Early life and family

Zheng was born Ma He to a Muslim family of Kunyang, Kunming, Yunnan, then under the rule of the Principality of Liang loyal to the Northern Yuan dynasty. He had an older brother and four sisters. The Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions suggest that devotion to Tianfei, the patron goddess of sailors and seafarers, was the dominant faith to which he adhered, reflecting the goddess's central role to the treasure fleet. John Guy mentions, "When Zheng He, the Muslim eunuch leader of the great expeditions to the 'Western Ocean' (Indian Ocean) in the early fifteenth century, embarked on his voyages, it was from the Divine Woman that he sought protection, as well as at the tombs of the Muslim saints on Lingshan Hill, above the city of Quanzhou."

Zheng He was a great-great-great-grandson of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, who served in the administration of the Mongol Empire and was the governor of Yunnan during the early Yuan dynasty. His great-grandfather Bayan may have been stationed at a Mongol garrison in Yunnan. Zheng He's grandfather carried the title hajji, and his father had the sinicized surname Ma and the title hajji, which suggests that they had made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

In the autumn of 1381, a Ming army invaded and conquered Yunnan, which was then ruled by the Mongol prince Basalawarmi, Prince of Liang. In 1381, Ma Hajji, Zheng He's father, died in the fighting between the Ming armies and Mongol forces. Dreyer states that Zheng He's father died at 39 while resisting the Ming conquest, while Levathes states that Zheng He's father died at 37, but it is unclear if he was helping the Mongol Army or was just caught in the onslaught of battle. Wenming, the oldest son, buried their father outside Kunming. In his capacity as Admiral, Zheng He had an epitaph engraved in honour of his father, composed by the Minister of Rites Li Zhigang on 1 June 1405, which was Duanwu Festival.

Capture and service

Zheng He was captured by the Ming armies in Yunnan in 1381. General Fu Youde saw Ma He on a road and approached him to inquire about the ___location of the Mongol pretender. Ma He responded defiantly by saying that the Mongol pretender had jumped into a lake. Then the general took him prisoner. He was castrated between the ages of 10 and 14, and placed in the service of the Prince of Yan.

Ma He was sent to serve in the household of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, who later became the Yongle Emperor. Zhu Di was 11 years older than Ma. Enslaved as a eunuch servant, Ma He eventually gained the confidence of Zhu Di, who, as his benefactor, gained the allegiance and loyalty of the young eunuch. The prince had been governing Beiping (modern Beijing) since 1380. It was near the northern frontier with hostile Mongol tribes. Ma spent his early life as a soldier on the northern frontier and often participated in Zhu Di's military campaigns against the Mongols. On 2 March 1390, Ma accompanied the prince when he commanded his first expedition, which was a great victory, as the Mongol commander Naghachu surrendered as soon as he realized he had fallen into a trap.

Eventually, he gained the confidence and trust of the prince. Ma was also known as "Sanbao" during his service in the household of the Prince of Yan, a reference to the Buddhist Three Jewels. Ma received a proper education at Beiping, which he would not have had if he had been placed in the imperial capital of Nanjing as the Hongwu Emperor, the father of Zhu Di, did not trust eunuchs and believed that it was better to keep them illiterate. The Hongwu Emperor purged and exterminated much of the original Ming leadership and gave his enfeoffed sons more military authority, especially those in the north, like the Prince of Yan.

Adulthood and military career

Zheng He's appearance as an adult was recorded: he was seven chi tall, had a waist that was five chi in circumference, cheeks and a forehead that was high, a small nose, glaring eyes, teeth that were white and well-shaped as shells, and a voice that was as loud as a bell. It is also recorded that he had great knowledge about warfare and was well-accustomed to battle.

The young eunuch eventually became a trusted adviser to the prince and assisted him when the Jianwen Emperor's hostility to his uncle's feudal bases prompted the 13991402 Jingnan Campaign, which ended with the emperor's apparent death and the ascension of Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, as the Yongle Emperor. In 1393, the Crown Prince had died, thus the deceased prince's son became the new heir apparent. By the time the emperor died (24 June 1398), the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin had perished, which left Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, as the eldest surviving son of the emperor. However, Zhu Di's nephew succeeded the imperial throne as the Jianwen Emperor. In 1398, he issued a policy known as xuēfān, or "reducing the feudatories", which entailed eliminating all princes by stripping their power and military forces. In August 1399, Zhu Di openly rebelled against his nephew. In 1399, Ma He successfully defended Beiping's city reservoir, Zhenglunba, against the imperial armies. In January 1402, Zhu Di began with his military campaign to capture the imperial capital, Nanjing. Zheng He would be one of his commanders during that campaign.

In 1402, Zhu Di's armies defeated the imperial forces and marched into Nanjing on 13 July 1402. Zhu Di accepted the elevation to emperor four days later. After ascending the throne as the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di promoted Ma He as the Grand Director (, tàijiān) of the Directorate of Palace Servants. During the Chinese New Year on 11 February 1404, the Yongle Emperor conferred the surname "Zheng" to Ma He, because he had distinguished himself defending the city reservoir against imperial forces in 1399. Another reason was that the eunuch commander also distinguished himself during the 1402 campaign to capture the capital, Nanjing.

In the new administration, Zheng He served in the highest posts as Grand Director and later as Chief Envoy (正使 zhèngshǐ) during his sea voyages. Over the next three decades he conducted seven of the voyages on behalf of the emperor, trading and collecting tribute in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

In 1424, Zheng He traveled to Palembang in Sumatra to confer an official seal and letter of appointment upon Shi Jisun, who was placed in the office of Pacification Commissioner. The Taizong Shilu 27 February 1424 entry reports that Shi Jisun had sent Qiu Yancheng as envoy to petition the approval of the succession from his father Shi Jinqing, who was the Pacification Commissioner of Palembang, and was given permission from the Yongle Emperor. When Zheng He returned from Palembang, he found that the Yongle Emperor had died during his absence. On 7 September 1424, Zhu Gaozhi had inherited the throne as the Hongxi Emperor after the death of the Yongle Emperor on 12 August 1424.

On 7 September 1424, the Hongxi Emperor terminated the undertaking of further treasure voyages. On 24 February 1425, he appointed Zheng He as the defender of Nanjing and ordered him to continue his command over the treasure fleet for the city's defense. On 25 March 1428, the Xuande Emperor ordered Zheng He and others to take over the supervision for the rebuilding and repair of the Great Bao'en Temple at Nanjing. He completed the construction of the temple in 1431.

On 15 May 1426, the Xuande Emperor ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to send a letter to Zheng He to reprimand him for a transgression. Earlier, an official petitioned the emperor to reward workmen who had built temples in Nanjing. The Xuande Emperor responded negatively to the official for charging the costs to the court instead of the monks themselves, but he realised that Zheng He and his associates had instigated the official. According to , the nature of the emperor's words indicated that Zheng He's behaviour in the situation was the last straw, but there is too little information about what had happened earlier. Nevertheless, the Xuande Emperor would eventually come to trust Zheng He.

In 1430, the new Xuande Emperor appointed Zheng He to command over a seventh and final expedition into the "Western Ocean" (Indian Ocean). In 1431, Zheng He was bestowed with the title Sanbao Taijian (三寶太監), using his informal name Sanbao and the title of Grand Director.

Expeditions

The Yuan dynasty and the expanding Sino-Arab trade during the 14th century had gradually expanded Chinese knowledge of the world since "universal" maps previously displaying only China and its surrounding seas began to expand farther and farther southwest, with much more accurate depictions of the extent of Arabia and Africa. Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored seven naval expeditions. The Yongle Emperor, disregarding the Hongwu Emperor's expressed wishes, designed them to establish a Chinese presence and impose imperial control over the Indian Ocean trade, impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin, and extend the empire's tributary system. It has also been inferred from passages in the History of Ming that the initial voyages were launched as part of the emperor's attempt to capture his escaped predecessor, which would have made the first voyage the "largest-scale manhunt on water in the history of China."

Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control of the huge fleet and armed forces that undertook the expeditions. Wang Jinghong was appointed as second in command. Preparations were thorough and wide-ranging, including the use of so many linguists that a foreign language institute was established at Nanjing. Zheng He's first voyage departed 11 July 1405, from Suzhou and consisted of a fleet of 317 ships holding almost 28,000 crewmen.

Zheng He's fleets visited Brunei, Java, Siam (Thailand), Southeast Asia, India, the Horn of Africa, and Arabia, dispensing and receiving goods along the way. Zheng He presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain, and silk, and in return, China received such novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, and ivory from the Swahili Coast. The giraffe that he brought back from Malindi was considered to be a qilin and taken as proof of the Mandate of Heaven upon the administration. The Daxuexi Alley Mosque in Xi'an has a stele dating to January 1523, inscribed with Zheng He's fourth maritime voyage to Tianfang, Arabian Peninsula.

While Zheng He's fleet was unprecedented, the routes were not. His fleet followed long-established, well-mapped routes of trade between China and the Arabian Peninsula that had been used since at least the Han dynasty. That fact, along with the use of a more-than-abundant number of crew members who were regular military personnel, leads some to speculate that the expeditions may have been geared at least partially at spreading China's power through expansion. During the Three Kingdoms Period, the king of Wu sent a 20-year diplomatic mission led by Zhu Ying and Kang Tai along the coast of Asia, which reached as far as the Eastern Roman Empire. After centuries of disruption, the Song dynasty restored large-scale maritime trade from China in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans and reached as far as the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. When his fleet first arrived at Malacca, there was already a sizable Chinese community. The General Survey of the Ocean Shores (瀛涯勝覽, Yíngyá Shènglǎn), composed by the translator Ma Huan in 1416, gives very detailed accounts of his observations of people's customs and lives in the ports that they visited. He referred to the expatriate Chinese as "Tang" people (唐人 Tángrén).

The fleet did not engage in conquest or colonization; though it included troops, their purpose was to demonstrate the Middle Kingdom's strength. However, 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. He ruthlessly suppressed pirates, who had long plagued Chinese and Southeast Asian waters. For example, he defeated Chen Zuyi, one of the most feared and respected pirate captains, and returned him to China for execution. He also waged a land war against the Kingdom of Kotte on 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 30 states, who traveled to China and paid their respects at the Ming court.

In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor (r. 14241425), stopped the voyages during his short reign. Zheng He made one more voyage during the reign of Hongxi's son, the Xuande Emperor (r. 1426–1435) but, the voyages of the Chinese treasure ship fleets then ended. Xuande believed his father's decision to halt the voyages had been meritorious and thus "there would be no need to make a detailed description of his grandfather's sending Zheng He to the Western Ocean." The voyages "were contrary to the rules stipulated in the Huang Ming Zuxun" (皇明祖訓), the dynastic foundation documents laid down by the Hongwu Emperor:

Some far-off countries pay their tribute to me at much expense and through great difficulties, all of which are by no means my own wish. Messages should be forwarded to them to reduce their tribute so as to avoid high and unnecessary expenses on both sides.

They further violated longstanding Confucian principles. They were only made possible by (and therefore continued to represent) a triumph of the Ming's eunuch faction over the administration's scholar-bureaucrats. Upon Zheng He's death and his faction's fall from power, his successors sought to minimize him in official accounts, along with continuing attempts to destroy all records related to the Jianwen Emperor or the manhunt to find him.

Although unmentioned in the official dynastic histories, Zheng He probably died during the treasure fleet's last voyage. Although he has a tomb in China, it is empty since he was buried at sea.

Zheng He led seven expeditions to the "Western" or Indian Ocean. Zheng 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 for offenses against his mission.

Zheng He wrote of his travels:

We have traversed more than 100,000 li 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 rapidly as a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare....

Sailing charts

Zheng He's sailing charts, the Mao Kun map, were published in a book entitled the Wubei Zhi (A Treatise on Armament Technology) written in 1621 and published in 1628 but traced back to Zheng He's and earlier voyages. 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.

Investigation into folios 19V to 20R of the Mao Kun Map, which cover the Indian Ocean including South India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and East Africa, suggests that the map is a composite of four maps, one for Sri Lanka, one for South India one for the Maldives and one for around 400 km of the East African coast, no further south than 6 degrees south of the Equator. Each of these maps is positioned at a different orientation to fit with the ocean currents and winds required of a sailing chart, rather than a formal map. The analysis also suggests that Arabic-speaking pilots with a detailed knowledge of the African coast were involved in the cartography.

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 or 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 such as pagodas and 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 ships

According to 's novel Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi (Eunuch Sanbao Western Records Popular Romance, published 1597), the first expedition had:

• "Treasure ships" (宝船, Bǎo Chuán) nine-masted, 44.4 by 18 zhang, about long and wide.

• Equine ships (馬船, Mǎ Chuán), carrying horses and tribute goods and repair material for the fleet, eight-masted, 37 by 15 zhang, about long and wide.

• Supply ships (粮船, Liáng Chuán), containing staple for the crew, seven-masted, 28 by 12 zhang, about long and wide.

• Transport ships (坐船, Zuò Chuán), six-masted, 24 by 9.4 zhang, about long and wide.

• Warships (战船, Zhàn Chuán), five-masted, 18 by 6.8 zhang, about long.

On the ships were navigators, explorers, sailors, doctors, workers, and soldiers, along with the translator and diarist Gong Zhen. Six more expeditions took place from 1407 to 1433, with fleets thought to be of comparable size.

Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta both described multi-masted ships carrying 500 to 1,000 passengers in their translated accounts. Niccolò de' Conti, a contemporary of Zheng He, was also an eyewitness of ships in Southeast Asia, claiming to have seen five-masted junks weighing about 2,000 vegetes, that is Venetian butt. Christopher Wake estimated a burthen of 1300 tons. The ship of Conti may have been a Burmese or Indonesian jong.

The largest ships in the fleet, the Chinese treasure ships described in Chinese chronicles, would have been nearly twice as long as any other wooden ship recorded thereafter until the 20th century, surpassing Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory, long, which was launched in 1765, and the Vasa of 1627. The first ships to attain long were 19th century steamers with iron hulls. Many scholars consider it unlikely that any of Zheng He's ships were in length and have proposed much shorter lengths, as low as . Zhao Zhigang claimed that he has solved the debate of the size difference, and stated that Zheng He's largest ship was about in length.

Disputes of historical records of length

Edward L. Dreyer claims that Luo Maodeng's novel is unsuitable as historical evidence. The novel contains a number of fantasy element; for example the ships were "constructed with divine help by the immortal Lu Ban".

One explanation for the seemingly-inefficient size of the colossal ships was that the 44 zhang treasure ships were used only 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 the ships, seaworthy or not. The main ships of Zheng He's fleet were instead six-masted 2000-liao ships. That would give burthen of 500 tons and a displacement tonnage of about 800 tons.

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. The most grandiose claims for Zheng He's 1405 fleet are entirely based on a calculation derived from an account that was written three centuries later and was accepted as fact by one modern writer; rejected by numerous naval experts. There are even some sources that claim some of the treasure ships might have been as long as . The claims that the Chinese treasure ships reached such size is disputed because other 17th century Ming records stated that European East Indiamen and galleons were 30, 40, 50, and 60 zhang (90, 120, 150, and 180 m) in length.

It is also possible that the measure of zhang (丈) used in the conversions was mistaken. The length of a Dutch ship recorded in the History of Ming was 30 zhang. If the zhang is taken to be 3.2 m, the Dutch ship would be 96 m long. Also the Dutch Hongyi cannon was recorded to be more than 2 zhang (6.4 m) long. Comparative study by Hu Xiaowei (2018) concluded that 1 zhang would be equal to 1.5–1.6 m, this means the Dutch ship would be 45–48 m long and the cannon would be 3–3.2 m long. Taking 1.6 m for 1 zhang, Zheng He's 44 zhang treasure ship would be long and wide, or 22 zhang long and 9 zhang wide if the zhang is taken to be 3.2 m. It is known that the measure unit during the Ming era was not unified: A measurement of East and West Pagoda in Quanzhou resulted in a zhang unit of 2.5–2.56 m. According to Chen Cunren, one zhang in the Ming Dynasty is only half a zhang in modern times.

Treasure Shipyard excavation

From 2003 to 2004, the Treasure Shipyard was excavated in northwestern Nanjing (the former capital of the Ming Dynasty), near the Yangtze River. Despite the site being referred to as the "Longjiang Treasure Shipyard" (龍江寶船廠) in the official names, the site is distinct from the actual Longjiang Shipyard, which was located on a different site and produced different types of ships. The Treasure Shipyard, where Zheng He's fleet is believed to have been built in the Ming Dynasty, once consisted of thirteen basins (based on a 1944 map), most of which have now been covered by the construction of buildings in the 20th century. The basins are believed to have been connected to the Yangtze via a series of gates. Three long basins survive, each with wooden structures inside, interpreted to be frames onto which the ships to be built on. The largest basin extends for a length of . While they were long enough to accommodate the largest claimed Zheng He treasure ship, they were not wide enough to fit even a ship half the claimed size. The basin was only wide at most, with only a width showing evidence of structures. They were also not deep enough, being only deep. Other remains of ships in the site indicate that the ships were only slightly larger than the frames that supported them. Moreover, the basin structures were grouped into clusters with large gaps between them, if each cluster was interpreted as a ship framework, then the largest ship would not exceed at most, probably less.

The 2003–2004 excavation also recovered two complete wooden rudderposts from the Treasure Shipyard, in addition to another recovered in 1957. They are made of teak and measure

around in length. Zhou Shide (1962) claimed that the first rudderpost recovered was proof of the enormous dimensions of the ships based on his calculations on how big the rudderblade would be. However Church (2010) points out that Zhou was using calculations based on modern steel propeller-driven ships, not wooden ships; as well as the fact that Zhou's hypothetical rudder shape was based on the flat-bottomed shachuan (沙船) ship type, not the sea-going fuchuan (福船). The rudderposts cannot be used to infer the actual size of the rudder blades. Church notes that in traditional wooden Chinese ships, rudderposts were necessarily long in order for them to extend from the water level up unto the ship deck, where it was controlled by the tiller. Church compares it with modern wooden junks built in the traditional Lümeimao ("green eyebrow", 綠眉毛) style, which also have rudderposts that are long, but are only in overall length.

Death

One theory is that Admiral Zheng He died in 1433, during or shortly after his seventh voyage. Another is that Zheng He continued to serve as the defender of Nanjing, and died in 1435.

A tomb was built for Zheng He at the southern slope of Cattle Head Hill, Nanjing. The original tomb was a horseshoe-shaped grave. It is a cenotaph believed to contain his clothes and headgear. In 1985, the tomb was rebuilt following a Muslim style.

Legacy

Zheng's voyages were long neglected in official Chinese histories but have become well known in China and abroad since the publication of Liang Qichao's Biography of Our Homeland's Great Navigator, Zheng He in 1904.

Imperial China

In the decades after the last voyage, Imperial officials minimized the importance of Zheng He and his expeditions throughout the many regnal and dynastic histories they compiled. The information in the Yongle and Xuande Emperors' official annals was incomplete and even erroneous, and other official publications omitted them completely. Although some have seen that as a conspiracy seeking to eliminate memories of the voyages, it is likely that the records were dispersed throughout several departments and the expeditions, unauthorized by and in fact counter to the injunctions of the dynastic founder, presented a kind of embarrassment to the dynasty.

State-sponsored Ming naval efforts declined dramatically after Zheng's voyages. Starting in the early 15th century, China experienced increasing pressure from the surviving Yuan Mongols from the north. The relocation of the capital to Beijing in the north exacerbated this threat dramatically. At considerable expense, China launched annual military expeditions from Beijing to weaken the Mongolians. The expenditures necessary for the land campaigns directly competed with the funds necessary to continue naval expeditions. Further, in 1449, Mongolian cavalry ambushed a land expedition personally led by the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu Fortress, less than a day's march from the walls of the capital. The Mongolians wiped out the Chinese army and captured the emperor. The battle had two salient effects. Firstly, it demonstrated the clear threat posed by the northern nomads. Secondly, the Mongols caused a political crisis in China when they released the emperor after his half-brother had already ascended and declared the new Jingtai era. Not until 1457 and the restoration of the former emperor would political stability return. Upon his return to power, China abandoned the strategy of annual land expeditions and instead embarked upon a massive and expensive expansion of the Great Wall of China. In that environment, funding for naval expeditions was simply absent.

However, missions from Southeastern Asia continued to arrive for decades. Depending on local conditions, they could reach such frequency that the court found it necessary to restrict them. The History of Ming records imperial edicts forbade Java, Champa, and Siam from sending their envoys more often than once every three years.

Southeast Asia

Veneration

Among the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, Zheng He became a figure of folk veneration. Even some of his crew members who happened to stay in some port sometimes did so as well, such as "Poontaokong" on Sulu. The temples of the cult, called after either of his names, Cheng Hoon or Sam Po, are peculiar to overseas Chinese except for a single temple in Hongjian originally constructed by a returned Filipino Chinese in the Ming dynasty and rebuilt by another Filipino Chinese after the original was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

Malacca

The oldest and most important Chinese temple in Malacca is the 17th-century Cheng Hoon Teng, dedicated to Guanyin. During Dutch colonial rule, the head of the Cheng Hoon Temple was appointed as chief over the community's Chinese inhabitants.

Following Zheng He's arrival, the sultan and the sultana of Malacca visited China at the head of over 540 of their subjects, bearing ample tribute. Sultan Mansur Shah (r. 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. Malay (but not Chinese) annals record that in 1459, a princess named Hang Li Po or Hang Liu was sent from China to marry the sultan. She came with 500 high-ranking young men and a few hundred handmaidens as her entourage. They eventually settled in Bukit Cina. It is believed that a significant number of them married into the local populace, creating the descendants now known as the Peranakan. Owing to this supposed lineage, the Peranakan still use special honorifics: Baba for the men and Nyonya for the women.

Indonesia

The Chinese Indonesian community have established temples dedicated to Zheng He in Jakarta, Cirebon, Surabaya, and Semarang.

In 1961, the Indonesian Islamic leader and scholar Hamka credited Zheng He for playing an important role in the development of Islam in Indonesia. The Brunei Times credits Zheng He with building Chinese Muslim communities in Palembang and along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. These Muslims allegedly followed the Hanafi school in the Chinese language.

Western scholarship

In the 1950s, historians such as John Fairbank and Joseph Needham popularized the idea that after Zheng He's voyages China turned away from the seas due to the Haijin edict and was isolated from European technological advancements. Modern historians point out that Chinese maritime commerce did not totally stop after Zheng He, that Chinese ships continued to participate in Southeast Asian commerce until the 19th century, and that active Chinese trading with India and East Africa continued long after the time of Zheng. Moreover, revisionist historians such as Jack Goldstone argue that the Zheng He voyages ended for practical reasons that did not reflect the technological level of China. Although the Ming dynasty prohibited shipping with the Haijin edict, it was a policy of the Hongwu Emperor that long preceded Zheng He and the ban, so obviously disregarded by the Yongle Emperor, was eventually lifted entirely. However, the ban on maritime shipping forced countless numbers of people into smuggling and piracy. Neglect of the imperial navy and Nanjing dockyards after Zheng He's voyages left the coast highly vulnerable to Japanese wokou during the 16th century.

Richard von Glahn, a UCLA professor of Chinese history, commented that most treatments of Zheng He present him wrongly, "offer counterfactual arguments," and "emphasize China's missed opportunity" by focusing on failures, instead of accomplishments. In contrast, Glahn asserts that "Zheng He reshaped Asia" because maritime history in the 15th century was essentially the Zheng He story and the effects of his voyages.

Cultural influence

Despite the official neglect, the adventures of the fleet captured the imagination of some Chinese with some writing novelisations of the voyages, such as the Romance of the Three-Jeweled Eunuch in 1597.

On his travels, Zheng He built mosques and also spread the worship of Mazu. He apparently never found time for a pilgrimage to Mecca but sent sailors there on his last voyage. He played an important part in developing relations between China and Islamic countries. Zheng He also visited Muslim shrines of Islamic holy men in the Fujian.

In modern times, interest in Zheng He has revived substantially. In Vernor Vinge's 1999 science fiction novel A Deepness in the Sky, an interstellar society of commercial traders in human space are named the Qeng Ho, after the admiral. The expeditions featured prominently in Heather Terrell's 2005 novel The Map Thief. For the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages in 2005, China Central Television produced a special television series, Zheng He Xia Xiyang, starring Gallen Lo as Zheng He. He is also mentioned in part of the main storyline of the first-person shooter game Far Cry 3. The Star Trek series Picard further featured an advanced starship named USS Zheng He. There was even a US Navy boat that was acquired for picket duty during World War II that was named Cheng Ho by its previous owner.

Relics

• Zheng He built the Tianfei Palace (天妃宫 Tiānfēigōng, literally Palace of the Celestial Wife), a temple in honour of the goddess Mazu, in Nanjing after the fleet returned from its first western voyage in 1407.

• The "Deed of Foreign Connection and Exchange" (通番事跡) or "Tongfan Deed Stele" is located in the Tianfei Palace in Liuhe, Taicang, whence the expeditions first departed. The stele was submerged and lost but has been rebuilt.

• To thank the Celestial Wife for her blessings, Zheng He and his colleagues rebuilt the Tianfei Palace in Nanshan, Changle County, Fujian Province as well before they left on their last voyage. At the renovated temple, they raised a stele, "A Record of Tianfei Showing Her Presence and Power" (天妃靈應之記 Tiānfēi Líng Yīng zhī Jì), discussing their earlier voyages.

• The Galle Trilingual Inscription in Sri Lanka was discovered in the city of Galle in 1911 and is preserved at the National Museum of Colombo. The three languages used in the inscription were Chinese, Tamil, and Persian. The inscription praises Buddha and describes the fleet's donations to the famous Tenavarai Nayanar temple of Tondeswaram frequented by both Hindus and Buddhists.

• Zheng He's tomb in Nanjing has been repaired and a small museum built next to it, but his body was buried at sea off the Malabar Coast near Calicut, in western India. However, his sword and other personal possessions were interred in a Muslim tomb inscribed in Arabic. The tomb of Zheng He's assistant Hong Bao was recently unearthed in Nanjing as well.

• Seven large sunken ships were found in the sea near Dongsha Island, which were confirmed to belong to Zheng He's fleet. The types of the seven sunken ships were Shachuan (沙船), Fuchuan (福船), and Zhanzuochuan (戰座船).

Commemoration

In the People's Republic of China, 11 July is Maritime Day (中国航海日, Zhōngguó Hánghǎi Rì) and is devoted to the memory of Zheng He's first voyage. Initially Kunming Changshui International Airport was to be named Zheng He International Airport.

In 2015, Emotion Media Factory dedicated a special multimedia show "Zheng He is coming" for amusement park Romon U-Park (Ningbo, China). The show became a finalist of the amusement industry prestigious Brass Rings Awards by IAAPA.

Zheng He is the namesake of the ROCS Cheng Ho missile frigate in Taiwan.

The People's Liberation Army Navy ship Zheng He (AX-81) is a Chinese training ship named for him. Like her namesake, she serves as a goodwill ambassador for China, becoming the first Chinese Navy ship to visit the United States in 1989 and completing a circumnavigation of the globe in 2012.

The proposed sample-return spacecraft Tianwen-2 was originally named ZhengHe. Its mission to explore Near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 is scheduled to launch in 2025.

Gallery

File:Zheng He's tomb, Nanjing.jpg|Zheng He's tomb in Nanjing

File:Museum in honour of Zheng He in Nanjing.jpeg|Museum to honour Zheng He, Nanjing

File:Zheng He Gallery in Malacca.JPG|Gallery of Admiral Cheng Ho in Malacca

File:Admiral Zhenghe.jpg|Zheng He wax statue in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum

生平

家世背景

據《故馬公墓誌銘》，鄭和曾祖父伯顏，祖母與母親，均稱「溫氏」。祖父、父親之名則未載，以「哈只」代稱，故父即「馬哈只」。就此，學術界存在不同看法，存在「淡忘論」和「避諱論」等不同的解釋。族人自稱咸陽世家。

幼年時期

元宣光元年八月十四日（1371年9月23日），鄭和出生於雲南昆陽（今晉寧昆陽街道）寶山鄉知代村，當時雲南屬於元朝（北元，國號：大元）。鄭和有姐妹四人，為二子。據說，鄭和祖父當過雲南行省平章，父親為世襲的滇陽侯，因此其幼時家境優渥。鄭和喜歡聽父親和祖父講坐大船看看各個國家的風土人情、看看各個國家的奇珍異獸，這打開了他的求知慾。

元天元三年（1381年）冬天，鄭和10歲時，明朝軍隊進攻雲南，鄭和的父親遇害，鄭和被明軍副統帥藍玉掠走至當時明朝首都南京。他被宮刑而成為宦官後被分配予燕王朱棣。洪武二十三年（1390年），鄭和隨燕王朱棣前往燕京（今北京）燕王府。

青年時期

建文元年七月初五日（1399年8月6日），燕王朱棣起兵反叛侄兒建文帝朱允炆，史稱靖難之變。朱棣以燕京為基地，靈活運用策略出擊，經幾次大戰消滅官軍主力，最後乘勝進軍，於建文四年六月十三日（1402年7月13日）攻下帝都應天府（今江蘇南京），建文帝失蹤，朱棣登上帝位，是為明成祖，改元永樂。靖難之變中，鄭和在河北鄭州（今河北任丘北，非河南鄭州，另一說為「燕京鄭村壩」，今北京朝陽區東壩地區東壩村）為燕王朱棣立下戰功。

永樂元年（1403年），國師姚道衍收馬和為菩薩戒弟子，法名福吉祥。永樂二年（1404年），明成祖朱棣在南京御書「鄭」字賜姓，以紀念戰功，史稱「鄭和」。並升任為內官監太監，官至四品，地位僅次於司禮監。

壯年時期

鄭和有智略，武功高強，知兵習戰，明成祖對鄭和十分信賴。根據明代御用相士中書舍人袁忠徹記述：「鄭和身長九尺，腰大十圍，四岳峻而鼻小，眉目分明，耳白過面，齒如編貝，行如虎步，聲音洪亮。」下西洋前夕，明成祖有意選派鄭和領兵出洋，曾徵詢袁忠徹，袁回答：「三保姿貌、才智，內侍中無與比者，臣察其氣色，誠可任。」「遂令統督以往，所至威服。」

鄭和下西洋的史料不多，三部基本史料包括馬歡的《瀛涯勝覽》、費信的《星槎勝覽》、鞏珍的《西洋番國志》。

逝世

鄭和之死，《明史·鄭和傳》的記載十分模糊。學者鄭鶴聲、鄭一鈞提出的「鄭和1433年死于古里國」的說法，得到較多接受。但也有研究者認為該說所依據的《非幻庵香火聖像記》內容錯亂殘缺，且該說對相關文字也有誤讀，指出據《大明都知監太監洪公壽葬銘》，在第七次下西洋中出使古里國的只是副使洪保，鄭和並未前往。與此相關，還存在關于鄭和葬處的爭議。

事蹟

鄭和航海生涯，始于永樂元年，先是出使暹羅，永樂二年出使日本，年底回朝複命。接著是奉敕七下西洋。前後共出洋九次。

鄭和艦隊下西洋的路線

鄭和出使暹羅國

永樂元年（1403年），太監鄭和等奉差出使暹羅國（泰國）。經廣州大星洋，忽遇風濤，鄭和祈天妃保祐，風平浪靜。出使過程中鄭和船隊舟師沿途累次校正針路，牽星圖樣，海島水勢山形，畫成圖樣。鄭和歸來後，奉命整理天妃廟。

鄭和出使日本國

建文四年（1402年），明成祖派遣使臣分赴四方。永樂元年（1403年）琉球、日本、暹羅各國使節到中國朝貢，建立了宗藩與冊封關係。

永樂二年（1404年）倭寇騷亂直隸（南直隸）、浙江，明成祖派遣中官鄭和往日本，奉敕討賊，由寧波附近的桃花渡出海。永樂三年（1405年），當時受封日本室町幕府第三任將軍足利義滿遣使，獻上在壹歧、對馬等島所俘獲的倭寇；明成祖命來使按其本國法處置，令一人生火，將倭寇上蒸籠蒸殺，並嘉獎足利義滿勤誠，遣鴻廬寺少卿潘賜，內官王進等齎璽書冕服，賜日本王，令十年一貢。

鄭和統督水師10萬到達日本，向室町幕府第三任將軍足利義滿宣旨：「使其自行剿寇，治以本國之法」。足利義滿同時受明朝封賞，並派遣使節獻上抓獲的倭寇，與明朝正式建立了外交關係。雙方簽訂了《勘合貿易條約》，日本以屬國的名義對明朝進行朝貢貿易。明朝賜足利義滿「日本國王」金印一枚，足利義滿回書自稱「日本國王，臣源義滿」。

有人對「鄭和出使日本」的真實性存疑，尤其是「水師10萬到日本」的說法。

鄭和下西洋

永樂三年六月十五日（1405年7月11日），明成祖命鄭和率領龐大的二百四十多海船、二萬七千四百名船員組成的船隊遠航，訪問了30多個在西太平洋和印度洋的國家和地區，加深了中國同東南亞、東非的相互了解。每次都由蘇州劉家港出發經上下川山（今江門大廣海灣上川島一帶）出海，一直到宣德八年（1433年），他一共遠航了有七次之多。最後一次，宣德八年四月回程到古里時，在船上因病過世。民間故事《三寶太監西洋記通俗演義》將他的旅行探險稱之為三寶太監下西洋。

鄭和下西洋中所做的海外政治幹預中，以長遠影響來看，最重要的是操縱馬六甲海峽（往來中國及海洋貿易的要道），選擇扶植拜里迷蘇剌，於1409年鄭和授與其國璽及皇袍。拜里迷蘇剌曾親自往中國朝貢，使其在麻六甲沼澤地的據點成為日漸富庶繁榮的商業中心。

鄭和曾到達過爪哇、蘇門答臘、蘇祿、馬六甲、彭亨、真臘、古里、暹羅、榜葛剌、阿丹、天方、左法爾、忽魯謨斯、木骨都束等三十多個國家，最遠曾達非洲東岸，紅海、麥加，並有可能到過澳大利亞。據記載，鄭和的船隊曾到達非洲東岸赤道以南的麻林地、慢八撒以及拉穆等地。

第一次下西洋

永樂三年六月十五日（1405年7月11日）奉詔出使西洋。同年冬，從南京龍江港啟航，經太倉出海，永樂五年九月初二（1407年10月2日）回國。第一次下西洋人數據載有27800人。

第二次下西洋

永樂五年九月十三日（1407年10月13日）出發，到達汶萊、泰國、柬埔寨、印度等地，在錫蘭山迎請佛牙，隨船帶回，永樂七年夏（1409年）回國。第二次下西洋人數據載有27000人。

第三次下西洋

永樂七年九月（1409年10月）太監鄭和、王景弘、候顯等統率官兵二萬七千餘人，駕寶舟四十八號出使西洋。九月從太倉劉家港啟航，費信、馬歡等人會同前往，到達越南、馬來亞、印度等地，回國途中訪錫蘭山，永樂九年六月十六日（1411年7月6日）回國。

第四次下西洋

永樂十一年十一月（1413年11月）出發，隨行有通譯馬歡，繞過阿拉伯半島，首次航行至今日東非肯亞的麻林地，永樂十三年七月初八日（1415年8月12日）回國。同年11月，麻林迪特使來中國進獻「麒麟」（即長頸鹿）。第四次下西洋人數據載有27670人。

第五次下西洋

永樂十五年五月（1417年6月）出發，隨行有僧人慧信，途經泉州，到占城、爪哇，最遠到達東非木骨都束、卜喇哇、麻林等國家，永樂十七年七月十七日（1419年8月8日）回國。

第六次下西洋

永樂十九年正月三十日（1421年3月3日）出發，往榜葛剌（孟加拉），史載「於鎮東洋中，官舟遭大風，掀翻欲溺，舟中喧泣，急叩神求佑，言未畢，……風恬浪靜」，中道返回，永樂二十年八月十八日（1422年9月2日）回國。

航行途中，永樂十九年四月初八日（1421年5月9日），紫禁城發生大火，此時紫禁城才建好5個月，而明成祖才由南京遷都燕京的紫禁城4個月，明成祖受到極大的打擊，認為是遭受到天譴。三年後，永樂二十二年（1424年），明成祖去世，仁宗朱高熾即位。

仁宗朱高熾只比鄭和小7歲，與父親明成祖對鄭和的信賴大相逕庭，因鄭和多次下西洋耗費龐大的支出，下令停止下西洋的行動，燒毀宮中鄭和下西洋的日誌和文件。仁宗即位一年後病逝，由長子26歲的宣宗朱瞻基即位。

第七次下西洋

宣德五年閏十二月初六日（1431年1月19日），鄭和從龍江關（今南京下關）啟航，開始返航後，鄭和因勞累過度于宣德八年（1433年）四月初在印度西海岸古里去世。鄭和返航途中有可能已經前往麥加朝聖。

船隊由太監王景弘率領返航，宣德八年七月初六日（1433年7月22日）返回南京，朝廷給鄭和在南京牛首山設衣冠塚。第七次下西洋人數據載有27550人。

督修南京皇宮寺廟殿宇

• 永樂十年（1412年），鄭和任南京監工官，奉帝命重建南京大報恩寺。

• 朱瞻基繼承帝位，有意將國都從北京遷回南京，于洪熙元年（1425年）敕令南京守備太監鄭和修理南京宮殿。宣德元年（1426年），南京守備太監鄭和等上奏，「天地壇，大祀門並門廊、齋宮、山川壇殿廊、廚房庫，已經朽壞，請加修理」。帝諭：「祀神國之大事，真寺宇皆當完固，況山川壇郊壇尤重。令其南京工部發匠修理。大祀諸殿，當用香楠等大材，請取四川湖廣採者用之」。

• 宣德三年（1428年），帝敕鄭和等，命南京大報恩寺務「俱限今年八月以里，都要完成，遲誤了時，那監工的都不饒」。南京大保恩寺有金剛殿、左右碑亭、天王殿、佛殿、觀音殿、法堂、祖師堂、伽蘭殿、藏經殿、輪藏殿、禪堂、三藏殿和九層阿育王塔等建築。建成後帝敕太監尚義、鄭和、王景弘、唐觀、羅智等：「南京大報恩寺完成了，啟建告成大齋七晝夜，燃點長明燈。」

評價

鄭和自身角色認定，有世界史學者認為，是結合了帝國擴張、貿易促進及知識拓展，如其死前一年1432年所立的石碑題文，除了有擴張宣稱「皇明混一海宇，超三代而軼漢唐，際天極地，罔不臣妾。」亦有對商人和地理學家的敬重語：「其西域之西，迤北之國，固遠矣，而程途可計。」

因為鄭和的所有背景（有戰功的波斯裔的三寶太監）和主導明朝政治的士大夫圈子格格不入，因此鄭和首度下西洋之所以能成功，是由於朝廷內和儒家價值對立的派系成功合作的成果，這些派系包括：

• 商人遊說團體，希望明朝海軍力量為印度洋中國人經商提供支撐；

• 支持帝國主義遊說團體，希望恢復元朝的帝國侵略擴張，這和儒家以德服人的價值對立；

• 佛教遊說團體，希望政府經費投入其他計劃，而非落入反宗教或士大夫。

在外交及軍事方面，鄭和下西洋的功蹟包括推翻斯里蘭卡王朝及蘇門答臘君主、懲治了海盜並扶植馬六甲，由一個小漁村將其變成一強大國際貨品轉運站。

信仰

關于鄭和本人的主要宗教信仰，主要有伊斯蘭教說、佛教說 、道教說三派觀點，學術界並無定論。

回教

鄭和家族信仰伊斯蘭教，所以鄭和早年也是穆斯林，但他後來他宣稱篤信佛教，也禮敬道教各家海神。作為外交官，鄭和對其他宗教採包容和尊重的手法。

佛教

鄭和是道衍和尚菩薩戒弟子，還曾經刻印《摩利支天經》。他也自稱：「大明國奉佛信官內官太監鄭和，法名速南吒釋，即『福吉祥』。」「大明國奉佛信官內官太監鄭和，法名福吉祥。謹發誠心施財命功，印造大藏尊經一藏，計六百三十五函，喜舍于雲南五華寺，永遠長生供養。」

道教

道教說主要是強調鄭和下西洋與天妃（媽祖）信仰之間的關聯，其史料依據有「天妃靈應之記碑」等。流風所及，其時常捐獻銀錢予媽祖廟，並且增修殿宇。除強調鄭和對媽祖的崇拜和對媽祖信仰的傳播外，還有研究者指出後世對鄭和的神化形成的鄭和崇拜與媽祖信仰有共同的海洋文化精神。

遺蹟

南京天妃宮

南京天妃宮在鄭和第一次下西洋回到南京後建造，有近600年歷史。1937年日軍佔領南京，南京天妃宮全部建築被毀，蕩然無存。為紀念鄭和下西洋600周年，南京市在2004年7月開始重建天妃宮，2005年5月3日，天妃宮落成，5月4日對外開放。

鄭和墓

鄭和墓位於南京江寧區牛首山南麓。宣德八年（1433年），鄭和在第七次下西洋途中在印度古里病逝。清代同治年間的《上江兩縣誌》記載，鄭和被宣德帝賜葬於南京牛首山。但也有學者認為牛首山墓只是衣冠塚，甚至有學者認為鄭和實際上葬在牛首山宏覺寺塔地宮裡，迄今莫衷一是。1985年，南京市政府重修鄭和墓，按照穆斯林葬儀修建墓園，在墓蓋面安放青石槨。2005年，江寧區政府再次翻修鄭和墓，建成鄭和墓公園，並新建了「鄭和史料陳列館」。

鄭和父親墓之墓誌銘

馬哈只之墓雖早已有之，但在永樂九年，鄭和奉命重修父墳，由李志剛撰寫新墓誌銘。現馬哈只墓及墓碑保存于雲南省晉寧縣昆陽街道鄭和公園內，為全國重點文物保護單位。

鄭和北京故居

鄭和北京故居在今德勝門內大街路西三不老胡同。

鄭和南京故居

長兄之長子過繼予鄭和為螟蛉子之後，遷居南京三山街一所大宅，為追念先祖，名之為「馬府」；馬府原有房屋72間，但在太平天國戰爭中被夷為平地。1983年考古學家在南京太平公園（舊稱馬家花園）出土鄭和府第遺物，有龍泉窯瓷器、宜興紫砂、景德鎮青花等。

太倉天妃宮「通番事蹟碑」

「婁東劉家港天妃宮石刻通番事蹟」碑或「天妃宮石刻通番事蹟記」碑，簡稱「通番事蹟」碑，由鄭和、王景弘等人於明宣德六年(1431年)撰鐫，立於江蘇太倉瀏河天妃行宮的牆壁中。後來湮沒，下落不明。現已重建。

福州長樂天妃宮與「天妃靈應之記碑」

為了祈求和感謝天妃媽祖的保佑，鄭和、王景弘等人於第七次下西洋之際在福州長樂南山重修了天妃宮，並立下了「天妃靈應之記」碑。

泉州天妃宮

永樂五年（1407年）鄭和責令福建鎮守官重修泉州天妃宮，此後差內官及給事中、行人等官出使琉球、暹羅、爪哇、滿剌加等國，以祭告為常。媽祖是古代航海者祈求保佑的主要神祇，鄭和既乞求伊斯蘭教和佛教的保佑，也乞求海神天妃的保佑。

泉州鄭和行香碑

永樂十五年（1417年），鄭和在第五次下西洋時，專程到泉州靈山聖墓行香，祈求靈聖庇佑且立碑為記。碑高100厘米，寬42厘米。碑文云：「欽差總兵太鑒鄭和，前往西洋忽魯謨廝等國公幹。永樂十五年五月十六日于此行香，望靈聖庇佑。鎮撫蒲和日記立。」

湄州天妃宮

鄭和銅鐘

福建南平市文化館收藏一口鄭和在明宣德六年（1431年）祈保下西洋往返平安雙龍紋銅鐘，上有銘文：「永遠長生供養，祈保西洋往回平安，吉祥如意者。大明宣德六年歲次辛亥仲夏吉日，太監鄭和，王景弘同官軍人等，發心鑄造銅鐘一口」。。

斯里蘭卡鄭和碑

斯里蘭卡鄭和碑用中文、泰米爾文和波斯文三種文字寫成，於1911年發現於斯里蘭卡南部海港城市加勒，現保存於斯里蘭卡國家博物館。

南京楊慶墓

2005年10月，在南京江寧區韓府山東麓發掘出鄭和副手楊慶墓。

南京洪保墓

南京祖堂山發現鄭和副使明都知監太監洪保墓。

紀念事物

中華民國航海節

1955年（民國44年）因自由中國號的創舉，航海各界提議將鄭和下西洋之日，即國曆7月11日，政府明令7月11日訂為中華民國之「航海節」。

中華人民共和國航海節

經中華人民共和國國務院批准，自2005年起，每年的7月11日被定為中國的航海節，並規定全國所有船舶鳴笛挂彩旗，取鄭和首次下西洋之日期1405年7月11日。

鄭和河

鄭和河坐落在馬來西亞東部沙巴山打根。

鄭和城市

• 菲律賓棉蘭老島三寶顏

• 印尼爪哇三寶壟

鄭和路

海內外有數條鄭和路

中國

• 北京三寶胡同

• 江蘇南京馬府街

• 江蘇太倉鄭和路

• 雲南鄭和和秀巷

馬來西亞

• 馬六甲鄭和將軍路

• 砂拉越古晉鄭和統帥路

• 沙巴山打根鄭和路

台灣

• 高雄市前鎮區鄭和路、鄭和南路

鄭和寺廟

海內外有多處鄭和寺廟

中國大陸

• 福建龍海縣鴻漸村二保廟

• 廣東南澳島三寶公廟

• 江蘇南京市靜海寺

臺灣

• 雲林縣北港鎮候天府廟

印尼

• 三寶壟三保廟

• 泗水三保廟

• 泗水鄭和清真寺

• 雅加達三保廚師廟

• 蘇門答臘巨港鄭和清真寺

• 巴厘島三寶廚師廟

馬來西亞

• 馬六甲寶山亭三保

• 檳城峇都茅三保宮

• 霹靂怡保三保洞

• 登嘉樓諾來村三保公廟

• 砂拉越古晉三保公廟

• 雪蘭莪巴生直落玻璃鄭和三寶宮

泰國

• 大城三保公廟

柬埔寨

• 磅湛市東古城三保公廟

鄭和史跡陳列館

1985年在福建福州長樂區原鄭和奏建的天妃宮遺址之上建成鄭和史跡陳列館，6月《天妃靈應之記碑》移至該館並一直被保護陳列于館中。

鄭和文化館

鄭和文化館位于馬來西亞馬六甲州馬六甲市，為中國之外最大的鄭和主題博物館，2005年正式開放，時年為鄭和首次下西洋的600周年。展館面積約5,110平方米，三部分組成，主體陳列館、李為經故居遺址建築、金聲倉遺址建築（出租他用）。

鄭和藝術館

2014年黃文慶推動成立了鄭和·朵雲軒（馬六甲）藝術館。

鄭和樓

中華民國海軍軍官學校的鄭和樓及海軍軍官學校校歌歌詞「二鄭皇皇」即紀念鄭和與鄭成功。

鄭和坊

馬來西亞吉蘭丹唐人街牌坊以鄭和坊命名。

鄭和號

• 1941年美國軍艦為一艘戎克船。

• 1987年中國人民解放軍海軍以鄭和號命名一艘訓練艦。

• 1994年中華民國海軍以鄭和號命名一艘美國授權以zh-hant:派里級巡防艦; zh-hans:佩里级护卫舰;為藍本所建造的成功級巡防艦。

• 2005年美國波音公司將首次環球飛行的波音777-200LR以鄭和號命名，這架飛機現由巴基斯坦國際航空擁有。

鄭和公園

• 昆陽鄭和公園：位于雲南省昆明市滇池南端昆陽鎮月山上，距昆明60公里。原名月山公園，因昆陽是鄭和出生故里，其父馬哈只墓又在月山上，故于1979年改為今名。約250餘畝的林園中，種有松林，柏林和其他果林。現公園內立有「明三保太監鄭和故里」碑，並在碑附近發現民房建築遺蹟。

• 南京鄭和公園鄭和紀念館：位于江蘇省南京市區太平巷35號，原是鄭和任南京守備時其府邸內的私家花園，園內有1985年落成全國最早的鄭和紀念館及鄭和研究會，現在建成一個開放式的鄭和文化主題市民廣場。

• 長樂鄭和公園：位于福建長樂市區中心的南山，公園原名「南山公園」，始建于北宋元佑三年（1088年）。公園歷經宋元明數代營建，特別是明代鄭和七下西洋待港候風期間，全面整建，亭、台、樓、閣、塔、寺等建築眾多，成為佛、道教者朝拜聖地。園內的三峰塔為中國名塔之一，是鄭和下西洋船隊出入太平港的航標塔。明永樂十年（1412年）鄭和第四次出使西洋前在太平港候風時，為酬謝「海神天妃保佑」，奏請明成祖恩准在長樂南山塔東面的三峰塔寺旁，建造一座雄偉壯觀的「天妃宮」，為船隊官員祈報和謝神之處。1985年為紀念鄭和下西洋開航580周年，政府撥款在「天妃宮」和「三峰塔寺」舊址上興建鄭和史跡陳列館。南山公園亦改為「鄭和公園」。館藏珍貴文物《天妃靈應之記》碑（俗稱鄭和碑），系明宣德六年（1431年）冬，鄭和第七次出使西洋前在長樂候風時親自撰文鐫立的石碑。

• 寶船遺址公園：座落于600年前的龍江寶船廠遺址之上的寶船遺址公園是南京市為鄭和下西洋600年紀念而投資開發的一座融旅遊、紀念、展覽、休閒為一體的大型遺址性公園。總投資6億元人民幣。2005年7月一期工程建成開放。

• 太倉鄭和公園：位於江蘇省太倉市浮橋鎮，總面積122公頃，公園內的鄭和銅像高18米，底座高2.8米。

電視紀錄片《1405鄭和下西洋》

為紀念鄭和下西洋600周年，中央電視台、鄭和下西洋600周年紀念活動籌備領導小組、江蘇廣播電視台聯合製作一部電視紀錄片：《1405：鄭和下西洋》。

大型電視劇《鄭和下西洋》

為紀念鄭和下西洋600周年，中央電視台及長樂市委、等單位聯合出品59集大型電視劇《鄭和下西洋》。主演：羅嘉良、唐國強、杜雨露、于小慧。

央視動畫片《鄭和下西洋》

52集動畫片《鄭和下西洋》（2009）運用卡通手法、卡通語言、卡通意趣以及現代人的眼光，從動畫的新穎角度、新鮮手法去重新開掘歷史，將歷史感、傳奇性、卡通化以及視覺上的衝擊和震撼故事融為一體，通過鄭和下西洋的曲折歷程，反映了鄭和及其船隊所體現的科學精神、開拓精神、和平精神，重現航海史上前無古人、後無來者的傳奇，引領動漫愛好者們共同穿越歷史長河，去體會歷史曾經的輝煌。

其他影視作品

• 1977年，台灣電影《鄭和下西洋》；導演：許強，主演：凌波、金漢、羅烈。

• 1985年，中國大陸電視劇《鄭和下西洋》，共8集；導演：張汝運、任貴生，編劇：朱祖貽，主演：邱英三。

• 2005年，美國國家地理頻道電視紀錄片《偉大傳奇再現：鄭和下西洋》（Treasure Fleet-The Adventures of Zheng He)，2小時；導演：Jonathan Finnigan，主演：麥可·山下。

• 2006年，日本NHK電視紀錄片《偉大的旅人鄭和》（偉大なる旅人 鄭和），共2集；導演：陳凱歌，主演：趙寧宇；本片于2008年被美國探索頻道重新剪輯為52分鐘紀錄片《Emperor of the Seas》［譯名：海神；海上霸主：鄭和下西洋；海洋帝國（騰訊視頻）］。

• 2013年，中國大陸動畫電影《鄭和1405：魔海尋蹤》；導演：朱義昌、高毅，編劇：韓素萍、王菡，主演：張靚穎。

• 2016年，日本NHK電視紀錄片《中國王朝·甦醒的傳說：永樂帝與鄭和的大航海》（中國王朝 よみがえる伝說 「永樂帝と鄭和の大航海」），59分鐘；主演：淺田次郎。

• 2016年，中國大陸CCTV電視紀錄片《歷史的拐點·下西洋》，共6集；導演：余樂、張曉敏，主演：鮑鵬山、李山、姜鵬。

• 2022年，新加坡電影紀錄片《幽靈艦隊：鄭和的史詩之旅》（Ghost Fleet: The Epic Voyage of Zheng He)，2小時；導演：Jonathan Finnigan，主演：麥可·山下；製作單位包括美國國家地理 (亞洲電視頻道)。

書籍

• 2005年，鄭和下西洋600周年，北京海洋出版社出版1905年至2005年的《鄭和下西洋研究文選》，有溫家寶總理題詞，以梁啓超1905年在《新民叢報》發表的《祖國大航海家鄭和傳》開始，共108篇論文。

• 同年北京海洋出版社出版據多種明代手鈔本校注的馬歡著（萬明校注）《瀛涯勝覽》校注，另外，晨光出版社把30年代李士厚抄本之鄭和家譜校注出版成書《影印原本鄭和家譜校注》（原譜與抄本已散佚，此為當年曬製圖紙的影印本經整理影印）。

• 《鄭和下西洋資料匯編》（增編本）（上、中、下） 鄭鶴聲，鄭一鈞 編 北京海洋出版社出版 2005 ISBN 978-7-5027-6376-3

鄭和群礁

為了紀念航海家鄭和，南沙群島中有一群礁名為鄭和群礁。

鄭和山

位于冥王星「湯博區」西側邊緣的一組群山以七下西洋的明代航海家鄭和命名。

後世供奉

鄭和下西洋時屢駐舟師於長樂，曾奏改馬江名為太平港，於此造船。鄭和豐功偉業，在長樂漳港鎮顯應宮中，村民稱鄭和為巡海大臣（音轉為巡海大神），與媽祖同殿並祀，祈望安瀾利運。

東南亞一帶的華人相信，鄭和將軍是所有華人的驕傲，也有人把他當成神來膜拜。他們認為鄭和很了不起，而且擁有超自然的神力，如同神祇一般。更有人當鄭和是「財神爺」，有些旅行團的導遊特地安排旅客們去親手摸摸他的雕像，以招來財運。。

印尼三寶壟三寶大人巡香：印尼中爪哇省會三寶壟，在鄭和抵達三寶壟的六月三十日，舉行祭祀慶典和巡香遊行。巡香隊伍抬著鄭和神像，由供奉鄭和的大覺寺到三保洞，巡迴遊行，是目前保存最完好的鄭和祭祀儀式。

馬來西亞人為了紀念鄭和，曾以馬來文寫作長篇小說《鄭和傳》十五冊及《三保大人傳》三冊。

文化影響

在弗諾·文奇的小說《天淵》中，貿易者組織被命名為鄭和。

在星際爭霸戰：畢凱第一季最終集中，威廉·瑞克指揮官擔任星際聯邦探索級星艦（Inquiry-Class）鄭和號（USS Zheng He）的代理艦長。

後裔

鄭和幼年被閹割，無法生育，故收納長兄馬文銘之長子為嫡，名鄭文銘，字恩來。明宣宗賜其世襲錦衣衛千戶，居南京三山街（今馬府街）馬府。清朝太平天國時期，馬府毀于戰火，室家蕩然無存。鄭和後裔至今已傳至第21代。