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The Asian Monsoons and Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Ocean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2011

Deng Hui  and
Li Xin
Deng Hui*
Affiliation:
(College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, P. R. China)
Li Xin
Affiliation:
(College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, P. R. China)
*
(Email: denghui@pku.edu.cn)
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Abstract

The expedition of Zheng He's fleet to the Western Ocean1 in the first half of the 15th century is an important event in the history of navigation, which has attracted the broad attention of domestic and foreign scholars from different fields2. This paper reveals the relation between Zheng He's voyages and the Asian Monsoon from a geographical perspective. Historical records show that Zheng He's seven voyages to the Western Ocean were precisely organized and successfully carried out due to careful consideration of the conditions and periodical patterns of the Asian tropical and subtropical monsoon. Details such as fleet routes, sailing schedules, wind-waiting points, divergent and rendezvous points were painstakingly planned and arranged in advance by the organizers of the expedition, who all paid close attention to the changing patterns of the Asian Monsoon.

Keywords

Zheng He's VoyagesAsian MonsoonSailing scheduleDivergent and rendezvous points
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , April 2011 , pp. 207 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2011

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