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A second reason for the suspension of state-sponsored
maritime activities during the Yongle reign was the high
cost of maintaining the fleets. The voyages led by Zheng He
involved many ships of different sizes, populated by a crew
of 20,000 to 30,000 people (see discussion by Sally Church
in Chapter 22 of this volume). In order to replenish supplies
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and maintain the condition of the ships, a large number of
craftsmen were needed to conduct repairs at the ports and
shipyards along the coast. A variety of timbers and
materials, such as raw lacquer and tung oil for
waterproofing surfaces, had to be prepared in advance or
transported to the repair stations from across the country.
Special timber was sourced from forests in Yunnan 雲南,
Guizhou 貴州 and Huguang 湖廣 provinces, which was
difficult to fell and transport. Moreover, Zheng He’s fleets
were manned with troops that were capable of intervening
in local disputes by force, which required military
expenditure. Thus, the fleets not only incurred expenses
while they were at sea, but also after they had returned to
China. One Ming source estimates that as a result of Zheng
He’s voyages, as much as six million liang of silver had been
wiped off from the state treasury. Archaeological
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excavations have also revealed the large scale of the
Longjiang Shipyard (Longjiang chuanchang 龍江船廠) in
Nanjing. As a principally agrarian society, the Ming
dynasty could not cope with the financial burden of
maintaining fleets of this size with only short gaps between
voyages, while at the same time shouldering the costs of
military campaigns and major building projects.
A third reason was that any material gains from the
Plate 12.4 Portrait of Liu Daxia 劉大夏 in Collected Illustrations of
the Three Realms (Sancai tuhui 三才圖會), published in 1609. maritime voyages could not compensate for the vast
SOAS Library, RM c.80.s.1, Portraits, juan 8, p. 31 quantities of resources consumed by projects undertaken
during the Yongle reign. In preparation for each voyage,
to sustain the northern military campaigns because of large amounts of silver, luxury goods and special local
insufficient provisions and funds for the troops. The Yongle products, such as silk and porcelain produced at Jingdezhen,
emperor’s final three military expeditions to the north were were collected to serve as capital for trade. These items
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almost entirely instigated by the ruler himself through the might be levied or purchased, which placed additional
force of his imperial authority. Other construction projects burdens on local populations and governments. It is
were not all completed during the Yongle reign, and instead impossible now to calculate accurately the profitability of
had to be finished in stages later on. As such, the state- trade conducted on Zheng He’s voyages. Regardless of this,
sponsored maritime voyages were only one of several the goods that the fleets brought back to China would have
large-scale projects that were stopped or put on hold during been kept by the imperial court and not used to offset the
the latter part of the Yongle period. depletion of material resources and corvée labour that
While the Ming state during the early Yongle reign may formed the basis of military campaigns and building
have had the means to cope with a series of large-scale projects. In an economy that still relied heavily on physical
projects, this was not the case in the middle and later parts of assets, the treasures and special goods brought back from
the period. Zheng He’s repeated voyages incurred large foreign lands could not be easily converted into official
expenditures, as substantial rewards were given to foreign currency to purchase construction materials and provisions
rulers and treasures were purchased at inflated prices. In for the troops, or to provide an adequate salary for soldiers
addition, activities such as military campaigns, the transfer and labourers. Instead, these goods could only be enjoyed by
of the capital and construction of the imperial mausoleum the courts, without any benefit to ordinary people and
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resulted in the consumption of resources at an society at large. This was the view of the official Liu Daxia
unprecedented rate that could not be replenished in time. 劉大夏 (1436–1516) (Pl. 12.4) during the Chenghua 成化
This put the Ming population and society on the whole reign (1465–87) on the possibility of resuming the voyages:
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under financial strain. Although the Yongle emperor still
harboured thoughts of sending fleets on further maritime Several hundred thousand units of money and food would be
voyages in early 1424, and Zheng He and others were spent; soldiers and ordinary people would die in their tens of
thousands. Even if the fleets returned with extraordinary
already making the necessary preparations, the plan did not treasures, how would that be of benefit to the state?
materialise following the death of the emperor and the cost
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of other ongoing state projects. 費錢糧數十萬，軍民死且萬計，縱得奇寶而回，於國家何益！ 11

108 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450