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Sandbox for Ming treasure fleet / Chinese treasure fleet

Creation
In 1403, the Yongle Emperor issued an imperial order to start the immense construction project of the treasure fleet. The treasure fleet was known by its original designation Xiafan Guanjun (下番官軍; lit. "foreign expeditionary armada") in Chinese sources. It came to comprise many trading ships, warships, and support vessels. The Longjiang shipyard was the construction site for many of the fleet's ships, including all of the treasure ships. It was located on the Qinhuai River near Nanjing, where it flows into the Yangtze River. Many trees were cut along the Min River and upper reaches of the Yangtze to supply the necessary resources for the construction of the fleet. The Yongle Emperor placed great trust in Zheng He and appointed him to command the treasure fleet.

Zheng He was ordered to initiate the construction of the fleet. He served as the Grand Director in the Directorate of Palace Servants, a eunuch-dominated department, before his appointment to command the expeditions. Construction projects were usually the domain of eunuchs, who were often assigned to supervise them. The treasure fleet's construction was not different in that eunuchs were assigned to supervise it, while the military were assigned to carry it out. Civil officials criticized the state expenses brought by the fleet's construction, but the emperor was set to continue his grand plans.

Treasure voyages
For the first voyage, the fleet had a personnel of 27,800 or 27,870 men. The treasure fleet comprised a total of 317 ships,  which included 62 treasure ships. It is possible that there were 63 treasure ships. The Mingshi states that the fleet had 62 treasure ships and a crew of 27,800 for the first voyage. Tan Qian's (談遷) Guoque (國確) records 63 treasure ships and a crew of 27,870 for the first voyage. The Zuiweilu records a personnel of 37,000, but this is probably an error. Yan Congjian's (嚴從簡) Shuyu Zhouzilu records an imperial order for the construction of 250 ships specifically for the voyages to the Western Ocean. This actually refers to two separate imperial orders—as recorded in the Taizong Shilu—both to the Nanjing's capital guards for 200 ships (海運船 haiyunchuan; lit. "seagoing transport ships") on 4 September 1403 and for 50 ships (海船 haichuan; lit. "seagoing ships") on 1 March 1404. However, the Taizong Shilu did not record the purpose for which these 250 ships were constructed. It also records a 2 March 1404 imperial order for Fujian to construct five ships (haichuan) to be used in the voyages to the Western Ocean. These 255 ships plus the 62 treasure ships adds up to the total of 317 ships.

For the second voyage, it is thought that the treasure fleet comprised 249 ships. On 5 October 1407, as the Taizong Shilu records, Wang Hao was ordered to supervise the conversion of 249 ships in preparation for embassies to the countries at the Western Ocean. This was close to the date when the second voyage was ordered, thus the fleet likely comprised these 249 ships for the second voyage. The number of treasure ships or personnel is not known.

For the third voyage, Fei Xin's Xingcha Shenglan records that the fleet had 48 haibo (海舶; lit. "ocean traders") and a crew of over 27,000. Dreyer (2007) states that Fei Xin was probably referring to the treasure ships with haibo. Yan Congjian's Shuyu Zhouzilu and Lu Rong's Shuyuan Zaji use the term "treasure ship" instead when they mention the 48 ships for this voyage. Coincidently, the Taizong Shilu records the 14 February 1408 imperial order for the construction of 48 treasure ships to the Ministry of Works at Nanjing. These were possibly the 48 treasure ships for the third voyage. Dreyer (2007) states that the treasure fleet likely had an undisclosed array of support ships besides the 48 treasure ships.

Ma Huan's Yingya Shenglan records 63 treasure ships for the fourth voyage. These were probably accompanied by support ships. The fleet was crewed by 28,560 or 27,670 men. Fei Xin records a personnel of 27,670 for this voyage, but another source records 28,560.

There is no record for the number of ships or personnel for the fifth voyage.

On 2 October 1419, an order was issued for the construction of 41 treasure ships from an undisclosed shipbuilder. It is possible that Admiral Zheng He made use of these ships for the sixth voyage. Most scholars conclude that these were likely used for the sixth voyage, but many other treasure ships had already been constructed or were in construction by that time. There is no specific figure for the ships or personnel of the sixth voyage. The treasure fleet probably made use of several dozen of the treasure ships each accompanied by half a dozen support vessels.

For the seventh voyage, the Liujiagang and Changle inscriptions speak of over a hundred large ships (巨舶 jubo; lit. "great trading vessels"). This probably included most of the remaining treasure ships according to Dreyer (2007). The treasure ships were likely accompanied by support ships. Zhu Yunming in his Xia Xiyang gives the names of several ships—Qinghe (清和; "pure harmony"), Huikang (惠康; "kind repose"), Changning (長寧; "lasting tranquility"), Anji (安濟; "peaceful crossing"), and Qingyuan (清遠; "pure distance")—and remarks that there were also ships designated by a series number. The treasure fleet had 27,550 men as personnel for the voyage.

Nanjing garrison
On 7 September 1424, the Hongxi Emperor terminated the undertaking of further treasure voyages. He was hostile to the undertaking of the voyages. Nevertheless, he kept the treasure fleet as a part of Nanjing's garrison. The fleet also retained its original designation Xiafan Guanjun (下番官軍; lit. "foreign expeditionary armada"). On 24 February 1425, he appointed Admiral Zheng He as the defender of Nanjing and ordered him to continue his command over the treasure fleet for the city's defense.

End
After 1433, the civil officials succeeded in halting subsequent maritime expeditions. The ships were left to rot and their lumber was sold for fuel in Nanjing. The mariners were reassigned to load grain on barges of the Grand Canal and to build the emperor's mausoleum.

Ships
The Chinese fleet comprised an array of ships that each fulfilled specialized functions. Each treasure ship was crewed by about 500 men according to Mills (1970) or at least 600 men according to Finlay (1992). The high-ranking officers—Admiral Zheng He and his associates—were from the eunuch establishment. The crew was predominantly from the Ming military and was mostly recruited from Fujian.

Luo Maodeng's novel contains a description of different classes of ships with their sizes: the 36 nine-masted treasure ships (baochuan) were 44.4 by 18 zhang, the 700 eight-masted horse ships (machuan) were 37 by 15 zhang, the 240 seven-masted grain ships or supply ships (liangchuan) were 28 by 12 zhang, the 300 six-masted billet ships or troop transports (zuochuan) were 24 by 9.4 zhang, and the 180 five-masted combat ships or warships proper (zhanchuan) were 18 by 6.8 zhang. Dreyer (2007) argues that this work holds little to no evidential value as a historical source, but also notes that Duyvendak thinks that it may be based on some truth.


 * Church, Sally K. (2005). "Zheng He: An Investigation Into the Plausibility of 450-ft Treasure Ships". Momumenta Serica. 53: 1–43.
 * Jost, Alexander (2019). ""He Did Not Kiss the Earth Between His Hands": Arabic Sources on the Arrivals of the Zheng He Fleet in Aden and Mecca (1419–1432)". Early Global Interconnectivity across the Indian Ocean World, Volume I: Commercial Structures and Exchanges. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Squadrons were detached from the main fleet to diverge to specific destinations. The first point of divergence was Sumatra from where a squadron would travel to Bengal. The second point of divergence was Calicut from where ships sailed to Hormuz as well as other destinations at the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. Malacca was the rendezvous point where the squadrons would reassemble for the final leg of the return journey.

Crew
There were seven Grand Directors (taijian)—who served as the ambassadors and commanders of the fleet—followed by 10 Junior Directors (shaojian). These directors were all eunuchs. Admiral Zheng He was one of the Grand Directors. In total, there was 70 eunuchs in command of the treasure fleet. This was followed by 2 brigadiers (du zhihuishi), 93 captains (zhihuishi), 104 lieutenants (qianhu), and 103 sub-lieutenants (bohu). There were 180 medical personnel, a Ministry of Finance bureau director, two secretaries, two Court of State Ceremonial protocol officers, an astrological officer, and four astrologers. The personnel also had guard judges (wei zhenfu) and battalion judges (suo zhenfu). The remaining personnel included petty officers (qixiao or quanxiao), brave corps (yongshi), power corps (lishi), military soldiers (referred as guanjun, "official soldiers", or qijun, "flag soldiers"), supernumeraries (yuding), boatsman (minshao), buyers (maiban), and clerks (shushou).'''

Zhu Yunming's Xia Xiyang records the following personnel: officers and petty officers (guanxiao), soldiers (qijun), mess leaders (huozhang), helmsman (tuogong), anchormen (bandingshou), interpreters (tongshi), business managers (banshi), accountants (susuanshi), doctors (yishi), anchor mechanics (tiemiao), caulkers (munian), sailmakers (dacai), sailors (shuishou), and boatmen (''minshaoren).

The Liujiagang inscriptions records Zheng He (鄭和) and Wang Jinghong (王景弘) as the principal envoys. It also records Zhu Liang (朱良), Zhou Man (周滿), Hong Bao (洪保), Yang Zhen (楊真), and Zhang Da (張達) as deputy envoys. The Changle inscription repeats this, but adds Li Xing (李興) and Wu Zhong (吳忠) as deputy envoys. All the envoys are recorded to have carried the rank of Grand Director in both inscriptions, except Zhang Da who was reported with the rank of Senior Assistant Director in the Liujiagang inscription and the rank of Grand Director in the Changle inscription. Additionally, the Changle inscription mentions Zhu Zhen (朱真) and Wang Heng (王衡) as the brigadiers. These people and unnamed "others" are mentioned on the respective inscriptions as those who have composed it. The two inscriptions state that Admiral Zheng He and his associates had commanded several tens of thousands of government soldiers and over one hundred oceangoing ships for each voyage.