- published: 14 Jan 2009
- views: 6587
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.
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.
Lover come and set me free from my restrain
Tear the rags away they bind me
Stare me down and cut me deeply to the bone
Give me every tooth and blind me
You are Madonna, you Lady Divine
You are part Mother Theresa and a valentine
Some man's pariah and a slippery slope
But to me you are the fire and I fly to my hope
Mother teaching me now lessons from the past
In faded photo albums lying open on the floor
She heals me with a Nikon camera captured laugh
And with a wink she sets me free forever more
So consume me now and burn me to the marrow
Heat me up like the world can never do
Tear my heart out from my body if you have to and
Then swallow me to prove that I am you
You are Madonna, you are lady divine
You are part Mother Theresa and a valentine
Some man's pariah and a slippery slope
But to me you are the fire and I fly to my...
You are Madonna
You're lady divine
You are part Mother Theresa and a valentine
Some man's pariah and a slippery slope
But to me you are the fire and I fly to my
I will fly away
I'll fly
I will take these wings and fly away
I'll take these