ADMIRAL CHENG HO AND HIS LEGACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He), the Chinese-Muslim explorer from the Ming Dynasty 

Historical texts indicate that Ming dynasty’s explorer, Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) has made 5 voyages to Malacca out of his 7 voyages of exploration.

The 7 Voyages of Admiral Cheng Ho

Order	Time	Regions along the way
1st Voyage	1405–1407	Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Aru, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Kollam, Cochin, Calicut
2nd Voyage	1407–1409	Champa, Java, Siam, Cochin, Ceylon
3rd Voyage	1409–1411	Champa, Java, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, Siam, Lambri, Kayal, Coimbatore, Puttanpur
4th Voyage	1413–1415	Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Cochin, Calicut, Kayal, Pahang, Kelantan, Aru, Lambri, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Barawa, Malindi, Aden, Muscat, Dhofar
5th Voyage	1416–1419	Champa, Pahang, Java, Malacca, Samudera, Lambri, Ceylon, Sharwayn, Cochin, Calicut, Hormuz, Maldives, Mogadishu, Barawa, Malindi, Aden
6th Voyage	1421–1422	Hormuz, East Africa, countries of the Arabian Peninsula
7th Voyage	1430–1433	Champa, Java, Palembang, Malacca, Sumatra, Ceylon, Calicut, Hormuz. (17 states)

(Source: Zheng He - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia)

Among the many stories of his famous voyages (as recorded Ma Huan, a translator for the Admiral who accompanied him along the way) was a mission to bring one of the Emperor of China’s daughter, Princess Hang Li Po to marry the Sultan of Malacca. It was believed by some scholars that the wedding entourage of handmaidens and minister’s sons that followed during this act of diplomacy between Ming China and the Malaccan Sultanate, contributed to the Baba and Nonya culture. The Mainland Chinese who arrived in Southeast Asia, inter-married with the locals and culturally adapted their Southeast Asian lifestyles. The Peranankan culture remains evident till this very day in Malacca, Penang and Singapore.

An early photograph of Nonya women in Malacca

EXERCISE

Look at the above photograph which was taken from a Peranakan wedding in the 20th Century. What distinctive cultural features indicate to you that adaptation has taken place?