The economic and trade activities of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas are varied, among which tribute trade is a major trade mode. This kind of trade is usually that after the fleet arrives at a place, it gives a reward to the local king or chief in the name of the emperor, and accepts their tribute at the same time, or they send envoys to China to pay tribute afterwards. This form of trade is often more rewarding than Gunnar's, and the trade principle of "favoring one over the other" is implemented. Secondly, official trade is one of the important ways to expand overseas trade in Ming Dynasty. Zheng He's fleet loaded a large number of materials unique to China, and exchanged them for needed trade in appropriate places overseas. Some of this trade is barter trade, and some are bought with coins. For example, the gold ingot mentioned above is a commodity purchased directly with coins. In this regard, Ma Huan, the general manager (translator) who followed Zheng He's three voyages to the West, described in detail the overseas economic and trade activities of Zheng He's fleet (such as the mode of trade) in his book "Ying Ya Sheng Lan": ... If the treasure ship arrives there, it will be bought and sold by two people: Wang Cha, the head of the ship, and the port customs officer in Zhedi, without handing in a few books to the government. Teeth to the meeting, the leader will negotiate and bargain one day. Before the end of the day, we will bring brocade and other things, negotiate one by one and make a decision, together with the contract price ... its leader, Judy, will hold hands with the official, and the dentist will say,' One day, I will clap my hands in everyone's hands. Whether it is expensive or cheap, don't regret it. In the future, the wise and the rich will look at gems, pearls and corals ... there are several gems, but the original price remains unchanged. What is described here is the trading process in Guri. Based on this, the process and details of Zheng He's fleet's overseas commodity trade activities are still obvious. Every time Zheng He's fleet went to the West, it was full of gold and silver, bronzes, ironware, porcelain, silk, farm tools, lacquerware, umbrellas, books, earth silks, musk, camphor, rhubarb, citrus, cinnamon, tea, rice, grains, beans and other commodities which were rich in China, and were used for fair trade with Asian and African countries. Everywhere he went, cheers were everywhere, and Chief Mankui hurried to meet him.
Yingya Shenglan also describes that in Siam, a treasure ship from China arrived and sent a boat to buy and sell on the water. In Muncie Canada, China used it as his foreign residence. They all got together and bought and sold several times. In Liu Shan, one or two treasure ships from China also went there to buy Long Xianxiang, coconuts and other things. In Kirgiz, people named Zhedi are all rich people. They buy precious stones, pearls, incense and so on, waiting for guests from China or other countries to buy them. In Zufa 'er, China's treasure ship arrived there. After its king saw the reward, he sent a leader to tell the people all over the country that frankincense, dragon's blood, aloe, myrrh, benzoin, storax oil and momordica seed were all brought to this country to exchange silk and porcelain. In Adan, the king told his people immediately after he started reading, but there were treasures, and he promised to sell them easily. In the Arab kingdom, I bought all kinds of exotic goods to live in, such as Kirin, lion, camel chicken, etc., and returned to Beijing, a real picture of heaven. Countries love China's celadon dishes, silks and burnt beads. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Xie wrote "Examining the East and Examining the West", saying: China people in good cities all have magnetic urns. The economic and trade exchanges carried out by Zheng He's voyages to the West are unprecedented. Due to the fairness of the transaction, the integrity of both parties, and the elements of non-governmental trade in foreign economic and trade exchanges, officers and men of the fleet often carry some domestic goods overseas for sale and exchange some items from abroad. This is also an integral part of Zheng He's trade exchange activities in the Western Seas.
According to historical records, during Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, he imported 185 kinds of goods to China, including 29 kinds of spices, 23 kinds of treasures, 22 kinds of medicinal materials, 0/7 kinds of hardware, 5 kinds of cloth and silk, 2 kinds of animals, 8 kinds of pigments, 3 kinds of food and so on. It provides a new field and space for the development of China's zoology, botany, medicine, porcelain, glass and other manufacturing industries, and also enriches the material life of our people. For example, Sumaqing, the first-class pigment of blue-and-white porcelain made by Yongle and Xuande, or Somali Green, is named after its production in Somalia. The green material has low manganese content, high cobalt content and bright and stable color, which is superior to the domestic green material. This material was bought back in large quantities by the Bao fleet, which ensured the unparalleled best quality of China blue and white porcelain.
Zheng He gave a clear answer to the purpose of going to the Western Ocean, and wrote clearly in his own inscription "The Story of Tian Fei Spirit" that his purpose of going to the Western Ocean was to trade money. However, due to the destruction of Zheng He's navigation materials during Xuande period, and the lack or even blank of goods purchased in the West, it had a negative impact on the cognition of trade exchange in the West. The attitude towards trade communication in Zheng He's research is not very clear, and trace writing is often the main purpose. 300 years later, the Ming History compiled by Zhang, a great scholar during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, while promoting China's fame, claimed that Zheng He went to the West to find the unknown emperor Zhu, which also affected the study of cultural and economic exchanges between Zheng He and the West. Until 2000, Zhongxiang, Hubei Province discovered the tomb of King Liangzhuang, the ancestor of Ming Dynasty, and unearthed a large number of gold, silver and jewelry purchased by Zheng He from the West. Experts confirmed that Zheng He was bought from western countries, and the boring situation of Zheng He's research was broken. Historians realize that Zheng He really went to the West to engage in overseas trade, and economic and trade activities were his main purpose.
Zhu Zhannian (Ji), the king of Liangzhuang, is the grandson of Emperor Yongle. There are many kinds of cultural relics unearthed in his tomb, including gold ingots, gold cans, arm-wrapped gold ornaments, blue-and-white dragon-patterned porcelain bowls and precious cultural relics made of gold, silver, jade, pearls, precious stones, copper, iron, lead, tin, porcelain, pottery and lacquer wood. Jewelry, dazzling, dazzling, amazing. According to experts' research, these gems are not produced in China, but are related to the purchase from the West and other places when Zheng He went to the West. The unearthed gold ingot is crescent-shaped with two gold ingots. The excavation of these two gold ingots made archaeologists feel very happy, especially surprised, because the gold ingots were engraved with important words on the front. A gold ingot is engraved with an inscription: driven by the silver bureau, the quality of the product is 52 times that of the first work, and craftsmen such as Ding, Huang Guandi and Yongle have been working for 84 years. On another gold ingot, the inscription reads: In April of the seventeenth year of Yongle, I bought 550 eight-color gold ingots from Japan and the West. April, the seventeenth year of Yongle, was Zheng He's sixth voyage to the West. The words engraved on these two gold ingots and a lot of treasures became the only physical objects that Zheng He could see when he went to the Western Ocean. According to historical records, the time node of April in the seventeenth year of Yongle (14 19) happened to be the eve of Zheng He's sixth voyage to nineteen western countries, or he was already on his way back. This gold ingot should be made of broken gold pieces bought along the way. Jin Yuanbao is 132.5mm long, 45.2mm wide at the waist, 16mm thick and 1948g heavy. In addition to its own weight, its gold content (historical value) is even more extraordinary.
The large-scale economic and trade exchanges between Zheng He and the West made Zhong Yi department store an indispensable part of China. Easy to sell, China wants to get, and exchanging needed goods is beneficial to both sides. It is the pearl of the bright moon and the stone of the crow; The fragrance of the dragon speed in the south is the wonder of the lion Kong Cui; The treasure of Menau Wei Lu, the beauty of coral Yao Kun; They all went home. The Ming Dynasty strictly followed the simple statement: Since Yongle changed to Yuan Dynasty, it has sent envoys to all parts of the country and recruited overseas scholars, which has made great contributions. The treasure of the previous generation filled the national treasury, the poor promised to buy more or get rich, and the state used it enviably. Sailing all the way here, the chiefs of the various kings greeted each other and led them away. People all over the country are cheering, which is hard to feel. When this matter was over, we sent envoys to collect coffins and accompanied Baozhou to pay tribute to Beijing. It can be seen that the economic and trade exchange activities of Zheng He's voyage to the West are objective and true historical events. Six hundred years after Zheng He opened the Maritime Silk Road, under the premise of the route of the Maritime Silk Road opened and laid by Zheng He, when the magnificent Maritime Silk Road Economic Belt initiated by China and participated by many countries has been or is being formed, how should Zheng He feel when he heard this news?