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The Imperial Household Agency (宮内庁, Kunai-chō^?) is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal. In the 18 centuries before the Second World War, it was named the Imperial Household Ministry (宮内省, Kunai-shō^?).

The Agency is unique among conventional government agencies in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level, nor is affected by legislation such as that which established national museums as Independent Administrative Institutions.

History[link]

The organization and functions of the Imperial Household were defined and regulated in the Taiho Code, which was promulgated in 701-702 AD during the reign of Emperor Monmu.^[1]

Ministry of the Imperial Household, 701–1889[link]

The ritsuryō establishment of the Ministry of the Imperial Household was designed to meet the needs of the Heian period Imperial court. The fundamental elements of its organization and functions evolved over the course of centuries. The basic structures remained in place until the Meiji Restoration.^[1]

Imperial Household Ministry, 1889–1947[link]

The Imperial House Law of 1889 and the Meiji Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan) were simultaneously proclaimed by Emperor Meiji. In the context of a Westernized constitutional monarchy, the Imperial House Law established that internal matters of the Imperial Household were independent of oversight by the Diet of Japan. In this period, the officials and staff of the household were identified as the Imperial Household Ministry. An Imperial Order in 1908 confirmed that the Imperial Household Minister, as the chief official was then called, was responsible for assisting the Emperor in all matters concerning the Imperial House.^[1]

Imperial Household Office, 1947–1949[link]

The Imperial Household Law of 1947 was promulgated at the same time as the post-war Constitution of Japan. At that time, the Imperial Household Ministry became the Imperial Household Office, and was positioned in an organizational hierarchy under the office of the Prime Minister of Japan. The staff numbers were greatly reduced and the organization was streamlined.^[1] In 1948, Seihin Ikeda was named as head of the Imperial Household Office.^[2]

Imperial Household Agency, 1949–present[link]

In 1949, the name of Imperial Household Office was changed to the Imperial Household Agency. In this way, the Imperial Household became an external agency of the Prime Minister's Office.^[1]

In 2001, the Imperial Household Agency was organizationally re-positioned under the Cabinet Office.^[1]

Organization and Functions[link]

The Agency is headed by the Grand Steward and he is assisted by the Vice-Grand Steward.^[3] The main organization elements are:

• the Grand Steward's Secretariat^[3]
• the Board of the Chamberlains^[3]
• the Crown Prince's Household^[3]
• the Board of Ceremonies^[3]
• the Archives and Mausolea Department^[3]
• the Maintenance and Works Department^[3]
• the Kyoto Office^[3]

The current Grand Steward is Shingo Haketa.

The agency's headquarters is located within the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Agency's duties and responsibilities encompass the daily activities, such as state visits, organising events, preservation of traditional culture, administrative functions, etc., the agency is also responsible for the various imperial residences scattered throughout the country. Visitors who wish to tour the Kyoto Gosho, the Katsura Detached Palace, and other sites, should register for guided tours with the agency first.

The Agency has responsibility for the health, security and travel arrangements of the Imperial family, including maintaining the Imperial line. A "Grand Master of the Household" helps manage the schedules, dining menus, and household maintenance for the family.

Criticism[link]

The Agency has frequently^[when?] been criticized for isolating members of the Imperial Family from the Japanese public, and for insisting on hidebound customs rather than permitting a more approachable, populist monarchy. These criticisms have become more muted in recent years; Emperor Akihito has himself done much to make the Japanese monarchy less aloof.^{[citation needed]}

Prince Naruhito, in May 2004, criticised the then-Grand Steward of the Imperial Household, Toshio Yuasa, for putting pressure on Princess Masako, Naruhito's wife, to bear a male child. At a press conference, Naruhito said that his wife had "completely exhausted herself" trying to adapt to the imperial family's life, and added "there were developments that denied Masako's career (up to our marriage) as well as her personality."^[4][5][6] It has officially been stated that Masako is suffering from an "adjustment disorder", but there has been extensive speculation in the press that she is suffering from clinical depression as a result of her treatment by Imperial Household officials.^[7]

Increasingly in recent years, the Agency's prevention of archaeological research regarding a large number (more than 740) of Kofun Era tombs putatively designated as "imperial" has come under criticism from academics. Such research, particularly on the ancient tombs in the Kansai region of western Japan, has the potential to yield a great bounty of information on the origins of Japanese civilization. The possibility that such finds could verify theories of formative civilizational ties with contemporary civilizations in China and the Korean Peninsula, with commensurate influence on thought about the origins of the Imperial Household itself, is generally considered to be the greater part of the jealousy with which the agency guards its authority over this large number of tombs (many of which are likely imperial only in name), and prevents scientific inquiry into these sites.^[8][9][10]

The Agency has been portrayed as controlling every aspect of the lives of the members of the Imperial Family, both public and private, and exerting near-total control over them, from staff appointments to wardrobe selection. As with the imperial family itself, positions in the 1300-year-old Agency are hereditary. Nine out of ten requests from the imperial family, even the Emperor himself, are rejected. Masako, for instance, was denied browsing a bookstore, visiting her family, or calling her old college friends around the world or even going out for a cup of coffee.^[11]

See also[link]

• Chamberlain of Japan
• Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan
• Imperial Household Department, China

Notes[link]

Imperial Household Agency building on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

References[link]

• Shigeru, Yoshida and Hiroshi Nara. (2007). Shigeru: Last Meiji Man. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 13-ISBN 978-0-7425-3932-7/10-ISBN 0-7425-3932-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-7425-3933-4/10-ISBN 0-7425-3933-4; OCLC 238440967

Further reading[link]

• Kokusai Kyōiku Jōhō Sentā. (1986). The Imperial Family of Japan. Tokyo: International Society for Educational Information. OCLC 24145536

External links[link]

• The Imperial Household Agency Website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Imperial Household Agency

v t e Japanese government ministries and agencies Cabinet Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Legislation Bureau Security Council National Personnel Authority Cabinet Office Imperial Household Agency Fair Trade Commission National Public Safety Commission and National Police Agency Financial Services Agency Consumer Affairs Agency Reconstruction Agency Internal Affairs and Communications (List) Justice (List) Foreign Affairs (List) Finance (List) Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (List) Health, Labour and Welfare (List) Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (List) Economy, Trade and Industry (List) Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (List) Environment (List) Defense (List) Board of Audit (constitutionally independent)

Coordinates: 35°41′02″N 139°45′14″E / 35.684°N 139.754°E / 35.684; 139.754

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning duke, grand duke, or prince. However, in common parlance members of any family which reigns by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or "royals". It is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and his or her descendants as a royal family.

Members of a royal family[link]

A royal family typically includes the spouse of the reigning monarch, surviving spouses of a deceased monarch, the children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and cousins of the reigning monarch, as well as their spouses. In some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary abdication is the norm, such as the Netherlands, a royal family may also include one or more former monarchs. There is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the royal family is defined by who holds the styles Majesty and Royal Highness.^[1] Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts, that is, potential successors to the throne (unless the member of the latter category is also in line to the throne in their own right, a frequent occurrence in royal families which frequently intermarry). This is not always observed; some monarchies have operated by the principle of jure uxoris.

The Royal Family of France in classical costume during the reign of Louis XIV.

In addition certain relatives of the monarch (by blood or marriage) possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, or special common law. The precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. In certain monarchies, such as that found in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, or in political systems where the monarch actually exercises executive power, such as in Jordan, it is not uncommon for the members of a royal family to hold important government posts or military commands. In most constitutional monarchies, however, members of a royal family perform certain public, social, or ceremonial functions, but refrain from any involvement in electoral politics or the actual governance of the country.

The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal and noble styles held by members of the family. The composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature (e.g. Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan since 1947), the Sovereign's prerogative and common law tradition (e.g. the United Kingdom), or a private house law (e.g., Liechtenstein, the former ruling houses of Bavaria, Prussia, Hanover, etc.). Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, and personal titles of royal family members. The members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name (see Royal House).

In a constitutional monarchy, when the monarch dies, there is always a law or tradition of succession to the throne that either specifies a formula for identifying the precise order of succession among family members in line to the throne or specifies a process by which a family member is chosen to inherit the crown. Usually in the former case the exact line of hereditary succession among royal individuals may be identified at any given moment during prior reigns (e.g. United Kingdom, Sark, Nizari Ismailis, Japan, Balobedus, Sweden, Benin Empire) whereas in the latter case the next sovereign may be selected (or changed) only during the reign or shortly after the demise of the immediately preceding monarch (e.g. Cambodia, KwaZulu Natal, Buganda, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Yorubaland, The Kingitanga). Some monarchies employ a mix of these selection processes (Malaysia, Monaco, Tonga, Jordan, Morocco), providing for both an identifiable line of succession as well as authority for the monarch, dynasty or other institution to alter the line in specific instances without changing the general law of succession.

Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France and Russia.

Royal houses and dynasties[link]

Current Royal Families[link]

Deposed royal families[link]

Mediatised royal families[link]

• House of Arenberg (Belgium)
• Fürstenberg princely family (Germany)
• House of Ligne (Belgium)
• Princely family of Merode (Belgium)
• Schwarzenberg princely family (Bohemia)

See also[link]

• Abbasid
• Abolished monarchy
• Chief of the Name
• Crown prince
• Family trees of royal families
• Palaces
• Prince
• Prince consort
• Princeps
• Princess
• Princess Royal
• Queen consort
• Regicide
• Royal and noble styles
• Royal descent
• Royal house
• Royal prerogative

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Nintoku
Emperor of Japan
Reign	legendary
Born	legendary
Died	legendary
Buried	Mozu no Mimihara no naka no misasagi (Osaka)
Predecessor	Ōjin
Successor	Richū

Emperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇, Nintoku-tennō^?) was the 16th emperor of Japan,^[1] according to the traditional order of succession.^[2]

No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 313–399.^[3]

Legendary narrative[link]

Nintoku is considered to have ruled the country during the late-fourth century and early-fifth century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study.

According to Nihon Shoki, he was the fourth son of Emperor Ōjin and his mother was Nakatsuhime no Mikoto, a great-granddaughter of Emperor Keikō. He was also the father of Emperors Richū, Hanzei, and Ingyō.

Nintoku's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven." Alternatively, Nintoku might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great King of Yamato."

Events of Nintoku's life[link]

Although the Nihon Shoki states that Nintoku ruled from 313–399, modern research suggests those dates are likely inaccurate.^[4]

The achievements of Nintoku's reign which are noted in Nihon Shoki include:

• constructed a thorn field bank called Namba no Horie to prevent a flood in Kawachi plains and for development. It is assumed that this was Japan's first large-scale engineering works undertaking.
• established a thorn field estate under the direct control of the Imperial Court (まむたのみやけ)
• constructed a Yokono bank (horizontal parcel, Ikuno-ku, Osaka-shi).^[5]

Consorts and Children[link]

Empress(first): Princess Iwa (磐之媛命), poet and daughter of Katsuragi no Sotsuhiko (葛城襲津彦)

• Prince Ooe no Izahowake (大兄去来穂別尊) Emperor Richū
• Prince Suminoe no Nakatsu (住吉仲皇子)
• Prince Mizuhawake (瑞歯別尊) Emperor Hanzei
• Prince Oasatsuma wakugo no Sukune (雄朝津間稚子宿禰尊) Emperor Ingyō

Empress(second): Yatanohimemiko (八田皇女), daughter of Emperor Ōjin

Himuka no Kaminagahime (日向髪長媛), daughter of Morokata no Kimi Ushimoroi (諸県君牛諸井)

• Prince Ookusaka (大草香皇子)
• Princess Kusaka no hatabihime no Himemiko (草香幡梭姫皇女)

Uji no Wakiiratsume (宇遅之若郎女), daughter of Emperor Ōjin

Kurohime (黒日売), daughter of Kibi no Amabe no Atai (吉備海部直)

Nintoku's tomb[link]

Daisen-Kofun, the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, Osaka

Daisen-Kofun (the biggest tomb in Japan) in Sakai, Osaka is considered to be his final resting place. The actual site of Nintoku's grave is not known.^[1]

The Imperial tomb of Nintoku's consort, Iwa-no hime no Mikoto, is said to be located in Saki-cho, Nara City.^[6] Both kofun-type Imperial tombs are characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat. Imperial tombs and mausolea are cultural properties; but they are guarded and administered by the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which is the government department responsible for all matters relating to the emperor and his family. According to the IHA, the tombs are more than a mere repository for historical artifacts; they are sacred religious sites. IHA construes each of the Imperial grave sites as sanctuaries for the spirits of the ancestors of the Imperial House.^[4]

Nintoku is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Osaka. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as his mausoleum. It is formally named Mozu no Mimihara no naka no misasagi.^[7]

See also[link]

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult
• Five kings of Wa

Notes[link]

Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom

References[link]

• Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. OCLC 448337491
• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842

External links[link]

• Encyclopedia of Daisen Kofun (in Japanese)

v t e Monarchs of Japan (List) Family Tree Imperial House Legendary period Jimmu Suizei Annei Itoku Kōshō Kōan Kōrei Kōgen Kaika Sujin Suinin Keikō Seimu Chūai Jingū♀ Kofun period Ōjin Nintoku Richū Hanzei Ingyō Ankō Yūryaku Seinei Kenzō Ninken Buretsu Keitai Ankan Senka Asuka period (552–710) Kinmei Bidatsu Yōmei Sushun Suiko♀ Jomei Kōgyoku♀ Kōtoku Saimei♀ Tenji Kōbun Tenmu Jitō♀ Monmu Genmei♀ Nara period (710–794) Genmei♀ Genshō♀ Shōmu Kōken♀ Junnin Shōtoku♀ Kōnin Kammu Heian period (794–1185) Kammu Heizei Saga Junna Ninmyō Montoku Seiwa Yōzei Kōkō Uda Daigo Suzaku Murakami Reizei En'yū Kazan Ichijō Sanjō Go-Ichijō Go-Suzaku Go-Reizei Go-Sanjō Shirakawa Horikawa Toba Sutoku Konoe Go-Shirakawa Nijō Rokujō Takakura Antoku Go-Toba Kamakura period (1185–1333) Tsuchimikado Juntoku Chūkyō Go-Horikawa Shijō Go-Saga Go-Fukakusa Kameyama Go-Uda Fushimi Go-Fushimi Go-Nijō Hanazono Go-Daigo Northern Court (1333–1392) Kōgon Kōmyō Sukō Go-Kōgon Go-En'yū Go-Komatsu Muromachi period (1333–1573) Go-Murakami Chōkei Go-Kameyama Go-Komatsu Shōkō Go-Hanazono Go-Tsuchimikado Go-Kashiwabara Go-Nara Ōgimachi Momoyama period (1573–1603) Ōgimachi Go-Yōzei Edo period (1603–1868) Go-Yōzei Go-Mizunoo Meishō♀ Go-Kōmyō Go-Sai Reigen Higashiyama Nakamikado Sakuramachi Momozono Go-Sakuramachi♀ Go-Momozono Kōkaku Ninkō Kōmei Meiji Prewar period (1868–1945) Meiji Taishō Shōwa Postwar period (1945–present) Shōwa Akihito (current) ♀ - Empresses

Coordinates: 34°33′50″N 135°29′15″E / 34.56389°N 135.4875°E / 34.56389; 135.4875

Zheng He
Statue from a modern monument to Zheng He at the Stadthuys Museum in Malacca Town, Malaysia.
Born	1371 Yunnan, China
Died	1433
Other names	Chinese: 馬三寶
Occupation	Asian explorer
Title	Admiral of the Ocean Sea
Religion	Islam

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

Life[link]

The route of the 7th voyage of Zheng He's fleet. Solid line: main fleet; dashed line: a possible route of Hong Bao's squadron; dotted line: a trip of seven Chinese sailors, including Ma Huan, from Calicut to Mecca on a native ship. Cities visited by Zheng He's fleet or its squadron on the 7th or any of the previous voyages are shown in red.

Zheng, born as Ma He^[1] (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.^[2][3][4]

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.^[5][6] 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.^[2]

In 1381, the year his father was killed, following the defeat of the Northern Yuan, a Ming army was dispatched to Yunnan to put down the army of the Mongol Yuan loyalist Basalawarmi during the Ming conquest of Yunnan. Ma He, then only eleven years old, was captured by the Ming Muslim troops of Lan Yu and Fu Youde and made a eunuch. He was sent to the court of one the emperor's son, Zhu Di the Prince of Yan, where he was called San Bao (三寶/三宝, or 三保^[7]) 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).^[2][4][8] It was during the Yongle era that Zheng He, with the rank of Chief Envoy (正使, zheng shi) carried his first of 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".^[9] 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[link]

Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored 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. It has also been claimed, on the basis of later texts, that 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".^[10]

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,^[11]:203 consisted of a fleet of 317 ships^[12][13][14] (other sources say 200 ships) holding almost 28,000 crewmen (each ship housing up to 500 men).^[12]

One of a set of maps of Zheng He's missions (郑和航海图), also known as the Mao Kun maps, 1628.

Zheng He's fleets visited Arabia, Brunei, the Horn of Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Thailand, dispensing and receiving goods along the way.^[14] Zheng He presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain and silk; in return, China received such novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, ivory and a giraffe from the Swahili.^{[15][11]:206[14][16][17]}

While Zheng He's fleet was unprecedented (compared to previous voyages from China to the east Indian Ocean), the routes were not. Zheng He's fleet was following long-established, well-mapped routes. 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.^[18]

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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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."^[21] This, and the fact that the voyages "were contrary to the rules stipulated in the Huangming zuxun, Ancestral Injunctions of the August Ming,"^[21] 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.^[21]

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.^[22]

Voyages[link]

The Kangnido map (1402) predates Zheng's voyages and suggests that he had quite detailed geographical information on much of the Old World.

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.

Detail of the Fra Mauro map relating the travels of a junk into the Atlantic Ocean in 1420. The ship also is illustrated above the text.

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.^[27] 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."^[28]

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[link]

Part of the chart showing India at top, Ceylon upper right and Africa along the bottom

Ming dynasty 24 point compass

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.^[29] 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.^[30]

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[link]

Early 17th century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships.^{[citation needed]}

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^[31] 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.^[32][33] 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^{[citation needed]}. This is more or less the size and shape of a football field.^[34][35]
• 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).^[34]
• Supply ships (Chinese:粮船), containing staple for the crew (seven-masted, about 78 m (257 ft) long and 35 m (115 ft) wide).^[34]
• Troop transports (Chinese:兵船), six-masted, about 67 m (220 ft) long and 25 m (83 ft) wide.^[34]
• Fuchuan warships (Chinese:福船), five-masted, about 50 m (165 ft) long.^[34]
• Patrol boats (Chinese:坐船), eight-oared, about 37 m (120 ft) long.^[34]
• Water tankers (Chinese:水船), with 1 month's supply of fresh water.^[34]

Six more expeditions took place, from 1407 to 1433, with fleets of comparable size.^[36]

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.^[37] 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.^[38] There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as 600 feet.^[39][40] 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 (65 m/213.3 ft long) which was built in the late 18th century. The first ships to attain 126 m (413.4 ft) long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Some scholars argue that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 feet (137.2 m) in length, some estimating that they were 390–408 feet (118.9–124.4 m) long and 160–166 feet (48.8–50.6 m) wide instead^[41] while others put them as small as 200–250 feet (61.0–76.2 m) in length, which would make them smaller than the equine, supply, and troop ships in the fleet.^[42]

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.^[43][44]

South and Southeast Asia[link]

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.^[45]

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.^[46][47] Also, a commemorative pillar at the temple of the Taoist goddess Tian Fei, the Celestial Spouse, in Fujian province records details about his voyages.^[48] 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[link]

San Bao Temple in Malacaa

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.^[49] 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[link]

Islam in China
History History Tang Dynasty • Song Dynasty Yuan Dynasty • Ming Dynasty Qing Dynasty • Dungan revolts (1862-1877, 1895-1896) Panthay rebellion • 1911-Present
Major figures Chang Yuchun • Hu Dahai • Mu Ying • Lan Yu • Yeheidie'erding Hui Liangyu • Ma Bufang Zheng He • Liu Zhi Haji Noor • Yusuf Ma Dexin Ma Hualong
Culture Cuisine • Martial arts Chinese mosques • Sini Islamic Association of China
Cities/Regions Hong Kong • Kashgar • Linxia Ningxia • Taiwan • Xinjiang
Groups Hui • Uyhgurs Kazakhs • Dongxiang Kyrgyz • Salar Bonan • Tajiks Uzbeks • Tatars Utsul • Tibetans
v t e

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."^[50] 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."^{[citation needed]}

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 (Raden Patah), is the son of King Majapahit and his Chinese wife."^[51]