Cheng Ho Cultural Museum Malacca,Malaysia

Introduction

This museum was set up in honour of a Chinese Ming Dynasty admiral called Cheng Ho or Zheng He.

Cheng Ho Navigation Map in Wubeizi showing the location of Man-la-ka (Melaka) and Guan Chang

This famed explorer made seven voyages of exploration, leaving his mark in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia between 1405 and 1433.

 Five of these voyages brought him through Melaka, a port he is said to have founded.

Cheng Ho or Zheng He

Cheng Ho, or Zheng He, was born in Kunyang, Yunnan province, China, in 1371. 

Originally named Ma Sanpao, he was captured and sent to the Chinese army under Chu Ti in 1382.

 There he helped Chu Ti become Emperor Yonglo of the ming Dynasty. 

In thanks, he was made Grand Imperial Eunuch and his name was changed to Zheng He. 

The Voyages of Cheng Ho

Yonglo chose Zheng to head a series of naval expeditions to ports all over the Indian Ocean. 

Zheng had diplomatic, scientific, and commercial goals, while traveling farther than any other admiral in history at the time. 

He visited more than 35 countries during his voyages.

heng took more than 100 ships and about 28,000 men in his Grand Fleet.

Zheng’s voyages not only established Chinese trade routes throughout Asia and Africa, but also established China as the dominant power in the known world.

This famed explorer made seven voyages of exploration, leaving his mark in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia between 1405 and 1433. 

Five of these voyages brought him through Melaka, a port he is said have founded.

In the mid-15th Century, he was entrusted to bring the Emperor's daughter, Princess Hang Li Po to marry the Sultan of Melaka. 

The Princess' entourage consisted of several hundred sons of ministers and handmaidens, a group of people who eventually intermarried with locals in Melaka, creating the Baba Nyonya culture.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yonglo died in 1424, ending all naval expeditions until 1431. Between two and five years after Yonglo’s death, Cheng Ho himself died during a trip home from India, ending the seventh and final voyage of the Grand Fleet.