A Forgotten
Explorer of Pre-Modern Times
Dr. Ahmed S. Khan
Addison, IL
Ibn
Battuta (1304-1368/69*) and Zheng He (1371-1433/35*)
were the great explorers of pre-modern times. Professor
Ross Dunn in The adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim
Traveler of the 14th Century observes “Since
the mid nineteenth century, when translation of
his Arabic narrative began to appear in Western
languages, Ibn Battuta has been well known among
specialists in Islamic and medieval history. But
no scholar had attempted to retell his remarkable
story to a general audience.”
Howard Turner in Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated
Introduction describes Ibn Battuta as a celebrated
traveler of pre-modern times. Born in Fez, Morocco,
Ibn Battuta spent his life traveling from North
Africa to China, Southeast Asia and lands in between.
He started his travels when he was 20 years old
by going to Mecca for Hajj. After completing Hajj,
he continued his travels. Over the next three decades,
he traveled about 75,000 miles visiting a large
number of territories such as China, Sumatra, Ceylon,
Arabia, Syria, Egypt, East Africa, and Timbuktu
(equivalent to 44 present-day countries).
After his return Ibn Battuta dictated an account
of his travels and observations to a scholar named
Ibn Juzayy who complied them as Tuhfat al-Nuzzar
fi Ghara'ib al-Amsar wa-'Aja'ib al-Asfar, or A Gift
to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and
the Marvels of Traveling (commonly referred to as
the Rihla). Battuta’s account of his travel
experiences provided the literature of travel with
some of the most objective, insightful, and intricate
observations ever made by a traveler. Ibn Battuta's
sea voyages and references to shipping reveal the
state of maritime activities of the Red Sea, the
Black Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and
the Chinese waters. His observations stand, along
with Marco Polo’s, as the most informative
work of the travel literature of the Middle Ages.
After Ibn Battuta’s death, the beginning of
fifteenth century saw the emergence of another great
explorer; Admiral Zheng He.
Like Ibn Battuta, Zheng He until recently also remained
a forgotten explorer to the general public in the
West. In 2002, Gavin Menzies, a retired Royal Navy
officer, started a public debate in his book 1421:
The Year China discovered America, by putting forth
his argument that Zheng He sailed to the Americas
seven decades before Christopher Columbus. Menzies
also made another astonishing claim: Zheng He sailed
to the Americas from the west and not from the east,
thus completing a near circumnavigation of the globe.
The publication of Menzies’s book has generated
enormous public interest in the explorations of
Zheng He. Throughout 2005, the academicians, historians,
and people around the globe celebrated the 600th
anniversary of Zheng He’s voyages.
On August 6, 2005, the Museum of Science and Industry,
Chicago, in collaboration with Zheng He foundation,
Chicago and Center for East Asian Studies at the
University of Chicago, also celebrated the 600th
anniversary of the first of seven voyages of Admiral
Zheng He. In all he led a mighty armada on a mission
of diplomacy and trade. Commemoration ceremonies
started with a three-lectures delivered by prominent
Chinese and American scholars.
The first lecture titled “Zheng He’s
Voyages as perceived by the Western scholars”
was presented by Dr. Guy Alitto, professor in history,
center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago,
and an authority on Chinese history. Professor Alitto
discussed the historical importance of Zheng He’s
voyages from the world as well as Chinese perspectives.
He said, “From the perspective of world history,
the voyages of Zheng He are utterly astonishing.
From the perspective of Chinese history, they are
less so, in that the technological achievements
of Chinese civilization were usually well in advance
of all other civilizations in the world.”
Regarding claims made by some historians that Zheng
He circumnavigated the globe, Professor Alitto said,
“If any Americans have heard of Zheng He’s
name, it is likely that they read, or heard about,
1421, The Year China discovered America, by a retired
Royal Navy officer, Gavin Menzies; he has taken
advantage of western ignorance of Chinese civilization
in general and the Ming period in particular by
claiming that Zheng He circumnavigated the globe
and beat Columbus to the Americas. Most historians
however consider this thesis to be highly unsubstantiated,
if not utterly misguided.”
Professor Ming Wan, Director of Ming Dynasty Research
Section, History Institute of Chinese Academy of
Social Science, Beijing, China (www.cass.net.cn),
presented the second lecture titled “East-West
cultural exchange in Zheng He’s era.”
Professor Wan expounded on the role of Han dynasty’s
(2000 years ago), Chinese legend Zhang Qian who
opened the “silk road” to the “West
land,” a region where Asia and Europe meet.
In the Ming Dynasty (600 years ago), Emperor’s
envoy Zheng He became another legend whose voyages
opened the maritime “silk road” to the
“West ocean,” a region including the
Indian ocean, Persian Gulf, Red Sea and East Africa.
The third lecture, “Science and Technology
applied in Zheng He’s voyages,” was
presented by Dr. Jin Wu, fellow of US National Academy
of Engineering, and Professor, Department of Hydraulic
and Oceanic Engineering, National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan, Taiwan. Professor Wu’s lecture focused
on interdisciplinary research on the scientific
and technological aspects of Zheng He’s voyages.
Professor Wu reminded the audience that Zheng He’s
voyages came a few decades before most of the European
expeditions known to the entire western world: Christopher
Columbus (1492); Vasco da Gama (1498); and Ferdinand
Magellan (1521). Professor Wu also expounded on
the fact that Zheng He's fleets were much larger
.Professor Wu explained that Zheng He’s treasure
ships were 400 feet long, whereas Columbus's flagship,
the St. Maria, was only 85 feet in length. Zheng
He's treasure ships, Professor Wu mentioned, were
wide and bulky, like the super-tankers of today.
In addition to treasure ships, Zheng He’s
fleet also included a variety of other specialized
supply ships.
At the conclusion of the lectures, a replica of
Zheng He’s treasure boat (1:100 model) made
by Quanzhou Maritime Museum in Fujian, China, was
presented to the Museum of Science and technology
as a valuable addition to its 50 famous model collections
in the “Ships Through Ages” exhibition
hall.
To conclude the commencement ceremonies, Professor
Wu delivered the keynote address. Titled “Significance
of celebrating the six hundredth anniversary of
Zheng He’s voyages,” the paper claimed
that in the ancient times (Chunchiu-Chanko period)
Chinese people had the advanced know-how of naval
architecture. In fact, ship building and navigation
technology during the Song and the Yuan Dynasties
could have been more innovative compared to the
Ming Dynasty era. But Zheng He’s voyages were
on a larger scale; these voyages were not merely
a historical coincidence, but a product of the scientific
and cultural accomplishments in Chinese history.
Professor Wu further elaborated on the fact that
Zheng He’s huge armada visited over 40 countries
and areas, and yet his voyages remained peaceful,
never arousing a sense of threat to anyone. Professor
Wu said that Zheng He’s accomplishments can
prove to be a guide for bringing forth new peak
for exchanges between East and West, and thus can
usher a oceanic century which is more orderly and
ethical.
[Dr. Ahmed S. Khan (khan@dpg.devry.edu) is a senior
Professor in the EET dept. at DeVry University,
Addison, Illinois. He is the author of The Telecommunications
Fact Book and the co-author of Technology and Society:
A Bridge to the 21st Century.]
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