In July 1405, 1 1, a fleet of 27,000 people left Liujiagang, Jiangsu. In the following 30 years, this huge fleet set sail seven times, passing through the East China Sea and the South China Sea, crossing the Straits of Malacca, sailing westward along the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden, and then crossing the Red Sea to the south of the East African coast, visiting Siam (Thailand), Java, Zhenla (Cambodia), Liu Shan (Maldives) and Mount Ceylon (Sri Lanka's ambassador who led the fleet was named Zheng He, so China.

There are different views on Zheng He's voyages to the West in history. I think Zheng He's voyage to the West has both advantages and disadvantages.

The historical significance of Zheng He's voyage to the West lies in:

The length, scale and scope of Zheng He's voyages to the West are unprecedented. It not only reached the peak of world navigation at that time, but also made great contributions to the development of friendly relations between China and Asian countries in politics, economy and culture.

1. Zheng He's mission pursued a foreign policy of peaceful coexistence with overseas countries and won the trust and friendship of many Asian countries in China. Zheng He's feat of going to the West established peaceful relations among Asian countries and enhanced China's international prestige at that time.

During Zheng He's voyage to the West, he advocated not bullying, friendly coexistence and peaceful coexistence, which established unwritten rules for the exchanges between Asian and African countries and had a far-reaching impact on later generations. China is an ancient civilization. Since ancient times, we have attached importance to reciprocity and opposed bullying. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the national strength was strong and the economic and cultural development was high, but Zheng He never bullied small and weak countries overseas by "Tianwei". 0/70 people in Java/Kloc were killed by Zheng He's men by mistake, and Zheng He did not use force to retaliate. Zheng He's two battles in Jiugang and Ceylon were both self-defense. Zheng He led an armed force of nearly 30,000 people. He did not occupy an inch of land in other countries overseas, plundered anything from other countries, or even sent a single soldier overseas. Wherever we go, we advocate "kingly way" and oppose "overbearing" with the aim of "being gentle and far away from the people", "living in harmony with all ethnic groups" and "enjoying world peace". In the spirit of peace and friendship, we should build a good-neighborly and friendly country, serve people with virtue and carry forward Chinese culture, which shows "peaceful sea power" rather than armed aggression. Zheng He's voyage to the West is a successful example of China's ancient peaceful foreign policy.

Secondly, Zheng He's voyages to the West strengthened China's ties with other countries in the world. During this period, China's diplomacy reached its peak in the history of western diplomacy in the Ming Dynasty.

Thanks to Zheng He's efforts, some Southeast Asian countries that had never been in contact with China or even China for many years successively established diplomatic relations with the Ming government. Nine kings from four countries visited China eight times, and 16- 17 countries sent envoys to China four times. The relationship between China and Southeast Asia was established at that time, and the trade circle between China and Southeast Asia also began at that time.

Third, the evaluation of Zheng He between China and the West is very different. Among the 100 great men who have influenced the world for thousands of years, China has 6 people on the list, among which Zheng He ranks first.

The American "International Herald" commented that the rulers of China did not continue to promote China's marine cause according to Zheng He's marine thought and practice, and did not turn the ancient civilization with a long history into a country of commerce, diplomacy, trade and knowledge, leaving a historical regret of being humble and isolated. Otherwise, world history should be rewritten. Zheng He's greatness not only spread the "yellow civilization" of the Chinese nation, but also initiated a new era, providing experience and technical support for the rise of blue civilization. Although the Chinese nation fell behind, Zheng He changed the world.

The historical limitations of Zheng He's seven voyages to the West lie in:

1. The political significance of Zheng He's voyage to the West is far greater than the economic significance, and the economic loss outweighs the gain.

Yongle period is a period of high incidence of foreign exchanges in the Ming Dynasty, with many famous envoys, such as Hou Xian's "Five Ambassadors, Merits, Zheng Heya", and Li Da and Chen Cheng's many missions to the Western Regions, all in order to implement the strategy of stabilizing the surrounding areas of the Ming Dynasty. Ming Taizu sent Zheng He to the Western Seas in order to "present a new moon" and attract more people, so as to urge neighboring countries to "bring Guangxi silks to Korea, and engage in the grand occasion of" the coat of many countries, bowing to the crown of pearls "to enhance their emperor's prestige. Zheng He's voyage to the West was a "reward" and a "tribute", which had nothing to do with opening up international trade. Ming Chengzu himself did not advocate the development of overseas trade, and some barter activities carried out by Zheng He's mission overseas were incidental. This kind of exchange activity is only a means to develop friendly relations with western countries, and most of them are exotic treasures for the imperial court to enjoy, which is essentially different from profitable overseas trade. It is precisely because the purpose of Zheng He's voyage to the West is not to develop overseas trade that his policy of ignoring economic interests has caused a huge burden to the Ming government. With the decline of the national power of the Ming Dynasty, the feat of sailing quietly ended.

Second, there are two ways for any country's foreign relations: the people and the government. Zheng He's voyage to the West is a government act, and it is indeed an active diplomacy and an open policy. However, the implementation of the maritime ban in the Ming Dynasty was aimed at prohibiting private individuals from engaging in trade and closing the door to Sino-foreign exchanges. Overseas trade is completely monopolized by the government, which is more conservative and restrained than the trade encouraged by the government during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. So after Judy's death, Xia Yuanji, the minister in charge of finance, thought it was a bad policy to go to the Western Seas, and suggested that the soon-to-be-succeeded prince should go to the Western Treasure Boat. After Zheng He's death, the opponents gained the upper hand. In Ming Yingzong, Liu Daxia, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, encouraged Xiang Zhong, a minister of the Ministry of War, to burn the historical materials of Zheng He's voyage to the West, and even Zheng He's fleet was burned. From then on, China closed the sea, even "an inch of wood was not allowed to enter the sea", and the two dynasties closed the country for 400 years. This ending is not accidental.

During Zheng He's voyage to the West, China ranked first in shipbuilding and navigation in the world. Zheng He's magnificent voyage to the West was a feat worthy of every China person's pride. Regrettably, the maritime activities that brought industrial civilization to the west did not bring revolutionary impetus to the Chinese nation. Due to its own historical limitations, Zheng He's voyage to the West was not conducive to China's social and economic development, which eventually made this feat a flash in the pan. Thought-provoking! Thought-provoking!