.
这时，明朝已经在海外很有影响力了，各国都持续不断的为明朝进贡，并与很多国家建立了贸易联系，有大量金银入账，成为那是世界上最强大的国家。郑和的庞大舰队使用的先进技术西方几百年后才具备，他们具有精妙的武器，几乎不可战胜。明朝在海上没有任何对手，并且沿途受到各个国家的敬畏，看起来中国人马上就要征服整个世界了，然而突然一切戛然而止了。
This is what intrigues me the most about this story. Why did they just stop and go into a sort of hibernation? Did the treasure fleets bring back some kind of plague or disease? Soon after Zheng He's death, the Ming Dynasty officials burned most of his charts and writings. By 1500, the Emperor ordered the destruction of all oceangoing ships and made it a capital offense to build a boat with more than two masts. In fact, building a boat of more than three masts was punishable by immediate death. What happened to make the chinese react in this way? What was brought back by the ships that frightened the Ming Dynasty officials that they destroyed everything about the ships?
这是让我感到最迷惑的地方。为什么他们突然停止了这一切，进入了闭关锁国的状态？难道他们的庞大舰队带回了瘟疫和其他疾病吗？郑和去世不久，明朝官员烧毁了大部分的航海图和航海记录。到1500年，皇帝命令毁掉所有在建的船只，并命令不许建造超过三个船桅的船只，事实上，很快连这种船只都不允许建造了。是什么造成明朝做出这种决定？难道他们带回来的什么东西吓到了明朝官员以至于他们要毁掉所有船只？
Some say that after Zheng He passed away at sea, the Ming Dynasty officials took control and decided that the dynasty was above the other countries out there and that the outside world had nothing to offer them. The burning of Zheng He's work was an extreme act to show that China didn't need the rest of the world, like burning the bridge behind you, the point of no return. I'm not sure if I can accept that as the reason. It just seems too extreme. To be a world power, rake in a fortune and then turn your back on it all for nearly 600 years.
有人说在郑和死在了海上之后，反对航海的官员控制了朝廷，并认为中国是天朝上国，外面的世界不能为他们提供什么有用的东西。烧毁了郑和的成果是一项极端的行为，表明中国不需要外部世界。我不知道我能不能接受这种说法，它看起来太极端了。作为世界最强大的国家，本可以赚取大量财富，但却与世界与世隔绝了近六百年，实在是不可思议的事情。
=============================华丽的分割线========================
评论翻译
Amazing story! Chinese history is so fascinating and they were so far ahead of their time!
这个故事太神奇了！中国历史如此辉煌，他们在那个时代遥遥领先我们！
Yeah Shalini, and I want to know what happened, why did they destroy it all and then go into hibernation? I find that fascinating!
回复楼上：的确实这样，我想知道到底发生了什么，为什么他们摧毁了所有的船只并开始闭关锁国？太神奇了！
An amazing story and very well written. Had heard of Zheng He having visited America but didn't know about his other voyages. I agree it is a mystery why the ocean going fleet finished. However, I believe that he was beaten to America by one European namely Leif Eriksson
这个故事太神奇了，写的非常好。我知道郑和曾经到过美洲但还不知道其他航行故事，我也对中国大航海时代的结束感到好奇，然而，我认为郑和是被利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）打到美洲的。
He is a hero .He brought China and the world of communication, of the Chinese civilization to the world.
他是一个英雄。他促进了中国和世界的交流，并把中国文明传播到世界。
Thanks Candie, I live in Nanjing and Zheng He's shipyard is right here
谢谢，我住在南京，郑和的船坞确实在这。
Awesome Hub. Really great read! The mystery of Zheng...
神奇的文章，很高兴读到，郑和真是个神话
Zheng He was an interesting character as he came from nothing to achieve so much. I read somewhere that they think he was the original Sinbad the sailor, the one all the stories were based on.
郑和是一个非常有趣的人物，他出身卑微却取得了如此大的成就。我在别的地方看到的文章说辛巴达就是以他为原型创造出来的人物。
Zheng He isn't very well known. Most people don't know that the Chinese were the most powerful seafarers at one time.
郑和还不是很有名，大多数人都不知道这个中国人是当时最牛逼的航海家
I love the Chinese history and culture. Hope you do find out some time why they shut themselves off like that. Other countries have done the same, Burma, Vietnam for many years too. I believe their reasons were they didn't want to be corrupted with Western influence.
我喜欢中国历史和文化。希望你能查到为什么他们要把自己封锁起来。其他国家比如缅甸、越南也封闭自己好多年，我想原因是他们不想被西方腐蚀影响。
I'm not sure we'll ever find out why they burnt all evidence of the explorations. My gut feeling remains that it was plague-related.
我不确定我们能否找到他们为什么要烧掉所有船只的证据，我自己认为还是与瘟疫有关。
Hopefully, the day will come when children will learn about Zheng He the way they learn about Drake and Columbus.
感谢这篇非常有历史价值的文章，希望有一天，郑和能够与达伽马和哥伦布一起出现在历史书上。
Wow, the Chinese sure had some big honkin' ships. And to think that ships of that size were later outlawed!
By the way, cindy, have you heard how historians now think that a visit from this fleet to Europe was probably a major spark for the Renaissance? The Chinese may have closed their borders, but their influence was still being felt throughout the world.
哇~ 中国人当然有如此大的船只，并且认为后来这些被认为是非法的。顺便说一句，你听历史学家说过郑和的航行成为欧洲文艺复兴的火花吗？中国人虽然关闭的边界，但他们的影响到整个世界。
have heard that they probably visited France, Portugal and the Netherlands, but not the bit about the Renaissance. The Chinese described meeting very tall men with big feet, orange/yellow hair and big noses. At that stage, had to be somewhere in Europe or alternatively a Viking settlement still in existence somewhere at that time
听说郑和的舰队曾经造访过法国、葡萄牙和荷兰，但是不知道和文艺复兴有关。据中国人描述，见到的了高个子、黄色头发、大鼻子的外国人，也许他们见到的是仍肆虐与欧洲的维京人。
it's even more fascinating when there is a little bit of mystery involved
有的一点神秘色彩使得这个故事更加神奇
Very rich hub with nice illustrations. China has one the greatest history background especially their expansion to new lands. Thanks
非常详细的介绍。中国有着伟大的历史，尤其在扩张新领土方面，谢谢
Right now this is my favorite of your hubs simply because I had seen reference to this story many times over the years but you wrote the details I was seeking. I'd never get sick of your China hubs!
目前这是你的文章中我最喜欢的，我以前也听过相关的故事，但是你所描述的细节正是我所寻找的，你的关于中国的文章我永远看不够。
Chinese have lots of secrets and mysteries！
中国人有着太多神秘和神奇的故事
Great job on your historical hub Cindy! a lot of info and great pictures. It is so interesting to see the kinds of stuff they used to get around back then.
你的历史文章写的真好！有着大量的信息和图片。能亲眼看到那些他们曾经用过的东西真有意思
As for the Asian features of Native Americans, I think the most commonly accepted explanation is the former existence of a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska. That's not to say that this history of Zheng He isn't factual, though; a different source for the Asian ancestry of Native Americans doesn't negate the possiblity that this history is accurate in its essentials. And, in any case, it's a very fascinating, thought-provoking story. It reminds my of a used book I came across in a bookstore and wish to heck I had bought and kept: it proposed a theory that the tribes of Israel had also circumnavigated the globe. And then, of course, there's the old favorite: the Atlantis story.
I love this stuff.
至于土著美国人为什么有亚洲面孔，目前最普遍、人们最认同的观点是曾经在西伯利亚和阿拉斯加之间存在陆桥，但这并不意味着关于郑和的历史不是真的，不能否认土著美国人的来源可能有多种，从任何角度讲，这都是非常神奇和引人深思的故事。这让我想到了我曾经在书店看到过的后来又把它买走的一本书，认为古代以色列部落也曾经环游世界，当然，人们肯定会对这个话题感兴趣，亚特兰蒂斯，我喜欢这个故事。
Most likely,they were spending too much money building ships that were not bringing back enough in the way of goods etc.. for it to be worth continuing! About the only ones making money were the builders of those ships.Then they may have lost a lot of them to storms at sea or could be the worlds ocean routes had changed,or could be all of the above!
最有可能的解释是，他们造船花钱太多了，造成收不抵支。。。可能最挣钱的就是那些造船的人了，可能他们在海上的暴风中损失了大量的船，或者海上航线改变，或者是以上所有的原因
Fascinating story! And I'm sorry to hear that he didn't get buried with his testicles? LOL I'm sure he'll survived without using it with the ladies then.
神奇的故事！我很遗憾他的蛋蛋没能和他一起下葬，哈哈。我想他下辈子没法和女人做爱了
The thought that Columbus was the 1st European in America is frankly hard to believe. Lief Erikson was in North America way back when. And when you hear stories of people today who row boats across the Atlantic, who knows what happened long ago. Thanks for introducing me to a real facinating character.
说哥伦布是第一个发现美洲大陆的说法很难让人相信。利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）就常在北欧和北美之间穿越，当你听到说谁穿越了大西洋到达美洲，你就应该知道那是很久之前就发生过的事情了。感谢你介绍了这个一个神奇的人物。
Amazing history. I watched a program on this man several years ago on History Channel. Fascinating, he did have balls though.LOL Smart too. I think the Egyptians were here even before our Viking friend. From where else did the mummies get tobacco and cocaine in their carcasses?
神奇的故事。我在历史频道曾经看到过这件事。很神奇，他确实有胆量（ball有蛋蛋和胆量的意思），哈哈，也很聪明。我想古埃及人应该比维京人更早到达美洲，否则为什么木乃伊里面有烟草和可卡因？
The Han dynasty was far superior to the Roman empire of the same period of technology, wealth and military might. For a period of 30 years after WWI, America produced more than the rest of the world. China for 1500 years until the latter part of the Ming dynasty produced more than the rest of the world. The reason, China did not conquer the rest of the world, is because of their arrogance. China, meaning the central empire, did not need or want of other barbarian lands. The Chinese had vastly different mentality than the westerners.
汉朝比同时代的罗马帝国相比技术更先进、财富更多、军事更强大。在第一次世界大战结束后30年，美国比世界上其他任何国家生产的东西都多。中国在过去一千五百年的时间内比世界上任何国家都强大，但从来不想征服世界，原因就是，中国认为自己是天朝上国，他们不想要野蛮人的土地，中国人与西方人的思维方式完全不同。
http://www.ltaaa.com/wtfy/4948.html
正文翻译
Chinese sailor finds America before Columbus!
中国水手先于哥伦布到达美洲
Who was Zheng He?
Zheng He was born in the poor, mountainous Chinese province of Yunnan in 1371, just as Genghis Khan's Mongols were being overthrown by a new, home-grown dynasty, the Ming under Emperor Zhu. Zheng He's parents named him “Ma Ho” in honor of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His father and grandfather were both Muslims and had each visited Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage. Their tales of the long journey thrilled Ma Ho and he longed make a glorious journey himself one day. As his family were Muslim and had fought on the side of the Mongols, when the Ming armies came looking for rebels, they killed Ma Ho's dad and hey captured the 10-year-old boy and, as was the custom with young male prisoners, castrated him.
郑和是谁？
郑和于1371年出生在中国贫困多山的云南省，正值成吉思汗建立的蒙古王朝被推翻的之时，新建立的明朝在朱元璋的统治之下。郑和的父母给他起名叫“MA HO",以纪念伊斯兰教的创始人穆罕默德，他的父亲和祖父都是虔诚的MSL，并且都去过麦加朝圣，他们讲述过的在旅途中令人激动的经历使得郑和一直向往，希望自己有一天能够踏上如此光荣辉煌的朝圣之旅。由于他们的家族全是MSL，并且为蒙古人效力，所以当明朝军队剿灭叛军的时候，他们杀了郑和的父亲，俘虏了年仅10岁的郑和，作为当时处置年轻男性囚犯的惯例，阉割了他。
As his intelligence was observed in the jail, he was taken to Beijing to serve as a servant to Prince Zhu Di, Emperor Zhu's fourth son. The prince and Ma Ho became best friends and the prince changed Ma Ho's name to Zheng He, and made him Grand Imperial Eunuch.
他的才能在监狱中就被发现了，随后被带到了北京，作为朱元璋第四个皇子朱棣的仆人，朱棣和他成为了最好的朋友,并且把他的名字改为郑和,使他成为最有权势的宦官.
When Prince Zhu Di's father died, there was some dispute over who would be the new emperor, but with Zheng He at his side, Zhu Di eventually became the emperor in 1402 and changed his name to Yong'le. He was ruthless and ambitious but was one of the best Ming emperors, building the Forbidden City when the capital was moved to Beijing and restored the Great Wall.
当朱元璋驾崩后,宫中发生了皇位的争夺,由于郑和站在他这边,最终朱棣成为皇帝,并改名号为永乐皇帝.他是明朝最雄心勃勃和冷酷无情的皇帝，他建造了紫禁城，将首都迁到北京，并重新开始修建长城。
Emperor Yong'le wanted to expand Chinese influence to other lands and establish trade, so he appointed the close on 7 foot tall Zheng He as Admiral of his fleets. Emperor Yong'le was a little bit of a megalomaniac as were many emperors of that time and had a grand vision then already, that China would become a world leader and the foremost trading nation in the world at that time. China already had the technology, they had invented the sextant, the compass and gunpowder. In Zheng He, Emperor Yong'le felt that he had the right man to send out to help build China into the greatest trading power of all time. He rightly believed that it would have to be through a fleet of ships and not overland.
永乐皇帝希望扩大中国的影响力并且建立贸易，所以他指令郑和作为舰队的船长，永乐皇帝有一些宏伟的设想，中国将成为世界的领导并成为当时世界最大的贸易国家。他们具备这种能力，他们已经发明了六分仪、指南针和火药。对于郑和，永乐皇帝相信他完全有这种能力帮助中国实现这些目标，他相信通过水路而不是陆路是最好的方式。
Zheng He was commanded to built a treasure fleet to go out and explore the regions beyond China. The shipyard in Nanjing was chosen as the place where the treasure ships would be built. According to some of the few remaining Ming records, the flagships of the fleet were 400 feet long and 160 feet wide. The treasure ships had watertight bulkhead compartments of a kind the West would have to wait hundreds of years for. They even had their own on-board vegetable patches, so sailors never got scurvy. Columbus's Santa Maria, was only 75 feet long and 25 feet wide!
郑和负责督造一支巨大的舰队去探索中国以外的世界，船坞位于南京。根据明朝史料记载，舰队的旗舰4800英尺长，1920英尺宽，这支巨大的舰船有西方几百年后才做的到防水的舱壁分隔间，并在在船上有储藏蔬菜的地方，使得船员不会因缺乏维生素而得坏血病。相比之下，哥伦布的圣玛利亚号，只有900英尺长，300英尺宽。
In 1405, only three years after receiving his instructions, Zheng He's treasure fleet set sail, with each flagship supported by countless smaller vessels going off in a different direction. All in all there were over 300 ships in the whole fleet and 27800 men. Amazing that all this shipbuilding took place in a 3 year period! On the ships, were trading items like silk and pottery, as well as concubines which were to be given to other leaders they met as gifts.
在1405年，也就是郑和接到指令后的3年，庞大的舰队开始了它的远洋之旅，庞大的旗舰由无数的船只在不同的方向支持护卫，总计300多艘船及27800名船员，而这一切只在3年之内就完成了，在那个时代简直是个奇迹。在船上载有有丝绸及陶瓷等贸易物品，同时也有将赠送给当地首领做为礼物的美女。
What is the
evidence?
The Nanjing Shipyards where these ships were built still exists and has been turned into a special park with a museum. It was only when some ancient Ming documents were found that China suddenly realised that they had once been a formidable sea power and had ruled the waves. For centuries all evidence of their naval expertise and explorations had been buried in the mud at the old shipyard. The museum shows some of the items that have been excavated to date, nails, ship building tools, masts and a huge tiller that will easily take 20 men to manage. A huge anchor, biggest I've ever seen was also found. Plans of the treasure ships and other small ships in the fleet have also been found. A map made in the 1700's, but based on a map from 1418 has also been found and shows that China knew about Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
证据是什么？
建造这支巨大舰队的南京船坞至今还存在，并被改造成为主题公园，只有通过目前尚存的明朝史料的记载，中国才意识到他们曾经具有过不可战胜的海上力量并曾经统治过整个海洋。数个世纪以来，有关他们造船技术及探索海洋的书籍早就在船坞中被焚毁了。主题公园里的博物馆展示了挖掘出来的东西，船钉、造船工具、船桅以及巨大的需要20多个人才能操作的船柄，见到了我从来没有见过的那么大的锚，也见到了巨大旗舰及其他船只的平面图。一幅根据1418年的航海发现而于1700年制作的地图显示了当时中国已经知道了非洲、欧洲、澳大利亚和美洲。
In his bestselling book 1421, former British naval officer Gavin Menzies claimed Zheng He's ships ended up reaching America and circumnavigating the world. He claims to have found ruins of Zheng He's ships in the Caribbean. However, the strongest evidence that Zhenge's fleet reached the East Coast of America, is the 600 year old bronze Ming Dynasty medallion found buried in Cherokee land. And, the Cherokee call their white clay pottery a very similar to name to what the Chinese call theirs almost identical in fact.
在畅销书《1421-中国发现世界》中，前英国海军军官加文孟席斯称郑和的舰队环游了世界，并最终到达美洲，他声称在加勒比海发现了郑和舰队船只的残骸。然而，郑和舰队到达美国东海岸最有力的证据是在发掘出来的有600年历史的明代铜章，并且声称他们对白色粘土陶瓷的发音与与中文的发音完全一致。
And then of course, many Native Americans do have slightly Asian features. maybe some concubines were dropped off there. It is believed as more old documents come to light, the proof of Zheng He reaching America will be undisputed.
当然，许多土著美国人也有一点亚洲面孔，或许当时郑和将一些中国女人在这里卸下，有许多有依据的资料证明，郑和到达美洲是毫无疑问的。
There is strong evidence to show Zheng He reached Africa. In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are clearly Asian-looking. They also consider themselves as the descendants of Zheng He’s crew. Many Samoans have Chinese surnames and Asian features, so there's evidence the treasure fleet went there as well. Zheng He took an Imam on board, so it is believed that Islam in Indonesia was brought by Zheng He's treasure fleet.有很有力的证据证
明郑和曾经到达非洲，在今天的非洲肯尼亚，有许多部落具有亚洲面孔。他们也认为他们是郑和舰队船员的后裔，许多具有中国人的姓氏和亚洲面孔，这是郑和舰队曾经到过那里的证据。郑和的船上带着一名伊玛目（伊斯兰教领袖），所以可以认为如今印度尼西亚的伊斯兰教是郑和传播过去的。
Voyage DatesFirst Voyage (1405-1407)Second Voyage (1407-1409)Third Voyage (1409-1411)Fourth Voyage (1413-1415)Fifth Voyage (1417-1419)Sixth Voyage (1421-1422)Seventh Voyage (1431-1433)
航行日期
第一次航行(1405-1407)
第二次航行(1407-1409)
第三次航行(1409-1411)
第四次航行(1413-1415)
第五次航行(1417-1419)
第六次航行(1421-1422)
第七次航行(1431-1433)
Zheng He's voyages had a very large impact on the Ming Dynasty and the countries Zheng He visited. These seven voyages opened trade and diplomatic ties for the Ming Dynasty with many other countries. Frightened by Zheng He's fleet, many countries paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty hoping to buy peace with the Asian superpower. Can you imagine what you'd have thought, if you had spotted a whole fleet of ships surrounding a huge treasure ship with red silk sails and flags flying in the breeze, as it anchored in your bay. From these visits, the Ming Dynasty acquired much power and wealth. Crews also brought back many tales of exotic lands and cultures, enriching the Chinese culture, already full of tales and myths.
郑和的航行对明朝及他所到的国家都产生的巨大的影响。这7次航行开启了明朝与很多国家的贸易和外交联系。由于郑和的舰队，许多国家开始对明朝纳贡希望与这个亚洲强权国家保持和平。巨大的旗舰和环绕在它旁边无数的船只，红色的丝绸风帆随风飘扬，巨大的船锚落在你的港口里，你当然可以很明显的辨认出他们。从这些访问中，明朝获得了大量权势和财富。船员们也带回了大量异域风情的故事，丰富了中国的文化，同时也带回了大量的神话与传说。
The Chinese took crates of porcelain dishes, vases and cups, as well as chinese silk, gold and silver to trade. Zheng He traded these items mainly for dyes, herbs, spices, gems, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns and exotic animals. The giraffe they brought back was aparticular favourite as the emperor thought it was a unicorn.
中国人带了成箱的陶瓷盘子、花瓶和杯子以及中国丝绸、金子和银器用来交易，用这些来换取染料、草药、香料、宝石、珍珠、象牙、犀牛和具有异域风情的各种动物。他们带回去的长颈鹿特别受皇帝的喜欢，他认为那是独角兽。
Why were the treasure fleets destroyed?
为什么庞大的舰队消失了?
Life changed for Zheng He when Emperor Yong’le suddenly died in 1424. Zhu Gaozhi became the next emperor of China. Emperor Yong'le had met with a lot of resistance at the expense of keeping the treasure fleet going, and pressure was put on the new emperor. Emperor Gaozhi wanted nothing to do with navel exploring and scrapped all ideas of a seventh Treasure Fleet. For six long years, Zheng He, who had fought off pirates, waged war with those who didn’t want peace, established trade routes, weathered hurricanes and other violent storms, was stuck on land with not much to do. Luckily, Emperor Zhu Gaozhi’s reign was short and the next Emperor, Zhu Zhanji, had similar views of Yong’le. In 1430, Emperor Zhanji commanded Zheng He to lead another Treasure Fleet on it's seventh voyage. This was to be Zheng He's last voyage as he is reputed to have died near Calicut and buried at sea according to Muslim tradition. Usually, an eunuch's testicles were kept in a jar and buried with them so that they could be whole in the afterlife. Unfortunately for Zheng He, despite all his brave deeds and accomplishments, he died half a man without his testicles being buried with him.
当永乐皇帝于1424年突然驾崩后，郑和的生活彻底被改变了。明仁宗朱高炽成为了的中国皇帝，在永乐皇帝在世的时候，消耗大量的钱财支持庞大的舰队的做法就遭到朝臣们很强烈的反对，现在压力落到了新皇帝的身上，仁宗皇帝对第七次航行没有一点想法也没有一点兴趣，在长达6年的时间里，郑和不得不与海盗和那些不想臣服的人战斗，建立新的贸易航线，或者在遭遇飓风或其他恶劣天气而困在港口里什么都做不了。幸运的是，他的统治时间很短，而继任的皇帝宣宗朱瞻基与永乐皇帝则有着相同的想法。在1430年，宣宗皇帝命令郑和领导另一支舰队进行第七次航行，这是郑和的最后一次航行了，据说他死在印度，并按照MSL习俗实行了海葬。通常太监的睾丸会存放在一个坛子里，死后一起下葬，使得他们下辈子能做个完整的男人。不幸的是，郑和作为一个拥有无与伦比的勇敢壮举和取得非凡成就的人，在去世的时候仍然是个不完整的男人。
Now, the Ming Dynasty was on a roll here. They had countries constantly sending in tribute, had many trade relations to make profits from, and it was the superpower of the world at that point. Zheng He's treasure ships used technology that would not be used in Europe for hundreds of years, and were economically much better off than the Europeans. TThey had sophisticated weaponry and were almost invincible. The Ming Dynasty was an unrivaled naval power and was feared and respected throughout the areas the treasure fleet visited . The Chinese could have conquered the world… but they suddenly stopped.
这时，明朝已经在海外很有影响力了，各国都持续不断的为明朝进贡，并与很多国家建立了贸易联系，有大量金银入账，成为那是世界上最强大的国家。郑和的庞大舰队使用的先进技术西方几百年后才具备，他们具有精妙的武器，几乎不可战胜。明朝在海上没有任何对手，并且沿途受到各个国家的敬畏，看起来中国人马上就要征服整个世界了，然而突然一切戛然而止了。
This is what intrigues me the most about this story. Why did they just stop and go into a sort of hibernation? Did the treasure fleets bring back some kind of plague or disease? Soon after Zheng He's death, the Ming Dynasty officials burned most of his charts and writings. By 1500, the Emperor ordered the destruction of all oceangoing ships and made it a capital offense to build a boat with more than two masts. In fact, building a boat of more than three masts was punishable by immediate death. What happened to make the chinese react in this way? What was brought back by the ships that frightened the Ming Dynasty officials that they destroyed everything about the ships?
这是让我感到最迷惑的地方。为什么他们突然停止了这一切，进入了闭关锁国的状态？难道他们的庞大舰队带回了瘟疫和其他疾病吗？郑和去世不久，明朝官员烧毁了大部分的航海图和航海记录。到1500年，皇帝命令毁掉所有在建的船只，并命令不许建造超过三个船桅的船只，事实上，很快连这种船只都不允许建造了。是什么造成明朝做出这种决定？难道他们带回来的什么东西吓到了明朝官员以至于他们要毁掉所有船只？
Some say that after Zheng He passed away at sea, the Ming Dynasty officials took control and decided that the dynasty was above the other countries out there and that the outside world had nothing to offer them. The burning of Zheng He's work was an extreme act to show that China didn't need the rest of the world, like burning the bridge behind you, the point of no return. I'm not sure if I can accept that as the reason. It just seems too extreme. To be a world power, rake in a fortune and then turn your back on it all for nearly 600 years.
有人说在郑和死在了海上之后，反对航海的官员控制了朝廷，并认为中国是天朝上国，外面的世界不能为他们提供什么有用的东西。烧毁了郑和的成果是一项极端的行为，表明中国不需要外部世界。我不知道我能不能接受这种说法，它看起来太极端了。作为世界最强大的国家，本可以赚取大量财富，但却与世界与世隔绝了近六百年，实在是不可思议的事情。
=============================华丽的分割线========================
评论翻译
Amazing story! Chinese history is so fascinating and they were so far ahead of their time!
这个故事太神奇了！中国历史如此辉煌，他们在那个时代遥遥领先我们！
Yeah Shalini, and I want to know what happened, why did they destroy it all and then go into hibernation? I find that fascinating!
回复楼上：的确实这样，我想知道到底发生了什么，为什么他们摧毁了所有的船只并开始闭关锁国？太神奇了！
An amazing story and very well written. Had heard of Zheng He having visited America but didn't know about his other voyages. I agree it is a mystery why the ocean going fleet finished. However, I believe that he was beaten to America by one European namely Leif Eriksson
这个故事太神奇了，写的非常好。我知道郑和曾经到过美洲但还不知道其他航行故事，我也对中国大航海时代的结束感到好奇，然而，我认为郑和是被利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）打到美洲的。
He is a hero .He brought China and the world of communication, of the Chinese civilization to the world.
他是一个英雄。他促进了中国和世界的交流，并把中国文明传播到世界。
Thanks Candie, I live in Nanjing and Zheng He's shipyard is right here
谢谢，我住在南京，郑和的船坞确实在这。
Awesome Hub. Really great read! The mystery of Zheng...
神奇的文章，很高兴读到，郑和真是个神话
Zheng He was an interesting character as he came from nothing to achieve so much. I read somewhere that they think he was the original Sinbad the sailor, the one all the stories were based on.
郑和是一个非常有趣的人物，他出身卑微却取得了如此大的成就。我在别的地方看到的文章说辛巴达就是以他为原型创造出来的人物。
Zheng He isn't very well known. Most people don't know that the Chinese were the most powerful seafarers at one time.
郑和还不是很有名，大多数人都不知道这个中国人是当时最牛逼的航海家
I love the Chinese history and culture. Hope you do find out some time why they shut themselves off like that. Other countries have done the same, Burma, Vietnam for many years too. I believe their reasons were they didn't want to be corrupted with Western influence.
我喜欢中国历史和文化。希望你能查到为什么他们要把自己封锁起来。其他国家比如缅甸、越南也封闭自己好多年，我想原因是他们不想被西方腐蚀影响。
I'm not sure we'll ever find out why they burnt all evidence of the explorations. My gut feeling remains that it was plague-related.
我不确定我们能否找到他们为什么要烧掉所有船只的证据，我自己认为还是与瘟疫有关。
Hopefully, the day will come when children will learn about Zheng He the way they learn about Drake and Columbus.
感谢这篇非常有历史价值的文章，希望有一天，郑和能够与达伽马和哥伦布一起出现在历史书上。
Wow, the Chinese sure had some big honkin' ships. And to think that ships of that size were later outlawed!
By the way, cindy, have you heard how historians now think that a visit from this fleet to Europe was probably a major spark for the Renaissance? The Chinese may have closed their borders, but their influence was still being felt throughout the world.
哇~ 中国人当然有如此大的船只，并且认为后来这些被认为是非法的。顺便说一句，你听历史学家说过郑和的航行成为欧洲文艺复兴的火花吗？中国人虽然关闭的边界，但他们的影响到整个世界。
have heard that they probably visited France, Portugal and the Netherlands, but not the bit about the Renaissance. The Chinese described meeting very tall men with big feet, orange/yellow hair and big noses. At that stage, had to be somewhere in Europe or alternatively a Viking settlement still in existence somewhere at that time
听说郑和的舰队曾经造访过法国、葡萄牙和荷兰，但是不知道和文艺复兴有关。据中国人描述，见到的了高个子、黄色头发、大鼻子的外国人，也许他们见到的是仍肆虐与欧洲的维京人。
it's even more fascinating when there is a little bit of mystery involved
有的一点神秘色彩使得这个故事更加神奇
Very rich hub with nice illustrations. China has one the greatest history background especially their expansion to new lands. Thanks
非常详细的介绍。中国有着伟大的历史，尤其在扩张新领土方面，谢谢
Right now this is my favorite of your hubs simply because I had seen reference to this story many times over the years but you wrote the details I was seeking. I'd never get sick of your China hubs!
目前这是你的文章中我最喜欢的，我以前也听过相关的故事，但是你所描述的细节正是我所寻找的，你的关于中国的文章我永远看不够。
Chinese have lots of secrets and mysteries！
中国人有着太多神秘和神奇的故事
Great job on your historical hub Cindy! a lot of info and great pictures. It is so interesting to see the kinds of stuff they used to get around back then.
你的历史文章写的真好！有着大量的信息和图片。能亲眼看到那些他们曾经用过的东西真有意思
As for the Asian features of Native Americans, I think the most commonly accepted explanation is the former existence of a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska. That's not to say that this history of Zheng He isn't factual, though; a different source for the Asian ancestry of Native Americans doesn't negate the possiblity that this history is accurate in its essentials. And, in any case, it's a very fascinating, thought-provoking story. It reminds my of a used book I came across in a bookstore and wish to heck I had bought and kept: it proposed a theory that the tribes of Israel had also circumnavigated the globe. And then, of course, there's the old favorite: the Atlantis story.
I love this stuff.
至于土著美国人为什么有亚洲面孔，目前最普遍、人们最认同的观点是曾经在西伯利亚和阿拉斯加之间存在陆桥，但这并不意味着关于郑和的历史不是真的，不能否认土著美国人的来源可能有多种，从任何角度讲，这都是非常神奇和引人深思的故事。这让我想到了我曾经在书店看到过的后来又把它买走的一本书，认为古代以色列部落也曾经环游世界，当然，人们肯定会对这个话题感兴趣，亚特兰蒂斯，我喜欢这个故事。
Most likely,they were spending too much money building ships that were not bringing back enough in the way of goods etc.. for it to be worth continuing! About the only ones making money were the builders of those ships.Then they may have lost a lot of them to storms at sea or could be the worlds ocean routes had changed,or could be all of the above!
最有可能的解释是，他们造船花钱太多了，造成收不抵支。。。可能最挣钱的就是那些造船的人了，可能他们在海上的暴风中损失了大量的船，或者海上航线改变，或者是以上所有的原因
Fascinating story! And I'm sorry to hear that he didn't get buried with his testicles? LOL I'm sure he'll survived without using it with the ladies then.
神奇的故事！我很遗憾他的蛋蛋没能和他一起下葬，哈哈。我想他下辈子没法和女人做爱了
The thought that Columbus was the 1st European in America is frankly hard to believe. Lief Erikson was in North America way back when. And when you hear stories of people today who row boats across the Atlantic, who knows what happened long ago. Thanks for introducing me to a real facinating character.
说哥伦布是第一个发现美洲大陆的说法很难让人相信。利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）就常在北欧和北美之间穿越，当你听到说谁穿越了大西洋到达美洲，你就应该知道那是很久之前就发生过的事情了。感谢你介绍了这个一个神奇的人物。
Amazing history. I watched a program on this man several years ago on History Channel. Fascinating, he did have balls though.LOL Smart too. I think the Egyptians were here even before our Viking friend. From where else did the mummies get tobacco and cocaine in their carcasses?
神奇的故事。我在历史频道曾经看到过这件事。很神奇，他确实有胆量（ball有蛋蛋和胆量的意思），哈哈，也很聪明。我想古埃及人应该比维京人更早到达美洲，否则为什么木乃伊里面有烟草和可卡因？
The Han dynasty was far superior to the Roman empire of the same period of technology, wealth and military might. For a period of 30 years after WWI, America produced more than the rest of the world. China for 1500 years until the latter part of the Ming dynasty produced more than the rest of the world. The reason, China did not conquer the rest of the world, is because of their arrogance. China, meaning the central empire, did not need or want of other barbarian lands. The Chinese had vastly different mentality than the westerners.
汉朝比同时代的罗马帝国相比技术更先进、财富更多、军事更强大。在第一次世界大战结束后30年，美国比世界上其他任何国家生产的东西都多。中国在过去一千五百年的时间内比世界上任何国家都强大，但从来不想征服世界，原因就是，中国认为自己是天朝上国，他们不想要野蛮人的土地，中国人与西方人的思维方式完全不同。
http://www.ltaaa.com/wtfy/4948.html
Chinese sailor finds America before Columbus!
中国水手先于哥伦布到达美洲
Who was Zheng He?
Zheng He was born in the poor, mountainous Chinese province of Yunnan in 1371, just as Genghis Khan's Mongols were being overthrown by a new, home-grown dynasty, the Ming under Emperor Zhu. Zheng He's parents named him “Ma Ho” in honor of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His father and grandfather were both Muslims and had each visited Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage. Their tales of the long journey thrilled Ma Ho and he longed make a glorious journey himself one day. As his family were Muslim and had fought on the side of the Mongols, when the Ming armies came looking for rebels, they killed Ma Ho's dad and hey captured the 10-year-old boy and, as was the custom with young male prisoners, castrated him.
郑和是谁？
郑和于1371年出生在中国贫困多山的云南省，正值成吉思汗建立的蒙古王朝被推翻的之时，新建立的明朝在朱元璋的统治之下。郑和的父母给他起名叫“MA HO",以纪念伊斯兰教的创始人穆罕默德，他的父亲和祖父都是虔诚的MSL，并且都去过麦加朝圣，他们讲述过的在旅途中令人激动的经历使得郑和一直向往，希望自己有一天能够踏上如此光荣辉煌的朝圣之旅。由于他们的家族全是MSL，并且为蒙古人效力，所以当明朝军队剿灭叛军的时候，他们杀了郑和的父亲，俘虏了年仅10岁的郑和，作为当时处置年轻男性囚犯的惯例，阉割了他。
As his intelligence was observed in the jail, he was taken to Beijing to serve as a servant to Prince Zhu Di, Emperor Zhu's fourth son. The prince and Ma Ho became best friends and the prince changed Ma Ho's name to Zheng He, and made him Grand Imperial Eunuch.
他的才能在监狱中就被发现了，随后被带到了北京，作为朱元璋第四个皇子朱棣的仆人，朱棣和他成为了最好的朋友,并且把他的名字改为郑和,使他成为最有权势的宦官.
When Prince Zhu Di's father died, there was some dispute over who would be the new emperor, but with Zheng He at his side, Zhu Di eventually became the emperor in 1402 and changed his name to Yong'le. He was ruthless and ambitious but was one of the best Ming emperors, building the Forbidden City when the capital was moved to Beijing and restored the Great Wall.
当朱元璋驾崩后,宫中发生了皇位的争夺,由于郑和站在他这边,最终朱棣成为皇帝,并改名号为永乐皇帝.他是明朝最雄心勃勃和冷酷无情的皇帝，他建造了紫禁城，将首都迁到北京，并重新开始修建长城。
Emperor Yong'le wanted to expand Chinese influence to other lands and establish trade, so he appointed the close on 7 foot tall Zheng He as Admiral of his fleets. Emperor Yong'le was a little bit of a megalomaniac as were many emperors of that time and had a grand vision then already, that China would become a world leader and the foremost trading nation in the world at that time. China already had the technology, they had invented the sextant, the compass and gunpowder. In Zheng He, Emperor Yong'le felt that he had the right man to send out to help build China into the greatest trading power of all time. He rightly believed that it would have to be through a fleet of ships and not overland.
永乐皇帝希望扩大中国的影响力并且建立贸易，所以他指令郑和作为舰队的船长，永乐皇帝有一些宏伟的设想，中国将成为世界的领导并成为当时世界最大的贸易国家。他们具备这种能力，他们已经发明了六分仪、指南针和火药。对于郑和，永乐皇帝相信他完全有这种能力帮助中国实现这些目标，他相信通过水路而不是陆路是最好的方式。
Zheng He was commanded to built a treasure fleet to go out and explore the regions beyond China. The shipyard in Nanjing was chosen as the place where the treasure ships would be built. According to some of the few remaining Ming records, the flagships of the fleet were 400 feet long and 160 feet wide. The treasure ships had watertight bulkhead compartments of a kind the West would have to wait hundreds of years for. They even had their own on-board vegetable patches, so sailors never got scurvy. Columbus's Santa Maria, was only 75 feet long and 25 feet wide!
郑和负责督造一支巨大的舰队去探索中国以外的世界，船坞位于南京。根据明朝史料记载，舰队的旗舰4800英尺长，1920英尺宽，这支巨大的舰船有西方几百年后才做的到防水的舱壁分隔间，并在在船上有储藏蔬菜的地方，使得船员不会因缺乏维生素而得坏血病。相比之下，哥伦布的圣玛利亚号，只有900英尺长，300英尺宽。
In 1405, only three years after receiving his instructions, Zheng He's treasure fleet set sail, with each flagship supported by countless smaller vessels going off in a different direction. All in all there were over 300 ships in the whole fleet and 27800 men. Amazing that all this shipbuilding took place in a 3 year period! On the ships, were trading items like silk and pottery, as well as concubines which were to be given to other leaders they met as gifts.
在1405年，也就是郑和接到指令后的3年，庞大的舰队开始了它的远洋之旅，庞大的旗舰由无数的船只在不同的方向支持护卫，总计300多艘船及27800名船员，而这一切只在3年之内就完成了，在那个时代简直是个奇迹。在船上载有有丝绸及陶瓷等贸易物品，同时也有将赠送给当地首领做为礼物的美女。
What is the
evidence?
The Nanjing Shipyards where these ships were built still exists and has been turned into a special park with a museum. It was only when some ancient Ming documents were found that China suddenly realised that they had once been a formidable sea power and had ruled the waves. For centuries all evidence of their naval expertise and explorations had been buried in the mud at the old shipyard. The museum shows some of the items that have been excavated to date, nails, ship building tools, masts and a huge tiller that will easily take 20 men to manage. A huge anchor, biggest I've ever seen was also found. Plans of the treasure ships and other small ships in the fleet have also been found. A map made in the 1700's, but based on a map from 1418 has also been found and shows that China knew about Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
证据是什么？
建造这支巨大舰队的南京船坞至今还存在，并被改造成为主题公园，只有通过目前尚存的明朝史料的记载，中国才意识到他们曾经具有过不可战胜的海上力量并曾经统治过整个海洋。数个世纪以来，有关他们造船技术及探索海洋的书籍早就在船坞中被焚毁了。主题公园里的博物馆展示了挖掘出来的东西，船钉、造船工具、船桅以及巨大的需要20多个人才能操作的船柄，见到了我从来没有见过的那么大的锚，也见到了巨大旗舰及其他船只的平面图。一幅根据1418年的航海发现而于1700年制作的地图显示了当时中国已经知道了非洲、欧洲、澳大利亚和美洲。
In his bestselling book 1421, former British naval officer Gavin Menzies claimed Zheng He's ships ended up reaching America and circumnavigating the world. He claims to have found ruins of Zheng He's ships in the Caribbean. However, the strongest evidence that Zhenge's fleet reached the East Coast of America, is the 600 year old bronze Ming Dynasty medallion found buried in Cherokee land. And, the Cherokee call their white clay pottery a very similar to name to what the Chinese call theirs almost identical in fact.
在畅销书《1421-中国发现世界》中，前英国海军军官加文孟席斯称郑和的舰队环游了世界，并最终到达美洲，他声称在加勒比海发现了郑和舰队船只的残骸。然而，郑和舰队到达美国东海岸最有力的证据是在发掘出来的有600年历史的明代铜章，并且声称他们对白色粘土陶瓷的发音与与中文的发音完全一致。
And then of course, many Native Americans do have slightly Asian features. maybe some concubines were dropped off there. It is believed as more old documents come to light, the proof of Zheng He reaching America will be undisputed.
当然，许多土著美国人也有一点亚洲面孔，或许当时郑和将一些中国女人在这里卸下，有许多有依据的资料证明，郑和到达美洲是毫无疑问的。
There is strong evidence to show Zheng He reached Africa. In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are clearly Asian-looking. They also consider themselves as the descendants of Zheng He’s crew. Many Samoans have Chinese surnames and Asian features, so there's evidence the treasure fleet went there as well. Zheng He took an Imam on board, so it is believed that Islam in Indonesia was brought by Zheng He's treasure fleet.有很有力的证据证
明郑和曾经到达非洲，在今天的非洲肯尼亚，有许多部落具有亚洲面孔。他们也认为他们是郑和舰队船员的后裔，许多具有中国人的姓氏和亚洲面孔，这是郑和舰队曾经到过那里的证据。郑和的船上带着一名伊玛目（伊斯兰教领袖），所以可以认为如今印度尼西亚的伊斯兰教是郑和传播过去的。
Voyage DatesFirst Voyage (1405-1407)Second Voyage (1407-1409)Third Voyage (1409-1411)Fourth Voyage (1413-1415)Fifth Voyage (1417-1419)Sixth Voyage (1421-1422)Seventh Voyage (1431-1433)
航行日期
第一次航行(1405-1407)
第二次航行(1407-1409)
第三次航行(1409-1411)
第四次航行(1413-1415)
第五次航行(1417-1419)
第六次航行(1421-1422)
第七次航行(1431-1433)
Zheng He's voyages had a very large impact on the Ming Dynasty and the countries Zheng He visited. These seven voyages opened trade and diplomatic ties for the Ming Dynasty with many other countries. Frightened by Zheng He's fleet, many countries paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty hoping to buy peace with the Asian superpower. Can you imagine what you'd have thought, if you had spotted a whole fleet of ships surrounding a huge treasure ship with red silk sails and flags flying in the breeze, as it anchored in your bay. From these visits, the Ming Dynasty acquired much power and wealth. Crews also brought back many tales of exotic lands and cultures, enriching the Chinese culture, already full of tales and myths.
郑和的航行对明朝及他所到的国家都产生的巨大的影响。这7次航行开启了明朝与很多国家的贸易和外交联系。由于郑和的舰队，许多国家开始对明朝纳贡希望与这个亚洲强权国家保持和平。巨大的旗舰和环绕在它旁边无数的船只，红色的丝绸风帆随风飘扬，巨大的船锚落在你的港口里，你当然可以很明显的辨认出他们。从这些访问中，明朝获得了大量权势和财富。船员们也带回了大量异域风情的故事，丰富了中国的文化，同时也带回了大量的神话与传说。
The Chinese took crates of porcelain dishes, vases and cups, as well as chinese silk, gold and silver to trade. Zheng He traded these items mainly for dyes, herbs, spices, gems, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns and exotic animals. The giraffe they brought back was aparticular favourite as the emperor thought it was a unicorn.
中国人带了成箱的陶瓷盘子、花瓶和杯子以及中国丝绸、金子和银器用来交易，用这些来换取染料、草药、香料、宝石、珍珠、象牙、犀牛和具有异域风情的各种动物。他们带回去的长颈鹿特别受皇帝的喜欢，他认为那是独角兽。
Why were the treasure fleets destroyed?
为什么庞大的舰队消失了?
Life changed for Zheng He when Emperor Yong’le suddenly died in 1424. Zhu Gaozhi became the next emperor of China. Emperor Yong'le had met with a lot of resistance at the expense of keeping the treasure fleet going, and pressure was put on the new emperor. Emperor Gaozhi wanted nothing to do with navel exploring and scrapped all ideas of a seventh Treasure Fleet. For six long years, Zheng He, who had fought off pirates, waged war with those who didn’t want peace, established trade routes, weathered hurricanes and other violent storms, was stuck on land with not much to do. Luckily, Emperor Zhu Gaozhi’s reign was short and the next Emperor, Zhu Zhanji, had similar views of Yong’le. In 1430, Emperor Zhanji commanded Zheng He to lead another Treasure Fleet on it's seventh voyage. This was to be Zheng He's last voyage as he is reputed to have died near Calicut and buried at sea according to Muslim tradition. Usually, an eunuch's testicles were kept in a jar and buried with them so that they could be whole in the afterlife. Unfortunately for Zheng He, despite all his brave deeds and accomplishments, he died half a man without his testicles being buried with him.
当永乐皇帝于1424年突然驾崩后，郑和的生活彻底被改变了。明仁宗朱高炽成为了的中国皇帝，在永乐皇帝在世的时候，消耗大量的钱财支持庞大的舰队的做法就遭到朝臣们很强烈的反对，现在压力落到了新皇帝的身上，仁宗皇帝对第七次航行没有一点想法也没有一点兴趣，在长达6年的时间里，郑和不得不与海盗和那些不想臣服的人战斗，建立新的贸易航线，或者在遭遇飓风或其他恶劣天气而困在港口里什么都做不了。幸运的是，他的统治时间很短，而继任的皇帝宣宗朱瞻基与永乐皇帝则有着相同的想法。在1430年，宣宗皇帝命令郑和领导另一支舰队进行第七次航行，这是郑和的最后一次航行了，据说他死在印度，并按照MSL习俗实行了海葬。通常太监的睾丸会存放在一个坛子里，死后一起下葬，使得他们下辈子能做个完整的男人。不幸的是，郑和作为一个拥有无与伦比的勇敢壮举和取得非凡成就的人，在去世的时候仍然是个不完整的男人。
Now, the Ming Dynasty was on a roll here. They had countries constantly sending in tribute, had many trade relations to make profits from, and it was the superpower of the world at that point. Zheng He's treasure ships used technology that would not be used in Europe for hundreds of years, and were economically much better off than the Europeans. TThey had sophisticated weaponry and were almost invincible. The Ming Dynasty was an unrivaled naval power and was feared and respected throughout the areas the treasure fleet visited . The Chinese could have conquered the world… but they suddenly stopped.
这时，明朝已经在海外很有影响力了，各国都持续不断的为明朝进贡，并与很多国家建立了贸易联系，有大量金银入账，成为那是世界上最强大的国家。郑和的庞大舰队使用的先进技术西方几百年后才具备，他们具有精妙的武器，几乎不可战胜。明朝在海上没有任何对手，并且沿途受到各个国家的敬畏，看起来中国人马上就要征服整个世界了，然而突然一切戛然而止了。
This is what intrigues me the most about this story. Why did they just stop and go into a sort of hibernation? Did the treasure fleets bring back some kind of plague or disease? Soon after Zheng He's death, the Ming Dynasty officials burned most of his charts and writings. By 1500, the Emperor ordered the destruction of all oceangoing ships and made it a capital offense to build a boat with more than two masts. In fact, building a boat of more than three masts was punishable by immediate death. What happened to make the chinese react in this way? What was brought back by the ships that frightened the Ming Dynasty officials that they destroyed everything about the ships?
这是让我感到最迷惑的地方。为什么他们突然停止了这一切，进入了闭关锁国的状态？难道他们的庞大舰队带回了瘟疫和其他疾病吗？郑和去世不久，明朝官员烧毁了大部分的航海图和航海记录。到1500年，皇帝命令毁掉所有在建的船只，并命令不许建造超过三个船桅的船只，事实上，很快连这种船只都不允许建造了。是什么造成明朝做出这种决定？难道他们带回来的什么东西吓到了明朝官员以至于他们要毁掉所有船只？
Some say that after Zheng He passed away at sea, the Ming Dynasty officials took control and decided that the dynasty was above the other countries out there and that the outside world had nothing to offer them. The burning of Zheng He's work was an extreme act to show that China didn't need the rest of the world, like burning the bridge behind you, the point of no return. I'm not sure if I can accept that as the reason. It just seems too extreme. To be a world power, rake in a fortune and then turn your back on it all for nearly 600 years.
有人说在郑和死在了海上之后，反对航海的官员控制了朝廷，并认为中国是天朝上国，外面的世界不能为他们提供什么有用的东西。烧毁了郑和的成果是一项极端的行为，表明中国不需要外部世界。我不知道我能不能接受这种说法，它看起来太极端了。作为世界最强大的国家，本可以赚取大量财富，但却与世界与世隔绝了近六百年，实在是不可思议的事情。
=============================华丽的分割线========================
评论翻译
Amazing story! Chinese history is so fascinating and they were so far ahead of their time!
这个故事太神奇了！中国历史如此辉煌，他们在那个时代遥遥领先我们！
Yeah Shalini, and I want to know what happened, why did they destroy it all and then go into hibernation? I find that fascinating!
回复楼上：的确实这样，我想知道到底发生了什么，为什么他们摧毁了所有的船只并开始闭关锁国？太神奇了！
An amazing story and very well written. Had heard of Zheng He having visited America but didn't know about his other voyages. I agree it is a mystery why the ocean going fleet finished. However, I believe that he was beaten to America by one European namely Leif Eriksson
这个故事太神奇了，写的非常好。我知道郑和曾经到过美洲但还不知道其他航行故事，我也对中国大航海时代的结束感到好奇，然而，我认为郑和是被利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）打到美洲的。
He is a hero .He brought China and the world of communication, of the Chinese civilization to the world.
他是一个英雄。他促进了中国和世界的交流，并把中国文明传播到世界。
Thanks Candie, I live in Nanjing and Zheng He's shipyard is right here
谢谢，我住在南京，郑和的船坞确实在这。
Awesome Hub. Really great read! The mystery of Zheng...
神奇的文章，很高兴读到，郑和真是个神话
Zheng He was an interesting character as he came from nothing to achieve so much. I read somewhere that they think he was the original Sinbad the sailor, the one all the stories were based on.
郑和是一个非常有趣的人物，他出身卑微却取得了如此大的成就。我在别的地方看到的文章说辛巴达就是以他为原型创造出来的人物。
Zheng He isn't very well known. Most people don't know that the Chinese were the most powerful seafarers at one time.
郑和还不是很有名，大多数人都不知道这个中国人是当时最牛逼的航海家
I love the Chinese history and culture. Hope you do find out some time why they shut themselves off like that. Other countries have done the same, Burma, Vietnam for many years too. I believe their reasons were they didn't want to be corrupted with Western influence.
我喜欢中国历史和文化。希望你能查到为什么他们要把自己封锁起来。其他国家比如缅甸、越南也封闭自己好多年，我想原因是他们不想被西方腐蚀影响。
I'm not sure we'll ever find out why they burnt all evidence of the explorations. My gut feeling remains that it was plague-related.
我不确定我们能否找到他们为什么要烧掉所有船只的证据，我自己认为还是与瘟疫有关。
Hopefully, the day will come when children will learn about Zheng He the way they learn about Drake and Columbus.
感谢这篇非常有历史价值的文章，希望有一天，郑和能够与达伽马和哥伦布一起出现在历史书上。
Wow, the Chinese sure had some big honkin' ships. And to think that ships of that size were later outlawed!
By the way, cindy, have you heard how historians now think that a visit from this fleet to Europe was probably a major spark for the Renaissance? The Chinese may have closed their borders, but their influence was still being felt throughout the world.
哇~ 中国人当然有如此大的船只，并且认为后来这些被认为是非法的。顺便说一句，你听历史学家说过郑和的航行成为欧洲文艺复兴的火花吗？中国人虽然关闭的边界，但他们的影响到整个世界。
have heard that they probably visited France, Portugal and the Netherlands, but not the bit about the Renaissance. The Chinese described meeting very tall men with big feet, orange/yellow hair and big noses. At that stage, had to be somewhere in Europe or alternatively a Viking settlement still in existence somewhere at that time
听说郑和的舰队曾经造访过法国、葡萄牙和荷兰，但是不知道和文艺复兴有关。据中国人描述，见到的了高个子、黄色头发、大鼻子的外国人，也许他们见到的是仍肆虐与欧洲的维京人。
it's even more fascinating when there is a little bit of mystery involved
有的一点神秘色彩使得这个故事更加神奇
Very rich hub with nice illustrations. China has one the greatest history background especially their expansion to new lands. Thanks
非常详细的介绍。中国有着伟大的历史，尤其在扩张新领土方面，谢谢
Right now this is my favorite of your hubs simply because I had seen reference to this story many times over the years but you wrote the details I was seeking. I'd never get sick of your China hubs!
目前这是你的文章中我最喜欢的，我以前也听过相关的故事，但是你所描述的细节正是我所寻找的，你的关于中国的文章我永远看不够。
Chinese have lots of secrets and mysteries！
中国人有着太多神秘和神奇的故事
Great job on your historical hub Cindy! a lot of info and great pictures. It is so interesting to see the kinds of stuff they used to get around back then.
你的历史文章写的真好！有着大量的信息和图片。能亲眼看到那些他们曾经用过的东西真有意思
As for the Asian features of Native Americans, I think the most commonly accepted explanation is the former existence of a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska. That's not to say that this history of Zheng He isn't factual, though; a different source for the Asian ancestry of Native Americans doesn't negate the possiblity that this history is accurate in its essentials. And, in any case, it's a very fascinating, thought-provoking story. It reminds my of a used book I came across in a bookstore and wish to heck I had bought and kept: it proposed a theory that the tribes of Israel had also circumnavigated the globe. And then, of course, there's the old favorite: the Atlantis story.
I love this stuff.
至于土著美国人为什么有亚洲面孔，目前最普遍、人们最认同的观点是曾经在西伯利亚和阿拉斯加之间存在陆桥，但这并不意味着关于郑和的历史不是真的，不能否认土著美国人的来源可能有多种，从任何角度讲，这都是非常神奇和引人深思的故事。这让我想到了我曾经在书店看到过的后来又把它买走的一本书，认为古代以色列部落也曾经环游世界，当然，人们肯定会对这个话题感兴趣，亚特兰蒂斯，我喜欢这个故事。
Most likely,they were spending too much money building ships that were not bringing back enough in the way of goods etc.. for it to be worth continuing! About the only ones making money were the builders of those ships.Then they may have lost a lot of them to storms at sea or could be the worlds ocean routes had changed,or could be all of the above!
最有可能的解释是，他们造船花钱太多了，造成收不抵支。。。可能最挣钱的就是那些造船的人了，可能他们在海上的暴风中损失了大量的船，或者海上航线改变，或者是以上所有的原因
Fascinating story! And I'm sorry to hear that he didn't get buried with his testicles? LOL I'm sure he'll survived without using it with the ladies then.
神奇的故事！我很遗憾他的蛋蛋没能和他一起下葬，哈哈。我想他下辈子没法和女人做爱了
The thought that Columbus was the 1st European in America is frankly hard to believe. Lief Erikson was in North America way back when. And when you hear stories of people today who row boats across the Atlantic, who knows what happened long ago. Thanks for introducing me to a real facinating character.
说哥伦布是第一个发现美洲大陆的说法很难让人相信。利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）就常在北欧和北美之间穿越，当你听到说谁穿越了大西洋到达美洲，你就应该知道那是很久之前就发生过的事情了。感谢你介绍了这个一个神奇的人物。
Amazing history. I watched a program on this man several years ago on History Channel. Fascinating, he did have balls though.LOL Smart too. I think the Egyptians were here even before our Viking friend. From where else did the mummies get tobacco and cocaine in their carcasses?
神奇的故事。我在历史频道曾经看到过这件事。很神奇，他确实有胆量（ball有蛋蛋和胆量的意思），哈哈，也很聪明。我想古埃及人应该比维京人更早到达美洲，否则为什么木乃伊里面有烟草和可卡因？
The Han dynasty was far superior to the Roman empire of the same period of technology, wealth and military might. For a period of 30 years after WWI, America produced more than the rest of the world. China for 1500 years until the latter part of the Ming dynasty produced more than the rest of the world. The reason, China did not conquer the rest of the world, is because of their arrogance. China, meaning the central empire, did not need or want of other barbarian lands. The Chinese had vastly different mentality than the westerners.
汉朝比同时代的罗马帝国相比技术更先进、财富更多、军事更强大。在第一次世界大战结束后30年，美国比世界上其他任何国家生产的东西都多。中国在过去一千五百年的时间内比世界上任何国家都强大，但从来不想征服世界，原因就是，中国认为自己是天朝上国，他们不想要野蛮人的土地，中国人与西方人的思维方式完全不同。
http://www.ltaaa.com/wtfy/4948.html
正文翻译
Chinese sailor finds America before Columbus!
中国水手先于哥伦布到达美洲
Who was Zheng He?
Zheng He was born in the poor, mountainous Chinese province of Yunnan in 1371, just as Genghis Khan's Mongols were being overthrown by a new, home-grown dynasty, the Ming under Emperor Zhu. Zheng He's parents named him “Ma Ho” in honor of Mohammed, the founder of Islam. His father and grandfather were both Muslims and had each visited Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage. Their tales of the long journey thrilled Ma Ho and he longed make a glorious journey himself one day. As his family were Muslim and had fought on the side of the Mongols, when the Ming armies came looking for rebels, they killed Ma Ho's dad and hey captured the 10-year-old boy and, as was the custom with young male prisoners, castrated him.
郑和是谁？
郑和于1371年出生在中国贫困多山的云南省，正值成吉思汗建立的蒙古王朝被推翻的之时，新建立的明朝在朱元璋的统治之下。郑和的父母给他起名叫“MA HO",以纪念伊斯兰教的创始人穆罕默德，他的父亲和祖父都是虔诚的MSL，并且都去过麦加朝圣，他们讲述过的在旅途中令人激动的经历使得郑和一直向往，希望自己有一天能够踏上如此光荣辉煌的朝圣之旅。由于他们的家族全是MSL，并且为蒙古人效力，所以当明朝军队剿灭叛军的时候，他们杀了郑和的父亲，俘虏了年仅10岁的郑和，作为当时处置年轻男性囚犯的惯例，阉割了他。
As his intelligence was observed in the jail, he was taken to Beijing to serve as a servant to Prince Zhu Di, Emperor Zhu's fourth son. The prince and Ma Ho became best friends and the prince changed Ma Ho's name to Zheng He, and made him Grand Imperial Eunuch.
他的才能在监狱中就被发现了，随后被带到了北京，作为朱元璋第四个皇子朱棣的仆人，朱棣和他成为了最好的朋友,并且把他的名字改为郑和,使他成为最有权势的宦官.
When Prince Zhu Di's father died, there was some dispute over who would be the new emperor, but with Zheng He at his side, Zhu Di eventually became the emperor in 1402 and changed his name to Yong'le. He was ruthless and ambitious but was one of the best Ming emperors, building the Forbidden City when the capital was moved to Beijing and restored the Great Wall.
当朱元璋驾崩后,宫中发生了皇位的争夺,由于郑和站在他这边,最终朱棣成为皇帝,并改名号为永乐皇帝.他是明朝最雄心勃勃和冷酷无情的皇帝，他建造了紫禁城，将首都迁到北京，并重新开始修建长城。
Emperor Yong'le wanted to expand Chinese influence to other lands and establish trade, so he appointed the close on 7 foot tall Zheng He as Admiral of his fleets. Emperor Yong'le was a little bit of a megalomaniac as were many emperors of that time and had a grand vision then already, that China would become a world leader and the foremost trading nation in the world at that time. China already had the technology, they had invented the sextant, the compass and gunpowder. In Zheng He, Emperor Yong'le felt that he had the right man to send out to help build China into the greatest trading power of all time. He rightly believed that it would have to be through a fleet of ships and not overland.
永乐皇帝希望扩大中国的影响力并且建立贸易，所以他指令郑和作为舰队的船长，永乐皇帝有一些宏伟的设想，中国将成为世界的领导并成为当时世界最大的贸易国家。他们具备这种能力，他们已经发明了六分仪、指南针和火药。对于郑和，永乐皇帝相信他完全有这种能力帮助中国实现这些目标，他相信通过水路而不是陆路是最好的方式。
Zheng He was commanded to built a treasure fleet to go out and explore the regions beyond China. The shipyard in Nanjing was chosen as the place where the treasure ships would be built. According to some of the few remaining Ming records, the flagships of the fleet were 400 feet long and 160 feet wide. The treasure ships had watertight bulkhead compartments of a kind the West would have to wait hundreds of years for. They even had their own on-board vegetable patches, so sailors never got scurvy. Columbus's Santa Maria, was only 75 feet long and 25 feet wide!
郑和负责督造一支巨大的舰队去探索中国以外的世界，船坞位于南京。根据明朝史料记载，舰队的旗舰4800英尺长，1920英尺宽，这支巨大的舰船有西方几百年后才做的到防水的舱壁分隔间，并在在船上有储藏蔬菜的地方，使得船员不会因缺乏维生素而得坏血病。相比之下，哥伦布的圣玛利亚号，只有900英尺长，300英尺宽。
In 1405, only three years after receiving his instructions, Zheng He's treasure fleet set sail, with each flagship supported by countless smaller vessels going off in a different direction. All in all there were over 300 ships in the whole fleet and 27800 men. Amazing that all this shipbuilding took place in a 3 year period! On the ships, were trading items like silk and pottery, as well as concubines which were to be given to other leaders they met as gifts.
在1405年，也就是郑和接到指令后的3年，庞大的舰队开始了它的远洋之旅，庞大的旗舰由无数的船只在不同的方向支持护卫，总计300多艘船及27800名船员，而这一切只在3年之内就完成了，在那个时代简直是个奇迹。在船上载有有丝绸及陶瓷等贸易物品，同时也有将赠送给当地首领做为礼物的美女。
What is the
evidence?
The Nanjing Shipyards where these ships were built still exists and has been turned into a special park with a museum. It was only when some ancient Ming documents were found that China suddenly realised that they had once been a formidable sea power and had ruled the waves. For centuries all evidence of their naval expertise and explorations had been buried in the mud at the old shipyard. The museum shows some of the items that have been excavated to date, nails, ship building tools, masts and a huge tiller that will easily take 20 men to manage. A huge anchor, biggest I've ever seen was also found. Plans of the treasure ships and other small ships in the fleet have also been found. A map made in the 1700's, but based on a map from 1418 has also been found and shows that China knew about Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
证据是什么？
建造这支巨大舰队的南京船坞至今还存在，并被改造成为主题公园，只有通过目前尚存的明朝史料的记载，中国才意识到他们曾经具有过不可战胜的海上力量并曾经统治过整个海洋。数个世纪以来，有关他们造船技术及探索海洋的书籍早就在船坞中被焚毁了。主题公园里的博物馆展示了挖掘出来的东西，船钉、造船工具、船桅以及巨大的需要20多个人才能操作的船柄，见到了我从来没有见过的那么大的锚，也见到了巨大旗舰及其他船只的平面图。一幅根据1418年的航海发现而于1700年制作的地图显示了当时中国已经知道了非洲、欧洲、澳大利亚和美洲。
In his bestselling book 1421, former British naval officer Gavin Menzies claimed Zheng He's ships ended up reaching America and circumnavigating the world. He claims to have found ruins of Zheng He's ships in the Caribbean. However, the strongest evidence that Zhenge's fleet reached the East Coast of America, is the 600 year old bronze Ming Dynasty medallion found buried in Cherokee land. And, the Cherokee call their white clay pottery a very similar to name to what the Chinese call theirs almost identical in fact.
在畅销书《1421-中国发现世界》中，前英国海军军官加文孟席斯称郑和的舰队环游了世界，并最终到达美洲，他声称在加勒比海发现了郑和舰队船只的残骸。然而，郑和舰队到达美国东海岸最有力的证据是在发掘出来的有600年历史的明代铜章，并且声称他们对白色粘土陶瓷的发音与与中文的发音完全一致。
And then of course, many Native Americans do have slightly Asian features. maybe some concubines were dropped off there. It is believed as more old documents come to light, the proof of Zheng He reaching America will be undisputed.
当然，许多土著美国人也有一点亚洲面孔，或许当时郑和将一些中国女人在这里卸下，有许多有依据的资料证明，郑和到达美洲是毫无疑问的。
There is strong evidence to show Zheng He reached Africa. In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are clearly Asian-looking. They also consider themselves as the descendants of Zheng He’s crew. Many Samoans have Chinese surnames and Asian features, so there's evidence the treasure fleet went there as well. Zheng He took an Imam on board, so it is believed that Islam in Indonesia was brought by Zheng He's treasure fleet.有很有力的证据证
明郑和曾经到达非洲，在今天的非洲肯尼亚，有许多部落具有亚洲面孔。他们也认为他们是郑和舰队船员的后裔，许多具有中国人的姓氏和亚洲面孔，这是郑和舰队曾经到过那里的证据。郑和的船上带着一名伊玛目（伊斯兰教领袖），所以可以认为如今印度尼西亚的伊斯兰教是郑和传播过去的。
Voyage DatesFirst Voyage (1405-1407)Second Voyage (1407-1409)Third Voyage (1409-1411)Fourth Voyage (1413-1415)Fifth Voyage (1417-1419)Sixth Voyage (1421-1422)Seventh Voyage (1431-1433)
航行日期
第一次航行(1405-1407)
第二次航行(1407-1409)
第三次航行(1409-1411)
第四次航行(1413-1415)
第五次航行(1417-1419)
第六次航行(1421-1422)
第七次航行(1431-1433)
Zheng He's voyages had a very large impact on the Ming Dynasty and the countries Zheng He visited. These seven voyages opened trade and diplomatic ties for the Ming Dynasty with many other countries. Frightened by Zheng He's fleet, many countries paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty hoping to buy peace with the Asian superpower. Can you imagine what you'd have thought, if you had spotted a whole fleet of ships surrounding a huge treasure ship with red silk sails and flags flying in the breeze, as it anchored in your bay. From these visits, the Ming Dynasty acquired much power and wealth. Crews also brought back many tales of exotic lands and cultures, enriching the Chinese culture, already full of tales and myths.
郑和的航行对明朝及他所到的国家都产生的巨大的影响。这7次航行开启了明朝与很多国家的贸易和外交联系。由于郑和的舰队，许多国家开始对明朝纳贡希望与这个亚洲强权国家保持和平。巨大的旗舰和环绕在它旁边无数的船只，红色的丝绸风帆随风飘扬，巨大的船锚落在你的港口里，你当然可以很明显的辨认出他们。从这些访问中，明朝获得了大量权势和财富。船员们也带回了大量异域风情的故事，丰富了中国的文化，同时也带回了大量的神话与传说。
The Chinese took crates of porcelain dishes, vases and cups, as well as chinese silk, gold and silver to trade. Zheng He traded these items mainly for dyes, herbs, spices, gems, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns and exotic animals. The giraffe they brought back was aparticular favourite as the emperor thought it was a unicorn.
中国人带了成箱的陶瓷盘子、花瓶和杯子以及中国丝绸、金子和银器用来交易，用这些来换取染料、草药、香料、宝石、珍珠、象牙、犀牛和具有异域风情的各种动物。他们带回去的长颈鹿特别受皇帝的喜欢，他认为那是独角兽。
Why were the treasure fleets destroyed?
为什么庞大的舰队消失了?
Life changed for Zheng He when Emperor Yong’le suddenly died in 1424. Zhu Gaozhi became the next emperor of China. Emperor Yong'le had met with a lot of resistance at the expense of keeping the treasure fleet going, and pressure was put on the new emperor. Emperor Gaozhi wanted nothing to do with navel exploring and scrapped all ideas of a seventh Treasure Fleet. For six long years, Zheng He, who had fought off pirates, waged war with those who didn’t want peace, established trade routes, weathered hurricanes and other violent storms, was stuck on land with not much to do. Luckily, Emperor Zhu Gaozhi’s reign was short and the next Emperor, Zhu Zhanji, had similar views of Yong’le. In 1430, Emperor Zhanji commanded Zheng He to lead another Treasure Fleet on it's seventh voyage. This was to be Zheng He's last voyage as he is reputed to have died near Calicut and buried at sea according to Muslim tradition. Usually, an eunuch's testicles were kept in a jar and buried with them so that they could be whole in the afterlife. Unfortunately for Zheng He, despite all his brave deeds and accomplishments, he died half a man without his testicles being buried with him.
当永乐皇帝于1424年突然驾崩后，郑和的生活彻底被改变了。明仁宗朱高炽成为了的中国皇帝，在永乐皇帝在世的时候，消耗大量的钱财支持庞大的舰队的做法就遭到朝臣们很强烈的反对，现在压力落到了新皇帝的身上，仁宗皇帝对第七次航行没有一点想法也没有一点兴趣，在长达6年的时间里，郑和不得不与海盗和那些不想臣服的人战斗，建立新的贸易航线，或者在遭遇飓风或其他恶劣天气而困在港口里什么都做不了。幸运的是，他的统治时间很短，而继任的皇帝宣宗朱瞻基与永乐皇帝则有着相同的想法。在1430年，宣宗皇帝命令郑和领导另一支舰队进行第七次航行，这是郑和的最后一次航行了，据说他死在印度，并按照MSL习俗实行了海葬。通常太监的睾丸会存放在一个坛子里，死后一起下葬，使得他们下辈子能做个完整的男人。不幸的是，郑和作为一个拥有无与伦比的勇敢壮举和取得非凡成就的人，在去世的时候仍然是个不完整的男人。
Now, the Ming Dynasty was on a roll here. They had countries constantly sending in tribute, had many trade relations to make profits from, and it was the superpower of the world at that point. Zheng He's treasure ships used technology that would not be used in Europe for hundreds of years, and were economically much better off than the Europeans. TThey had sophisticated weaponry and were almost invincible. The Ming Dynasty was an unrivaled naval power and was feared and respected throughout the areas the treasure fleet visited . The Chinese could have conquered the world… but they suddenly stopped.
这时，明朝已经在海外很有影响力了，各国都持续不断的为明朝进贡，并与很多国家建立了贸易联系，有大量金银入账，成为那是世界上最强大的国家。郑和的庞大舰队使用的先进技术西方几百年后才具备，他们具有精妙的武器，几乎不可战胜。明朝在海上没有任何对手，并且沿途受到各个国家的敬畏，看起来中国人马上就要征服整个世界了，然而突然一切戛然而止了。
This is what intrigues me the most about this story. Why did they just stop and go into a sort of hibernation? Did the treasure fleets bring back some kind of plague or disease? Soon after Zheng He's death, the Ming Dynasty officials burned most of his charts and writings. By 1500, the Emperor ordered the destruction of all oceangoing ships and made it a capital offense to build a boat with more than two masts. In fact, building a boat of more than three masts was punishable by immediate death. What happened to make the chinese react in this way? What was brought back by the ships that frightened the Ming Dynasty officials that they destroyed everything about the ships?
这是让我感到最迷惑的地方。为什么他们突然停止了这一切，进入了闭关锁国的状态？难道他们的庞大舰队带回了瘟疫和其他疾病吗？郑和去世不久，明朝官员烧毁了大部分的航海图和航海记录。到1500年，皇帝命令毁掉所有在建的船只，并命令不许建造超过三个船桅的船只，事实上，很快连这种船只都不允许建造了。是什么造成明朝做出这种决定？难道他们带回来的什么东西吓到了明朝官员以至于他们要毁掉所有船只？
Some say that after Zheng He passed away at sea, the Ming Dynasty officials took control and decided that the dynasty was above the other countries out there and that the outside world had nothing to offer them. The burning of Zheng He's work was an extreme act to show that China didn't need the rest of the world, like burning the bridge behind you, the point of no return. I'm not sure if I can accept that as the reason. It just seems too extreme. To be a world power, rake in a fortune and then turn your back on it all for nearly 600 years.
有人说在郑和死在了海上之后，反对航海的官员控制了朝廷，并认为中国是天朝上国，外面的世界不能为他们提供什么有用的东西。烧毁了郑和的成果是一项极端的行为，表明中国不需要外部世界。我不知道我能不能接受这种说法，它看起来太极端了。作为世界最强大的国家，本可以赚取大量财富，但却与世界与世隔绝了近六百年，实在是不可思议的事情。
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评论翻译
Amazing story! Chinese history is so fascinating and they were so far ahead of their time!
这个故事太神奇了！中国历史如此辉煌，他们在那个时代遥遥领先我们！
Yeah Shalini, and I want to know what happened, why did they destroy it all and then go into hibernation? I find that fascinating!
回复楼上：的确实这样，我想知道到底发生了什么，为什么他们摧毁了所有的船只并开始闭关锁国？太神奇了！
An amazing story and very well written. Had heard of Zheng He having visited America but didn't know about his other voyages. I agree it is a mystery why the ocean going fleet finished. However, I believe that he was beaten to America by one European namely Leif Eriksson
这个故事太神奇了，写的非常好。我知道郑和曾经到过美洲但还不知道其他航行故事，我也对中国大航海时代的结束感到好奇，然而，我认为郑和是被利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）打到美洲的。
He is a hero .He brought China and the world of communication, of the Chinese civilization to the world.
他是一个英雄。他促进了中国和世界的交流，并把中国文明传播到世界。
Thanks Candie, I live in Nanjing and Zheng He's shipyard is right here
谢谢，我住在南京，郑和的船坞确实在这。
Awesome Hub. Really great read! The mystery of Zheng...
神奇的文章，很高兴读到，郑和真是个神话
Zheng He was an interesting character as he came from nothing to achieve so much. I read somewhere that they think he was the original Sinbad the sailor, the one all the stories were based on.
郑和是一个非常有趣的人物，他出身卑微却取得了如此大的成就。我在别的地方看到的文章说辛巴达就是以他为原型创造出来的人物。
Zheng He isn't very well known. Most people don't know that the Chinese were the most powerful seafarers at one time.
郑和还不是很有名，大多数人都不知道这个中国人是当时最牛逼的航海家
I love the Chinese history and culture. Hope you do find out some time why they shut themselves off like that. Other countries have done the same, Burma, Vietnam for many years too. I believe their reasons were they didn't want to be corrupted with Western influence.
我喜欢中国历史和文化。希望你能查到为什么他们要把自己封锁起来。其他国家比如缅甸、越南也封闭自己好多年，我想原因是他们不想被西方腐蚀影响。
I'm not sure we'll ever find out why they burnt all evidence of the explorations. My gut feeling remains that it was plague-related.
我不确定我们能否找到他们为什么要烧掉所有船只的证据，我自己认为还是与瘟疫有关。
Hopefully, the day will come when children will learn about Zheng He the way they learn about Drake and Columbus.
感谢这篇非常有历史价值的文章，希望有一天，郑和能够与达伽马和哥伦布一起出现在历史书上。
Wow, the Chinese sure had some big honkin' ships. And to think that ships of that size were later outlawed!
By the way, cindy, have you heard how historians now think that a visit from this fleet to Europe was probably a major spark for the Renaissance? The Chinese may have closed their borders, but their influence was still being felt throughout the world.
哇~ 中国人当然有如此大的船只，并且认为后来这些被认为是非法的。顺便说一句，你听历史学家说过郑和的航行成为欧洲文艺复兴的火花吗？中国人虽然关闭的边界，但他们的影响到整个世界。
have heard that they probably visited France, Portugal and the Netherlands, but not the bit about the Renaissance. The Chinese described meeting very tall men with big feet, orange/yellow hair and big noses. At that stage, had to be somewhere in Europe or alternatively a Viking settlement still in existence somewhere at that time
听说郑和的舰队曾经造访过法国、葡萄牙和荷兰，但是不知道和文艺复兴有关。据中国人描述，见到的了高个子、黄色头发、大鼻子的外国人，也许他们见到的是仍肆虐与欧洲的维京人。
it's even more fascinating when there is a little bit of mystery involved
有的一点神秘色彩使得这个故事更加神奇
Very rich hub with nice illustrations. China has one the greatest history background especially their expansion to new lands. Thanks
非常详细的介绍。中国有着伟大的历史，尤其在扩张新领土方面，谢谢
Right now this is my favorite of your hubs simply because I had seen reference to this story many times over the years but you wrote the details I was seeking. I'd never get sick of your China hubs!
目前这是你的文章中我最喜欢的，我以前也听过相关的故事，但是你所描述的细节正是我所寻找的，你的关于中国的文章我永远看不够。
Chinese have lots of secrets and mysteries！
中国人有着太多神秘和神奇的故事
Great job on your historical hub Cindy! a lot of info and great pictures. It is so interesting to see the kinds of stuff they used to get around back then.
你的历史文章写的真好！有着大量的信息和图片。能亲眼看到那些他们曾经用过的东西真有意思
As for the Asian features of Native Americans, I think the most commonly accepted explanation is the former existence of a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska. That's not to say that this history of Zheng He isn't factual, though; a different source for the Asian ancestry of Native Americans doesn't negate the possiblity that this history is accurate in its essentials. And, in any case, it's a very fascinating, thought-provoking story. It reminds my of a used book I came across in a bookstore and wish to heck I had bought and kept: it proposed a theory that the tribes of Israel had also circumnavigated the globe. And then, of course, there's the old favorite: the Atlantis story.
I love this stuff.
至于土著美国人为什么有亚洲面孔，目前最普遍、人们最认同的观点是曾经在西伯利亚和阿拉斯加之间存在陆桥，但这并不意味着关于郑和的历史不是真的，不能否认土著美国人的来源可能有多种，从任何角度讲，这都是非常神奇和引人深思的故事。这让我想到了我曾经在书店看到过的后来又把它买走的一本书，认为古代以色列部落也曾经环游世界，当然，人们肯定会对这个话题感兴趣，亚特兰蒂斯，我喜欢这个故事。
Most likely,they were spending too much money building ships that were not bringing back enough in the way of goods etc.. for it to be worth continuing! About the only ones making money were the builders of those ships.Then they may have lost a lot of them to storms at sea or could be the worlds ocean routes had changed,or could be all of the above!
最有可能的解释是，他们造船花钱太多了，造成收不抵支。。。可能最挣钱的就是那些造船的人了，可能他们在海上的暴风中损失了大量的船，或者海上航线改变，或者是以上所有的原因
Fascinating story! And I'm sorry to hear that he didn't get buried with his testicles? LOL I'm sure he'll survived without using it with the ladies then.
神奇的故事！我很遗憾他的蛋蛋没能和他一起下葬，哈哈。我想他下辈子没法和女人做爱了
The thought that Columbus was the 1st European in America is frankly hard to believe. Lief Erikson was in North America way back when. And when you hear stories of people today who row boats across the Atlantic, who knows what happened long ago. Thanks for introducing me to a real facinating character.
说哥伦布是第一个发现美洲大陆的说法很难让人相信。利夫埃里克森（维京海盗）就常在北欧和北美之间穿越，当你听到说谁穿越了大西洋到达美洲，你就应该知道那是很久之前就发生过的事情了。感谢你介绍了这个一个神奇的人物。
Amazing history. I watched a program on this man several years ago on History Channel. Fascinating, he did have balls though.LOL Smart too. I think the Egyptians were here even before our Viking friend. From where else did the mummies get tobacco and cocaine in their carcasses?
神奇的故事。我在历史频道曾经看到过这件事。很神奇，他确实有胆量（ball有蛋蛋和胆量的意思），哈哈，也很聪明。我想古埃及人应该比维京人更早到达美洲，否则为什么木乃伊里面有烟草和可卡因？
The Han dynasty was far superior to the Roman empire of the same period of technology, wealth and military might. For a period of 30 years after WWI, America produced more than the rest of the world. China for 1500 years until the latter part of the Ming dynasty produced more than the rest of the world. The reason, China did not conquer the rest of the world, is because of their arrogance. China, meaning the central empire, did not need or want of other barbarian lands. The Chinese had vastly different mentality than the westerners.
汉朝比同时代的罗马帝国相比技术更先进、财富更多、军事更强大。在第一次世界大战结束后30年，美国比世界上其他任何国家生产的东西都多。中国在过去一千五百年的时间内比世界上任何国家都强大，但从来不想征服世界，原因就是，中国认为自己是天朝上国，他们不想要野蛮人的土地，中国人与西方人的思维方式完全不同。
http://www.ltaaa.com/wtfy/4948.html
谁最早给MM递纸条送玫瑰那都是虚地，谁把MM肚子搞大娶进门那才有实际意义。
二楼具有超大传统属性...