Chinese Maritime Expansion Analysis

Chinese Maritime Expansion.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chinese emperors sought to influence and establish connections with states along the Indian Ocean through a series of maritime expeditions. The observations and descriptions of the foreign countries were recorded by Chinese expeditioners who were eager to report their findings to the emperor such as Ma Huan. Through his texts named The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores, Ma Huan offers a unique and portrayal of the Afro-Eurasian world. By using the perspective of a Chinese explorer, The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores by Ma Huan provides detailed information about the unknown cultural, social and political structure of the mysterious Muslim world.

Chinese naval expeditions

did not occur until the late XV century. Although Ming emperors wanted to exhibit the power of their empire to other countries, they were reluctant about the idea of allowing foreign trade. Emperors feared that the inclusion of outsiders would influence the Chinese identity they had protected as well as destabilize the empire by challenging their social and political structure. For this reason, the Afro-Eurasian interconnection was a slow process only allowed by the Chinese rulers after acknowledging that to expand their influence, they needed to establish and open maritime routes.
Ma Huan’s accounts, The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores, establish a framework to understand the reasons underlying the incursions of Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean. Ma Huan was a Chinese voyager in charge of exploring offshore countries under imperial orders. According to his written reports, “an order was fully received from our imperial court… that others should go to all the foreign countries to read out the imperial commands and bestow rewards.” The desire of the emperor was to enforce the respect and loyalty of other countries towards the Chinese Imperial system and government. To fulfill the emperor’s desire, Ma Huan began his oversea expeditions that would take him to discover different Muslim countries.
However, the Afro-Eurasia interaction was not simple to achieve.

It is worth highlighting that the Asian empire had restricted international maritime trade in 1371. For this reason, when the decision of allowing trade between countries was approved around the late XV century, China was in a position where it did not have enough contact with outside countries. (CITATION) To ensure favorable interactions, Chinese imperators would send gifts to the rulers of the countries. This social practice could be observed in the next statement, “Whereupon he [the] selected an interpreter and others, seven men in all, and sent them with a load of musk, porcelain articles, and other things; [and] they joined a ship of this country and went there” (CITATION). Through delicate and elaborated gifts, they would exhibit the greatness of the Chinese empire. In this way, Chinese travelers would be granted with the favor of the ruling elites, as it was in Ma Huan’s case.

Among the Muslim states along the Indian Ocean Ma Huan visited, he decided to emphasize his descriptions on describing the countries of Bengal, Hormuz and Mecca. In his memories, Ma Huan’s aimed to report and analyze religious and traditional practices, social structure within and between each

country.