Zheng He's Treasure Fleet
China's giant ships reached East Africa decades before European oceanic exploration. Then the empire dismantled its own maritime power.
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Archaeology suggests Zheng He's practical ocean vessels measured fifty to eighty meters, not one hundred thirty.
Navigators tracked their speed across open waters using floating logs and burning incense sticks.
The fourteen zero nine Galle Inscription balanced diplomacy by simultaneously honoring Buddha, Shiva, and Allah.
A live giraffe brought from Malindi was celebrated as a mythical qilin endorsing the emperor.
Ancient DNA analysis of medieval Swahili skeletal remains found zero East Asian ancestry.
Opposing Confucian scholar-officials ended the voyages by systematically destroying naval records and silting over dry docks.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Engineering of the Armada3 min
- 03Power Projection Across the Western Ocean2 min
- 04Landfall on the Swahili Coast2 min
- 05The Great Withdrawal and Historical Legacy2 min
- 06Outro1 min
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