Chinesename	浙江省
Pinyin	Zhèjiāng Shěng
Englishname	Zhejiang Province
Name	Zhejiang
Localtranscription1	Wu Romanization: Tsek Kaon Sang
Abbreviation	浙
Abbrevpinyin	Zhè, Wu: Tsek
Isoabbrev	33
Map	China Zhejiang.svg
Originofname	Old name of Qiantang River
Administrationtype	Province
Capital	Hangzhou
Largestcity	Hangzhou
Secretary	Zhao Hongzhu
Governor	Xia Baolong
Area km2	101800
Arearank	25th
Latitude	27° 09' to 31° 11' N
Longitude	118° 02' to 122° 57' E
Popyear	2010
Pop	54,426,891
Poprank	10th
Popdensity km2	495
Popdensityrank	8th
Gdpyear	2010
Gdp	2.72 trillion ($US402 billion)
Gdprank	4th
Gdppercapita	44,335 ($US6,490)
Gdppercapitarank	4th
Hdiyear	2008
Hdi	0.841
Hdirank	5th
Hdicat	high
Nationalities	Han: 99.2% She: 0.4%
Dialects	Wu
Prefectures	11
Counties	90
Townships	1570
Website	http://www.zj.gov.cn }}

Zhejiang () is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word ''Zhejiang'' (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to its first character, "浙".

Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.

History

Zhejiang was outside the sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century to eleventh century BC). Instead it was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. Starting from the Spring and Autumn Period, a state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang that was heavily influenced by Chinese civilization further north, and under King Goujian of Yue it reached its zenith and was able to wipe out, in 473 BC, the state of Wu further north, a major power at the time. In 333 BC, this state was in turn conquered by the state of Chu further west; and the state of Qin in turn subjugated all the states of China under its control in 221 BC, thereby establishing a unified Chinese empire.

Throughout the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), Zhejiang was under the control of the unified Chinese state, though it was a frontier area at best, and southern Zhejiang was not under anything more than nominal control, it being still inhabited by Yue with their own political and social structures. Near the end of the Han Dynasty Zhejiang was home to minor warlords Yan Baihu and Wang Lang, who fell in turn to Sun Ce and Sun Quan, who eventually established the Kingdom of Wu (222–280), one of the Three Kingdoms.

From the fourth century onwards, China began to be invaded from the north by nomadic peoples, who conquered areas of North China and established the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Dynasties. As a result, massive numbers of refugees arrived from the north and poured into South China, which hosted the refugee Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties; this accelerated the sinicization of South China, including Zhejiang.

The Sui Dynasty reestablished unity and built the Grand Canal of China, which linked Hangzhou to the North China Plain, providing Zhejiang with a vital link to the centers of Chinese civilization. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) presided over a golden age of China. Zhejiang was, at this time, part of the Jiangnandong Circuit, and there began to appear references to its prosperity. Later on, as the Tang Dynasty disintegrated, Zhejiang constituted most of the territory of the regional kingdom of Wuyue.

The Northern Song Dynasty re-established unity in around 960. Under the Song Dynasty, the prosperity of South China began to overtake North China. After the north was lost to the Jurchens in 1127, Zhejiang had its heyday: the modern provincial capital, Hangzhou, was the capital of the Han Chinese Southern Song Dynasty which held on to South China. Renowned for its prosperity and beauty, it may have been the largest city in the world at the time. Ever since then all the way to the present day, north Zhejiang has, together with neighbouring south Jiangsu, been synonymous with luxury and opulence in Chinese culture. Mongol conquest and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in 1279 ended Hangzhou's political clout, though Hangzhou continued to prosper; Marco Polo visited the city, which he called "Kinsay", and called the "finest and noblest city" in the world".

The Zhejiang province, particularly the Longquan district, became renowned during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasty for its production of a particular celadon (greenware) ceramic. The Southern Song Longquan celadon is characterized by a thick unctuous glaze of a particular bluish-green tint over an otherwise undecorated light-grey porcellaneous body that is delicately potted. Yuan Longquan celadons feature a thinner, greener glaze on increasingly larger vessels with decoration and shapes derived from Middle Eastern ceramic and metalwares. These were produced in large quantities for the Chinese export trade to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and in the Ming, Europe. Ming wares are mainly noted for a decrease in quality and it is in this period that the Longquan kilns declined, to be eventually replaced in popularity and ceramic production by the kilns of Jingdezhen, in neighboring Jiangxi province.

The Ming Dynasty which drove out the Mongols in 1368 were the first to establish Zhejiang Province, and the borders of the province have since changed little. With the invasion of Western capitalism, Zhejiang became the most important bridge between Shanghai, the national economic center, and wealthy Southern China. Following the Doolittle Raid during World War II, most of the B-25 American crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians and soldiers. The Chinese people who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Imperial Japanese Army began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese from helping downed American airmen. The Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for Doolittle’s men.

After the People's Republic of China took control of Mainland China in 1949, the Republic of China government based in Taiwan continued to control the Dachen Islands off the coast of Zhejiang until 1955, even establishing a rival Zhejiang provincial government there, creating a situation similar to Fujian province today. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), Zhejiang was in chaos and disunity, and its economy was stagnant, especially during its high tide (1966–69). These problems were intensified by an agricultural policy favoring grain production at the expense of industrial and cash crops. Mao’s self-reliance policy, and the reduction in maritime trade cut off the lifelines of the port cities of Ningbo and Wenzhou. While Mao invested heavily in railroads in interior China, no major railroads were built to improve the poor transportation conditions in South Zhejiang.

Zhejiang has been less favored by the central government due to the lack of natural resources, a location vulnerable to potential flooding from the sea, and an economic base at the national average. Zhejiang, however, has long been an epicenter of capitalist development in China, and has been leading the nation in marketisation and the development of private enterprises. Northeast Zhejiang, as part of the Yangtze Delta, is flat, more developed, and industry oriented, where the earliest civilization in Zhejiang was found. South Zhejiang is mountainous and ill-suited for farming, and has traditionally been poor and underdeveloped. The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping, however, have brought change to that region unparalleled across the rest of China. Driven by hard work, an entrepreneuring spirit, low labour costs, and an eye for the world market, south Zhejiang (especially cities such as Wenzhou and Yiwu) has become a major center of export. This, together with the traditional prosperity of north Zhejiang, has allowed Zhejiang to leapfrog over several other provinces and become one of the richer provinces of China.

Although against the traditional Confucian ideas, intellectuals in Zhejiang, such as Shi Ye of the Yongjia School, had been promoting commercial activities. Over the years, Zhejiang has developed a tradition of active commercial activities and entrepreneurship.

Geography

Zhejiang consists mostly of hills, which account for about 70% of its total area. Altitudes tend to be highest to the south and west, and the highest peak of the province, Huangyajian Peak (), is located in the southwest. Mountains and mountain ranges include the Yandang Mountains, Tianmu Mountains, Mount Tiantai, and Mount Mogan, which traverse the province at altitudes of about .

Valleys and plains are found along the coastline and rivers. The north of the province lies just south of the Yangtze Delta, and consists of plains around the cities of Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, where the Grand Canal of China enters from the northern border to end at Hangzhou. Another relatively flat area is found along the Qujiang River around the cities of Quzhou and Jinhua. Major rivers include the Qiangtang and Oujiang Rivers. Most rivers carve out valleys in the highlands, with plenty of rapids and other features associated with such topography. Well-known lakes include the West Lake of Hangzhou and the South Lake of Jiaxing.

There are over three thousand islands along the ragged coastline of Zhejiang. The largest, Zhoushan Island, is Mainland China's third largest island, after Hainan and Chongming. There are also many bays with Hangzhou Bay being the largest.

Zhejiang has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Spring starts in March and is rainy with changeable weather. Summer, from June to September is long, hot and humid. Fall is generally dry, warm and sunny. Winters are short but cold except in the far south. Average annual temperature is around 15 to 19°C, average January temperature is around 2 to 8°C, and average July temperature is around 27 to 30°C. Annual precipitation is about 1000 to 1900 mm. There is plenty of rainfall in early summer, and by late summer Zhejiang is directly threatened by typhoons forming in the Pacific.

Administrative divisions

Zhejiang is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities:

! Map	! #	! Name	! Hanzi	! Hanyu Pinyin	! Administrative Seat
Colspan=5 align=center
1	Hangzhou	杭州市	Hángzhōu Shì	Gongshu District
2	Ningbo	宁波市	Níngbō Shì	Haishu District
3	Huzhou	湖州市	Húzhōu Shì	Wuxing District
4	Jiaxing	嘉兴市	Jiāxīng Shì	Nanhu District
5	Jinhua	金华市	Jīnhuá Shì	Wucheng District
6		丽水市	Líshuǐ Shì	Liandu District
7	Quzhou	衢州市	Qúzhōu Shì	Kecheng District
8	Shaoxing	绍兴市	Shàoxīng Shì	Yuecheng District
9		台州市	Tāizhōu Shì	Jiaojiang District
10	Wenzhou	温州市	Wēnzhōu Shì	Lucheng District
11	Zhoushan	舟山市	Zhōushān Shì	Dinghai District

The eleven prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang are subdivided into 90 county-level divisions (32 districts, 22 county-level cities, 35 counties, and one autonomous county). Those are in turn divided into 1570 township-level divisions (761 towns, 505 townships, 14 ethnic townships, and 290 subdistricts).

See List of administrative divisions of Zhejiang for a complete list of county-level divisions.

Politics

The politics of Zhejiang is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Zhejiang is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Zhejiang. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Zhejiang Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Zhejiang CPC Party Chief". Zhejiang was home to Chiang Kai-shek and many high ranking officials in the Nationalist Party, who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Civil War. Zhejiang has since become the forefront of China’s tense relations with Taiwan.

Economy

The province is traditionally known as the "Land of Fish and Rice". True to its name, rice is the main crop, followed by wheat; north Zhejiang is also a center of aquaculture in China, and the Zhoushan fishery is the largest fishery in the country. Main cash crops include jute and cotton, and the province also leads the provinces of China in tea production (the renowned Longjing tea is a product of Hangzhou). Zhejiang's towns have been known for handcraft production of products such as silk, for which it is ranked second among the provinces, and as market towns connecting the cities with the countryside.

Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou and Zhoushan are important commercial ports. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge between Haiyan County and Cixi, is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world.

Zhejiang's manufacturing is centered upon electromechanical industries, textiles, chemical industries, food, and construction materials. In recent years Zhejiang has followed its own development model, dubbed the "Zhejiang model", which is based on prioritizing and encouraging entrepreneurship, an emphasis on small businesses responsive to the whims of the market, large public investments into infrastructure, and the production of low cost goods in bulk for both domestic consumption and export. As a result, Zhejiang has made itself one of the richest provinces, and the "Zhejiang spirit" has become something of a legend within China. However, some economists are now worrying that this model is not sustainable, in that it is inefficient and places unreasonable demands on raw materials and public utilities, and also a dead end, in that the myriad small businesses of Zhejiang producing cheap goods in bulk are unable to move to more sophisticated or technologically-oriented industries. The economic heart of Zhejiang is moving from Hangzhou-surrounded North Zhejiang southeastward to more complex combinations of several strong municipalities. The per capita disposable income of urbanites in Zhejiang reached 24,611 yuan (US$3,603) in 2009, an annual real growth of 8.3%. The per capita pure income of rural residents stood at 10,007 yuan (US$1,465), a real growth of 8.1% year-on-year. Its nominal GDP for 2010 was 2.72 trillion yuan (US$402 billion) with a per capita of 44,335 yuan (US$6,490). In 2009, Zhejiang's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 116.2 billion yuan (US$17 billion), 1.1843 trillion yuan (US$173.4 billion), and 982.7 billion yuan (US$143.9 billion) respectively.

Zhejiang is the first province of China which has no counties in the poverty-county list of the central government. Zhejiang has become one of the most marketised and richest provinces in China. Compared to many other Chinese provinces, the development in different regions in Zhejiang is more balanced. While the countyside still lags behind, in 2006, the per capita disposable incomes for eleven major cities in Zhejiang were all ranked among the top 30 in Chinese cities.

Major cities:

Hangzhou

Haining

Ningbo

Jiaxing

Huzhou

Wenzhou

Shaoxing

Zhoushan

Yiwu

Taizhou

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Huzhou Economic Development Zone

Dinghai Industrial Park

Hangzhou Economic & Technological Developing Area

Hangzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Hangzhou Export Processing Zone

Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist Holiday Resort

Jiaxing Export Processing Zone

Ningbo Economic and Technical Development Zone

Ningbo Daxie Island Development Zone

Ningbo Free Trade Zone

Ningbo Export Processing Zone

Quzhou Industrial Park

Shenjia Economic and Technological Development Zone

Wenzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone

Xiaoshan Economic and Technological Development Zone

Zhejiang Quzhou Hi-Tech Park

Zhejiang Zhoushan Economic Development Zone

Zhejiang Donggang Economic Development Zone

Demographics

Han Chinese make up the vast majority of the population, and the largest Han subgroup are the speakers of Wu varieties of Chinese. There are also 400,000 members of ethnic minorities - which can be divided into approximately 200,000 She people and approximately 20,000 Hui. Jingning She Autonomous County in Lishui is the only She autonomous county in China.

Media

The Zhejiang Radio & Television, Hangzhou Radio & Television Group, Ningbo Radio & Television Group are the local broadcasters in Zhejiang Province. Programs are produced by Guinness of China Television and entertainment is produced by Wenzhou Television.

Culture

Languages

Zhejiang is mountainous and has therefore fostered the development of many individual localized cultures. Linguistically speaking, Zhejiang is extremely diverse. The inhabitants of Zhejiang speak Wu, a branch of Chinese, but the Wu dialects are very diverse, especially in the south, where one valley may speak a dialect completely unintelligible to another valley a few kilometers away. Non-Wu dialects are spoken as well, mostly along the borders; Mandarin and Huizhou dialects are spoken on the border with Anhui, while Min dialects are spoken on the border with Fujian. (See Hangzhou dialect, Shaoxing dialect, Ningbo dialect, Wenzhou dialect, Taizhou (Zhejiang) dialect, Jinhua dialect, Quzhou dialect for more information).

Throughout history there has been numerous ''lingua franca'' in the area to allow for better communication. The dialects spoken in Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo have taken on this role historically. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Mandarin, which is not mutually intelligible with any local dialects, has been promoted as the standard language of communication in all of China. As a result, most of the population now have a good grasp on speaking and comprehending Mandarin and can code-switch when necessary, while the majority of the population educated since 1978 can speak Mandarin flawlessly. Urban areas tend to be more fluent in Mandarin than rural areas. Nevertheless, a Zhejiang accent is detectable in almost everyone from the area communicating in Mandarin, and the home dialect of any native resident remains an important part of the everyday lives and cultural identity of most Zhejiang residents.

Music

Zhejiang is the home of ''Yueju'' (越劇), one of the most prominent forms of Chinese opera. ''Yueju'' originated in Shengzhou and is traditionally performed by actresses only, in both male and female roles. Other important opera traditions include Yongju (of Ningbo), Shaoju (of Shaoxing), Ouju (of Wenzhou), Wuju (of Jinhua), Taizhou Luantan (of Taizhou) and Zhuji Luantan (of Zhuji).

Cuisine

Longjing tea (also called dragon well tea), originating in Hangzhou, is one of the most prestigious, if not ''the'' most prestigious Chinese tea. Hangzhou is also renowned for its silk umbrellas and hand fans. Zhejiang cuisine (itself subdivided into many traditions, including Hangzhou cuisine) is one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine.

Place names

Since ancient times, north Zhejiang and neighbouring south Jiangsu have been famed for their prosperity and opulence, and simply inserting north Zhejiang place names (Hangzhou, Jiaxing, etc.) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess, as was indeed done by many famous poets. In particular, the fame of Hangzhou (as well as Suzhou in neighbouring Jiangsu province) has led to the popular saying: 上有天堂，下有苏杭 ("Above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou"), a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities.

Notable people

Politics and military

Gou Jian, king of Yue.

Sun Quan (182–252), founder of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.

Ling Tong (189-217/237), general of Sun Quan during later Han and early Three Kingdoms era.

Qian Liu (852–932), king of Wuyue.

Liu Ji (1311–1375), legendary military strategist.

Yu Qian (1398–1457), Ming Dynasty Minister of Defence and a national hero.

Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), President of the Republic of China.

Qiu Jin (1875–1907), revolutionary heroine.

Chen Cheng (1897–1965), Kuomintang (KMT) general, Premier of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Hu Zongnan (1896–1962), KMT general.

Tang Enbo (1898–1954), KMT general.

Zhou Enlai (1898–1976), Premier of the People's Republic of China.

Chiang Ching-kuo (1910–1988), son of Chiang Kai-shek and President of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Arts

Wang Xizhi (303–361), most revered calligrapher.

He Zhizhang (659–744), Tang Dynasty poet.

Zhou Bangyan (1056–1121), Song Dynasty poet

Wang Meng (1308–1385), Yuan Dynasty painter.

Wang Shouren (1472–1529), Ming Dynasty neo-Confucianism philosopher.

Xu Wei (1521–1593), Ming Dynasty painter.

Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), Ming Dynasty painter.

Huang Zongxi (1610–1695), neo-Confucianism philosopher.

Wu Changshuo (1844–1927), painter.

Lu Xun (1881–1936), prominent writer, founder of modern Chinese literature.

Zhou Xinfang (1895–1975), Peking Opera actor.

Mao Dun (1896–1981), novelist.

Xu Zhimo (1893–1931), poet.

Jinyong (born 1924), Wuxia writer.

Sciences

Shen Kuo (1031–1095), scientist, general, statesman, author, mathematician.

Zhang Binglin (1868–1936), linguist.

Cai Yuanpei (1868–1940), educator and late president of Peking University.

Zhu Kezhen (1890–1974), meteorologist and late president of Zhejiang University.

Su Buqing (1902–2003), mathematician and late president of Fudan University.

S. S. Chern (1911–2004), mathematician, Wolf Prize winner.

Tsien Hsue-shen (born 1911), the "Father of Chinese Rocketry".

Tourism

Tourist destinations in Zhejiang include: Baoguo Temple, one of the oldest intact wooden structures in Southern China, north of Ningbo.

Mount Putuo, one of the most noted Buddhist mountains in China. Chinese Buddhists associate it with Guan Yin.

Qita Temple, Ningbo.

Shaoxing, site of the Tomb of Yu the Great, Wuzhen and other waterway towns.

The ancient capital of Hangzhou.

Mount Tiantai, (天台山), a mountain important to Zen Buddhism.

West Lake, in Hangzhou

Yandang Shan, a mountainous scenic area north of Wenzhou.

Qiandao Lake, lit. ''Thousand-island lake''.

Guoqing Temple, founded in the Sui Dynasty, the founding location of Tiantai Buddhism

Mount Mogan, a scenic mountain an hour from Hangzhou with many pre-WWII villas built by foreigners, along with one of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang compounds

Sports

Professional sports teams based in Zhejiang include:

Chinese Football Association Jia League

* Zhejiang Lücheng

Chinese Basketball Association

* Zhejiang Wanma

* Bayi Rockets (in Ningbo)

Colleges and universities

Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (浙江理工大学) (Hangzhou)--(原“浙江丝绸工学院”、“浙江工程学院”)

China Academy of Art (中国美术学院) (Hangzhou)

Hangzhou Dianzi University (杭州电子科技大学) (Hangzhou)

Hangzhou Normal University (杭州师范大学)(Hangzhou)

Ningbo University (宁波大学) (Ningbo)

University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China (诺丁汉大学宁波校区) (Ningbo)

Zhejiang Agricultural University

Zhejiang University (浙江大学) (Hangzhou)

Zhejiang University of Technology (浙江工业大学) (Hangzhou)

Zhejiang Medical University

Zhejiang Normal University (浙江师范大学) (Jinhua)

Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (浙江财经学院) (Hangzhou)

Zhejiang Gongshang University (浙江工商大学) (Hangzhou)

Shaoxing University (绍兴文理学院) (Shaoxing)

Zhejiang Forestry University (浙江林学院) (Lin'an 临安)

Wenzhou Medical College (温州医学院)

Wenzhou Teachers College

Shaoxing College of Arts and Science

Zhejiang Institute of Education

Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Engineering

Hangzhou University of Commerce

Hangzhou Institute of Financial Managers

Schools

Hangzhou Foreign Language School 杭州 外国语 学校

Hangzhou High School 浙江省 杭州 高级 中学

Hangzhou Xuejun High School 杭州 学军 中学

Jiashan Senior High School 嘉善 高级 中学

Ningbo Middle School 宁波 中学

Xiaoshi Middle School 效实 中学

Zhenhai High School 镇海 中学

References

Economic profile of Zhejiang at HKTDC

External links

Zhejiang Government website Zhejiang Hangzhou

Category:Provinces of the People's Republic of China Category:Yangtze River Delta

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Character name	Captain America
Converted	y
Alter ego	Steven "Steve" Rogers
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Debut	''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941)
Creators	Joe SimonJack Kirby
Alliances	Illuminati"Secret Avengers" (Civil War)AvengersInvadersAll-Winners SquadSecret DefendersS.H.I.E.L.D.Project: RebirthU.S. ArmyRedeemersNew AvengersSecret Avengers
Aliases	Nomad, The Captain, Brett Hendrick, Roger Stevens, Weapon I
Partners	Bucky (James Barnes)FalconNomad (Monroe)Bucky (Rick Jones)Free SpiritJack FlagBucky (Rikki)Demolition ManSharon Carter
Supports
Powers	Physical attributes enhanced to peak of human potentialExpert martial artist and hand-to-hand combatantAll-terrain acrobaticsMaster tactician and field commanderVibranium-steel alloy shield
Cat	super
Subcat	Marvel Comics
Hero	y
Sortkey	Captain America }}

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books have been sold in a total of 75 countries. For nearly all of the character's publication history, Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon.

An intentionally patriotic creation who was often depicted fighting the Axis powers of World War II, Captain America was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. After the war ended, the character's popularity waned and he disappeared by the 1950s aside from an ill-fated revival in 1953. Captain America was reintroduced during the Silver Age of comics when he was revived from suspended animation by the superhero team the Avengers in ''The Avengers'' #4 (March 1964). Since then, Captain America has often led the team, as well as starring in his own series.

Steve Rogers was purportedly assassinated in ''Captain America'' vol. 5, #25 (March 2007), although he was later revealed to be alive. The comic-book series ''Captain America'' continued to be published, with Rogers' former sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes, having taken up the mantle, and keeping it at the insistence of Rogers, who upon his return began operating as an intelligence agent in the ''Secret Avengers'' title, and in the limited series ''Steve Rogers: Super Soldier''.

Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character adapted into another medium with the release of the 1944 movie serial ''Captain America.'' Since then, the character has been featured in several other films and television series, including ''Captain America: The First Avenger,'' released on July 22, 2011. Captain America was ranked 6th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011.

Publication history

In 1940, writer Joe Simon conceived the idea for Captain America and made a sketch of the character in costume . "I wrote the name 'Super American' at the bottom of the page," Simon said in his autobiography. "No, it didn't work. There were too many 'Supers' around. 'Captain America' had a good sound to it. There weren't a lot of captains in comics. It was as easy as that. The boy companion was simply named Bucky, after my friend Bucky Pierson, a star on our high school basketball team."

Simon recalled in his autobiography that Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman gave him the go-ahead from and directed that a Captain America solo comic book series be published as soon as possible. Needing to fill a full comic with primarily one character's stories, Simon did not believe that his regular creative partner, artist Jack Kirby, could handle the workload alone:

Al Liederman would ink that first issue, which was lettered by Simon and Kirby's regular letterer, Howard Ferguson.

Simon said Captain America was a consciously political creation; he and Kirby were morally repulsed by the actions of Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the United States' involvement in World War II and felt war was inevitable: "The opponents to the war were all quite well organized. We wanted to have our say too."

''Captain America Comics'' #1 — cover-dated March 1941 and on sale in December 1940, a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a full year into World War II — showed the protagonist punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the jaw — sold nearly one million copies. While most readers responded favorably to the comic, some took objection. Simon noted, "When the first issue came out we got a lot of... threatening letters and hate mail. Some people really opposed what Cap stood for." Though preceded as a "patriotically themed superhero" by MLJ's The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of that wave of superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II. With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese, and other threats to wartime America and the Allies. Stanley Lieber, now better known by his pen name Stan Lee, contributed to the character in issue #3 in the filler text story "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge," which introduced the character's use of his shield as a returning throwing weapon. Captain America soon became Timely's most popular character and even had a fan-club called the "Sentinels of Liberty."

Circulation figures remained close to a million copies per month after the debut issue, which outstripped even the circulation of news magazines like ''Time'' during the period. After the Simon and Kirby team moved to DC in late 1941, having produced ''Captain America Comics'' through issue #10 (January 1942), Al Avison and Syd Shores became regular pencillers of the celebrated title, with one generally inking over the other. The character was also featured in ''All Winners Comics'' #1-19 (Summer 1941 – Fall 1946), ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' #80-84 and #86-92, ''USA Comics'' #6-17 (Dec. 1942 – Fall 1945), and ''All Select Comics'' #1-10 (Fall 1943 – Summer 1946).

In the post-war era, with the popularity of superheroes fading, Captain America led Timely's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in its two published adventures, in ''All Winners Comics'' #19 and #21 (Fall–Winter 1946; there was no issue #20). After Bucky was shot and wounded in a 1948 ''Captain America'' story, he was succeeded by Captain America's girlfriend, Betsy Ross, who became the superheroine Golden Girl. ''Captain America Comics'' ended with issue #75 (Feb. 1950), by which time the series had been titled ''Captain America's Weird Tales'' for two issues, with the finale being a horror/suspense anthology issue with no superheroes.

Atlas Comics attempted to revive its superhero titles when it reintroduced Captain America, along with the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, in ''Young Men'' #24 (Dec. 1953). Billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher!" Captain America appeared during the next year in ''Young Men'' #24-28 and ''Men's Adventures'' #27-28, as well as in issues #76-78 of an eponymous title. Atlas' attempted superhero revival was a commercial failure, and the character's title was canceled with ''Captain America'' #78 (Sept. 1954).

Silver Age revival

In the Human Torch story titled "Captain America" in Marvel Comics' ''Strange Tales'' #114 (Nov. 1963), writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby depicted the brash young Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in an exhibition performance with Captain America, described as a legendary World War II and 1950s superhero who has returned after many years of apparent retirement. The 18-page story ends with this Captain America revealed as an impostor: it was actually the villain the Acrobat, a former circus performer the Torch had defeated in ''Strange Tales'' #106, who broke two thieves out of jail, hoping to draw the police away while trying to rob the local bank. Afterward, Storm digs out an old comic book in which Captain America is shown to be Steve Rogers. A caption in the final panel says this story was a test to see if readers would like Captain America to return.

Captain America was then formally reintroduced in ''The Avengers'' #4 (March 1964), which explained that in the final days of WWII, he had fallen from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic Ocean and spent decades frozen in a block of ice in a state of suspended animation. He quickly became leader of that superhero team. Following the success of other Marvel characters introduced during the 1960s, Captain America was recast as a hero "haunted by past memories, and trying to adapt to 1960s society."

After then guest-starring in the feature "Iron Man" in ''Tales of Suspense'' #58 (Oct. 1964), Captain America gained his own solo feature in that "split book," beginning the following issue. Kirby, Captain America's co-creator, was illustrating his hero's solo adventures again for the first time since 1941. Issue #63 (March 1965), which retold Captain America's origin, through issue #71 (Nov. 1965) was a period feature set during World War II and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick, Bucky.

In the 1970s, the post-war versions of Captain America were retconned into separate, successive characters who briefly took up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers went into suspended animation near the end of World War II. The hero found a new generation of readers as leader of the all-star superhero team the Avengers, and in a new solo feature beginning in ''Tales of Suspense'' #59 (Nov. 1964), a "split book" shared with the feature "Iron Man". Kirby drew all but two of the stories in ''Tales of Suspense,'' which became ''Captain America'' with #100 (April 1968); Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr., each filled in once. Several stories were finished by penciller-inker George Tuska over Kirby layouts, with one finished by Romita Sr. and another by penciller Dick Ayers and inker John Tartaglione. Kirby's regular inkers on the series were Frank Giacoia (as "Frank Ray") and Joe Sinnott, though Don Heck and Golden Age Captain America artist Syd Shores inked one story each. The new title ''Captain America'' continued to feature artwork by Kirby, as well as a short run by Jim Steranko, and work by many of the industry's top artists and writers. It was called ''Captain America and the Falcon'' from #134-222 (although the Falcon's name was not on the cover for issues #193, 200, and 216).

This series — considered ''Captain America'' volume one by comics researchers and historians, following the 1940s ''Captain America Comics'' and its 1950s numbering continuation — ended with #454 (Aug. 1996).

After the Silver Age

This series was almost immediately followed by the 13-issue ''Captain America'' vol. 2 (Nov. 1996 – Nov. 1997), the 50-issue ''Captain America'' vol. 3 (Jan. 1998 – Feb. 2002), the 32-issue ''Captain America'' vol. 4 (June 2002 – Dec. 2004), and ''Captain America'' vol. 5 (Jan. 2005 – July 2009). Beginning with the 600th overall issue counting these series, ''Captain America'' resumed its original numbering with issue #600, as if the series numbering had continued uninterrupted after #454.

As part of the aftermath of Marvel Comics' company-crossover storyline "Civil War", Steve Rogers was ostensibly killed in ''Captain America'' vol. 5, #25 (March 2007). Series writer Ed Brubaker remarked, "What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the street corner against the George W. Bush administration, and all the really right-wing fans all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam Hussein." The character's co-creator, Joe Simon, remarked, "It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now." Artist Alex Ross designed a slightly revised Captain America costume that former sidekick Bucky Barnes began to wear as the new Captain America in vol. 5, #34 (March 2008)

The storyline of Rogers' return began in issue #600. Rogers, who was not dead but caroming through time, returned to the present day in the six-issue miniseries ''Captain America: Reborn'' (Sept. 2009 – March 2010).

After Rogers' return, Barnes, at Rogers' insistence, continued as Captain America, beginning in the one-shot comic ''Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield?'' (Feb. 2010). While Bucky Barnes continued adventuring in the pages of ''Captain America'', Steve Rogers received his own miniseries (''Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier'') as well as taking on the leadership position in a new ''Secret Avengers'' ongoing series.

Spinoff series included ''Captain America Sentinel of Liberty'' (Sept. 1998 – Aug. 1999) and ''Captain America and the Falcon'' (May 2004 – June 2005). The 1940s Captain America appeared alongside the 1940s Human Torch and Sub-Mariner in the 12-issue miniseries ''Avengers/Invaders''. The 2007 mini-series ''Captain America: The Chosen'', written by David Morrell and penciled by Mitchell Breitweiser, depicts a dying Steve Rogers' final minutes, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, as his spirit guides James Newman, a young American marine fighting in Afghanistan. ''The Chosen'' is not part of the main Marvel Universe continuity.

Fictional character biography

1940s

Steve Rogers was born July 4, 1917, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, to Irish immigrants Sarah and Joseph Rogers. Joseph Rogers died when Steve was only a child and his mother, Sarah, died of pneumonia while Steve was a teen. By early 1940, before America's entry into World War II, Rogers is a tall but scrawny fine arts student specializing in illustration. Disturbed by the rise of the Third Reich, Rogers attempts to enlist, only to be rejected due to being in poor shape. U.S. Army General Chester Phillips, looking for test subjects, offers Rogers the chance to serve his country by taking part in a top-secret defense project — Operation: Rebirth, which seeks to develop a means of creating physically superior soldiers. Rogers volunteers for the research and, after a rigorous selection process, is chosen as the first human test subject for the Super-Soldier serum developed by the scientist "Dr. Josef Reinstein", later retroactively changed to a code name for the scientist Abraham Erskine.

That night, Operation: Rebirth is implemented and Rogers receives injections and oral doses of the Super-Soldier Serum. He is then exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activate and stabilize the chemicals in his system. Although the process is arduous physically, it successfully alters his physiology almost instantly from its relatively frail form to the maximum of human efficiency, greatly enhancing his musculature, reflexes, agility, stamina and intelligence. Erskine declares Rogers to be the first of a new breed of man, a "nearly perfect human being."

The process he underwent has varied from account to account. In the original 1941 story, he was injected with the formula. When the origin was retold in ''Tales of Suspense'' #63, the Comics Code Authority and its prohibitions on demonstrations of drug use were in force, and the injection was replaced with drinking a formula. In ''Captain America'' #109, the Vita-Rays were first introduced, although a dialogue comment preserved continuity by mentioning that he had also drunk the formula beforehand. The retelling of the story in ''Captain America'' #255, however, stated that all three were used in combination. In addition, the limited series, ''The Adventures of Captain America'' reveals that Rogers also underwent rigorous physical training in combat prior to his enhancement.

After the physical transformation, Nazi spy Heinz Kruger reveals himself and shoots Erskine. Because the scientist had committed crucial portions of the Super-Soldier formula to memory, duplicating it perfectly would be unlikely. The spy dies, killed either while running away to escape Rogers or because Rogers threw him into live machinery. In the 1941 origin story and the ''Tales of Suspense'' #63 version, he dies when running into the machinery but is not killed by Rogers; in the ''Captain America'' #109 and #255 revision, however, Rogers causes the spy's death by punching him into the machinery.

The United States government, making the most of its one super-soldier and to hide all information about Operation: Rebirth and its failure, re-imagines him as a superhero who serves as both a counter-intelligence agent and a propaganda symbol to counter Nazi Germany's head of terrorist operations, the Red Skull. To that end, Rogers is given a uniform modeled after the American flag (based on Rogers' own sketches) a bulletproof shield, a personal side arm, and the codename Captain America. He is also given a cover identity as a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh in Virginia. Barely out of his teens himself, Rogers makes friends with the camp's teenage mascot, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.

Barnes accidentally learns of Rogers' dual identity and offers to keep the secret if he can become Captain America's sidekick. Rogers agrees and trains Barnes. Rogers meets President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presents him with a new shield, forged from an alloy of steel and vibranium, fused by an unknown catalyst. The alloy is indestructible, yet the shield is light enough to use as a discus-like weapon that can be angled to return to him. It proves so effective that Captain America forgoes the sidearm. Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fight the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team the Invaders (as seen in the 1970s comic of the same name). Captain America also battles a number of criminal menaces on American soil, including a wide variety of costumed villains: the Wax Man, the Hangman, the Fang, and the White Death, the superhero team the Avengers discovers Steve Rogers' body in the North Atlantic, the Captain's uniform under his soldier's fatigues and still carrying his shield. After he revives, they piece together that Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, surviving in such a state only because of his enhancements from Operation: Rebirth. The block had begun to melt after the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Arctic Inuit tribe is worshiping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean. Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and although long out of his time, his considerable combat experience makes him a valuable asset to the team. He quickly assumes leadership, and has typically returned to that position throughout the team's history.

Captain America is plagued by guilt for having been unable to prevent Bucky's death—a feeling that does not ease for some time. Although he takes the young Rick Jones (who closely resembles Bucky) under his tutelage, he refuses for some time to allow Jones to take up the Bucky identity, not wishing to be responsible for another youth's death. Insisting that his hero finally move on from that loss, Jones eventually convinces Rogers to let him don the Bucky costume, but this partnership lasts only a short time; a disguised Red Skull, impersonating Rogers with the help of the Cosmic Cube, drives Jones away.

Rogers also reunites with his old war comrade Nick Fury, who is similarly well-preserved due to the "Infinity Formula." As a result, Rogers regularly undertakes missions for the security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. for which Fury is public director. Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, with whom he eventually begins a romantic relationship.

Rogers later meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero the Falcon, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books. The characters established an enduring friendship and adventuring partnership, sharing the series title for some time as ''Captain America and the Falcon''. The two later encounter the revived but still insane 1950s Captain America. Although Rogers and the Falcon defeat the faux Rogers and Jack Monroe, Rogers becomes deeply disturbed that he could have suffered his counterpart's fate.

The series also dealt with the Marvel Universe's version of the Watergate scandal, making Rogers so uncertain about his role that he abandons his Captain America identity in favor of one called Nomad, emphasizing the word's meaning as "man without a country". During this time, several men unsuccessfully assume the Captain America identity. Rogers eventually re-assumes it after coming to consider that the identity could be a symbol of American ideals and not its government; it's a personal conviction epitomized when he later confronted a corrupt Army officer attempting to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty, "I'm loyal to nothing, General... except the [American] Dream." Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, later takes up the Nomad alias. During this period, Rogers also temporarily gains super strength. Immediately after witnessing Number One's suicide, he is summoned to the future to participate in the Destiny War between Kang the Conqueror and Immortus (it is revealed over the course of the story that Rogers was selected from this time frame as, had he been taken from any other time period, his strong personality- shaken at this point by the events he had just witnessed- would have dominated the team and deprived them of the flexibility required to succeed in their mission, although his presence alone still brought cohesion to the group). He also learns of the apparent death of Sharon Carter.

1980s to 1990s

The early 1980s included runs from such creators as Roger Stern, John Byrne, and J. M. DeMatteis. Stern had Steve Rogers considers a run for President of the United States in ''Captain America'' #250 (June 1980), and and introduced a new love interest, law student Bernie Rosenthal, in ''Captain America'' #248 (Aug. 1980). Stern also revisited and expanded Captain America's origin story.

DeMatteis revealed the true face and full origin of the Red Skull in ''Captain America'' #298-300, and had Captain America take on Jack Monroe, Nomad, as a partner for a time. It is also around this time that the heroes gathered by the Beyonder elect Rogers as leader during their stay on Battleworld in the 1984 miniseries ''Secret Wars''

Also during the 1980s, Mark Gruenwald wrote 137 issues of the book for 10 consecutive years from 1985 to 1995, the most issues by any single author in the character's history. Gruenwald created several new foes, including Crossbones and the Serpent Society. Other Gruenwald characters included new love interest Diamondback., Super Patriot (who would go on to become a replacement Captain America in a two-year story arc and became USAgent at that arc's conclusion), and some short-lived new partners that included Demolition Man.

Gruenwald explores numerous political and social themes as well, such as extreme idealism when Captain America fights the anti-nationalist terrorist Flag-Smasher; and vigilantism when he hunts the murderous Scourge of the Underworld. Homophobia was also dealt with as Steve Rogers runs into a childhood friend named Arnold Roth who is gay.

Rogers receives a large back-pay reimbursement dating back to his disappearance at the end of World War II, and a government commission orders him to work directly for the U.S. government. Already troubled by the corruption he had encountered with the Nuke incident in New York City, Rogers chooses instead to resign his identity, and then takes the alias of "the Captain". A replacement Captain America, John Walker, struggles to emulate Rogers' ideals until pressure from hidden enemies helps to drive Walker insane. Rogers returns to the Captain America identity while a recovered Walker becomes the U.S. Agent.

Sometime afterward, Rogers avoids the explosion of a methamphetamine lab, but the drug triggers a chemical reaction in the Super-Soldier serum in his system. To combat the reaction, Rogers has the serum removed from his body, and trains constantly to maintain his physical condition.

A retcon later establishes that the serum was not a drug per se, which would have metabolized out of his system, but in fact a virus-like organism that effected a biochemical and genetic change. This additionally explained how arch-nemesis Red Skull, who at the time inhabited a body cloned from Rogers' cells, also has the formula in his body.

Because of his altered biochemistry, Rogers' body begins to deteriorate, and for a time he must wear a powered exoskeleton and is eventually placed again in suspended animation. During this time, he is given a transfusion of blood from the Red Skull, which cures his condition and stabilizes the Super-Soldier virus in his system. Captain America returns both to crime fighting and the Avengers.

Following Gruenwald's departure on the book, Mark Waid took over and resurrected Sharon Carter as Cap's love interest. The book was then relaunched under Rob Liefeld as Cap became part of the Heroes Reborn universe for 13 issues before another relaunch restored Waid to the title in an arc that saw Cap lose his shield for a time using an energy based shield as a temporary replacement. Following Waid's run, Dan Jurgens took over and introduced new foe Protocide, a failed recipient of the Super Soldier serum prior to the experiment that successfully created Rogers.

2000s

Rogers reveals his identity to the world, and establishes a residence in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Following the events of ''Avengers Disassembled'', again under the employ of S.H.I.E.L.D., Rogers discovers that Bucky is alive, having been saved and deployed by Soviet espionage interests as the Winter Soldier. Rogers also resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter, who, after his death, believes she is pregnant with Steve Rogers' child.

In the 2006-2007 "Civil War" crossover, Captain America opposes mandatory federal registration of all super-powered beings, which he sees as an erosion of civil liberties for the superhero community, and leads the Anti-Registration faction and resistance movement. He becomes a fugitive and opposes the heroes of the Pro-Registration group, including his former friend Iron Man. He adopts the alias "Brett Hendrick", a mall security guard, to avoid government detection. As the War continues, Cap enlists the assistance of several figures with whom he would not choose to ally himself under normal circumstances, such as the Punisher and the Kingpin.

Captain America battles Iron Man during the climactic battle and has victory within his grasp when a group of civilians attempt to restrain him. Rogers realizes that he is endangering the very people he has sworn to protect. He then surrenders to the authorities and orders the Anti-Registration forces to stand down. As Rogers is led away in handcuffs, the Punisher retrieves Captain America's discarded mask.

''The Death of Captain America'' story arc follows his surrender. Steve Rogers is indicted on multiple criminal charges; as he is brought to a federal courthouse, a sniper shoots him in the back. In the chaos that ensues, he is wounded three more times in the stomach and chest by Sharon Carter. Rogers is taken to a hospital, where by all evidence he dies. The assassination, orchestrated by the Red Skull, involves Crossbones as the sniper and Dr. Faustus posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D. psychiatrist, who gives Carter a hypnotic suggestion to shoot Rogers at a crucial moment.

The superhero community is shaken by the assassination. The Punisher temporarily adopts a costume similar to that of Captain America, while Winter Soldier and Wolverine seek to avenge Rogers' death. The Winter Soldier steals Captain America's shield, and the Punisher provides him with the mask from Steve Rogers' uniform. Captain America is publicly laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, under a monument built in his honor. The body in Arlington is a fake: Tony Stark, accompanied by Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, returns Rogers' body to the Arctic where Rogers had been found years before. Namor attends the small private ceremony and vows no one will disturb the site.

Stark receives a letter containing Rogers' final requests: Stark should "save" Bucky, and that, despite his demise, the world still needs Captain America. Bucky accepts Stark's offer to take on the mantle of Captain America in exchange for a promise of autonomy from Stark. Bucky kept Rogers' trademark shield, but donned a new costume and began carrying a pistol and a knife.

''Captain America: Reborn'' #1 revealed that Rogers did not die; instead, the villainous Red Skull had Sharon Carter use a gun that transported him to a fixed position in space and time. Since then, Captain America had been phasing in and out of space and time, appearing at events in his lifetime and fighting battles. The Red Skull brings Rogers back to the present, where he takes control of Rogers' mind and body. Rogers eventually regains control, and with help from his allies, defeats the Red Skull.

In the one-shot comic ''Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield?'', taking place after the conclusion to ''Reborn'', Rogers formally hands Bucky his Captain America shield and asks his former sidekick to continue as Captain America. Later, the American President grants Rogers a full pardon for his actions in ''Civil War''.

2010s

Following the company-wide "Dark Reign" and "Siege" story arcs, the Steve Rogers character became part of the "Heroic Age" arc. The U.S. president appoints Rogers, in his civilian identity, as head of the nation's security, replacing Norman Osborn. The Superhuman Registration Act is repealed and Rogers reestablishes the superhero team the Avengers. In the miniseries ''Steve Rogers: Super Soldier'', he encounters Jacob Erskine, the grandson of Professor Abraham Erskine and the son of Tyler Paxton, one of Rogers' fellow volunteers in the Super-Soldier program, the serum in his body being briefly deactivated before Rogers manages to force his enemies to restore it thanks to his combat training allowing him to hold his own despite his weakened physique. Rogers also becomes the leader of the Secret Avengers, a black-ops team that operates under a veil of secrecy.

Marvel stated in May 2011 that Rogers, following the death of Bucky Barnes in the ''Fear Itself'' miniseries, would resume his Captain America identity in a sixth volume of ''Captain America'', by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve McNiven.

Powers and abilities

Captain America has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Super-Soldier Serum and "Vita-Ray" treatment, he is transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Captain America's strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing are at the zenith of natural human potential. Rogers' body regularly replenishes the super-soldier serum; it does not wear off.

The formula enhances all of his metabolic functions and prevents the build-up of fatigue poisons in his muscles, giving him endurance far in excess of an ordinary human being. This accounts for many of his extraordinary feats, including bench pressing 1200 pounds (545 kg) and running a mile (1.6 km) in approximately 73 seconds. Furthermore, his enhancements are the reason why he was able to survive being frozen in suspended animation for decades. Rogers cannot become intoxicated by alcohol, drugs, or impurities in the air and is immune to terrestrial diseases. He is also highly resistant to hypnosis or gases that could limit his focus. The secrets of creating a super-soldier were lost with the death of its creator, Dr. Abraham Erskine. However, in the ensuing decades there have been numerous secret attempts to recreate Erskine's treatment, only to have predominantly all end in failure. Even worse, the attempts have instead often created psychopathic supervillains of which Captain America's 1950s imitator and Nuke are the most notorious examples.

Rogers' battle experience and training make him an expert tactician and an excellent field commander, with his teammates frequently deferring to his orders in battle. Rogers' reflexes and senses are also extraordinarily keen. He has blended judo, western boxing, kickboxing, and gymnastics into his own unique fighting style and is a master of multiple martial arts. Years of practice with his indestructible shield make him able to aim and throw it with almost unerring accuracy. His skill with his shield is such that he can attack multiple targets in succession with a single throw or even cause a boomerang-like return from a throw to attack an enemy from behind. In canon, he is regarded by other skilled fighters as one of the best hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe. Although the super-soldier serum is an important part of his strength, Rogers has shown himself still sufficiently capable against stronger opponents, even when the serum has been deactivated reverting him to his pre-Captain America physique.

Rogers has vast U.S. military knowledge and is often shown to be familiar with ongoing, classified Defense Department operations. He is an expert in combat strategy, survival, acrobatics, military strategy, piloting, and demolitions. Despite his high profile as one of the world's most popular and recognizable superheroes, Rogers also has a broad understanding of the espionage community, largely through his ongoing relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. He occasionally makes forays into relatively mundane career fields, including commercial arts, comic book artistry, education (high school history), and law enforcement.

Weapons and equipment

Captain America uses several shields throughout his history, the most prevalent of which is a nigh-indestructible disc-shaped shield made from an experimental alloy of steel and the fictional vibranium. The shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government, from orders of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. This alloy was created by accident and never duplicated, although efforts to reverse-engineer it resulted in the discovery of adamantium.

Captain America often uses his shield as an offensive throwing weapon. The first instance of Captain America's trademark ricocheting shield-toss occurs in Stan Lee's first comics writing, the two-page text story "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in ''Captain America Comics'' #3 (May 1941).

The legacy of the shield among other comics characters includes the time-traveling mutant superhero Cable telling Captain America that his shield still exists in one of the possible futures; Cable carries it into battle and brandishes it as a symbol.

When without his trademark shield, Captain America sometimes uses other shields made from less durable metals such as steel, or even a photonic energy shield designed to mimic a vibranium matrix. Rogers, having relinquished his regular shield to Barnes, carried a variant of the energy shield which can be used with either arm, and used to either block attacks or as an improvised offensive weapon able to cut through metal with relative ease. Much like his vibranium shield, the energy shield can also be thrown, including ricocheting off multiple surfaces and returning to his hand.

Captain America's uniform is made of a fire-retardant material, and he wears a lightweight, bulletproof "duralumin" scale armor beneath his uniform for added protection. Originally, Rogers' mask was a separate piece of material, but an early engagement had it dislodged, thus almost exposing his identity. To prevent a recurrence of the situation, Rogers modified the mask with connecting material to his uniform, an added benefit of which was extending his armor to cover his previously exposed neck. As a member of the Avengers, Rogers has an Avengers priority card, which serves as a communications device.

Captain America has also used a custom specialized motorcycle, modified by the S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons laboratory, as well as a custom-built battle van, constructed by the Wakanda Design Group with the ability to change its color for disguise purposes (red, white and blue), and fitted to store and conceal the custom motorcycle in its rear section with a frame that allows Rogers to launch from the vehicle riding it.

Enemies

Captain America has faced numerous foes in over 60 years of published adventures. Many of his recurring foes embody ideals contrary to the American values Captain America is shown to strive for and believe. Some examples of these opposing values are Nazism (Red Skull, Baron Zemo), Neo-Nazism (Crossbones, Doctor Faustus), technocratic fascism (AIM, Arnim Zola), Communism (Aleksander Lukin), anarchism (Flag Smasher and Viper), and international and domestic terrorism (HYDRA).

Other versions

In other media

Collected editions

The contents of ''Captain America Comics'' #1-10 were previously published as ''Captain America: The Classic Years'' two hardcover slipcase set in 1990. These were later re-issued as trade paperbacks in the late 1990s once again under the title ''Captain America: The Classic Years'' featuring new cover art by Kevin Maguire re-creating classic covers. Previous editions of ''War and Remembrance'', ''The Bloodstone Hunt'', ''Operation Rebirth'', ''Man Without a Country'', and ''To Serve and Protect'' were released prior to 2010 editions leading up to the Captain America: The First Avenger feature film.

! Title !! Material collected !! ISBN
''Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics, Vol. 1''	''Captain America Comics'' #1-4
''Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics, Vol. 2''	''Captain America Comics'' #5-8
''Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics, Vol. 3''	''Captain America Comics'' #9-12
''Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Heroes, Vol. 1''	Includes Captain America stories from ''Astonishing'' #3-6, ''Young Men'' #24-28
''Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Heroes, Vol. 2''	Includes Captain America stories from ''Men's Adventures'' #27-28, ''Captain America Comics'' #76-78
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 1''	''Tales of Suspense'' #59-99; ''Captain America'' #100-102
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 2''	''Captain America'' #103-126
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 3''	''Captain America'' #127-156
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 4''	''Captain America'' #157-186
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 5''	''Captain America'' #187-205, ''Annual'' #3, ''Marvel Treasury Special: Captain America's Bicentennial Battles''
''Essential Captain America, Vol. 6''	''Captain America'' #206-230, ''Annual'' #4; ''Incredible Hulk'' #232
''Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire''	''Captain America'' #169-176
''Captain America and the Falcon: Nomad''	''Captain America'' #177-186
''Captain America and the Falcon: Madbomb''	''Captain America'' #193-200
''Captain America: Bicentennial Battles''	''Captain America'' #201-205; ''Bicentennial Battles'' #1
''Captain America and the Falcon: The Swine''	''Captain America'' #206-214, ''Annual'' #3-4
''Captain America: War and Remembrance''	''Captain America'' #247-255
''Captain America: Deathlok Lives''	''Captain America'' #286-288
''Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld''	''Captain America'' #318-320, back-up stories from #358-362; ''USAgent'' #1-4;
''Captain America: The Captain''	''Captain America'' #332-350; ''Iron Man'' #228
''Captain America: The Bloodstone Hunt''	''Captain America'' #357-364
''Captain America: Streets of Poison''	''Captain America'' #372-378
''Avengers: Galactic Storm, Book 1''	''Captain America'' #398-399, ''Avengers West Coast'' #80-81, ''Quasar'' #32-33, ''Wonder Man'' #7-8, ''Avengers'' #345-346, ''Iron Man'' #278 and ''Thor'' #445
''Avengers: Galactic Storm, Book 2''	''Iron Man'' #279, ''Thor'' #446, ''Captain America'' #400-401, ''Avengers West Coast'' #82, ''Quasar'' #34-35, ''Wonder Man'' #9, ''Avengers'' #347, ''What If?'' #55-56
''Captain America: Man and Wolf''	''Captain America'' #402-408
''Captain America: Fighting Chance: Denial''	''Captain America'' #425-430
''Captain America: Fighting Chance: Acceptance''	''Captain America'' #431-437
''Captain America: Operation Rebirth''	''Captain America'' #444-448
''Captain America: Man Without a Country''	''Captain America'' #450-453
''Heroes Reborn: Captain America''	''Captain America'' vol. 2, #1-12
''Captain America: To Serve and Protect''	''Captain America'' vol. 3, #1-7
''Captain America: American Nightmare''	''Captain America'' vol. 3, #8-13, ''Annual 1998''
''Captain America: Red Glare''	''Captain America'' vol. 3, #14-19, ''Captain America Spotlight''
''Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty''	''Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty'' #1-12
''Captain America: The New Deal''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #1-6
''Captain America: The Extremists''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #7-11
''Captain America: Ice''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #12-16
''Captain America: Cap Lives''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #17-20; ''Tales of Suspense'' #66
''Captain America: Homeland''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #21-28
''Captain America and the Falcon: Two Americas''	''Captain America and the Falcon'' #1-4
''Avengers Disassembled: Captain America''	''Captain America'' vol. 4, #29-32; ''Captain America and the Falcon'' #5-7
''Captain America and the Falcon: Brothers and Keepers''	''Captain America and the Falcon'' #8-14
''Captain America: Winter Soldier, Book One''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #1-7
''Captain America: Winter Soldier, Book Two''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #8-9, #11-14
''Captain America: Red Menace, Book One''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #15-17; ''Captain America 65th Anniversary Special''
''Captain America: Red Menace, Book Two''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #18-21
''Captain America: Civil War''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #22-24; ''Winter Soldier: Winter Kills''
''The Death of Captain America, Vol. 1: The Death of the Dream''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #25-30
''The Death of Captain America, Vol. 2: The Burden of Dreams''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #31-36
''The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #37-42
''Captain America: The Man with No Face''	''Captain America'' vol. 5, #43-48
''Captain America: Road to Reborn'' (HC)	''Captain America'' #600-601; vol. 5, #49-50
''Captain America: Reborn'' (HC)	''Captain America: Reborn'' #1-6
''Captain America: Two Americas''	''Captain America'' #602-605; ''Who Will Wield the Shield?''
''Captain America: No Escape''	''Captain America'' #606-610
''Steve Rogers: Super Soldier''	''Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier'' #1-4
''Captain America: The Trial of Captain America	''Captain America'' #611-615 and #615.1, and material from CAPTAIN AMERICA 70TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE
''Captain America: Prisoner of War	''Captain America'' #616-619
Miscellaneous
''Captain America: The Legacy of Captain America''	''Captain America Comics'' (1941) #1; ''What If?'' (1977) #4; ''Captain America'' #155, #333; ''Captain America'' vol. 5, #34; material from ''Captain America'' (1968) #178-183	SC:
''Captain America Vs. The Red Skull''	''Captain America Comics'' (1941) #1; ''Tales Of Suspense'' #79-81; and ''Captain America'' #143, #226-227, #261-263 and #370; and material from ''Captain America Annual'' #13 and ''Captain America: Red, White & Blue'' #1''	SC:

References

Further reading

External links

Captain America Library

Captain America: The First Avenger (July 2011)

"Captain America: An all-American hero goes back to his roots" - Aug 2011 review by Sasha Simic

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1941 Category:Characters created by Jack Kirby Category:Characters created by Joe Simon Category:Comics adapted into films Category:Fictional aikidoka Category:Fictional artists Category:Fictional boxers Category:Fictional characters from New York City Category:Fictional cryonically preserved characters Category:Fictional American people of Irish descent Category:Fictional judoka Category:Fictional jujutsuka Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Fictional special forces personnel Category:Fictional super soldiers Category:Fictional World War II veterans Category:Film characters Category:Golden Age superheroes Category:Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Category:Marvel Comics martial artists Category:Marvel Comics mutates Category:Marvel Comics titles Category:National personifications in comic books Category:Timely Comics characters Category:United States-themed superheroes

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Name	Zahi Hawassزاهي حواس
Order	1st Minister of Antiquities
Term start1	31 January 2011
Term end1	3 March 2011
President1	Hosni Mubarak
Primeminister1	Ahmed Shafik
Predecessor1	Newly created post
Order	1st Minister of Antiquities
Term start2	5 April 2011
Term end2	17 July 2011
Primeminister2	Essam Sharaf
Order	1st Minister of Antiquities
Term start3	20 July 2011
Term end3	Present
Primeminister3	Essam Sharaf
Birth date	May 28, 1947
Birth place	Damietta, Kingdom of Egypt
Nationality
Alma mater	University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of CairoAlexandria University
Profession	Egyptologist
Religion	Islam
Website
Footnotes	}}

Zahi Hawass (; born 28 May 1947) is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley.

Hawass has received widespread publicity internationally, and was the subject of a reality television series in the United States, ''Chasing Mummies''. His views and links to business ventures and the Mubarak regime have engendered controversy. He was sentenced to a prison term, which was later lifted, in connection with the awarding of a gift shop contract at the Egyptian Museum.

Life and career

Hawass was born in Damietta, Egypt. He originally intended to become a lawyer, but then studied Greek and Roman archaeology at Alexandria University, where he obtained a B.Sc. degree. He obtained a diploma in Egyptology at the University of Cairo. In 1987 he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied as a Fulbright Fellow.

After 1988 Hawass taught Egyptian archaeology, history and culture, mostly at the American University in Cairo and the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1993 he left his position as Chief Inspector of the Giza Pyramid Plateau. According to Hawass, he resigned; others claim, however, that he was fired because a valuable ancient "statue" under the custody of Hawass was stolen from Giza. He was reinstated as Chief Inspector in early 1994. In 1998 he was appointed as director of the Giza Plateau. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

When U.S. President Barack Obama was in Cairo in June 2009 Hawass gave him personal tours of the sites of ancient Egypt. At the end of 2009 he was promoted personally by President Hosni Mubarak to the post of Vice Minister of Culture.

In the midst of the 2011 Egyptian protests, Hawass arrived at the Egyptian Museum on January 29, 2011 to find that a number of cases had been broken into and a number of antiquities damaged. Police later secured the museum.

In a blog on his website it was reported that Hawass "will continue excavating, writing books, and representing his country." In a statement, Hawass said that archeological sites in Egypt were being safeguarded and that looted objects had been returned. Regarding the Egyptian Museum looting, he said that "the museum was dark and the nine robbers did not recognise the value of what was in the vitrines. They opened thirteen cases, threw the seventy objects on the ground and broke them, including one Tutankhamun case, from which they broke the statue of the king on a panther. However, the broken objects can all be restored, and we will begin the restoration process this week." Hawass rejected comparisons with the looting of antiquities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On February 13 Hawass said that 18 artifacts, including statues of King Tutankhamun, were stolen from the Egyptian Museum in January. Among them were 11 wooden shabti statuettes from Yuya, a gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamun carried by a goddess and a statue of Nefertiti.

Egyptian state television reported that Hawass called upon Egyptians not to believe the “lies and fabrications” of the Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya satellite television channels. Hawass later said “They should give us the opportunity to change things, and if nothing happens they can march again. But you can’t bring in a new president now, in this time. We need Mubarak to stay and make the transition.”

On March 3, 2011 he resigned after posting a list on his personal website of dozens of sites across Egypt that were looted in the 2011 protests. On March 30, 2011 he posted a tweet stating that he was once again the Minister of Antiquities ("I am very happy to be the Minister of Antiquities once again!"). He was reappointed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf at that time, but resigned on July 17, 2011, after Sharaf informed him he would not be continuing in the position.

Works

Hawass has written and co-written many books relating to Egyptology, including ''King Tutankhamun: The Treasures from the Tomb'', published to coincide with a major exhibition in the UK. He has also written an article on Tutankhamun in ''Ancient Egypt'' magazine, and has written several articles for this bi-monthly UK-based magazine in the past.

Hawass is a regular columnist for ''Egypt Today'' magazine and the online historical community, Heritage Key. He has narrated several videos on Egyptology, including a series on Tutankhamun.

Appearances

Hawass has appeared on television specials on channels such as the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Discovery Channel. Hawass has also appeared in several episodes of the U.S. television show ''Digging for the Truth'', discussing mummies, the pyramids, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, and Ramesses II. He also appeared on ''Unsolved Mysteries'' during a segment on the curse of Tutankhamun's tomb. Hawass is currently appearing on a reality-based television show on The History Channel called ''Chasing Mummies''.

Hawass also worked alongside Egyptologist Otto Schaden during the opening of Tomb KV63 in February 2006 — the first intact tomb to be found in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.

In June 2007 Hawass announced that he and a team of experts may have identified the mummy of Hatshepsut in KV60, a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The opening of the sealed tomb was described in 2006 as "one of the most important events in the Valley of the Kings for almost a hundred years."

Hawass helped create and host the documentary ''Egypt's Ten Greatest Discoveries''.

Views

Return of artifacts to Egypt

thumb|200px|Zahi Hawass displays a Ptolemaic statue discovered at Taposiris Magna on 8 May 2010Hawass spearheaded a movement to return many prominent unique and/or irregularly taken Ancient Egyptian artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti, the Dendera zodiac ceiling painting from the Dendera Temple, the bust of Ankhhaf (the architect of the Khafra Pyramid), the faces of Amenhotep III's tomb at the Louvre Museum, the Luxor Temple's obelisk at the Place de la Concorde and the statue of Hemiunu, nephew of the Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the largest pyramid, to Egypt from collections in various other countries. In July 2003 the Egyptians requested the return of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum. Hawass, as secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, told the press, "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity." Referring to antiquities at the British Museum, Hawass said “These are Egyptian monuments. I will make life miserable for anyone who keeps them.” Britain has refused to return them.

The ''Wall Street Journal'' commented that the looting of antiquities during the 2011 civil unrest in Egypt made Hawass' quest to return Egyptian antiquities to Egypt "misguided or at least poorly timed." According to Hawass "Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it."

DNA testing of Egyptian mummies

Hawass is skeptical of DNA testing of Egyptian mummies. He stated that "From what I understand, it is not always accurate and it cannot always be done with complete success when dealing with mummies. Until we know for sure that it is accurate, we will not use it in our research". In December 2000 a joint team from Waseda University in Japan and Cairo's Ain Shams University tried to get permission for DNA testing of Egyptian mummies, but was denied by the Egyptian Government. Hawass added that DNA analysis was out of the question because it would not lead to anything. In February 2010 Hawass and his team announced that they had analyzed the mummies of Tutankhamun and ten other mummies and said that the king may have died from a malaria infection that followed a leg fracture. This has been doubted by German researchers Christian Timmann and Christian Meyer who have suggested alternatives as Tutankhamun's cause of death; e.g. sickle cell disease or other inherited disorders.

Statements about Israel and Jews

Hawass has been a long-standing opponent of normalized relations between Israel and Egypt.

In an interview on Egyptian television in April 2009 Hawass stated that "although Jews are few in number, they control the entire world" and commented on the "control they have" of the American economy and the media. He later clarified that he was using rhetoric to explain political fragmentation among the Arabs and that he does not believe in a "Jewish conspiracy to control the world".

Controversies

Hawass has been widely accused of domineering behaviour, forbidding archaeologists to announce their own findings, and courting the media for his own gain after they were denied access to archaeological sites because, according to Hawass, they were too amateurish. Others however, including several Egyptologists, have said in interviews that most of what Hawass has done for the field was long overdue. Hawass has typically ignored or dismissed his critics, and when asked about it he indicated that what he does is for the sake of Egypt and the preservation of its antiquities. Hawass has instituted a systematic program for the preservation and restoration of historical monuments, while training Egyptians to improve their expertise on methods of excavation, retrieval and preservation.

Criticism of Hawass increased following the protests in Egypt in 2011. ''The New York Times'' reported in a front page story in July 2011 that he receives an honorarium each year "of as much as $200,000" from National Geographic to be an explorer-in-residence, "even as he controls access to the ancient sites it often features in its reports."

The Times also reported that he has relationships, which he says he does not profit from, with two American companies that do business in Egypt.

On April 17, 2011, Hawass was sentenced to jail for one year for refusing to obey a court ruling relating to a contract for the gift shop at the Egyptian Museum to a company with links to Hawass. The ruling was appealed and the sentence was suspended pending appeal. On April 18, 2011, the National Council of Egypt’s Administrative Court issued a decree stopping the court ruling, specifying that he would not serve any jail time, and would remain in his position as Minister of Antiquities.

Association with former Egyptian President Mubarak

Hawass has been associated with former President Hosni Mubarak's government because he was briefly a member of the government as Minister of Antiquities at the end of Mubarak's presidency. His resignation as Minister on March 3, 2011 and his re-appointment to the Ministry on March 30, 2011 have been seen as part of the overall events surrounding Mubarak's resignation. It has been reported that his appointment is likely to anger anti-government factions, who have opposed the appointment of any of the old guard under Mubarak to new positions in the government.

The 2011 Egyptian protests resulted in increased criticism of Hawass. Demonstrators have called for his resignation, and the upheaval has increased attention on his relationship with the Mubarak family and the way in which he has increased his public profile in recent years.

Maimonides Synagogue incident

In March 2010 Hawass canceled the official re-opening of the restored Maimonides Synagogue in Cairo. In his email cancellation message issued in Arabic he described the Jewish dedication ceremony on March 7, which included dancing and serving wine, as "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world...”. In an English-language statement issued a few hours later the remarks about "drinking and dancing" were removed. Hawass said that the decision was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers..." He later also said that canceling the ceremony was a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy" and that he would "not allow any Jew to pray in the temple, and would not allow any Israeli to pray in the temple.” A private dedication ceremony closed to media was held instead for approximately 150 European Jews with historical ties to Egypt in attendance.

Clothing line

Hawass has lent his name to a line of men's apparel, described by ''The New York Times'' as "a line of rugged khakis, denim shirts and carefully worn leather jackets that are meant, according to the catalog copy, to hark 'back to Egypt’s golden age of discovery in the early 20th century.'" The clothing was first sold at Harrods department store in London in April 2011.

Critics say the Hawass clothing commercializes Egyptian history and there were accusations, which proved incorrect, that models had sat on or scuffed ancient artifacts during a photo shoot for advertisements. Hawass already sells a line of hats similar to the ones he wears, which mimic the ones worn by Harrison Ford in the ''Indiana Jones'' movies.

References

A Case in Antiquities for ‘Finders Keepers’, John Tierney, ''The New York Times'', 2009

Further reading

External links

Explorer in Residence at National Geographic

Profile at ''Art Museum Journal''

Biography at the Minnesota State University

The king of the pharaohs, Tim Radford, ''The Guardian,'' 27 November 2003

Interview with Dr. Zahi Hawass, Director of the Pyramids, ''Pyramid'' on PBS NOVA

The Secrets of Egypt research discussion at The Entertainment Gathering, December 2008

Egypt's man from the past who insists he has a future, Jack Shenker in Cairo, ''The Guardian'', 19 May 2011

Category:Egyptian archaeologists Category:Egyptian Egyptologists Category:Arab archaeologists Category:Art and cultural repatriation Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Alexandria University alumni Category:Cairo University alumni Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:Orden de las Artes y las Letras de España recipients Category:People of the 2011 Egyptian revolution Category:Government ministers of Egypt

ar:زاهي حواس be:Захі Хавас be-x-old:Захі Хавас bg:Захи Хауас cs:Zahi Hawass da:Zahi Hawass de:Zahi Hawass es:Zahi Hawass eu:Zahi Hawass fa:زاهی حواس fr:Zahi Hawass it:Zahi Hawass he:זאהי חוואס ka:ზაჰი ჰავასი lb:Zahi Hawass hu:Záhi Havássz arz:زاهى حواس ms:Zahi Hawass nl:Zahi Hawass ja:ザヒ・ハワス pl:Zahi Hawass pt:Zahi Hawass ru:Хавасс, Захи scn:Zahi Hawass sr:Захи Хавас fi:Zahi Hawass tr:Zahi Hawass zh:札希·哈瓦斯

occupation	Asian explorer
title	Admiral of the Ocean Sea
birth date	1371
birth place	Yunnan, China
death date	1433
other names
religion	Islam
signature	}}

Zheng He (1371–1433, 鄭和 / 郑和; pinyin: Zhèng Hé), also known as Ma Sanbao (馬三寶 / 马三宝) and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin (Persian: حاجی محمود شمس) was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the ''Voyages of Zheng He'' or ''Voyages of Cheng Ho'' from 1405 to 1433.

Life

Zheng, born as Ma He (馬和 / 马和), was the second son of a Muslim family which also had four daughters, from Kunyang, present day Jinning, just south of Kunming near the southwest corner of Lake Dian in Yunnan.

He was the great great great grandson of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, a Persian who served in the administration of the Mongolian Empire and was appointed governor of Yunnan during the early Yuan Dynasty. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather carried the title of Hajji, which indicates they had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. His great-grandfather was named Bayan and may have been a member of a Mongol garrison in Yunnan.) meaning 'Three Jewels.' The young eunuch eventually became a trusted adviser of the Prince of Yan, and assisted the prince in his insurrection against his nephew the Jianwen Emperor. For his valor in this war, the eunuch received the name Zheng He from his master. Once Zhu Di deposed Jianwen and became crowned as Yongle Emperor (r. 1403-1424), Zheng He continued serving in his court as a Eunuch Grand Director (太監, ''taijian''). It was during the Yongle era that Zheng He, with the rank of Chief Envoy (正使, ''zheng shi'') carried his first six overseas missions.

In 1425 Yongle's successor the Hongxi Emperor appointed Zheng He to be Defender of Nanjing. In 1428 the Xuande Emperor ordered him to complete the construction of the magnificent Buddhist nine-storied Da Baoen Temple in Nanjing, and in 1430 appointed him to lead the seventh and final expedition to the "Western Ocean". It is commonly believed that Zheng He died during the treasure fleet's last voyage, on the returning trip after the fleet reached Hormuz in 1433.

Expeditions

Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions. The Yongle emperor designed them to establish a Chinese presence, impose imperial control over trade, impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin and extend the empire's tributary system. The voyages also presented an opportunity to seek out Zhu Yunwen (the previous emperor whom the Yongle emperor had usurped and who was rumored to have fled into exile) – possibly the "largest scale manhunt on water in the history of China".

Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control of the huge fleet and armed forces that undertook these expeditions. Wang Jinghong was appointed his second in command. Zheng He's first voyage, which departed July 11, 1405, from Suzhou, consisted of a fleet of 317 ships (other sources say 200 ships) holding almost 28,000 crewmen (each ship housing up to 500 men).

Zheng He's fleets visited Arabia, Brunei, East Africa, India, Malay Archipelago and Thailand, dispensing and receiving goods along the way. Zheng He presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain and silk; in return, China received such novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, ivory and giraffes.

It is important to note that while the scale of Zheng He's fleet was unprecedented (compared to previous voyages from China to the east Indian Ocean), the routes were not. Sea-based trade links had existed between China and the Arabian peninsula since the Han Dynasty (there being trade with the Roman Empire at that time.) During the Three Kingdoms, the king of Wu sent a diplomatic mission along the coast of Asia, reaching as far as the Eastern Roman Empire. During the Song Dynasty, there was large scale maritime trade from China reaching as far as the Arabian peninsula and East Africa. In short, Zheng He's fleet was following long-established, well-mapped routes.

Zheng He generally sought to attain his goals through diplomacy, and his large army awed most would-be enemies into submission. But a contemporary reported that Zheng He "walked like a tiger" and did not shrink from violence when he considered it necessary to impress foreign peoples with China's military might. He ruthlessly suppressed pirates who had long plagued Chinese and southeast Asian waters. For example, he would defeat Chen Zuyi, one of the most feared and respected pirate captains, and return him back to China for execution. He also waged a land war against the Kingdom of Kotte in Ceylon, and he made displays of military force when local officials threatened his fleet in Arabia and East Africa. From his fourth voyage, he brought envoys from thirty states who traveled to China and paid their respects at the Ming court.

In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor (reigned 1424–1425), decided to stop the voyages during his short reign. Zheng He made one more voyage during the reign of Hongxi's son Xuande Emperor (reigned 1426–1435), but after that the voyages of the Chinese treasure ship fleets were ended. Xuande believed his father's decision to halt the voyages meritorious, and thus "there would be no need to make a detailed description of his grandfather’s sending Zheng He to the Western Oceans." This, and the fact that the voyages "were contrary to the rules stipulated in the Huangming zuxun, Ancestral Injunctions of the August Ming," the royal founding documents laid down by the Hongwu Emperor, account for the Ming "neglect" of Zheng He in official accounts and the scant records of the voyages available for later historians.

Zheng He died during the treasure fleet's last voyage. Although he has a tomb in China, it is empty: he was, like many great admirals, buried at sea.

Voyages

{|class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! width=20%% | Order ! width=20%% | Time ! width=40 %% | Regions along the way |- | 1st Voyage || 1405–1407 || Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Aru (id:Aru), Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Kollam, Cochin, Calicut |- | 2nd Voyage || 1407–1409 || Champa, Java, Siam, Cochin, Ceylon |- | 3rd Voyage || 1409–1411 || Champa, Java, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, Siam, Lambri, Kayal, Coimbatore, Puttanpur |- | 4th Voyage || 1413–1415 || Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut, Kayal, Pahang, Kelantan, Aru, Lambri, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Barawa, Malindi, Aden, Muscat, Dhofar |- | 5th Voyage || 1416–1419 || Champa, Pahang, Java, Malacca, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Sharwayn, Cochin, Calicut, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Barawa, Malindi, Aden |- | 6th Voyage || 1421–1422 || Hormuz, East Africa, countries of the Arabian Peninsula |- | 7th Voyage || 1430–1433 || Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Calicut, Hormuz... (17 states in total) |}

Zheng He led seven expeditions to what the Chinese called "the Western Ocean" (Indian Ocean). He brought back to China many trophies and envoys from more than thirty kingdoms – including King Vira Alakeshwara of Ceylon, who came to China as a captive to apologize to the Emperor.

There are speculations that some of Zheng's ships may have traveled beyond the Cape of Good Hope. In particular, the Venetian monk and cartographer Fra Mauro describes in his 1459 Fra Mauro map the travels of a huge "junk from India" 2,000 miles into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. What Fra Mauro meant by 'India' is not known and some scholars believe he meant an Arab ship. However, Professor Su Ming-Yang thinks "the ship is European, as it is fitted with a crow’s nest, or lookout post, at the masthead, and has sails fitted to the yards, unlike the batten sails of Chinese ships."

Zheng himself wrote of his travels:

We have traversed more than 100,000 li (50,000 kilometers or 30,000 miles) of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course [as rapidly] as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare… — Tablet erected by Zheng He, Changle, Fujian, 1432. Louise Levathes

Sailing charts

Zheng He's sailing charts were published in a book entitled ''Wubei Zhi'' (Treatise on Armament Technology) written in 1621 and published in 1628 but traced back to Zheng He's and earlier voyages. It was originally a strip map 20.5 cm by 560 cm that could be rolled up, but was divided into 40 pages which vary in scale from 7 miles/inch in the Nanjing area to 215 miles/inch in parts of the African coast.

There is little attempt to provide an accurate 2-D representation; instead the sailing instructions are given using a 24 point compass system with a Chinese symbol for each point, together with a sailing time/distance, which takes account of the local currents and winds. Sometimes depth soundings are also provided. It also shows bays, estuaries, capes and islands, ports and mountains along the coast, important landmarks (pagodas, temples) and shoal rocks. Of 300 named places outside China, more than 80% can be confidently located. There are also fifty observations of stellar altitude.

Size of the ships

Traditional and popular accounts of Zheng He's voyages have described a great fleet of gigantic ships, far larger than any other wooden ships in history. Some modern scholars consider these descriptions to be exaggerated.

Chinese records assert that Zheng He's fleet sailed as far as East Africa. According to medieval Chinese sources, Zheng He commanded seven expeditions. The 1405 expedition consisted of 27,800 men and a fleet of 62 treasure ships supported by approximately 190 smaller ships. The fleet included:

''Treasure ships'' (Chinese:宝船), used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies (nine-masted, about 126.73 metres (416 ft) long and 51.84 metres (170 ft) wide), according to later writers . This is more or less the size and shape of a football field. Equine ships (Chinese:馬船), carrying horses and tribute goods and repair material for the fleet (eight-masted, about 103 m (339 ft) long and 42 m (138 ft) wide). Supply ships (Chinese:粮船), containing staple for the crew (seven-masted, about 78 m (257 ft) long and 35 m (115 ft) wide). Troop transports (Chinese:兵船), six-masted, about 67 m (220 ft) long and 25 m (83 ft) wide. Fuchuan warships (Chinese:福船), five-masted, about 50 m (165 ft) long. Patrol boats (Chinese:坐船), eight-oared, about 37 m (120 ft) long. Water tankers (Chinese:水船), with 1 month's supply of fresh water.

Six more expeditions took place, from 1407 to 1433, with fleets of comparable size.

If the accounts can be taken as factual, Zheng He's treasure ships were mammoth ships with nine masts, four decks, and were capable of accommodating more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount of cargo. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta both described multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1000 passengers in their translated accounts. Niccolò Da Conti, a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen 5 masted junks weighing about 2000 tons. There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as 600 feet. On the ships were navigators, explorers, sailors, doctors, workers, and soldiers along with the translator and diarist Gong Zhen.

The largest ships in the fleet, the treasure ships described in Chinese chronicles, would have been several times larger than any wooden ship ever recorded in history, surpassing ''l'Orient'' ( long) which was built in the late 18th century. The first ships to attain long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Some scholars argue that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was in length, some estimating that they were long and wide instead while others put them as small as in length, which would make them smaller than the equine, supply, and troop ships in the fleet.

One explanation for the seemingly inefficient size of these colossal ships was that the largest 44 Zhang treasure ships were merely used by the Emperor and imperial bureaucrats to travel along the Yangtze for court business, including reviewing Zheng He's expedition fleet. The Yangtze river, with its calmer waters, may have been navigable by these treasure ships. Zheng He, a court eunuch, would not have had the privilege in rank to command the largest of these ships, seaworthy or not. The main ships of Zheng He's fleet were instead 6 masted 2000-liao ships.

Accounts of medieval travellers

The characteristics of the Chinese ships of the period are described by Western travelers to the East, such as Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo. According to Ibn Battuta, who visited China in 1347:

…We stopped in the port of Calicut, in which there were at the time thirteen Chinese vessels, and disembarked. China Sea traveling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements. The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks (junks), middle sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams. The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants. This is the manner after which they are made; two (parallel) walls of very thick wooden (planking) are raised and across the space between them are placed very thick planks (the bulkheads) secured longitudinally and transversely by means of large nails, each three ells in length. When these walls have thus been built the lower deck is fitted in and the ship is launched before the upper works are finished."'' (Ibn Battuta).

South and Southeast Asia

In his book 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores' (Chinese: 瀛涯勝覽) written in 1416, Ma Huan, one of Zheng He's chroniclers and interpreters, gave very detailed accounts of his observations of the peoples' customs and lives in ports they visited.

The Galle Trilingual Inscription stone tablet, erected by Zheng He around 1410 in Sri Lanka, records details about contributions of gold, silver, and silk that Zheng He made on behalf of the emperor at a Buddhist mountain temple. Also, a commemorative pillar at the temple of the Taoist goddess Tian Fei, the Celestial Spouse, in Fujian province records details about his voyages. It has the inscription:

:''We have traversed more than 100,000 li (50,000 kilometers) of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day and night, continued their course [as rapidly] as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare…'' :—Erected by Zheng He, Changle, Fujian, 1432. Louise Levathes

In Malacca

At the time when his fleet first arrived in Malacca, Chinese people were already living there. Ma Huan refers to them as ''tángrén'' (Chinese: 唐人). Ming China found Malacca to be a useful transit centre for replenishment of fleet supplies, and received valuable gifts from Zheng He's fleet. The sultan and sultana of Malacca at the time visited China at the head of over 540 of their subjects and ample tribute. Sultan Mansur Shah (ruled 1459–1477) later dispatched Tun Perpatih Putih as his envoy to China, carrying a letter from the sultan to the Ming emperor. The letter requested the hand of an imperial daughter in marriage. In the year 1459, a princess (Hang Li Po or Hang Liu), was sent by the Ming emperor to marry the sultan. The princess came with 500 sons of ministers and a few hundred handmaidens as her entourage. They eventually settled in Bukit Cina, Malacca. It is believed that a significant number of them married into the local populace. The descendants of these mixed marriages are locally known today as Peranakan and still use the honorifics Baba (male title) and Nyonya (female title).

In Malaysia today, many people believe that Admiral Zheng He (who died in 1433) sent princess Hang Li Po to Malacca in the year 1459. However there is no record of Hang Li Po (or Hang Liu) in Ming history. She is mentioned only within Malaccan folklore and in the ''Sejarah Melayu'' or ''Malay Annals''.

Islam

Accounts contemporary to Zheng He's era suggest he may have been a Muslim; these include the writings of the Muslim Ma Huan.

Indonesian religious leader and Islamic scholar Hamka (1908–1981) wrote in 1961: ''"The development of Islam in Indonesia and Malaya is intimately related to a Chinese Muslim, Admiral Zheng He."'' In Malacca he built granaries, warehouses and a stockade. Indonesian scholar Slamet Muljana writes: "Zheng He built Chinese Muslim communities first in Palembang, then in San Fa (West Kalimantan), subsequently he founded similar communities along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. They preached Islam according to the Hanafi school of thought and in Chinese language."

Li Tong Cai, in his book 'Indonesia – Legends and Facts', writes: "in 1430, Zheng He had already successfully established the foundations of the Hui religion Islam. After his death in 1434, Hajji Yan Ying Yu became the force behind the Chinese Muslim community, and he delegated a few local Chinese as leaders, such as trader Sun Long from Semarang, Peng Rui He and Hajji Peng De Qin. Sun Long and Peng Rui He actively urged the Chinese community to 'Javanise'. They encouraged the younger Chinese generation to assimilate with the Javanese society, to take on Javanese names and their way of life. Sun Long's adopted son Chen Wen, also known as Radin Pada, is the son of King Majapahit and his Chinese wife."

The Hanafi Islam that some from the fleet may have propagated lost almost all contact with its parent in China, and gradually was totally absorbed by the local Shafi’i school of thought. Long before 600 years had elapsed, the presence of ethnic Chinese Muslims had declined to almost nil.

Connection to the history of Late Imperial China

In the 1950s, historians such as John Fairbank and Joseph Needham popularized the idea that after Zheng He's voyages China turned away from the seas due to the ''Hai jin'' edict and was isolated from European technological advancements. Modern historians point out that Chinese maritime commerce did not totally stop after Zheng He, that Chinese ships continued to dominate Southeast Asian commerce until the 19th century and that active Chinese trading with India and East Africa continued long after the time of Zheng. The travels of the Chinese ''Junk Keying'' to the United States and England between 1846 and 1848 testify to the power of Chinese shipping until the 19th century. Moreover revisionist historians such as Jack Goldstone argue that the Zheng He voyages ended for practical reasons that did not reflect the technological level of China.

Although the Ming Dynasty did ban shipping with the ''Hai jin'' edict, they eventually lifted this ban. By banning oceangoing shipping, the Ming (and later Qing) dynasties had forced countless numbers of people into black market smuggling. This reduced government tax revenue and increased piracy. The lack of an oceangoing navy then left China highly vulnerable to the Wokou pirates that ravaged China in the 16th century.

Richard von Glahn (University of California, Los Angeles Professor of History and a specialist in Chinese history) commented that a majority of school history texts present Zheng He wrongly; they "''offer counterfactual arguments''", and "''emphasize China's missed opportunity.''" The "''narrative emphasizes the failure''" instead of Zheng He's accomplishments. He goes on to claim that "''Zheng He reshaped Asia.''" According to him, maritime history in the fifteenth century is essentially the Zheng He story and the effects of Zheng He's voyages.

Von Glahn claims that Zheng He's influence lasted beyond his age, may be seen as the tip of an iceberg, and there is much more to the story of maritime trade and other relationships in Asia in the fifteenth century and beyond.

State-sponsored Ming naval efforts declined dramatically after Zheng's voyages. Starting in the early 15th century, China experienced increasing pressure from resurgent Mongolian tribes from the north. In recognition of this threat and possibly to move closer to his family's historical geographic power base, in 1421 the emperor Yongle moved the capital north from Nanjing to present-day Beijing. From the new capital he could apply greater imperial supervision to the effort to defend the northern borders. At considerable expense, China launched annual military expeditions from Beijing to weaken the Mongolians. The expenditures necessary for these land campaigns directly competed with the funds necessary to continue naval expeditions.

In 1449 Mongolian cavalry ambushed a land expedition personally led by the emperor Zhengtong less than a day's march from the walls of the capital. In the Battle of Tumu Fortress the Mongolians wiped out the Chinese army and captured the emperor. This battle had two salient effects. First, it demonstrated the clear threat posed by the northern nomads. Second, the Mongols caused a political crisis in China when they released Zhengtong after his half-brother had proclaimed himself the new Jingtai emperor. Not until 1457 did political stability return when Zhengtong recovered the throne. Upon his return to power China abandoned the strategy of annual land expeditions and instead embarked upon a massive and expensive expansion of the Great Wall of China. In this environment, funding for naval expeditions simply did not happen.

Cultural Influence

In the decades after the last voyage, Imperial officials sought to eliminate memories of the voyages. However, the adventures of the fleet captured the imagination of the Chinese, and novelizations of the voyages flourished. An author from far inland Shaanxi would in 1597 write the grandest of the epics, Romance of the Three-Jeweled Eunuch, the distance from the coast and time gap since the last voyage attest to continued cultural power.

In modern times, he is the continued subject of interest and a cultural reference. In Vernor Vinge's science fiction novel ''A Deepness in the Sky'' published in 1999, Qeng Ho, named after Zheng He, is the commercial traders in the human galactical system. The expeditions of Zheng He were featured in the 2005 novel "The Map Thief" by Heather Terrell. In 2009, China's CCTV released ''Zheng He Xia Xiyang'', a television series specially produced in 2005 to mark the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages. Gallen Lo starred as Zheng He.

Relics

;Nanjing Tianfeigong (南京天妃宫) Zheng He built Tianfeigong (天妃宫, Tianfei palace) in Nanjing after the fleet returned from its first western voyage in 1407.

;Stele of Tongfan Deed (通番事跡碑) The stele of Tongfan Deed (通番事跡, deed of foreign connection and exchange) is located in the Tianfeigong in Taicang, where they started their journey. It was submerged and disappeared, but has been rebuilt.

;Stele of Record of Tianfei Showing Her Presence and Power (天妃靈應之記碑) In order to thank Tianfei for her blessings, Zheng He and his colleagues rebuilt Tianfeigong in Nanshan, Changle County, Fujian province before their seventh western voyage. They also raised a stele with the inscription Tian Fei Ling Ying Zhi Ji (天妃靈應之記, Record of Tianfei Showing Her Presence and Power), which tells about their voyages.

;Zheng He Stele in Sri Lanka The Galle Trilingual Inscription in Sri Lanka was discovered in the city of Galle in 1911 and is preserved in the National Museum of Colombo. Three languages were used for the inscription: Chinese, Tamil and Persian. The inscription gives praise to Buddha and describes the fleet's donations to a Buddhist temple, the famous Tenavarai Nayanar temple of Tondeswaram.

Commemoration

Tomb and museum

Zheng He's tomb in Nanjing has been repaired and a small museum has been built next to it, although his body is missing as he was buried at sea off the Malabar Coast near Calicut in Western India. However, his sword and other personal possessions were interred in the typical Muslim tomb inscribed with Arabic characters.

Zheng He's assistant Hong Bao's tomb was unearthed recently in Nanjing.

Maritime Day

In the People's Republic of China, 11 July is Maritime Day (中国航海日) and is devoted to the memory of Zheng He's first voyage.

Gallery

See also

Ming Dynasty

Chinese exploration

Hui people

Ma Huan

Fei Xin

Chang Yuchun

Hong Bao

Ming Shi-lu

Zhou Man

''1421: The Year China Discovered the World'' by Gavin Menzies

Footnotes

References

Deng, Gang (2005). ''Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, c. 2100 BC - 1900 AD''. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29212-4.

Dreyer, Edward L. (2006). ''Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming, 1405–1433 (Library of World Biography Series)''. Longman. ISBN 0-321-08443-8.

Levathes, Louise (1997). ''When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433.'' Oxford University Press, trade paperback. ISBN 0-19-511207-5.

Mills, J. V. G. (1970). ''Ying-yai Sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (1433), translated from the Chinese text edited by Feng Ch'eng Chun with introduction, notes and appendices by J. V. G. Mills.'' White Lotus Press. Reprinted 1970, 1997. ISBN 974-8496-78-3.

Ming-Yang, Dr Su. 2004 Seven Epic Voyages of Zheng He in Ming China (1405–1433)

Viviano, Frank (2005). "China's Great Armada." ''National Geographic'', 208(1):28–53, July.

Joseph Kahn: ''China Has an Ancient Mariner to Tell You About''. In The New York Times of 2005-7-20.

Newsletter, in Chinese, on academic research on the Zheng He voyages

Cummins, Joseph (2006). ''History's Great Untold Stories''. Murdoch Books. ISBN 1-74045-808-7.

''Shipping News: Zheng He's Sexcentenary'' - China Heritage Newsletter, June 2005, ISSN 1833-8461. Published by the ''China Heritage Project'' of ''The Australian National University''.

External links

Zheng He - The Chinese Muslim Admiral

Zheng He Journey to Arabia

Zheng He 600th Anniversary

BBC radio programme "Swimming Dragons".

TIME magazine special feature on Zheng He (August 2001)

Virtual exhibition from elibraryhub.com

''Ship imitates ancient vessel navigated by Zheng He'' at peopledaily.com (25 September 2006)

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1371 births Category:1433 deaths Category:People from Yunnan Category:Hui people Category:Chinese Muslims Category:Chinese explorers Category:Explorers of Asia Category:Explorers of Africa Category:Chinese admirals Category:History of Kerala Category:Chinese geographers Category:Ancient geographers Category:Medieval Islamic travel writers Category:Ming Dynasty eunuchs Category:Naval history of China Category:Chinese diplomats Category:Burials at sea

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